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Background
Lord Anton Romante was the first cousin of King Lucas Romante, who had served with considerable success as the Knight-Marshal of Galenthia in the closing years of the Thirty Years' War. When King Lucas died without designating an heir, Lord Anton became one of the two major claimants to the Throne of Galenthia. Despite enjoying a distinct military advantage for most of The Succession War Anton was effectively defeated when Duke Gauvain Tarris turned on him, crushing his military forces and sending Anton on the run. He was captured and executed in 1863 IE, and his name is now a black stain upon Galenthia's history, spoken in the same breath as many of the greatest villains of legend.
NOTE: Much of this is OOC knowledge only, particularly the bits about the Stone and Anton's dark deeds in paving the way for his ascension.
Lord Anton Alphonse Romante got his start in the autumn of 1817, and his earliest years were certainly no indication of the infamy that would one day accompany his name. He was the son of the youngest brother of King Stephan Romante, Prince Roger, and Princess Anita Romante (nee Tarris). His childhood, despite taking place in the early years of the Thirty Years War, was reasonably healthy and happy. He was an adventuresome child who took to the duties of a Page well, and showed much promise when he was squired to his own father. He did show a tendency towards being a bit of a bully as a child, but he was a son of the Royal House…a little lording it over people was probably to be expected.
His period as a squire gave him much more battlefield experience than many men his age, as his father was one of Stephan III's commanders in the field during the Thirty Years War. Anton grew quickly in tactical and strategic knowledge assisting his father in the camps and sitting in on his planning sessions. Roger was pleased with Anton's progress and saw him knighted at the age of 19, in the spring of 1837. He quickly had opportunity to distinguish himself, as his father fell in battle in the province of Demense, in Aequor, but Anton quickly rallied the men, and led a swift and masterful campaign that finally brought the long-embattled segment of Aequor fully into Galenthian occupation. Unfortunately, it was also this campaign that planted the seeds of Anton's eventual corruption, as during the occupation, a strange peddler sold him a most peculiar stone. Anton had never been a particularly religious man, and while at first he found the peddler's promises that the stone would bring him strength so much hogwash, he did immediately notice that he felt better wearing it. It served him well in his next few battles, and Anton also began to notice that his wounds were healing more quickly, and that he felt even more vigorous than a young man of his age should.
His strength was not without a price though…he found himself growing more violent in battle, and indulging his appetites more. He quickly gained a reputation for lechery and enjoying his drink, but his battlefield successes made such things…tolerable if not acceptable. Anton was swiftly named a lieutenant to Archduke Dougal Tarris, who was serving as Galenthia's Knight-Marshal. At Dougal's side, he continued to learn the arts of warfare, though his personality grew more abrasive and he made few friends among Dougal's war councils. Beginning to get some inkling that his strange stone was affecting him, Anton set it aside…but he could not bring himself to destroy it, instead believing he could use it as a weapon "when needed" to protect Galenthia.
In 1840 IE, opportunity came to forge an alliance with Kentaire, and the hand of the Princess Talia Viscarin was the prize that many men competed for, but ultimately it came down to only two: Anton and his cousin, Lord Arturo Romante. Anton strived diligently to win Talia's hand. He surrendered womanizing and drink. He behaved the perfect gentleman. He carried himself with honor and made many of those around him truly wonder if he was a changed man, for Talia was an enchanting creature, and Anton convinced himself that he loved her, and that she could love him if he would be the kind of man she seemed to want. Sadly…Lord Arturo had already been that man, and the handsome, charming younger cousin wed Talia shortly thereafter. Anton was bitter and heartbroken, and the seed of enmity between himself and Arturo was planted, though it did not start to bear fruit until 1842, when Talia died giving birth to a daughter, Melisande. Blaming Arturo for the tragedy, Anton openly became his rival, often arguing with him in the King's Councils and again slipping into his debauched ways, at least where women were concerned.
