Duke Caelwinn Horth

Caelwinn Horth, Duke of Valeford

Ask anyone in any street of Valeford what they think of the duke. They'll describe a generous, caring man, and they'll be right. His father, Charles Horth, held the duchy through order and politics; when illness took him three years ago, Caelwinn felt free to repaint Valeford in another color. He had never governed a single day. He often walks the streets escorted by his father's guard, men who speak to no one, so that he can go and speak to everyone.

Describe him

The duke arrives on foot, and he greets you before you've had time to bow. Not a crease in his doublet, not a speck on his boots, even in the mud of the market. He remembers your name the first time he hears it, laughs loudly, and a sad story wets his eyes before it's over. Behind him, his guards don't look at you. He looks only at you.

Play him

Talk to the players like old friends from the very first line. Protocol bores him; sweep it aside. Decide on emotion, never on calculation. When someone brings him an injustice, have him promise on the spot more than was asked, with an impossible deadline, and let the table discover what a duke's promise costs when it's made too fast. Only one person can shake him: Syvalde, who has looked after him since childhood and cannot stand his ways. And keep, underneath, a man who governs what's in front of his eyes, so that the duchy belongs to whoever spoke to him last.

What he says (rarely)

"Get up. Here, we shake hands. My father is gone."
"Two thousand silver deniers for him? All right, fine, three thousand if you bring him to me tomorrow."
(quietly, as soon as Syvalde has left the room) "Was he right, my father? Tell me he wasn't right."