Prince Leigh

Prince Leigh was the eleventh head of House Prince, and bannerman to House Domine and a Royal Inquisitor. He is a supporting character in One Wish.

Life in the Gutter
Those who would know Prince Leigh at the height of his power would never have recognized him as Lee MacAnryder. His mother lost her birthright when she married a tradesman for love, which quickly paid her back when her husband turned out to be an incurable gambler. Much of "Lee's" early childhood was spent dragging his father out of gutters, and fighting off those he owed money to.

By the age of ten, he was picking pockets to get by, networking with others of his rank to make what little money he could through barter. Lee looked forward to life as a petty merchant with all the weary resignation of a person with no prospects. It was that, or fully embrace a promising future as a criminal.

Then, the Inquisitor returned to Mastri.

An Open Hand
Prince Hyppoliti was a complete stranger to him, having left to undertake his training years before Lee's birth. His initial response to an armed man approaching him was to draw his boot-knife, expecting another of his father's "friends." Needless to say, this was not the reaction he was expecting. The sheer stone it showed was enough to bring a smile to the man's dour face. It was only then that he learned the poised and quietly intimidating figure was his uncle, come with a single goal: to save his life.

Leaving his father to his eventual fate in a debtor's prison, Hyppoliti took in his sister and nephew. He arranged an education for Lee, who quickly discovered a love of books that would last him a lifetime. He spent countless nights absorbing every text he could find, if only to bring up the many topics at breakfast the next day. For every question he could fathom, his patient uncle seemed to have the answer--though he often encouraged him to seek the answers out himself. It was important to be able to discern the truth, he said, from what one saw and not what they were told. This was just the first of many lessons Lee would glean from him in the short time they shared.

He was everything Lee's father was not: educated, charming, and exceptionally powerful, but more than anything, he was good. Even knowing so much of the world, he encouraged Lee to consider all sides of a situation, and to remember that all people suffered. In conflict, his first weapon was a calm mind, and an even tone. His wisdom and good humor slowly won the distrustful boy over, the simple comfort of his presence threatening all that Lee knew. Armed with the power to level a city, but unwilling to do so, simply because he believed there was always a kinder way. A better way. In a world of closed fists, Hyppoliti was an open hand, offered in kindness to any who sought it.

Even if their intention was to strike it off.

Control
"A Domine must have a Prince." The unfamiliar phrase was just the first of many traditions Lee learned from Hyppoliti.

It was an ancient custom, for the serving Lord Prince to stand by the Baron of Mastri. On the surface, it was a matter of state; a bannerman served his lord, and the Princes were bannermen to the Domines--but the practice ran deeper than that. It was their duty to protect the Baron, by any means necessary, and from whatever threat presented. In the interest of this traditional loyalty, the heirs of the two Houses were often companions raised together, to ensure a bond of trust between them. There had never been a Domine without a Prince by his side.

And then, Nance happened. Having no children of his own, Hyppoliti had been unable to present his lord's son with a match, and so the mean-spirited Domine heir had grown up alone, free of the system intended to keep him in check. Lee entered the race already behind, eight years his junior and lacking the rapport shared by the Baron and his uncle. No more had they met than he despised the angry and spiteful teenager, questioning the usefulness of the arrangement. While more than his mental equal, Lee could not hope to match him physically, which was clearly what he needed--and by the time he was a man, Nance would have been Baron for half a decade. What was the use of standing beside him if he could even tolerate him?

The answer was simple. Nance was a brute...and soon, he would be a powerful brute. The Domines were not known for their subtlety; the might they wielded required focus. A crosshair, to aim the weapon. It was the duty of the Princes to guard the Domines, even from their own terrible power. He did not have to like him, as Hyppoliti so liked his father. He simply had to control him--because if he did not, Nance would lay waste to his barony.

Lee was less than pleased. The prospect of becoming a nobleman's armed nurse was not a pretty one. But, his uncle said it, and he had never lied to him. A life of comfort, in return for a duty he would detest. It was a simple choice. His agreement secured, Hyppoliti named Lee his successor, and set about having his mother's blood-claim reinstated. He encouraged his bright nephew to learn quickly, as he would have yet more to teach him.

Little did he know that the greatest lesson Lee would learn from him would be the very last.

Of Duty
(to be added; Layka gets killed and Lee loses everything)

Last of his Line
(to be added)

Personality
In all things, Leigh was a pragmatist, approaching situations with a logical detachment that bordered on inhuman. All obstacles he faced were measured from a strategic sense, with no concern for emotional variables. If a scenario was gainful, it was exploited to the fullest, if not, it was discarded--and if a problem (human or otherwise) was persistently troublesome, it was swiftly dealt with. Questions of morality were never really questions to him. Leigh could think his way around any obstacle with the deftness of a chessmaster. He strove to be the most interesting person in the room, and the most dangerous. He often succeeded. His practiced smile, honeyed baritone and razor-sharp wit made him wildly popular, but every person who knew of him regarded him as they might an ornamental blade: with great appreciation, and due caution. Everyone who was anyone wanted to be in his presence--just not in a closed room.

