Born the son of future King Lucas Romante's eldest brother, James, it was likely that Lord Arturo Romante would enjoy a reasonable degree of significance within House Romante even from an early age. Few, however, could have imagine just how far it would go. At the age of 5, Arturo was sent to foster with his mother's family, House Cassomir. There, Arturo learned the way of the Page and the Squire alongside the future Baron, Aric Cassomir. The two became the closest of friends, and when he came of age, Arturo was formally squired to Aric's father, Baron Leoric Cassomir (Aric squired for one of his Uncles). Arturo's mother was also a frequent presence in his life, as she would often return to stay in Ironhold when her husband was afield. Sadly, those military adventures would eventually claim James life (much later) in 1837 IE.
This all, of course, happened over the earliest years of the Thirty Years' War, and under Baron Leoric's guidance Arturo grew to become a capable Knight and battlefield commander. Even more so, he displayed a genuine knack for administration and logistics, which led Leoric to insure that his lessons also included plenty of teaching in the art of good stewardship, which Arturo took to as a fish takes to water. Even though he was blooded in battle while still a squire, Arturo did not earn his spurs until age 20, mostly due to Leoric wanting to be absolutely certain the young man had learned his lessons well.
Almost immediately after his knighting, a unique opportunity presented itself, as the young Prince Mikel Viscarin of Kentaire agreed to pursue a marriage with House Romante. With the King already married and no other suitable Princes of marriageable age available, attention fell upon the King's two oldest Cousins: Arturo, and the slightly older Anton. When the ravishing Princess Talia Viscarin visited the Court of Firen, both men were quite taken with her, but it was the handsome, gallant, and charismatic Arturo that immediately won her heart, and not long after, her hand (or more accurately Arturo's father proved the more adept negotiator than Anton, who negotiated for himself). Anton was incensed, and the relationship between the two men, which had never been close, soured to enmity, at least on Anton's part, though they kept it civil enough when in the presence of the King.
Arturo and Talia's wedding was a lavish and jovial affair, even though it was held in the midst of the Thirty Years' War. Still, the thoroughly infatuated couple did not have the luxury of a great deal of time together over the brief course of their marriage as Arturo was a burgeoning battlefield commander who was among those that won more battles than they lost…a valuable commodity in those days. Still, they exchanged hundreds of letters over the course of those years, and several quite passionate reunions, one of which resulted in a pregnancy that gave him a daughter, Melisande. Sadly, that same pregnancy took the life of his beloved Talia, and he would never remarry, nor even so much as enjoy the company of Courtesans for the remainder of his life. As it so happened, the Royal Steward had recently passed away, and so Arturo managed to convince King Lucas to name him the next Royal Steward, which would allow him to raise his daughter at home rather than sending him afield.
Arturo proved to be a magnificent steward, bringing much-needed vitality to the war-weary Galenthia, and even pulling the Kingdom out of a fairly deep pool of debt it had found itself in during the course of the War. To Arturo's credit, when Lord Anton was named Knight-Marshal of Galenthia, he supported him with all the funds and supplies that could reasonably be mustered, which proved bountiful as Anton's aggressive campaign led to the late-war successes of House Tarris, among other more minor victories. While politically the pair were still estranged, they managed to work together well enough to keep Galenthia functioning through to the end of the Thirty Years War in 1851. Along the way, Lord Arturo became the most popular man in Galenthia, as the common folk seemed to recognize that it was his steady hand that had kept their nation from ruin, and more importantly had done so in a way that benefitted the commoner as well as the noble.
As a boon for his excellent service, Lord Arturo was granted the assignment of a Royal Lancer of Galenthia to serve as a protector for his daughter. As fate would have it, his selection was none other than the third son of his old friend Aric, Lord Jaren Cassomir, who had been named to the Royal Lancers just a few weeks earlier. It would prove a most fortuitous choice, as two years later the Succession War would begin. When King Lucas died without a designated heir, the battle for the Throne of Galenthia came down to Lord Arturo and his longtime rival Lord Anton. This time, it seemed Lord Anton was the one with all the advantages, as House Tarris, the strongest military power in Galenthia, threw their support behind him, along with a large portion of House Romante itself.
And yet, House Sokar was quick to declare for Arturo, and while a minor house, House Cassomir's reputation and skilled fighters were valuable additions to Arturo's ranks (whose addition also convinced most of the Royal Lancers to side with Arturo). Somehow…he forged a coalition of allies that, while not often victorious in open battle, at least managed to keep themselves from getting crushed by Anton's forces for much of the next eight years (See The Succession War for more details on this conflict). Through it all, Arturo and his allies managed to invent some cunning new tactics (such as the "Siege feint") and as time passed, Arturo's allies grew ever more loyal. Despite every setback, despite the fact that it seemed obvious they were fighting a losing war…they held together. As time passed, their ranks began to swell with thousands of peasant volunteers. Sadly, the many months it took to properly train and equip these forces were not months that Arturo had. In Juillet of 1860, he finally met Lord Anton Romante on the battlefield, while in the attempt of another "Siege feint."
The battle was swift and brutal. Arturo was a skilled fighter, and struck several blows against Lord Anton, at least two of which should have been mortal…and yet Lord Anton fought on, eventually nearly cleaving Arturo in two with a greatsword. Adding insult to injury, Anton further mutilated Arturo's body and paraded it before his army for days afterwards, before eventually simply abandoning it in a shallow grave (peasants who witnessed this would later dig up the remains and try to give it a more proper burial and memorial, until Lord Arturo was AGAIN disinterred after the Coronation of Melisande Romante, to be placed in the tomb of Romante Kings, where he rightfully belonged.
Of course, Arturo's legacy did not die with him. His supporters immediately transferred their loyalty to his daughter Melisande, declaring her the rightful Queen of Galenthia. In a few short years (thanks in largest part to Duke Gauvain Tarris' change of heart) the forces of the Thorn were broken, Anton executed, and Melisande was formally crowned Queen of Galenthia. As the Rose Queen, she is one of the most beloved and influential rulers Galenthia has seen in generations, and she has done much work to insure that Lord Arturo is never forgotten by the people he sought to serve.