He also started wearing the stone again….only a little at a time. He used it on the battlefield, scoring more victories and earning more glory, until it became a forgone conclusion that when Archduke Dougal Tarris passed, Anton would be the one to take up his mantle as Knight-Marshal of Galenthia. He was infuriated when Demense was lost in the treaty that created Four Corner, and took to wearing the stone more frequently, for it began to become a source of comfort. Being named Knight-Marshal after Dougal Tarris' death seemed to appease Anton somewhat, and for a time he even managed to be civil with Lord Arturo, at least publicly, as they were forced to work together as Knight-Marshal and Royal Steward. Anton also began wearing the stone more-and-more. As time passed, he grew concerned that Galenthia might lose the war. His strategy was nakedly aggressive, and it was Anton who unleashed House Tarris upon Aequor, giving the young Duke Gauvain his leave to earn glory in his grand march to the North. While Gauvain earned glory and honor for his victories, Anton too shared in the prestige for having permitted it, and while friendship was not forthcoming for the forbidding Anton and the young Gauvain, at least a mutual respect appeared.
Then a peculiar idea struck Anton after one of King Lucas Romante's sons perished of an illness. Suddenly Anton saw a path that could make him King of Galenthia. It seemed so reasonable at first. Galenthia needed a strong king, and Lucas Romante was not proving to be that king. He needed Anton to run his armies and Arturo to run his kingdom. Anton didn't even think twice when he personally slipped the poison in the cup of Lucas Romante's eldest son…a slow poison that gave the look of illness. He only felt it proper when Lucas' middle son "accidentally" ended up at the front lines of a fierce battle, falling to many Aequorian arrows. One-by-one…month-by-month…year-by-year…many of those that could have opposed Anton's eventual rule began to die off, and with each death, Anton Romante's soul grew blacker. He didn't even notice when the Stone started whispering to him…but he heeded its' words, and in so doing, started to gain followers who seemed drawn to his power.
But one problem remained: Lord Arturo. Arturo had been a necessary inconvenience during the Thirty Years War, as Anton knew he could not run both Kingdom and the entirety of the War effectively. With the war's end, Anton and Arturo were clearly the most favored of Lucas' cousins, but Arturo was canny and cautious, and Anton's subtle attempts to assassinate him remained unfulfilled. Eventually, though, Anton's ambition outstripped his patience, and when Lucas Romante finally perished as a broken and bitter man, Anton moved swiftly to try to seize the throne of Galenthia. Once again, Lord Arturo proved his only obstacle.
Anton thought his victory a foregone conclusion when Duke Gauvain Tarris fell under his sway. Duchess Isabel Sokar's swift support of Arturo proved a surprise, though, and though a minor house, the Cassomirs joining with Arturo gave The Rose, as he came to be known, a fighting chance, especially as it insured that a large chunk of the Royal Lancers joined Arturo, making him nigh-impossible to assassinate through subterfuge. Anton was further frustrated by Raymund Langer's neutrality, and even an in-person meeting proved unable to sway the Old Knight. With each setback, no matter how minor, Anton grew more and more incensed, and yet thanks to his "lucky charm" none around him seemed to notice him dipping further and further towards irrationality.
As he did in the Thirty Years War, Anton pursued an aggressive strategy against the Rose. The Rose, however, proved a highly mobile and elusive opponent, ever evading the decisive engagement that would allow Anton's numerically superior forces to crush him. Arturo's "siege feints" provided several humiliating setbacks for Anton's forces, for even though they ultimately did not significantly damage his numbers, they did damage morale. And through it all, the people of Galenthia began to fear him, as he fed his peasant levies to the meat grinder, almost gleeful in sacrificing them in distractions and delaying actions that usually proved futile.
Oh, and he started drinking blood too.
As with the murders of other members of his kin, the blood drinking just seemed…natural by that point. And it tasted so good…made him feel comfortable and strong. If there were any part of Anton left that railed against the beast he had become…it was buried too deeply to ever be seen again. That beast was fully unleashed in 1860, when Anton finally met Arturo on the battlefield, and not only nearly cleaved him in twain, but also paraded his corpse before his army for several days afterwards…an act that revolted several of his subordinates, not least of which being Gauvain Tarris. Gauvain also ended up witnessing Anton drinking the blood of a peasant girl. Anton was confident that Gauvain had been cowed into submission afterwards, but Gauvain secretly made contact with the Church of the One Faith, and through them the Archbishop Sirrah Cantire of the Order of the Vigil.