A sociopath, Leigh seldom held anyone in high regard, simplifying his dealings with others purely to how the interactions might benefit him. His lack of empathy made it easy for him to discard the people around him, literally if necessary. His only real loyalties were to his duties, the protection of his House, and to the study of everything and anything he could learn. His general levelheadedness belied an erratic and sometimes destructive temper, which reared its head only behind closed doors.

One Wish
(To be added)

Prince Hyppoliti III
Leigh's uncle was perhaps the only person he ever truly loved. A good and honorable man, Hyppoliti III was everything the starving teenage boy wanted to be--powerful, successful, and feared, while also being several things he could not fathom at all. His loyalty to his House's duty led to his death, but that dedication inspired in Leigh the surety of two things: that he would uphold his uncle's mission, no matter its cost--and that good people were terribly vulnerable, so he never wanted to be one.

Prince Hyppoliti IV
The High Inquisitor and his eldest son never truth got along; Leigh believed this was due to a similar mindset, particularly the refusal of either to admit when they were wrong. In truth, a tough childhood and knowledge of his father's dealings pushed Pol away. Leigh was less than accepting of his son's "lifestyle choices," and met his rebellious turns with the cold indifference he showed to everyone else. Despite the open hostility between them, Leigh favored Pol, specifically because he was just as bull-headed and stubborn as Leigh himself. Pol was named for his father's beloved uncle, and the fact was intended to mean something--if only to Leigh himself. He was entirely convinced that everything he did was to help his son succeed. The hope that the spite he felt would inspire him to excel paid off, but did so at the cost of any love that might have existed between them.

Prince Charming
Charming, like his mother before him, was a fashionable headache for Leigh from the moment he was born. His polar opposite, Charming was loving, sweet and kind, and it put Leigh off right away. He often referred to his second-born son as being his daughter, resenting his florid, effeminate and too-affectionate personality, and the embarrassment his frequent adventures brought him. The two were never close, and Leigh dedicated little time to changing that. How much his mixed race factored into this perpetual disfavor was a topic of much gossip--Leigh himself being a known bigot--but the fact is that their personalities were just too opposed for him to entertain the thought of Charming succeeding him. He was a spare only under the barest definition, and that was all.

Jonathan Priest
On paper and in his mind, Prince Leigh had only two sons, and Jonathan--born Albert--was never one of them. His birth revealed his fourth and final wife's heritage to him, in an event that would have scandalized him, had he claimed the boy at all, even as a bastard. Leigh kept the child as a servant in his house, for lack of want to sell his own blood, no matter how soiled. Their interactions were nonexistent, to the point that Jonathan didn't even know he was his father until his brothers told him. To his death, he failed to recognize him.

Domine Nance II
Born half a decade before his first child, Nancy was like a son to Leigh--and he hardly even knew it. The boy's wrongheaded stubbornness and unguarded sensitivity made him an amusement to Leigh, who delighted in teasing him, if only in jest. Much of his interactions were spent advising Nancy on dealings with his father, and he frequently interceded in situations where Nance I might have done his son (even more) harm. His life was one of the few that meant anything to Leigh, and its loss left him colder still than he was to start.

Domine Nance I
Duty was all that bound Leigh to Nance, and only then because his late uncle had so impressed it upon him. Being ten years younger than Nance meant that Leigh was not able to fill the role of his second at the start, and by the time he was able, Nance was not listening. It became Leigh's mission then to make him listen, through force and intimidation if need be. The two despised each other, but Leigh's even logic balanced Nance's temperamental impatience, and together, they managed to keep the House from burning down. Leigh felt little for Nance's untimely death but unease, and only because of the circumstances surrounding it.

Prince Everleigh Charming
Having spent his life in study and training, the end of it left Leigh with little to show for his work but a sprawling library in an otherwise empty house. Ever was his chance to pass on the great volumes of his knowledge, and perhaps to be a better mentor than he had been before. Being his only grandchild, Leigh held Ever in high regard, eager to teach him what he knew before his time ended. The boy's pragmatism and intelligence gave him hope for the next generation of Princes, and gave him a glimpse into what his life might have been like, had he spent more time with his own children. Pol's attempts to keep him from Ever resulted in one of his only lapses in temper, much to the former's shock. Leigh was willing to do whatever it took to be certain he had a hold on Ever, and he succeeded, in more than one way.

Trivia

 * Leigh has had the most spouses out of any character, with a total of four.
 * He is also under suspicion for the untimely deaths of two of his wives, and the disappearances of the other two. Nothing has been proven, but it's left him with something of a reputation.
 * After his uncle's death, Leigh adopted a neutral accent in place of his Mastrian (Irish) one, to conceal what House he had come from. His persistent use of it resulted in all three of his children lacking the native Mastrian accent. In rare instances of extreme temper, he slips back into a variant of his natural brogue.
 * Leigh was involved in the dueling incident that killed both Nance II and Kaind Sei'Dist. He was chosen as Nancy's second, and advocated to let the duel commence, against the advice of Kaind's second. He did so expecting the duel to end merely in shame, and not in death. It was a choice he regretted.