Salazar Ricardus
 | ||
| Salazar Ricardus | ||
| Biographical Information | ||
| Full name | Salazar Loxias Ricardus | |
|---|---|---|
| Born | 21 December 1919 | |
| Birthplace | Ricardus Hall [[1]], Freethorpe, Norfolk, UK | |
| Residence | Ricardus Hall [[2]], Freethorpe, Norfolk, UK | |
| Nationality | English | |
| Blood Status | Pureblood | |
| Education | Hogwarts, Slytherin (1931-1938) | |
| Class | 1938 | |
| Physical Information | ||
| Species | Human | |
| Gender | Male | |
| Hair colour | Brown | |
| Eye colour | Bright blue | |
| Skin colour | Light | |
| Family Information | ||
| Spouse | Pandora Ricardus (March '47-) | |
| Children | Isolde Ricardus (2 January '48), Lycus Ricardus (22 July '49), Levi Xavier Ricardus (February '51), unnamed daughter | |
| Parents | Loxias Ricardus Junior (Wizard), Morgan Ricardus (Witch) | |
| Siblings | Emeric, Arcus (Disowned), Antioch, Herpo, Merwyn, Godelot, Owle, Sol Ó Conaill (Bastard) | |
| Other Family Members | The Ricardus Family | |
| Magical Characteristics | ||
| Wand | Acacia Wood, Unicorn Hair Core; 12"; Unyielding | |
| Patronus | Polarbear | |
| Affiliation | ||
| Occupation | Ministry Policymaker (1948-) & First Heir to the Ricardus Family (1948-) | |
| Former Occupation(s) | Ministry Spy (1938-1948) | |
Contents
Biography
Infancy and Childhood
Salazar Loxias Ricardus was born on 21th December 1919 as the firstborn to the first Heir of the Ricardus Family, Loxias Ricardus Junior, and Morgan Ricardus at Ricardus Hall, Freethorpe. Loxias Ricardus Junior is the first in line to rise to the title of Family Head after Loxias Ricardus Senior passes away, making Salazar the second in line to rise to power as soon as he would come of age. His unusual names were picked for a couple of reasons. His first name was picked in honor of Salazar Slytherin, the founder of Slytherin house at Hogwarts. This is due the fact that all Ricardi of the British branch have graduated Hogwarts as a member of Slytherin house. His second name was picked due to another Family Tradition, which predicts that every first born of the heir in line, has to be called Loxias in one way or another.
His childhood was the perfect mirror image of every pureblood son's upbringing. He was being taught how to behave like the perfect pureblood son: the proper social etiquette which was valued in the higher circles of the pureblood society of which the Ricardus Family is a part was drilled into him, he was taught how to dance properly until his feet blistered and he was taught the values and principles which were inherent to pureblood elitism. His Father preached of how purebloods were deemed to be the most fit by evolution to rule the dimwitted populace, how all halfbloods and muggleborns were deemed to be filthy and just half a step up from the intuitive beats and animals, he too was told that the Ricardus Family had always maintained a regal status in the political arena of the British Ministry of Magic and that it would be his calling to follow in the footsteps of his ancestors, his future task being only to strengthen the Ricardus' position in both politics and business affiliated affairs. Even as this was the upbringing that him and his brothers got, he still had a privileged position as he was the oldest. He was being taught solely by Loxias Ricardus Junior, being introduced to business and politics from a very young age.
Although pureblood elitism was what he had been taught, he merely pretends that he has embodied those discriminatory values to make his Father believe that he is indeed the perfect mirror image of his Father. However, he had always believed that even the muggleborns and halfbloods were not as bad as his Father oftentimes portrayed them to be. And although he has never really been in touch with any muggleborns or halfbloods during his childhood because his Father forbid him to do so, he did not end up as prejudiced as his conservative Father. He couldn't bring himself to understand how different he was from any other human being with magic flowing through their veins, enabling them to perform magic. This does not immediately mean that he can be considered the biggest fan and friend of all those who are not pureblood though, he tolerates their presence and he does not mind to indulge them in any social interaction when sure he is not watched by any other pureblood who might prove itself to be a tattletale and immediately run to Loxias Ricardus Junior to tell on him. Maybe it has been his naivety back then that saved him from expressing such views towards the rest of his Family, and he has managed to hide their growing loathing regarding them. If his Family would ever find out that he did not share their hate towards those of lesser blood, he would be sure to see his head ripped off his chest. His naivety transformed into toughening himself and twisting and turning himself into a skilled liar and manipulator, building careful facades and walls around his true character to shield himself from any plausible accusations and making sure his true character wouldn't shine through.
