Prince Athos Mirac, heir to the throne of Vin-Nórë, is one of the principle characters in our upcoming fantasy romantasy series, The Legacy of Chandar. He was an odd boy. On the one hand, Athos always had to be doing something: riding his horse, playing in the yard, getting into trouble—usually trouble his older brother (and now king) Castamir set him too—and his foster sister, Coralin, always had to be with him.They were inseparable. In some ways, you could say their romantasy started as children. So in this way, you could say Prince Athos is the perfect romantasy character for a fantasy romantasy novel.
But in others, he's just the opposite. Because when he wasn't running around with Coralin, filching hams from the salting house, or some other caper, he was reading. You see, even though his kingdom was already ravaged by war, and even though he was "the spare" heir to the throne of Vin-Nórë, young Prince Athos didn't want to be a knight, the usual career path of strong young nobles—and especially princes. He wanted to join the Church of the Guardian Paladin, the religion of the nobility, and become a priest. You see, he and Coralin loved to sit and listen to the stories Mother Orindë used to tell about the myths and legends of their church and culture. He and Coralin would sit on the floor, hand in hand, with Mother Orindë in her over-stuffed chair before them, and listen for hours. Or she'd discuss with them what they'd been reading about in The Laws of the Guardian Paladin Church, the guidebook by which the nobility were supposed live and rule and protect their demesne for the betterment of all. But his dreams of priesthood were not to be.
Young Prince Athos' childhood romantasy relationship with his foster sister ended when she was sent off to Par-Isen, the Holy Land, where the Guardian Paladin religion was founded, for formal training; and he was squired to a knight chosen by his father: Sir Guthlad Berwyn. He proved to be the perfect teacher. Not only was he a fearsome warrior who had survived the darkest days of the early war, he was also a Knight Guardian. A civilian religious military order that esteemed piety and honor above all else. And, despite his reservations, Prince Athos proved to be a good student, and as good a scholar of the martial arts as he had been in his other studies. Sir Guthlad taught him how to observe the actions of others, and gauge their abilities as knights, leaders, and commanders. He taught him how to be as ruthless in battle as honorable in conduct; and most important of all, he taught him how to accept the making of mistakes, learn from them, and still trust his own judgment. Even, or perhaps especially, when lives were on the line. "Ain't nobody perfect, lad," Sir Guthlad was fond of telling him. "But not makin' a decision is worse than makin' the wrong one. Yah can learn from makin' a wrong one. Makin' none learns yah nothin'!" Sir Guthlad was a simple knight errant and so had a plain way of talking.
But that might have been what made him so valuable to Prince Athos. He knew the world. He knew war. He knew loss. And yet for all of that, he was still kind, compassionate, and honorable to a fault. All of which prepared his young charge for a future none of them could have imagined. For at the young age of 26, with only twelve years of combat experience behind him—and four of those as a squire—Prince Athos Mirac, heir to the throne of Vin-Nórë, was appointed Royal Lord Marshal of Vin-Nórë by his brother, who was now the king.
Which, once again would start him on a journey neither he, his brother, or his foster sister could have imagine possible; and be the beginning of a fantasy romance sotry that would change the course of history in the Fantasy World of Menelon!