Rourke Caprios*

February 1 483 (483-02-01) (age 32)

Rourke has a passionate love of music, although it is something rarely spoken of aloud. Much can be understood about a man, if one understands the music a man loves.

• Jesse Cook - Cancion Triste
  
• Thomas Morley - April is in my mistress' face
  
• Clint Mansell - Lux Aeterna
  
• Chopin - Nocturne in C# Minor
  
• Richard the Lionheart - Ja Nuns Hons Pris
  
• Danny Elfman - Ice Dance
  
• Rob Dougan - Clubbed to Death
  
• Thomas Tallis - Spem in Aium
  
  

The Keeper of the Empire is always the firstborn son, and he wields powers possessed by no other in the Empire: the ability to control magical Currents (such as the ones that convey ships to and from the isles), and the ability to hold the Gateway. This is the blessing of the goddess Providence on the Imperial Line since the first Champion arose to imprison the demonic overlords in the Abyss and set the Gateway over it. This is what a Keeper is trained in from birth, that when he ascends to the throne he is capable of managing the magic of the Gateway and maintaining the Currents between isles. Some Keepers have been known to be able to manipulate Currents in the air as well, though typically the water are the strongest.

They must be, for most executions are handled by the Keeper personally dismembering the criminal with the Currents.

The Gateway itself is rumored to be in the bowels of the castle. The Lord of the Abyss (the demon who ruled the Empire prior to his captivity in the Gateway) and his minions reside behind it still, waiting for their chance to escape. The rumors tell that any who look in the Gateway but the Keeper himself will go mad, and several incidents in history seem to bear this up. It is also known that the Keeper cannot move far from the Gateway. Those who have been wounded or are weakest have had to stay very close to the Gateway, and at least one Emperor in history spent most of his life in the chamber of the Gateway proper.

A Keeper does not come into full power until he is twenty, and in history when the heir has not been of age but has been forced by the death of his predecessor to ascend, the Empire has seen great turmoil and ravaging by demons escaping the Gateway. Rourke's father died when he was sixteen, and the next several years saw a number of occasions when demonic forces threatened the Empire and caused great violence in the city. He himself was wounded very badly on two occasions when demons escaped the Abyss, a terrifying thought when his death would unravel the magic that keeps the demons trapped. The Empire has hung by the thread of his life more than once.

As Rourke aged and his power stabilized, the incidents of trouble with the Gateway became less frequent. There are rumors that his own power is significant in the history of Keepers, beyond that of those passed. Observant citizens who remember history well note that there was some erratic behavior evidenced by the Keeper for a while, followed by his absence from public view for over a year. He was seen rarely, and the Empress managed affairs of state. He began to return to a public life rather abruptly, but those in the know whisper that it was something to do with his power, and that he is now a dangerous figure.

Then in October 508 with the Great Schism came the rumored possibility of the Gateway itself being destroyed. Whether true or not, the Currents remain, and one would wonder, what precisely does the Keeper keep?

The Caprios line has ruled the Empire since the Champion, holding both religious and political power over the isles. There was a brief time under Emperor Jonathon when the Keeper somewhat decoupled the centralized power of the political machine from the religious and gave the dukes more autonomy. During this brief span, a number of artistic projects were undertaken by Jonathon. With his death, the new Emperor drew power back to the Imperial Seat bit by bit. It has remained strong ever since.

The life of the heir to an empire is very different from most. The knights were Rourke's constant companions and presence all his life, and privacy was and still is a rare commodity. His sire was known for an iron-handed grip upon everything and everyone, including his offspring, and Emperor Maximilian had a deft hand at manipulating events and people to his will. For Rourke, this resulted in a streak of rebelliousness that often had him in circumstances where his father would just walk away and leave instructions for the knights to discipline his son. It was no secret at court that Maximilian thought his son unworthy and not entirely capable, and that Rourke resented his sire.

No matter how strained the relationship between the two was, the untimely death of his father still left Rourke with a mantle of authority that he did not yet wish. Along with the new authority came the necessity of breeding an heir, and a political marriage was more or less forced upon him by a united front of many of the high nobility at court during one of the hosted debates. It might be noted that the crown has not hosted any debates held in court since, and that such affairs have been relegated to the university.