As Salazar grew up, he gained seven more brothers over time but he has never brought himself to caring about them - Arcus Ricardus being the only exception to that rule. Arcus had always been the odd one in the bunch, an ugly duckling who never really seemed able to align himself with the expectations and desires the rest of his Family cherished for him. Arcus therefor was an easy target for his the rest of the Ricardus brothers, yet Salazar took his younger brother under this protective wing simply because he had always had a soft spot for the helpless thing.
Education
Sidenote
Salazar Ricardus has never participated in any extra curriculum course like Quidditch or aiding in the Hospital Wing. This was due to the fact that he wanted to show off the image to his Family that he didn't lower himself to activities that were deemed irrelevant and insignificant. Nor did he ever attend the class Muggle Studies, for his Family deemed Muggles unworthy of any attention, sketching them as primitive feral beasts that shouldn't be regarded with curiosity.
Making sure he would never cross his Families by breaking the general consensus on topics, he found that his moves were less scrutinized. This came with the fact that he would experience slightly more freedom than he was used to ever before.
Sixth Year '73-'37
(Adv. Charms (Val), Adv. C/S (Val), Care of Magical Creatures (Sal), Adv. Magical Defence (Sal) -Superlative Winner: Most likely to declare war)
Just before he entered his sixth year on Hogwarts, his younger brother Arcus Ricardus was disowned. Arcus did not want to return Hogwarts to enter his fourth year there, but he had uttered the wish that he wanted to study abroad and go to Salem Institute instead. Salazar had a hard time coping with the fact that his little brother was disowned for being considered a blood traitor and one to break the honored Family traditions. Soon after Arcus' departure, the Ricardus Family crossed him off the Family tree and refused to talk about him again. It had been like the boy had never existed and had never enjoyed a place amongst them.
Salazar experienced this sudden lack of contact as something he had a hard time coping with, so he made sure to keep secretly in touch with his younger brother with the pet owl they shared.
That wasn't the only thing that happened just before he entered his sixth year as Hogwarts. At summer camp that overlapped the time between his fifth and sixth year, Salazar met Serafina McAllister, at the time a fifth year Hufflepuff and Muggleborn. Ignorant of both of the facts, the young man saved her life after he had dared her to jump off a waterfall, something she wouldn't have survived otherwise. But when he later found out that she was a Muggleborn and a Hufflepuff, he tried to stay away from her as much as possible. He knew that any interaction between the two of them would cause nothing else but trouble due to his Family's renown loathing towards those of unworthy blood. Yet, who could blame him for liking someone who embodied his own destruction and who would be more lethal than anything else he had ever encountered? He inched further and further towards her like a firefly to a candlelight, ready to have his wings burnt off and live on the very verge between living and dying.
During his sixth year, Salazar Ricardus managed to pick fights with people he shouldn't have faced in the first place, enforcing his infamous reputation. He enforced it even more when he heard that his best friend, Frank Viggano Junior, had been trapped into an arranged marriage to Elizabeth Reinhardt (née Knightlock), and did everything in his might to stop this from happening.
Seventh Year '37-'38
(Adv. Charms (Val), Adv. Divination, History of Magic, Care of Magical Creatures (Sal) -Superlative Winner: Mordred, the wrecker of havoc)
When threatening said Elizabeth with death didn't work to stop the arrangement, he met up with Frank's secret girlfriend to combine powers in order to stop the marriage from happening.
At summer camp, he met up secretly with Serafina again, finding himself to be drawn too much to her to stay away from her. He started to date her in secret, only telling his best friends Frank and Yvonne that he was dating a Muggleborn, but he never granted them a name out of fear for his Family's sword of Damocles. And it wouldn't only call misfortune over him once they would find out that he was dating a Muggleborn, it would also harm Serafina in ways beyond imagination.
