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Prince Karo Zestani Zessimo
Age: 19
Born: Irysopolis-by-the-Sea
Nicknames: “The Improvident”, “The Spoiled”, “His Excessiveness”
Lineage: The Zessimo Dynasty
Siblings: None
Prince Karo was born into an age of excess. His mother, Queen Ismela, died during childbirth.
As the firstborn son of the Emperor’s Puppet-King, Gilder Zessimo, one in a long and undisturbed line of ruling Zessimos, Karo learned quickly the subtle ways of the court - of political maneuvering and intrigue. Of POWER. While the ruling House of Zessimo might be an Imperial puppet regime, it was arguably one of the most (if not THE most) powerful of such regimes in the known world.
The power the King of wave-washed Irysopolis wielded was formidable in many ways. He might only be “Ruler of the Sea of Storms” in name alone, but the warm and friendly history between the city-state of Irysopolis and Pex Nectus meant that in truth, the King got away with more than your average “local ruler” and DID in fact wield considerable power over the Empire’s sea trade. Not just in name. And not only did the people of Irysopolis and Pex Nectus share a common blood, language, and culture - they also shared a trading partnership that had been in place for almost a millennia, even before the coastal city-state had been assimilated completely.
It wasn’t the Emperor that the Irysian Kings envied or feared….it was the Portmaster they feared. More on that later.
Moving on,
From a very young age the prince showed signs of emotional instability and cruelty, often throwing violent fits and temper tantrums or crying for hours on end if he didn’t get his way. At the tender age of five he killed and gutted a pregnant mongbat that he found wandering around the palace (house pets were very popular during this era). He then proceeded to torture and kill the eight minglings within her stomach. His father stumbled upon this savage scene and quickly ushered Karo away.
However, instead of addressing the problem, Gilder ignored it. Until….well….it was too late.
Karo’s childhood was a charmed one, even with his father’s constant absence and not having a mother. He received the finest education from the finest tutors gold and influence could buy. He developed a taste for the ‘finer things’ early on, and was always garbed in the finest and trendiest of fashions. Indeed, he started several fashion trends of his own, which quickly spread like wildfire across the Empire.
Karo was excessive in his spending, excessive in his speech, excessive in his sex, excessive in his drug use, excessive in his violence, excessive in every way imaginable. As he came into his teen years, he began to build up his OWN influence. Often he and his father clashed heads. His father, who had been in a state of depression for the last fourteen years (after the death of Queen Ismela), hardly had the energy to fight with the prince. By the age of sixteen, Karo wielded as much if not MORE power than his moping father.
But, knowing Karo as we do, it shouldn’t come to the reader as a surprise that THAT wasn’t enough for him.
To be continued….
Age: 19
Born: Irysopolis-by-the-Sea
Nicknames: “The Improvident”, “The Spoiled”, “His Excessiveness”
Lineage: The Zessimo Dynasty
Siblings: None
Prince Karo was born into an age of excess. His mother, Queen Ismela, died during childbirth.
As the firstborn son of the Emperor’s Puppet-King, Gilder Zessimo, one in a long and undisturbed line of ruling Zessimos, Karo learned quickly the subtle ways of the court - of political maneuvering and intrigue. Of POWER. While the ruling House of Zessimo might be an Imperial puppet regime, it was arguably one of the most (if not THE most) powerful of such regimes in the known world.
The power the King of wave-washed Irysopolis wielded was formidable in many ways. He might only be “Ruler of the Sea of Storms” in name alone, but the warm and friendly history between the city-state of Irysopolis and Pex Nectus meant that in truth, the King got away with more than your average “local ruler” and DID in fact wield considerable power over the Empire’s sea trade. Not just in name. And not only did the people of Irysopolis and Pex Nectus share a common blood, language, and culture - they also shared a trading partnership that had been in place for almost a millennia, even before the coastal city-state had been assimilated completely.
It wasn’t the Emperor that the Irysian Kings envied or feared….it was the Portmaster they feared. More on that later.
Moving on,
From a very young age the prince showed signs of emotional instability and cruelty, often throwing violent fits and temper tantrums or crying for hours on end if he didn’t get his way. At the tender age of five he killed and gutted a pregnant mongbat that he found wandering around the palace (house pets were very popular during this era). He then proceeded to torture and kill the eight minglings within her stomach. His father stumbled upon this savage scene and quickly ushered Karo away.
However, instead of addressing the problem, Gilder ignored it. Until….well….it was too late.
Karo’s childhood was a charmed one, even with his father’s constant absence and not having a mother. He received the finest education from the finest tutors gold and influence could buy. He developed a taste for the ‘finer things’ early on, and was always garbed in the finest and trendiest of fashions. Indeed, he started several fashion trends of his own, which quickly spread like wildfire across the Empire.
Karo was excessive in his spending, excessive in his speech, excessive in his sex, excessive in his drug use, excessive in his violence, excessive in every way imaginable. As he came into his teen years, he began to build up his OWN influence. Often he and his father clashed heads. His father, who had been in a state of depression for the last fourteen years (after the death of Queen Ismela), hardly had the energy to fight with the prince. By the age of sixteen, Karo wielded as much if not MORE power than his moping father.
But, knowing Karo as we do, it shouldn’t come to the reader as a surprise that THAT wasn’t enough for him.
To be continued….
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