When the Battle of the Betrayer came, Anton was caught completely unawares. He barely had time to don his armor before he was beset by Duke Tarris and several Knights of the Vigil. In the brutal melee that followed, Vigilants fell, but eventually the chaos stone was cut from Anton's neck. Despite this, Anton's strength did not immediately flag, and he overpowered his attackers and escaped…but his army was broken, and the source of his supernatural power was now gone, burned into destruction by the Order of the Vigil. While Anton steadfastly refused to accept it, his campaign to win the Throne of Galenthia was effectively over. Even when the force he sent under Lord Gerrol Stallworth to invade Ironhold enjoyed initial success, it was eventually crushed. It was now Anton that found himself on the run, being herded from hiding place to hiding place by his still-loyal followers, even while those followers found themselves being cut down pocket-by-pocket as the forces of the Rose searched for him.
Eventually, he ran out of places to run, and on the Seventh day of Marse of 1863 IE, Anton was discovered and taken into custody by forces led by Duke Gauvain Tarris and Baron Jaren Cassomir. While he initially ranted and raved and railed against his captors, by the time he went to the headsman's block seven days later, he had fallen into a disbelieving stupor. The daughter of Arturo looked into his eyes, and for a moment he saw her mother instead. No curses or angry last words escaped Anton's lips before the Young Rose nodded and the ax fell, only the whisper of a lost love's name and a look of horrified realization that was frozen on his face when his head was separated from his body. Whether it was the knowledge of his impending death that terrified him or the last spark of the man he had once been asserting itself one last time, none would ever know….
In death, Anton become as reviled a figure as Galenthia has ever known…at least in most circles. The newly-crowned Rose Queen made considerable efforts to vilify him, and to dismantle the power base of those followers he had remaining. He was posthumously stripped of his title and his family name, and his body was burned and the ashes poured into a refuse pit. Not all of his followers were eliminated however…some continued to operate in secret, while others fled to Four Corners and Kentaire and even Aequor (for some of the non-noble ones). While not powerful enough to challenge the popular young Queen, these elements were patient…and a few years later they found themselves with a very Powerful patron…and Galenthia would again find itself on the verge of chaos.
On the Grid
Every Rose Has One…
Lean and sharp-featured with striking blue eyes, Anton Romante was considered reasonably fair to look upon, and carried himself with a swagger that spoke of boundless confidence. He wore his armor near-constantly in public, and on those occasions where it would not be appropriate always presented himself in the most "militaristic" ensembles he could manage, which made him a somewhat imposing figure. He was graceful and athletic, with the carriage of a skilled, veteran warrior.
Anton tended to keep himself clean-shaven and his reddish-brown hair was always well-groomed when at all possible. His weapons and armor were all perfectly-maintained and surprisingly he eschewed ornamentation and extravagance, preferring unadorned, pragmatic arms and armor. He did frequently wear the colors of House Romante, as well as the White Griffon, especially in his younger days.
Personality
It would be a surprise to many that Lord Anton Romante's tale is actually a tragic one, for the man that nearly destroyed Galenthia was not the man he truly was. The true Anton Romante may have been ambitious, aggressive, and pragmatic, but he did truly care about the Kingdom of Galenthia beyond simply seeing it as a pathway to power, and he was loyal to the Romante family. He could be outwardly charming when it was needed, was supremely cunning, and he was a notoriously determined military commander with no small talent for tactics even if his strategies relied heavily on aggressive pursuit of his foes. While not nearly so charismatic as his kinsman and rival Arturo he did have redeeming qualities and a gift for leadership. He may not have been strictly heroic and honorable…but he was not pure evil. In his younger days Anton had a reputation for drunkenness and lechery, but the drunkenness faded as his adult years wore on, even if the lechery did not.
The corrupted creature Anton Romante became amplified many of his negative qualities. Ambition became megalomania, aggression became blood-thirst, and pragmatism became ruthlessness and cruelty. HIs powerful personal magnetism was supernaturally-endowed, and any person not under that thrall who spent much time in his presence would have likely found him frighteningly irrational, paranoid, and sadistic. He retained a degree of his cunning, but anger towards his foes often overrided his decision-making capabilities. This ultimately cost him the war, because even with an overwhelming military advantage, he became far too obsessed with a quick and absolute victory over Arturo that he failed to take advantage of several opportunities he could have seized to bleed Arturo's forces slowly. Even with all that working against him, he still nearly won, though that could be credited to Gauvain Tarris as much as anyone.