Since it was his last term at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he and Frank decided to start the year off with a grande bang to state their superiority and to make sure they would never be forgotten. They also involved Seamus Reinhardt and Nathaniel Ellwood-Luxe in their prank in order to pull the idea off; quods filled with mud that exploded above the heads of the students and professors.
It was in this year that Frank also was rewarded with the title of Prefect, something Salazar found himself to be troubled about. It wasn't that he envied Frank for the title, but he naturally hated people who were above him because titles depicted it to be that way. He was struggling how to approach his best friend and how to deal with him.
He didn't have any motivation during this year, making him slack more than he had ever done before. He found it easier to force other students to do his homework for him, than that he would gather information about subjects that didn't interest him in the slightest. It was in this year that he could be found lurking around the stairwells, waiting around corners to frighten younger students with inferiority complexes. If Salazar ever tended to his homework and wrote essays, he generally provoked professors in them. Just like he did when he was following their classes.
Post Graduation I: His Own Man
There was possibly one thing in this society that wasn't prohibited yet, and that was making things even more prohibited. The rules and laws were like the sticky threads of a spider's web, constricting a person even further when he put up a fight and struggled to get loose and flee from the system and live by its own rules. Even the young man's jacket stated rules and guidelines, laws and commands. The old corporal's jacket that he had stolen from his Grandfather was one that had medals pinned onto the faded blue and rigid fabric of the pocket on the chest. Time had latched onto them, making the proud medals look flat and dull. By every move, they tinkled against each other, reminding the young Ricardus of the things that they stood for. Rewards for honoring the laws and acting all heroic when it had been deemed necessary. To have the guts to actually utter the two words of death when the time was there and a wand was pressed against your opponent's temple. When you were ready to see the light wither and leave the eyes of the man in front of you, to take away the most precious possession a man could have. The dark pit of hell that reflected into your opponent's scared eyes before the words were uttered and the eyes became empty and soulless. And medals that stated the victory of a battle, or getting wounded during the war. Yet, heroic was still a synonym of monstrous in the eyes of the opponent.
It was bittersweet irony that all the medals were now pinned on his chest, since he was not used to complying to the rules others had forced upon him. Not to mention that he had never found the courage and the egocentric way of thinking to take someone's life. He had never tasted another victory than the victory of provoking someone just enough to end up in detention. And Hogwarts had been his territory, the arena where he could do whatever he had wanted to. Where he had ruled and had held the scepter in his right hand. And it had been on the throne on which he had found anonymity. His subjects blinded by dislike to see past the pretty facades that he had wrapped snugly around his character. And it became the sole thing that he dared to care about, especially when he had to show himself in the pureblood society. He would care about the way he would acknowledge people who belonged to the same upper circle of the pureblood society. He cared about the way they would perceive him, and the way they would value his loyalty to their belief systems and ideologies. The man was fully aware that he would be valued and judged by the way he would pick his allies amongst those who belonged to the upper circle as well when it came down to social affairs. And eyes would watch to see him maneuver in the minefield, delicately making sure that the right people were pleased to the desired extent if he wanted to reach his goals.
And he was a hypocrite in the way that he played them like they were mere puppets and he was their puppeteer. He tested the waters before he would drown himself in public affairs, analyzing the tides that were the personalities of the other players in the game. And he would calculate how they would respond to changes in the currents in order to see if he was still safe. The formal interactions were a game, and he was a experienced man when it came down to finding his ways, fueled by care for the shallow and superficial appearance and presentation. And the care with which he upheld the mask and the facade of such a man, rooted deeper until it would touch with the most primitive fear of being found out and unraveled. The fear to be called an impostor. And, in its turn, it was the fear to be called an imposter that was fueled by that what he had locked away behind the walls and the facades that he had built around his persona. It was often a mistake that he allowed people to see beyond the facade, for he loathed the vulnerability that came with it. He was oftentimes therefor forced to care about the other person to placate and make sure that the information would not leak. But it was rare if he would actually care about someone and deemed them worthy, he allowed them to see more than he wanted them to see. It was something that had not often happened before, and something that he wanted to keep minimal.
