Richard Ricardus

[Richard Ricardus]

E L S E W H E R E   A D U L T

CHARACTER INFORMATION
Character Name: Richard Adolphus Ricardus
Gender: Male
Age: 42 20/4/00

Education: 
Slytheirn ‘18

Residence:
Ricardus Hall Freethorpe, Norfolk

Occupation:
Politician

Do you plan to have a connection to a particular existing place (for example: the Ministry, Shrieking Shack) or to take over an existing shop in need of new management?
Ministry

Requested Magic Levels:
Adult characters have 32 starting levels to distribute across these four categories (less levels can be used if you so desire, but no more than 32). The number of levels on the lowest ability must be at least half of the highest ability.

If you want levels above the usual 32 total, or a significantly uneven distribution of starting levels, please fill out and submit the Special Request form here.

Pre-approved by the other admins

• Charms: 19
• Divination: 19
• Transfiguration: 10
• Summoning: 12

Do you wish to be approved as a group with any other characters? If so who and for what IC reason?
Ricardus means love.

Please list any other characters you already have at the site:
Calla and that lot.

Biography: (300 words minimum.)

The Second Son

No one remembered much of their life before the age of five or so. All they were given were stories of their childish antics from their parents. Tales that grew more and more embarrassing the older the child became.

Richard had never been given any stories of his childhood. His were not the loving sort of parents that retold the foolishness of their children with endearing little smiles on their faces. His earliest memory was of stinging knuckles as a result of having broken something he shouldn’t have been touching in the first place.

Even if his parents were that sort, Richard had probably not been a very entertaining child. As long as he could remember he was the quiet, observant one. Watching the world around him; learning.

As the second son to a father who didn’t even care for his first born son, Richard was left to his own devices often. For some second sons, being put aside because it would never be their duty to take over the responsibilities of running the family might bother them, but not Richard.

Richard was much more ambitious than simply running a family.

The Older Brother

Family didn’t mean much in the Ricardus house. As neither of his parents were the nurturing kind, they simply had children because that was what people did. He knew his father, Loxias Sr, certainly didn’t want children. Unfortunately, the only way for the family name to continue was to have children. Males were, of course, the most important; the only way for the name to remain going for generations.

Loxias Sr was gifted with four sons, whether he wanted them or not. Loxias Jr, Richard, Jarvis and Adrian. Richard was closest to Jarvis, using ‘close’ very loosely. Just like their parents weren’t all that attached to their children, the brothers were related, and that was about it. Family was family and they would always have that connection but they weren’t tied down by those connections.

Each of them would put themselves above the others.

Which was why Richard didn’t make a great older brother. He didn’t watch out for Jarvis or Adrian like some brothers might. He didn’t protect them or take care of them. Sometimes it was better to learn things on one’s own and Richard had certainly learned from an early age to fend for himself. It was better that they all learned independence and not to depend on anyone but themselves.

It was a lesson Adrian learned and would have to continue learning and living with for the better part of his life. His youngest brother had gotten himself locked up in Azkaban and it was suddenly as if Richard had always only had two brothers. Adrian was all but wiped off the family tree.

The Husband

It was in his fourth year that Richard met Lykopis. She was a fragile-looking specimen, but she had managed to catch his attention from the first moment he’d met her. There was a strength and fire within her that Richard wasn’t used to experiencing. It was almost as if the bit of fire that was woven within the darker colour of her waves gave her extra spirit. She had always managed to keep him on his toes, not to mention make him laugh. Richard didn’t know the sound of his own laugh until he met Lykopis.

And he loved her. It was another new experience for him when he realised how he felt. He’d never been as scared of anything in his life than when he finally got up the courage to say those three words to her toward the end of their sixth year.

They were married shortly after graduating and Richard had a hard time hiding his happiness from the rest of his family within Ricardus Hall. Love was not something that flowed down the halls of the large house. It was all right by him, though. He didn’t want to share her with anyone anyway.

The Father

He did, eventually, have to share his wife with someone, however. They had a lot of time to themselves, but after eleven years of marriage Lykopis wanted children and Richard could deny her nothing. Although he was very apprehensive of starting a family, it was the natural thing to do.

(In the back of his mind was also the thought that if something - as unlikely as it was - were to happen to Loxias and all of his sons, that it would be up to Richard and his sons to represent the family.)

It never even occurred to him that he might have daughters and not sons. That’s exactly what he got, however. One daughter after another; four of them in total. It wasn’t as awful as he would have imagined, being a father to daughters. Estella, the eldest, especially amused him more and more as she grew. She was a curious thing, with a spirit more like her mother’s than his Ricardus cold and reserved nature. There was a sense of wonder about her that seemed rare, even for a child. Her imagination could come up with the most unusual ideas.

The other three; Aurelia, Iola and Calista were more like him, though they were all very young and he could only hope that more of their mother’s lightheartedness would grow as they did. As much as he had never thought he wanted children, he still for some inexplicable reason, wanted to see them happy and to have everything they wanted.

