Difference between revisions of "Afrid Sarkon"

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Afrid Sarkon (born 23108 AD) was a True Amarr noble who sat on Heideran VII's Privy Council.^[1] Characterized as loud and dynamic, he attained his position not through merit, but because of nepotism, as he was the cousin of the empress consort. He served as the representative of the Kador Family, but was ejected from this position upon Heideran VII's death by Uriam Kador, who despised the man.

Early Life

Afrid was born in 23108 AD to the Sarkon family, a major Holder house under the Kador Family. He was the fourth son in the family and was not apparently destined for any greatness. He was afforded all of the advantages a child of his stature should expect; he was taught by high-quality private tutors, never wanted for any material thing, and was given sufficient affection by his parents. Afrid rarely displayed any outward ambitions or desires for greatness, appearing content to merely coast along on his family's influence and wealth.

However, he did possess an outgoing and friendly nature. Unfortunately for the young man, his high birth limited his social circle extremely. It was not considered proper for a high-born noble to associate socially with more base children. On the few occasions he attempted to befriend the children of lower Holders or even servants, he was harshly rebuked by his father.

Instead, Afrid was left to socialize with his extended family. He became especially close with Sabiana, a cousin who was several years older than him. Sabiana found Afrid charming, intelligent, and witty, and the two were known among their family for getting into all kinds of mischief. Brief attempts to keep the two separate proved futile, with Afrid once sneaking on board a slave transport headed to Sabiana's family's estates. Thankfully for the family, he was discovered before the transport could depart.

Adulthood

Eventually, Afrid was forced to find something to do with his life. He had no particularly strong predilection for Scripture and had little business acumen. Nor was he interested in putting forth the effort to become a naval officer, though his family's influence could have secured a safe posting. Instead, he decided to become a civil administrator, and attained a position with the Ministry of Internal Order.

Afrid was reportedly competent, but unmotivated, and advanced slowly through the ranks, thanks mostly to his boisterous and outgoing nature. He rarely made mistakes, but also did not take personal initiative, which often led to incidents under his jurisdictions. Because of his nobility, his superiors were unable to simply dismiss him from his post. Instead, he was shuffled around from position to position.

He was reportedly romantically involved with several different women during his time with the Ministry, though he never openly courted them and remained unmarried. He did, however, continue to have a significant amount of contact with his cousin Sabiana, leading to rumors the two were involved in an illicit romance.

In 23154 AD, when Sabiana married Heideran VII, the Amarr Emperor, those rumors came to an ugly head. The marriage was an arranged one and Sabiana was rumored to be unhappy with her much older husband. In an effort to quash the rumors that she was maintaining an affair with Afrid, the two cut off contact for some time.

At first, Afrid was able to function perfectly well without his confidant. But as the years passed, he found himself unable to contain himself. He earned a reputation as a gossip and a braggart and got himself into trouble with other nobles quite often. He soon began openly boasting about his connection to the empress consort, particularly among the agents of the Ministry of Internal Order. He regularly claimed that he would receive a high posting or other honor from the Empress. In reality, Afrid had not heard from Sabiana in the slightest for some time, and privately was emotionally distraught, believing that his beloved cousin had forgotten him.

However, word of Afrid's actions eventually reached the Emperor's ears. Finding his in-law's actions tedious and troubling, Heideran resolved to remove the problem. Thus he had Afrid become a member of the Emperor Family and offered him a menial but prestigious position as one of the palace administrators. His actual duties were mostly ceremonial in nature, but it kept Afrid busy and out of the spotlight, making it unlikely he would embarrass Heideran or his wife further.

This also put Afrid back in direct contact with Sabiana. This, more than anything, served to calm Afrid down. The two continued their relationship as if it had never been interrupted. Over the years, the two grew even closer, as they were often the only friend the other had. Rumors of impropriety cropped up every few decades, but they were quickly stamped out for lack of any real proof.

Privy Council

In 23185 AD, the Kador Heir suddenly died, leaving the young Temal Kador in charge of the family. Temal, however, was very close to the previous Heir, her father, and entered an extended period of mourning and had to battle challengers to her position as Heir. This served to distract her from her duties to the Empire at large, including regularly attending the meetings of the Privy Council.

Heideran would not stand for meetings of the Privy Council without a representative of his own family present, but Temal was reluctant to name a replacement. Instead, Sabiana convinced Heideran to step in and appoint Afrid to the position. Wishing to appease his wife, Heideran accepted the suggestion, assuming the appointment would be temporary. Temal, however, never deigned to remove Afrid from the position, allowing him to represent the Kador Family on her behalf over the following centuries.

Despite being in advanced age, Afrid was one of the more vocal members of the Council and used his personal charisma to gain great sway, though he rarely pushed any strong agenda. Instead, he mainly enjoyed arguing, often taking the position of devil's advocate and challenging the popular opinion simply to speak and gain attention. This alternately won him the affection, vitrol, and grudging respect of the other Privy Council members.

Afrid continued in this capacity until Heideran's death in YC 105. When Uriam Kador was named the new Heir of the Kador Family, his first act was to dismiss Afrid from his post, replacing him with his chief advisor, Pevalir Kereka. Afrid joined Sabiana on her private estates, where the two quietly live out their remaining years.

See Also

• Amarr people
• Chronicle: Kiss of the Soul
• Privy Council

References