The last time he had done that wholeheartedly, he had only found himself to be robbed off his valuables. Salazar did not want to care anymore, about nothing and no one. Not even about himself, for caring stood in fragile relationship with failing. Because of his growing fondness of cheating, Salazar lost his girlfriend Serafina, which hollowed him out and made him feel worthless. He was lost in himself, wallowing in the uncontrollable disease of a satisfied head but an unpleased heart. He grew more broody and cunning, finally becoming the embodiment that his Father had always wanted him to be, and it was probably because of that silent praise that Salazar grew to hate and detest himself even more - to the extent that he wishes to bring his own destruction upon him.
And he was forced by his Father to marry with someone hailing from a pureblood Family with prestige and wealth. Because of this, he's been forced to meet up with women for dinners to see wether or not they might be his potential future wife. And he followed up the orders without much questioning. For he had never tasted enough autonomy to know how it was to live. To not have every move directed by the upper hand, to not have someone censor your words. To know that your moves and your actions weren't watched by countless eyes, but just live to the fullest of what he was capable of. And that was less pretty than he had tricked the pureblood society into believing. It is therefor that Salazar enrolled as a Spy for the Ministry, giving him the best coverage to be someone else. Someone who lived by the name of Emil de Luca instead of Salazar Ricardus. A man whose identity was as changing as the tides, depending on what sort of opponent should be deceived. When it concerned women, he tended and tends to try and seduce them with the simple excuse of wanting to become their little dirty secret - one to give them a night to never forget. When he is faced with men, Salazar tended and tends to ignite bar fights to get his information, scars and hurt knuckles aren't strange nor rare to him.
Post Graduation II: Owned
12 July 1948 -- He had always known that this day, Judgment Day, would come and that he could do nothing else but to wait for it to happen. Salazar had always known that whenever Loxias Ricardus Senior would pass away, he would be bestowed the title of First Heir of the Ricardus Family whilst his Father rose to the title of Head of the Ricardus Family. And he had also known that whenever that dreaded day would be upon him, he would no longer be his own man but would be owned by the Family into which he was born. He knew that he would have to quit his then current position at the Ministry of Magic as a Ministry Spy and pick up a function that was more becoming of someone with his status and his blood.
And he did all of those things that were expected of him the moment he heard the news of Senior's demise from his own Father. Begrudgingly, but he did it, gave up on all freedom he had previously known and entered a job at Policy Maker at the Ministry of Magic. Living at Ricardus Hall again like expected of him, he's positioned closely to his Father who orders him around and commands him like a dog. And there is nothing he can do to stop it.
School transcripts
N.E.W.T.s (1937)
- O in Charms.
- O in Divination.
- E in Care of Magical Creatures.
- E in History of Magic.
O.W.L.s (1938)
- O in Charms.
- O in Conjuring and Summoning.
- E in Care of Magical Creatures.
- E in Magical Defense.
Appearance
Salazar Loxias Ricardus' most prominent features are his cold blue eyes, a coloration of the eyes directly passed onto him by his Father's blood. Most of the times, they are void of any sentiment and do not show what is going on behind the light-headed waves of the seas, but they simply stare at someone as he silently judges them. However, when the right buttons are pushed, emotion can show in his eyes although there is oftentimes a boyish charm lacing every expressed sentiment. His eyelashes are dark and stand, just like his eyebrows, in stark contrast with the light coloration of his eyes. His hair is of equal dark color.
He is muscular built with broad shoulders and strong limbs. The features of his body are masculine and angular, speaking of enough exercise and a healthy diet.
Salazar has several tattoos on his body. Firstly, on the insides of both of his index fingers, he has tattooed tears on the phalange closest to the hand itself, standing for the idiocy of caring for something mortal. On the outside of his left thumb, a hourglass is tattooed, standing for the fragile balance of life and death. On both of the outsides of his upper arms, lilies are tattooed as a statement for the purity, and in the context of the society he lives in, the purity of his blood. Few might dare to interpret it as a symbol of sexuality though, referring to the ancient Greek mythology. On his left upper arm, there is a decadent Chinese lady tattooed to accompany the lily (a sign of decadence and mortality), as well as a couple of koi fish climbing up from a waterfall (koi fishes climbing a waterfall in spite of the heavy current attempting to keep them in their pool, but eventually conquering the hardship of the waterfall).