One of the unique aspects of Rourke's rule was how much power he had vested in his deceased wife, Philomena. It could be argued that this was necessity, but it was rare for an Empress to wield as much weight since the reign of Empress Jolene Barca.

The Emperor has the reputation of being somewhat impulsive, unyielding, and a bit controlling. He is not considered an easy man to get along with, and he has been known to make unreasonable demands of others without remorse. It is certain that he tends to stratify people into lines of strong feeling about him, one way or another.

Those who know him well know that he has a passion for mathematics, of all things, and as often as not if he's reading a book it's about mathematical theories. He has a weakness for sugared almonds. He drinks very rarely, and always in moderation, ever since one incident of his younger years where an intoxicated young Keeper had trouble holding the Gateway. He is an avid lover of art, and can be found fairly frequently in the art museum, gazing with rapture and study at pieces he has already viewed a hundred times. He has also been known to regularly hire musicians to play in the audience chamber when he is working.

In his younger days, Rourke was known for more of a sense of humor. History highlights this in events such as the costume ball where he showed up as a rooster, he and his wife painting the giant tortoise in the Green fields tower like a huge breast, and dressing a pair of rabbits like the Fieldian ducal couple; however, that spark of wicked teasing has not been seen in quite a time.

With the death of his eldest daughter, Margaret Caprios, the Keeper retreated into a more distant and formal demeanor, something very few are granted the opportunity to see past. The formality has only increased with the loss of his wife.

With his typically polite atittude, Rourke is on casually good terms with many people as he is often keenly interested in the details of their lives. However, displays of emotion tend to make him withdraw from situations. The truth is that he's much better with the forest than the trees, and has many acquaintances, few that could be called close.

The logs here are a smattering of Rourke from both the previous and the current player. Anything before December 501 was Rourke's original player.

Most of the logs, it should be noted, tend to display the most extreme responses of the Keeper. The reason for this is that I think they're the most interesting to read. Nobody wants to read the dull day-to-day logs of meetings and calm negotiations and casual conversation. As a result, one might think the Keeper is a bit more prone to...er...anger than he actually is. I just want to settle the score OOC so that anyone who is reading these doesn't get the wrong impression. Rourke's temper is vile, but you're just not getting the plethora of logs that are nice, polite, and not as entertaining to read.

If you have any logs of the Keeper you think belong here, contact the player.

• The Keeper has a discussion with the Guildmistress about the Pirate Xander (aka Rourke's bastard brother) - May 501

• The Imperial Cousin dispenses gossip - September 501

• A post from the old IC list written by Rourke and Vincente - November 501

• After Rourke awakens from his coma and the wounds inflicted by Jareth he talks to Asha - January 502

• The still-weak Emperor and his wife talk after leaving a reception for the new ambassadors to Gateway - February 502

• Rourke and Mena had a rocky marriage and didn't hit their stride until far later in life. This was a post from the old IC list written by Rourke and Mena - February 502

• Fairfax and Addison are arrested as cultists and Rourke speaks to them in the cells - September 503

• Rourke, Eleanor, and Mena deal with the repercussions of Vox's accusations of infidelity and darker things- October 503

• A foul-tempered Keeper yells at his ward over trivialities - May 504

• Imperial Council regarding the rebellion on Guardian - June 504

• The Emperor and Empress go to the tea shop and cause some mischief for the mages - December 504

• The Emperor calls in the Empress to charge her with keeping the realm in his upcoming absence - January 505

• The Emperor takes out his frustration and fear for Mists upon his wife - NSFW NSFW - May 506

• Newly returning to public and frustrated with one of his subjects, Rourke visits the Grin to schedule a bit of revenge - October 506

• After the kidnapping of the Baron of Ethos and family, Rourke meets the kidnapper - January 507

• Letters to the potential candidates for the Chamberlain position - April 507

• Rourke (and Addison) eavesdrop on Mena and Vaia until Rourke's temper changes the game - July 507

• The Keeper has an irrational fit at his Chamberlain for being sick - November 507

• Rourke awakens in the infirmary after the Schism tears through the Empire - October 508

• Without Color - A game story about the Emperor - March 509