Zephyr Pradox

Appearance
Zephyr was born with long black hair, that he often held up in a bun. His hair started becoming whitish when he was past 20 years old. He now has mostly white hair. He has a scar on his right peck and his whole body is decently-muscled. He has a brown beard and a small moustache. His nose and chin shape is well-defined. He walks confidently wherever he goes, and his clothing normally consists of a comfortable robe. This changes to the royal clothing when in meetings, ceremonies and related events. He carries the Konincklijck Zwaerd with him at all times.

Personality and Demeanor
Zephyr has learned to never blindly trust anyone. He respects everyone's opinions. He likes to talk about Geldish culture, history and language. This becomes very apparent in meetings with other diplomats when they ask about Geltrijck. He normally isn't a very harsh ruler, but when needed, his actions speak volumes. If made angry, Zephyr can become very intimidating. When in a bad mood, his mere presence in the room changes its atmosphere.

Zephyr is highly-trustable, to the people that are dear to him and to his friends. This doesn't mean he goes around telling the secrets of others ,however. He holds things said to him to himself unless the information received could harm the people he loves. He doesn’t hesitate and isn’t afraid of voicing his opinion in the slightest. His kindness makes him very respected in his kingdom, but his ability to take swift action and punish enemies has also proven vital. He is not to be feared most of the time, but when the need arises, he can be very assertive and intimidating, as previously stated. His persuasion and negotiation skills are pristine as well, he has his experiences as a merchant to thank for these two traits.

He is often a person to visit for great advice, his close friends always come to him when they need some guidance. Speaking about topics he doesn’t have a lot of knowledge of, isn’t for Zephyr, he prefers to only advise on topics he has a grasp on. Zephyr is quite attentive, he pays a great deal of attention to his surroundings. He uses a lot of hand gestures to explain himself, he finds body language very important when trying to portray a message. He curses from time to time, mostly using the phrase “Kredon Verdomme” or as most know it, “God damn it”. He isn’t very comfortable showing emotions like love, but as said before, he shows kindness and respect. He isn’t that easy to read and he finds that as an advantage. He makes great use of his ability to look like he is detached from the situation, while he is, in reality, fully concentrated. He smiles often, though most would call it a slight grin. He loves laughing, and does so, a lot when near friends. His favourite pastime is talking to his close friends, like Kadrys van Zyl and Piet GoldenMaen. He also loves writing about history, culture and linguistics. He occasionally makes maps, though not too often.

Birth
Zephyr was born in Handeldam 31 years ago (29bGY Month 6). He was born a healthy baby. The only problem in his birth was that it led his mother to die (maternal death).

Already beginning his life without a mother, in the first years of Zephyr's life his father was often not present due to the pain and grief he felt for losing his wife.

Early Life
Around when Zephyr was 6 years old his father began to get himself back together. He took control back of his trade company that he had temporarily handed over to his best friend. Paverys (his father) was a very rich man and was able to provide a comfortable life for Zephyr. This didn't mean, however, that Zephyr led a peaceful life. He was thought to be aware of his surroundings and attentive by his tutors due this his father's competitors that wanted him dead or kidnapped. He escaped death twice, once when he was 9 and once more when he was 11. Assassins were sent to kill Zephyr but both times they were discovered before they could do any harm.

When Zephyr was 7 years old, his father hired tutors to teach him languages that would be very helpful for a Geldish merchant. Because of this Zephyr can speak more than just his mother tounge of Geldish. He can also speak Geldish Dwarven Tounge, Common Tounge, a decent bit of Einsiedelnisch and also a small bit of Xelestian.

Along with his linguistic lessons, he also got lessons from his father personally on the crafts of being a merchant. He attended some of the meetings his father would have with other merchants too. He always wanted to help his father with the company and also represent the company in far away lands, though he wasn't allowed to do so until he was 16.

The Middle Stages
When Zephyr turned 16, he was allowed to go in his first caravan trip for the company. Accompanied by his father of course. They went to the small village of Ribewarden, located South East of mainland Geldish territory. Known for its vast farmland and windmills, he traded with the merchant there and acquired a good sum of wheat and flour. Thereafter the caravan headed to the Dwarven Hold of Goudberg where it sold the wheat and flour. Zephyr chose this destination because he had heard that there was a recent shortage of food in the city and therefore he would gain more if he sold the wheat and flour there than anywhere else in the region.

Improving his trade skills every year, Zephyr became a very skilled merchant. Known by basically all merchants in The Geld, of course his father's fame had played a part in that. He made connections in many lands during his meetings and travels. These connections proved helpful when Zephyr later ascended to the Geldish Throne.

As Zephyr was just a few months away from turning 24, something disastrous happened in the neighbouring country of Einsiedeln. The land once known for it's golden age through the House of Ascania experienced a chaotic magic eruption. People called this, The Solemnity. The Einsiedelnisch lands were ravaged by magical beasts, ransacked out of everything they had and didn't have. Their lands were scorched, arable land was hard to come by and the population count plummeted. many cities and town were destroyed and the country became a shell of what it once was. Food shortages became common, disease outbreaks wrecked havoc and the dire economic situation almost put the nail in the coffin. Zephyr wanted to help Einsiedeln but his hometown of Handeldam was facing troubles too. His father had already donated a lot of money to keep the town prosperous as the rest of the Geldish lands went into crisis because of the wrath of Zaereth. He stood and watched as the nation he felt close to, the nation he visited many times during his childhood descended into chaos.

At just 4 days after Zephyr's 27th birthday, his father embarked on a journey to Xelest. What would normally have been a very safe journey ended tragically. He didn't hear from his father for a month and began thinking about the worst outcomes. Not a week later, he started getting letters from his father's friends, expressing their sorrow for his loss. His beloved father was gone, swept away by the waves of the treacherous sea. Zephyr was a stoic person. He felt great sorrow and sadness due to the passing of his father, but he got back up as fast as he could. He comforted himself with the fact that his father would want him to continue doing what he loved. He took over the trade company and ran it successfully. The Geldish people respected and loved Paverys Pradox, for his donations to Handeldam and many other settlements in times of need and crisis. It would be no surprise that the people chose Zephyr as their leader in The Brown Rebellion a year after the tragic event. The 28 year old supported the people and listened to them. Leading up to The Handeldam Revolt where he personally led the inhabitants to Zaereth's mansion and took over the throne. At the age of 29, Zephyr Pradox became known as koninch. He now was the king to the Geldish people.