Personality
| Zodiac | Saggitarius Sun, Saggitarius Moon, Scorpio Rising |
|---|---|
| MBTI | ISTP ("The Virtuoso") |
| Enneagram | 8 ("The Challenger") |
| Jungian Archetype | Destroyer/Fool |
| Kinsey Scale | 0 |
| Alignment | Chaotic Neutral |
| Temperament | Choleric |
Salazar Ricardus is an assertive explorer belonging to the bracketing of the ISTP personality type. He rarely tends to stress out and mainly just goes with the flow, he likes to sit back in his chair and watch the show. He'd rather watch what happens and then jump in than that he would be the one to set things in motion himself for he might then become the responsible one. Yet, novel ideas come easily and with Salazar, they express themselves in the way he executes his work as a Ministry Spy. His unconventional method is mainly ruled by putting his hands to action in drunken bar fights with possible informants. Fighting is not his last resort though, but something that he easily adapts himself to when he deems it needed and releasing his energy just when it's needed the most. he is unpredictable and fares well in crisis situations wherein everything around him is unpredictable, he loves the physical rush of his job more than he should.
Salazar loves to get his hands dirty, and only ever feels alive when he can feel his heart thump in his chest with a vicinity that makes for his heart wanting to escape the bars that his ribs provided, his breathing that travels down his windpipe as his heart struggles to oxygenate the blood and therewith fan the fire that his brains have released into his system. He feels most alive in situations wherein the adrenaline forces him to see more details and to hear more sounds like the rustling of his opponent's clothing. He perceives everything so sharp that the general flux and flow of life feel boring and numbing to him.
But there are also weaknesses in this man, and one of the most prominent ones is that he is stubborn, he usually moves in another direction with little apology or sensitivity. If someone tries to change his habits, lifestyle or ideas through criticism, he can become quite blunt in his irritation and tends to ward those criticisms off with snarking sarcasm. This often makes for that he is oftentimes perceived to be indifferent to anything that is offered him by the other party in the conversation. His part of the conversation is mainly to listen and silently judge his opponent, making him notoriously difficult to get to know. He is a true introvert, keeping his personal matters to themselves and tends to shield them off by the defense mechanisms that are embroidered in his personality. He hates it to be analyzed by someone else, especially if one has managed to smash cracks into the defensive walls he had built around his personality, and then more often than not tries to divert the attention to the other person.
If you were planning on capturing Salazar for a long-term commitment, good luck to you. He is not the one for commitment and prefers to take things day-by-day and evaluate their worth to them everyday again. He will easily value someone to be of great worth one day and then drop her completely the next, moving onto someone new who seems to be more thrilling and interesting. Really, he picks his partners depending on his mood for the day. He is a flirt more than anything, and needs to be surprised.
His greatest weakness, without a doubt though, is his will to self destruct. Life is his unconquerable disease. He is sure that it has granted him every pleasurable thing, every shallow pleasure that could be derived from both alcohol's and women's embrace. The associations in the pureblood circles as safe guards of the life that he knew, men and women who belonged to the same hypocritical category as him and had the power and the money to protect a son hailing from their midst. It had granted him the pleasure of having friends to rely on and on whom he could fall back, but he finds more consolation in the face of life's eternal companion. For he perceived life to have robbed him from all his valuables, had houghed him and had forced him on his knees. It had tied his hands onto his back and forced him to comply to the whims of the ever changing will of the goddesses of fate. All he could do was to simply await what was coming for him, and allow it to overcome him for he had not prepared weapons to ward the misfortunes and hardships off. He has ensured himself over time of fact that the more pleasures he would encounter along his path, the more hardships he would have to cope with later on. And it would make him care for everything that he could potentially loose, would make him cling onto his life buoy like a desperate man who had lost all pride and dignity. He is a coward for not daring to force himself into a position once more in which he would be weak per definition. Even though he longed for his own destruction, the instinctive life that had embroidered itself in his flesh and drew pale lines over his skin, pushed and pulled him forward. It forbade him to take life in his own hands and get it over with, the human instinct of self preservation and to keep one's self alive kicked in every time he stared down the barrel of a gun - making him drop it and giving in to the cowardly action.