He wanted them to be more like their mother because she was wonderful and he was…not.

The Widower

Four daughters wasn’t enough. As a Pureblooded male, Richard needed a son. Yes, he had nephews and other relations that might carry the name into the next generation, but that wasn’t good enough. He wouldn’t be able to handle the humiliation of the thought that he wasn’t able to create a son. Loxias had eight of them; Richard needed at least one.

There was no sure fire way to make that happen, however. Besides having child after child until the odds turned in his favour, it was impossible to know if he would have a son or continue having daughters.

He kept pushing and pushing, despite the fact that Lykopis wanted to be done having children. As fragile and tiny as she was, each pregnancy took its toll on her and she felt four children was a good number. She didn’t understand Richard’s need to produce a son. She knew he didn’t actually want to be the one running the Ricardus family and so a son wasn’t necessary.

In the end, he convinced her to try at least one more time. In the end, her death was his fault because his pride and stubbornness wouldn’t be pushed aside to give his wife what she wanted.

The pregnancy was rough from the beginning and Richard spent nine months feeling incredibly guilty for putting her through it. The night she went into labour was one of the hardest nights of his life. It was long and there were all kinds of complications that hadn’t happened with any of the girls. All Richard was able to do was stand next to his wife and watch as the life slowly drained from her.

When it was done, Lykopis’ chest was barely rising with each breath, her eyes barely able to remain open for more than a few seconds at a time. Richard spent the next few hours sitting by her side, one of her tiny hands clutched in both of his and held against his chest as he repeated one statement over and over. ‘I’m sorry,’ was never going to be enough but it was all he could say to her. Even if she could no longer hear it.

Richard had gotten his son, but he had lost the only thing in his entire life that he had truly loved.

Roleplay: 
You come across one of these posts on the site. Please select one & reply as your character:

Option One -
Amelia Nixon was many things, but she was never a pushover reporter that people could just usher away with a busy shuffle past. She was dedicated and eager to cut to the very middle of the current political tensions because she was Amelia Nixon and her articles would most certainly become front page material.

“Sir, please! It’s for the Prophet, how do you feel-“

Another one brushed passed her, the shuffling busy masses making their way through Diagon Alley for the lunchtime rush. This had been the best possible time to get people, but none of them were giving her anything to go with.

Only momentarily discouraged, the short red headed lady took a seat on a nearby bench. Her quill resting in her left hand and her notepad ready in the opposite hand. Amelia pouted, tapping the quill against her leg as she scanned the waves of people for somebody - anybody - who looked like they had something to say.

She had been dreaming of her name in bold print, Amelia Nixon: The Source of Today’s Tomorrow. She had been dreaming of the larger office and the secretaries that would fetch her the morning coffee and fetch her anything she needed. The VIP interviews and the most exclusive press passes. But all Amelia had was a page seventeen piece on the rising number of frogs in London.

Hardened by a day of no success, the reporter stood up and started to trod off down the alley. A loose stone on the cobble path caught her heel, sending the distraught girl toppling down to the ground.

“Merlin’s fog watch, my heel is broken! Help!” she yelled as she tried desperately to recover her shoe frantically in the middle of the Diagon Alley moving crowds.[/i]

Roleplay Response:

It was lunchtime and that meant the buzzards were out.

He sneered as he sidestepped them. There was nothing worse than being forced to mingle with the masses. Richard hated Diagon Alley even at night, when the cobblestone street was empty. It was either packed as it was now or there were random drunkards about begging for some coins, only to be used to buy more drink.

It was necessary, however. Richard had spent much of his life doing things he hated to get what he wanted. There wasn’t much he wouldn’t do to gain an advantage within the Ministry and if it meant meeting someone that had certain information he needed at the busiest hour in Diagon Alley, it was something he could cope with.

“Sir, please! It’s for the Prophet, how do you feel-“

The voice was in the distance, yet it caused Richard to grumble. He despised reporters. Half of what they wrote wasn’t true and the other half wasn’t their business to report on. He would do away with newspapers altogether if it were up to him.

Perhaps one day it would be.

His sneer turned into a sinister smirk at the thought as he continued striding down the sidewalk. He only had a few more minutes to make his way through the crowd to get to his appointment on time. Richard had never been late in his life, he wasn’t about to start now.

Just as he was about to turn down a less crowded side street, yelling caught his attention and made his eardrums feel as if they were about to burst. Screeching women were so unattractive. The voice was easily recognisable as the reporter’s shouting out at people just a few moments ago. Perhaps someone had finally had enough and gave her what she deserved.

A few more steps and Richard came upon the miserable creature. He paused and looked down at her as everyone else moved around them.

“Perhaps that will teach you not to bury your nose in other people’s business. Perhaps you should consider a career more suited to a woman.”

Richard moved around her and kicked at her shoe as he passed by. Sometimes, with certain people, he rather enjoyed adding insult to injury.


OTHER
How did you find us? I followed a rainbow and Hoggies was the pot of gold at the end.

[Aubrey Kedding]

Approved!