"In the battle of duty and desire, duty must always win."
BASICS
RETIRE INFO: Adopt
NAME: Corleon
GENDER: Male
PRONOUNS: He/him/his
ORIENTATION: Homosexual
BIRTHDATE: Early Autumn 2737
AGE: 30 as of Fall 2767
LOCATION: Fort Hold
OCCUPATION: Wherhandler, deposed former Lord Consort
APPEARANCE
EYES: Brown
HAIR: Black, worn a bit long and slightly spiky
HEIGHT AND BUILD: 5'9, stocky and muscular
PLAY-BY: Vincent Rodriguez III
FULL APPEARANCE: The past few turns of Corleon's life have turned him into the picture of a wherhandler. The work has left him bulky with muscle and with the sorts of callouses more suited to a laborer than a member of the Blood. Corleon is fairly short for a Pernese man, but he carries himself with enough aristocratic arrogance few people would dare bring it up. He prefers the practical, comfortable sort of clothing many wherhandlers favor.
PERSONALITY
PERSONALITY: Corleon has been many things. Lord Holder's son, wherhandler, Lord Consort, political exile. But that is in the past. Now, Corleon is a member of Chopin Squad, trying to be useful and make the world better in small ways. Corleon is as sober and dutiful as ever. He still does his best to do his part, whatever his task. He plans to lead a quiet life at Semaca and has no ambitions to retake the place in the world he lost.
There are things Corleon likes very much about weyr life. He enjoys being able to dress how he pleases and appreciates what a gift true solitude can be. But Corleon is still a Lord Holder's son and he doesn't entirely fit in the weyr, caught forever somewhere between Lord Consort and wherhandler. His manners, even his casual ones, are rather stiff by the standards of the wherhandlers. He isn't always able to understand his squadmates who don't share his privileged upbringing. While he doesn't miss being responsible for the lives of thousands, his life at Semaca can feel aimless. Guilt for Fort's fall lingers heavily in mind and Corleon isn't sure who he wants to be without the bonds of Blood and duty. He misses having a purpose, even though he failed to fulfill the one he was born to.
Corleon still keeps his secrets. The world might have turned on him, but he is still loyal to Ruatha, his kin and his former wife. He tries his hardest not to embarrass them, never speaking of the failures that led to Fort's fall. He confines his attraction to men to longing looks. Because even at Semaca, people are watching. Even at Semaca, Corleon can't be fully free.
Corleon was raised to lead men and is good at it, in his own way. He's not the most charismatic of leaders or the sort to give inspiring speeches from horseback, but he doesn't mind getting his hands dirty or getting into the details. He likes improving things and making them run. He's not as hidebound as his father was and is open to new ideas and inventions that may improve the life of his people.
While once Corleon saw the common people as interchangeable pieces on a chessboard, his time away from home taught him to see individuals as just that. The thought pattern can crop up at inconvenient times, when the work of helping to run a Hold requires him to see the bigger picture. Corleon is also very much a man of action. He doesn't mind either physical or intellectual labor but he despises the long periods of ceremony and tedium his family is prone to insisting upon. He's also fairly practically minded and while he knows certain elements of showmanship are necessary at times, that doesn't mean he has to like it.
Corleon is extremely loyal and devoted to his duty and his family. He was raised to believe his own desires come second to the good of Hold and Bloodline and continues to stand by that. He was born to serve a purpose and that is not something easily set aside.
HISTORY
FAMILY:
Father: Lord Corstan of Ruatha, deceased
Mother: Lady Leorona of Ruatha, born of Southern Boll Blood
Older Brother: Lord Coron, Age 32
Older Sister: Corstona, Age 30
Sister-in-Law: Lady Diana, Age 28
Niece: Cora, age 5
Nephew: Diron, age 3
Younger brothers: Leostan (25), Corsna (22)
Younger Sisters: Leocoron (20)
Various extended relatives
SIGNIFICANT OTHER: Ex-Wife Lord Vellaren (purely political on both ends, their marriage ended when Fort Hold fell)
BIRTHPLACE: Ruatha Hold
HISTORY:
Corleon was the second son of Lord Corstan of Ruatha, raised as the proverbial spare. He attended his older brother's lessons from an early age, well aware that should something befall Coron, he would be expected to take his place. He studied hard and learned well, but that day never came. Coron lived and married and had a child of his own. Corleon's services were no longer needed.
His father encouraged him to marry, for the good of the family. Perhaps he could serve as Steward for his brother or found a small Hold of his own. But Corleon had never had any interest in women or in spending his life in his brother's shadow. He respectfully requested leave to serve Pern, by assisting in the rebuilding of High Reaches Weyr. Seeing the strategic benefits of a son connected to the Weyr's leadership, and with two other sons and three daughters who could be married off in good time, Corstan sent Corleon off with his blessing, even purchasing him a fire lizard egg before he went, so he would have an easy way of keeping in contact with home. The egg hatched green Southpaw and Corstan apologized for not choosing at least a bronze, but Corleon was satisfied with the sweet green.
He went to High Reaches and got to work, serving as an ambassador to the neighboring Holds. He was never Searched and would not have been permitted to Stand anyway as his father wished to preserve to possibility of calling Corleon home. He did, however, enter wher candidacy in time, wishing to do more than make sure the tithes came in on time. As whers were traditional companions for members of a Lord Holder's blood, nobody in his family objected and he Impressed Corleosk in short order.
Corleon was aware he preferred men, but took no lover, limiting himself to discreet dalliances. For all he was now a wherhandler, he was also a son of Ruatha and could not risk embarrassing his family. Otherwise, he thrived in weyr life. There was always plenty of work to keep his active mind and strong body occupied. He completed wherlinghood and entered the Ground Crew, prepared to do his part to keep Pern safe.
And then, his father died. Corleon took a leave from the weyr to mourn besides his family and help his brother adjust to his new role in any way he could. To his surprise, his brother ordered him to remain after the mourning had finished. He wasn't advancing as quickly as they'd hoped, Coron said, and was too old to be off playing soldier. It was time for him to do his duty and marry and Coron had the perfect candidate: Lord Vellaren of Fort. Corleon reluctantly obeyed. His duty to his family came first.
UPDATES
- Summer 2767- Corleon is chosen as Vellaren's betrothed and is pushed into fighting a duel with a rejected suitor. Corleon accidentally scars Toro's face and feels very guilty.
- Fall 2767- A fire devastates Fort Hold's surrounding farms. Corleon does what he can. Corleon and Vellaren get married.
- Summer 2769- Rebel holders rise up at Fort Hold and oust the ruling family. Corleon escapes with the help of one of his guards and decides to go to Semaca Weyr, where he will live in quiet exile.
