greening application

[worth_killing]

APPLICATION
OOC
Name: Kat
Age: 30+
Contact: evilsalmon or Evil Salmon#2308
Character(s) Played: N/A

IC
Name: Arthur Castus
Canon: King Arthur (2004)
Canon Point: Arthur departs his canon from the days after the Battle of Badon Hill, before his marriage to Guinevere at the conclusion of the movie.
Age: 30
Appearance: Here
Abilities: An excellent swordsman, horseman, commander.

Personality:

• Noble. Arthur is the tried and true definition of true nobility. Ever willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good, Arthur has spent the last fifteen years of his life defending the Roman people from the vicious attacks of the native Woads. He has shed his own blood and the blood of his knights to protect an ideal civilization where men can live free and choose their own destiny. The fact that his knights do not live free does not escape him; he strives every day to see to their safety, paramount among all others, so that one day they might enjoy their lives as free men. Even the Woads, who killed his mother and father, he believes should be treated with dignity and respect, when they are not actively trying to kill one on the battlefield. His standards for himself are impossible to reach, but he strives for them every day: honest, respectful of all life, just, chivalrous, christian, self-sacrificing. He believes that it is the responsibility of some to live their lives against their choosing, at times, so as to protect those who need it, so as to defend the world against those that would choose evil. He believes he himself to be one of those people who stands between the meek and the powerful, who must do all he can to protect and shepherd above all else.
• Pious. The importance of Arthur's faith cannot be overstated. The monk Pelagius became as a father to Arthur after his own died in battle and his teachings form the basis of Arthur's personality and mentality. He believes in the free will of mankind, the ability to choose one's destiny, how one may confront the evils and goods of the world. He may judge those decisions after they have been made, as he would judge his own decisions, but he believes that all men are free to make them. He also believes that all people were born fundamentally good, not challenged by original sin to mean that they are less the holy. What's more, he believes in a loving God who challenges but never ceases to care. He believes all these things whole-heartedly and lets them determine his choices. His knights tease him, don't understand him, and the world at large rebuffs his beliefs as foolish. But he holds to them staunchly. The only time they are ever shaken is at the battle of Badon Hill, when more of his knights fall in battle. But even then, his surety that they died doing what was right, that they died as free men, never falters.
• Tolerant. Given the strength of his faith and his sense of righteousness, it would be easy to think that Arthur demands of those around him to be on his level of sacrifice. But he never does. His knights tease him for his faith and do not understand his choices, but he never once questions that they are free to follow the faith of their fathers. They serve in bondage, without a real choice as to whether or not they want to follow Arthur, and he never shies away from this fact but takes it on as his burden. He must protect his knights for the day that they can live free; each death is taken as a personal failing on his part. Even the Woads, who fight ceaselessly against him, who attack innocent Roman citizens in raids, can be understood and shown mercy. Even, one day, a pact can be struck with them to defend the land they both love. Rigid as he is in his own ideals and in his own standards, he is not without a well of understanding. He would rather work with people than against them, would rather see men grow together than cut down those who would stand against them. He longs for a better world and knows that there must be a bending and yielding to make that dream become a reality.
• Shortsighted. At times, Arthur focuses more on the mortal and intangible than on the real and pressing. He is not one to see the forest for the trees. For example, with the Saxons fast approaching, snow gathering on the ground and dozens of people to shepherd slowly through a treacherous mountain pass, Arthur pauses to investigate a makeshift dungeon being sealed up with bricks. Dozens of lives are at stake, but he stops, forces his men to stop, so that they can find and rescue two people being tortured by a corrupt priest. His men merely sigh and resign themselves to following his orders, demonstrating that this is a commonplace activity. Arthur appears often distracted from the main quest by several side ones. He rather answer every call for aid and fail doing so than see to it that one call is fully answered at the detriment to another soul. His desire to take care of every person in need leads him astray. It's his knights that keep him focused -- granted, out of self-preservation most likely -- and without them he would likely never see his ultimate goals completed. He needs assistance to keep him from destroying his own work in his overzealous mission to help.
• Naive. Because of his faith, Arthur believes a great many things that are not true. Men, in his world, are not good more often than bad. They will not make the right choice. More specifically, however, he believes in a Rome that is civilized, fair and upright. The reality is that Rome is crumbling and corrupt. Some of this disconnect can be explained by the fact that Arthur lives quite some distance from Rome and news is not communicated well. But from the first, he believes the envoy from Rome that comes with his men's discharge papers is a good man who wants them free as much as Arthur. He never once suspects that something unfair is afoot until the other shoe has dropped. Then he responds with righteous anger, but he does not protect himself or his men before. He thinks that other men should and will behave in the way that he would, even though he knows from experience -- if only from his own knights -- that other men are not shaped like him. But he doggedly holds to this ideal of mankind that consistently proves to be untrue. He shows caution, especially with the Woads, but even then, at the first sign of friendship, he throws himself fully into the arrangement without once considering that he may be caught up in a trap.

History:

Arthur was born in southern Britain in the early 5th century A.D. His father was a Roman commander and served to protect Rome's settlements south of Hadian's Wall. He died when Arthur was young, leaving the boy to his native British mother and the monk Pelagius. Pelagius guided Arthur's spiritual growth, emphasizing the ideas of free will and self-sacrifice in his Christian teachings. He took the place of Arthur's father and the boy latched onto his words.

Britain in Arthur's time was an occupied territory, an island constantly wrought by rebellion and war. Uprising and attacks from the native peoples, particularly the Woads, led by the dark sorcerer named Merlin, were common, and shortly after Pelagius left the island for Rome, Arthur's mother was killed in such an attack. Left with no family, Arthur dedicated himself to becoming a Roman soldier like his father, and eventually earned the command of a battalion of Sarmatian knights.

The Sarmatians were required to serve 15 years in the service of the empire, and Arthur was their leader for that entire term. He believed that their sacrifice would help to make the world a better place to live in, that by keeping Rome's British settlements safe, they were protecting a civilized way of life where men could live freely and fairly. This belief came crumbling down when their term of service was up and Bishop Germanus arrived in Britain. He came with the knights' discharge papers and promised Arthur a welcome reception in Rome – after they completed one last mission. They escorted a Roman family south, to the protection of Hadrian's Wall, but lost one of their seven in the process. Additionally, the Bishop informed them that Rome would be leaving Britain, and all the fighting, bloodshed and death that the knights had given to protecting the settlements was for nothing. Arthur, needing to believe that his actions had meant something, stayed in Britain and joined forces with Guinevere, Merlin and the Woads. His knights, free with discharge papers in hand, chose to fight with him rather than leave their island prison.

Arthur arrives a few days after the last battle of the movie, where he, his knights and the Woads have defeated the invading Saxon forces. He leaves a free Britain, and two more fallen knights.

Sample(s):

(1) with Laurent; (2) with Julian; (3) with Rogue; (4) with Cassandra; (5) with Claire;