"Mankind's history is war. Peace is an illusion. To turn illusion into reality is an arduous task. It requires discipline."
BASICS
RETIRE INFO: Let Lelou kill him off or drive him out
NAME: Schneizel
GENDER: Male
PRONOUNS: He/him/his
ORIENTATION: Manipulative
BIRTHDATE: Early Spring 2734
AGE: 33 as of Fall 2767
LOCATION: High Reaches Weyr
OCCUPATION: Former Weyrleader, Wingrider, General Prick
WING: Firestorm Wing
APPEARANCE
EYES: Ice blue
HAIR: Platinum blond
HEIGHT AND BUILD: 6'7, slender and athletic
PLAY-BY: Schneizel el Brittannia
FULL APPEARANCE: This devil has the face of an angel. With his white blond hair, eyes as blue as the sky and smooth pale skin as fine as any Lady Holder's, Schneizel looks very much the hero every starving refugee and desperate holder wants to save them. It is an image he cultivates, for appearances are a powerful thing. That means fine clothes, ornate when grandeur is called for, simple when he wishes to appear the man of the people, always in white. Because white is the color of hope and life and knights in shining armor. In the minds of the people, devils wear black. And what is good and evil but a matter of perception?
That is not to say Schneizel always uses his looks to win affection. No, that would be too simple. He just as often chooses to appear distant and intimidating, using his great height and ice blue eyes to make himself seem above the whims of men and dragons. All it takes is a change of expression, a switch from warm and comforting to cold and emotionless. Because sometimes, the old aphorism holds true and it is better to be feared than loved.
PERSONALITY
PERSONALITY: Ambitious, ruthless and utterly brilliant, Schneizel is exactly the sort of bronzerider who would have thrived at High Reaches of old. And while gaining power may no longer be as simple in a place wary of power-hungry bronzeriders, Schneizel remains a force to be reckoned with. He is clever and manipulative, willing to be charming or cruel as the situation calls for. There is no one he would not betray, no rule he would not break, no principle he holds most dear except for one. Power, power is the only thing worth fighting for.
Schneizel is undoubtedly capable of terrible things, but that is not to say murder is his first resort. It's messy and prone to failure and awfully troublesome if you get caught. He is willing to take a lighter touch, to play magnanimous and kind, to preach nobility and values and all the other things simple people want to hear. He may even grant his victims the illusion of freedom, if that is what it takes to keep them pliant and in line.
Schneizel is not above harming his family in the course of his schemes. His feels no particular loyalty to them, considering them useful tools at best, possible rivals at worst, and would not balk at the prospect of killing any of them if it proved necessary. He is also rather good at games of strategy and enjoys them on occasion as a chance to show off and use his innate intelligence. Except for when he chooses to lose. For sometimes it is better to be underestimated.
HISTORY
FAMILY:
Father: Lord Harel
Mother: Dead
Half-brother: Lelou, Clovis
Half-sisters: Cornelia, Euphemia, Nunnally
Other half siblings
SIGNIFICANT OTHER: That would be a weakness. And Schneizel does not accept weakness.
BIRTHPLACE: Minor cothold beholden to High Reaches
HISTORY: Schneizel was born to rule. His father's precious heir, he spent his childhood at Lord Harel's right hand, learning to manipulate and cajole and do whatever it took to cling to power. And Schneizel learned well. He was always a strange child, eschewing the tricks and games most children play, preferring to watch it all with those eerie blue eyes. From the time he was seven, he astounded the Harpers with his intellect. But there was no kindness, no softness to him. He didn't play with puppies or smile at babies. He never knew his mother, cared little for his siblings and rarely even hugged his father. He just learned and watched and waited. Lord Harel was pleased.
And then the war came to their little cothold. Lord Harel decided to join in the hostilities, in opposition to his weyr. It was a disaster. An ambush involving exploding firestone killed the Lady Holder and maimed two of Lord Harel's children. They negotiated peace, sending two of the children to the weyr as hostages. Schneizel was furious and humiliated, but the experience taught him a valuable lesson. Their hold was too small, too weak, to ever be a force Pern feared. No, true power lay elsewhere. In the dragon weyrs.
When he came of age, he left the hold, leaving his father to find himself a new heir. Schneizel had no interest in joining High Reaches Weyr where his family was held captive, a reminder of his father's weakness, but recalled he had a sister in Keroon, who he could possibly use to establish a base of power there. So he rode to the territory of Igen Weyr, blackmailed a searchrider and entered the weyr as a candidate. He Impressed shortly thereafter, to a bronze, of course. They completed Weyrlinghood without incident, entered the wings and made wingsecond within a few turns, courtesy of some well-timed manipulations and an unfortunate "accident" that befell his predecessor. From there, it was easy enough to reduce his wingleader to little more than a puppet. Schneizel supposed something could have "happened" to him too, but that risked drawing attention.
Besides, weyrleadership lay at the whim of the queens. And Schneizel did not like leaving his plans to others' whims. So he applied for a transfer, to High Reaches, where they had foolishly removed their bronze and goldriders from power. And a herd that's killed all its canine guards? Leaves itself open to a wolf. Schneizel would take their council and turn into his tool, controlling High Reaches more thoroughly than Golre ever could.
UPDATES
- Early Spring, 2766- Schneizel is elected to the council as Jr. Weyrleader.
- Early Spring, 2767- Schneizel is reelected to his Jr. Weyrleader position.
