Alric Dacre

Alric was the last king of Avalot before the establishment of a Prime Minister in the Court of Nobles. His ruling was met with mixed opinions among the populace until his untimely death in 655 AU.

Background
Alric was born in 593 AU after many stillborn births to the current King of Avalot, King Leon Dacre and Queen Josephine Dacre. Unfortunately, due to complications in the birth, Josephine passed away leaving Alric an only child in the Court of Avalot. As a boy, Alric was a very inquisitive child, often getting into all sorts of trouble around the castle. In 606 AU, he met his first true friend, Gunter Newgate, after the boy's father became the palace's blacksmith. Together, they continued to get into all sorts of trouble until Alric assumed his role as the Prince of Avalot when he turned eighteen.

History
Alric worked hard to help his father in his old age manage the Court of Nobles. His natural inquisitive nature allowed him to learn about the rules of nobility especially quick when the Berman War began in 625 AU. When King Leon perished in his sleep in 630 AU, Alric swiftly took the reins and moved for a more peaceful end to the war. Through negotiations with Emperor Juilus Navineous agreed to marry off his daughter, Beatrice Narvineous, in exchange for a ceasefire. The terms were set and Alric and Beatrice married neared the end of the year of 630 AU, just as the soldiers returned home. In the beginning of their marriage, it seemed as if their relationship would hold together the alliance between Avalot and Berma. Beatrice found Alric attractive, and Alric could tolerate her despite not having much interest in women. But after a short year, it became clear to Beatrice that she was not getting anywhere with Alric and she turned to others to fulfill her desires. At one masquerade party, she met an exotic young man who slept with her and eventually got her pregnant. Alric wasn't made aware of this child until the night of its birth in 632 AU. A boy was born, and Alric immediately gave the child to his head captain, Gunter Newgate, making it seem like Newgate had killed the child to punish Beatrice. In secret, he had Newgate deliver the boy to a close friend of his, Matron Eva, to be raised in an orphanage which would later burn down in 635 AU.

In 633 AU, Alric was also forced to deal with a boat from Berma, which mysteriously exploded in Avo. It was later discovered that Emperor Juilus had begun to smuggle in gunpowder, going against their terms of agreement for peace. The alliance continued to deteriorate over the years, especially after it was revealed that Alric had fathered his own bastard child in 640 AU. In an attempt to have an heir, Alric had made love to one of his serving women and birthed a child by the name of Mary the Mute. Wishing to hide her from Beatrice's wrath, Alric surrendered the bastard to the only person he trusted, Gunter Newgate. to father her while he watched her grow from afar. Unfortunately, Beatrice had captured the mistress and had her executed for some unrelated crime within the same year.

The Masquerade
As Newgate raised Mary, Alric took his time to teach the girl as she matured. Mary was made aware of her heritage like this and was able to learn basics of history and politics through Alric's teachings. All the while, Alric struggled to keep the Bermans under control, whom were growing restless with their rifles and building up a larger army to potentially go on another rampage again. During this time period, Alric was rather notorious among the other nobles for being the neutral party whenever problems arose. He'd often talk down offending parties and play the peace talker, without holding any strong opinions.

This holding pattern in Avalot politics would continue until one fateful night at a masquerade party in 655 AU. Alric met his end while tutoring Mary in his private quarters, stabbed in the back by Rollin Hodgekin. His death sparked an entire conspiracy, which would result in the near destruction of Avo.

Legacy
Alric's death would effect various members of the Court in different ways. His closest friends and family would mourn his passing and remember him as a paragon of peace. His enemies, however, called him a coward and the very cause of so much destruction with his indecisive behavior. No one could give a straight answer as to if the last of the Dacre line was a savior or a villain.

Personality
Like his daughter, Alric was known to be very curious and questioned everything. While very adventurous at an early age, when he became King, Alric turned to a more peaceful man. He would always look for the solution which would result in the least causalities, possibly from the damage caused by the Berman War to his lifetime friend, Gunter Newgate. Alric was also known to be very open-minded, hearing every option before coming to a decision. In his anger, Alric could be very spiteful and would go years without talking to a person he found distasteful.