Even in his corrupt state, Anton could turn on the charm when it suited him. He was a notorious womanizer all the way through to his defeat at the Battle of the Betrayer (Indeed he had been "entertaining" a peasant maiden in his tent when the attack came). He was given to great appetites, and even more so in his corrupt state. Sinful wouldn't even begin to describe him, and that's not even getting into the blood-drinking…. At the end, Anton was quite self-deluded…he still believed that he was the best king for Galenthia, and that all he had done was to secure its' strong future, even as nearly every action served purely to feed his own ego and gratification and further tore the land of his birth apart.
Quirks
Assumed Quirks
Charismatic: Anton was charismatic in the typical Romante fashion. While not so immensely likeable as Lord Arturo, he still managed to attract a considerable following of supporters and allies even without supernatural influence. In his corrupt state this was magnified immensely, to the point of actually exerting unnatural influence upon his followers.
Shrewd: Anton was a cunning battlefield commander who was very much willing to step outside the strict bounds of honor in order to achieve victory. In his younger days he kept this tendency somewhat in check, but in the latter days, when corruption had taken him, he became so cruel and bloodthirsty that even the pragmatic Gauvain Tarris was taken aback by some of the things Anton suggested, and often had to temper his more bloodthirsty impulses, lest he draw the attention of forces outside of Galenthia down upon their heads, or cause a full scale peasant revolt against him and his followers (which basically occurred anyway).
Forward Thinking: In his younger days, Anton very much thought of the future of Galenthia first and foremost. In his later, corrupt state, however, he tended to think only of his own glory and power, even if he deluded himself into believing his actions were for the good of Galenthia.
Chosen Quirks
Corrupted: Anton was corrupted by the Chaos Stone he carried, becoming a creature that was both more and less than human. See "The Stone" tab for more details.
Gifted Commander: While not so gifted as Gauvain Tarris, Anton was a skilled military commander when he managed to keep a clear head. Thankfully for the forces of the Rose he was not remotely of a clear mind for the entirety of the Succession War.
Scandalous Reputation: Prior to the Succession War Anton was a notorious womanizer who was rumored to have a multitude of bastards spread throughout the West. Rumors of his conquests were nigh-legendary, and he had indeed fought many duels against jilted husbands and lovers. Moreover, he seemed utterly unrepentant about his adultery.
OOC Knowledge for all but a select few characters:
The stone Lord Anton wore around his neck was a Chaos Stone of unusual potency. More troubling, it almost seemed to be "tailored" to achieve the effects it did, which was previously unheard of (and thankfully has not been seen since). The stone was destroyed immediately following the Battle of the Betrayer in late 1860 IE.
Abilities:
The stone imparted several abilities to the wearer. It actually took several years for them to gain full potency, and Anton's progression was halted for several years where he left the stone alone. It imparted upon the wearer the ability to heal from wounds nigh-instantaneously unless they were inflicted by Sidhe-Steel. It also imparted a degree of superhuman strength, immunity to disease and poison, and halted aging.
Finally, and perhaps most dangerously, the stone gave the wearer supernatural influence over those around him. His words, no matter how insane, seemed reasonable and proper. His manner and behavior seemed acceptable even when it was outright offensive and hostile. He seemed to have an absolutely captivating presence to nearly all around him…very few could resist, and even some very strong-willed individuals succumbed to the stone's power (though a select few…including Arturo Romante himself and Sir Raymund Langer unknowingly managed to resist). It was not, however, absolute control, and could eventually be fought off (as it was by Gauvain Tarris), especially if the victim was presented with evidence of the unnatural source of Anton's powers of persuasion. This power alone was responsible for most of the Succession War…as Anton was not terribly popular when the War started, yet within days garnered a large amount of support.
Drawbacks:
The stone amplified the negative personality traits of the one who wore it, leading them to megalomania, bloodlust, and cruelty as the years passed by. The stone also gave the wearer a literal blood-thirst, driving them to consume the blood of the living much as a mythical vampire might. It was this drawback that led to Anton's eventual downfall when Duke Gauvain Tarris discovered him supping upon some poor maiden.
Relationships
NOTE: Opinions reflect Anton's views at the time of his death.