NationStates Jolt Archive

Little is known about Icarus Traiden’s son. He is kept in the shadows, Eurydian Royal Guard keeping an ever vigilant eye on him. Perhaps his father is afraid for his safety; there is probably nothing more valuable to the Emperor to his own son. Perhaps his father does not wish the same fate as his mother, a lady of mysterious proportions greater than that of Traiden’s son. All that is known about Lady Freya is that she was killed by political separatists not even one month after her son’s birth. Traiden was 23 and she 22, not even 50 years between them. It is believed that this assassination drove Traiden into an almost insane sort of protection over his son, one that has lasted through his infancy, childhood, through his adolescence and is now beginning to encroach upon his near adulthood.

Today we find the relatively youthful Alexander Traiden at an age of 19. He is probably the wealthiest child in all of Eurydice, and one of the most handsome. His blonde hair is as wild as his personality. His eyes are a deep blue; something extremely rare for a Eurydian. They are set on his face in a way that speaks of defiance; their sharpness able to make the most gifted orator stumble. The rest of his features are of little concern really, nothing more than footnotes compared to those two blue orbs.

All of these gifts bestowed upon him: good looks, wealth, and safety, it’s a wonder how he could feel even the slightest feeling of sadness. But it's the final thing in that list which is the root of Alexander’s troubles. He cannot go anywhere without guards following; whether he is with his girlfriend, a friend, or at Secondary Education courses, there is always someone watching him. Alex hasn’t had 5 minutes of undisturbed time to himself in his entire existence. There is no “sneaking out” to hang with friends, no late night parties.

Indeed, things were reaching a breaking point between Alex and his guards. He was becoming so old that he didn’t need guardians anymore, or so he thought. With his father always away on political matters Alex couldn’t bring the issue up. It was something that had been plaguing his mind for some time now.

It had to change.

OOC:This is just the setup so you can understand Alex better, and why he does what he does. For those of you who care, this will become more relevant as December comes to a close. People are always welcome to tag or comment.

It was late in the Palace Rigard, nearly one in the morning. Most of the palace sleeping peacefully, getting whatever rest it could before the sun would banish the darkness for another day. One person was still awake in the palace, and as you may have very well guessed, it was Alexander. He sat in his room on the 5th floor, overlooking the sprawling city below. Rigard City was still wide-awake, teeming with bright lights. It resembled Alex’s soul, restless and churning.

He got up and went to his bed, kneeling down beside it. He pulled out a small box, no larger than a package of cigarettes. It was in fact a box used in that manner, but it held cigarettes of an illegal sort. He pulled one out and slid it into the corner of his mouth. He could smell the odor of the marijuana faintly as he struck a match. Flame erupted and he carefully lit the joint. Alex took a long pull, holding the smoke deep in his lungs before finally breathing out. The fragrance intensified and it helped to soothe Alex’s troubled soul.

While marijuana was legal on Eurydice, one must be 21 years of age to smoke it. Therefore, the young man returned the box to its previous position, safely tucked away where no one would find it. He walked back to his chair and slumped down. The joint was held loosely between his lips, wisps of smoke trailing lazily upwards. He longed to be in the city, and it showed in his face as he looked towards it.

”I shouldn’t be here. There are thousands of kids right now out having a good time. Me, I’m stuck here in this room gettin’ blazed all by myself. I’m 19 years old and I’ve never had a chance to make out with my girlfriend. Sure… I could do it while the Royal Guard jerks off 10 feet away in the bushes. Hell, I’m not gonna do it while they’re watching. But then again, when aren’t they watching?”

He took a good hit before continuing.

”I don’t understand why I can’t go anywhere without those goons around. I mean c’mon, I’ve been taught how to fight since the age of 5. I could kill a man 30 different ways and yet he insists on me being watched constantly.” Alex scoffed and shook his head. He took one more look out at the city, then made up his mind. ”Whatever. This is bullshit and that’s all there is to it. I’m going to get out of here tonight.”

He stood up and grabbed the pack from under his bed, placing them in his coat pocket. He took one final puff and flicked the joint over balcony. He shut the window, turned out the light, and made his way out of the room.

Ah, yet another prince resenting overprotective parents and guards story. Cliche, but still interesting to read.

Ah, yet another prince resenting overprotective parents and guards story. Cliche, but still interesting to read.

OOC:Cliché indeed, but this story is just the tip of the iceburg so to speak. One could also call this the canvas with which a much larger picture is going to be painted on.

In other words... this is going to be more than a rebellious teenager story... hopefully. :wink:

Bang!

So there's gonna be a bit of Vader vs Luke (Dad vs son fight) thrown in for good measure? Plus a revolution by the people? Am I reading your mind, or am I just reading my crystal ball wrong? :P

So there's gonna be a bit of Vader vs Luke (Dad vs son fight) thrown in for good measure? Plus a revolution by the people? Am I reading your mind, or am I just reading my crystal ball wrong? :P

Eh, I can't really tell you what's going to happen in the end... lest I give the story away. :wink:

I can tell you what the jist of it is though...

There's no Vader vs Luke, no revolution. It's going to be Alex growing up throughout the night. He's going to meet some different people with contrasting views of the world: His friend, his girlfriend, as well as other people. It'll be a spiritual journey of sorts, one that molds Alex into the man he's going to be... the eventual Emperor of the Republic.

I actually got the inspiration from this thread by Pantera...
I'm in the mood... (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=93900&highlight=)

Ah. Boy grows up to be a man. *decides he need a career change from fortuneteller.*

OOC: You guessed well... just not well enough.

IC: Alex slowly walked down the hall, not trying to be wholeheartedly silent, just cautious. The lights dotting the sides of the hallway were dimmed and barely illuminated the floor. He had made it to the bottom of the palace and was almost on his way out when a voice called from the darkness.

”Hold there boy, where do you think you’re going?” It was Samson, Emperor Traiden’s personal guard and a sort of idol to Alex, at least in his younger days.

Alex halted mid step and turned. ”I’m going out Samson, and you’re not going to stop me. I’m tired of you and your goons following me like you’re my shadow.”

He laughed, “Goons? We goons have protected you for 19 years Alex, or do you forget such things so easily?” Alex shook his head, ”What’s more boy is that we were willing to risk our lives the entire time. You would do well to always remember what we did.”

”I don’t forget, I could never forget. I’m just past that now… I’m older. I can take care of myself.”

Samson rubbed his chin,”We shall see. If you truly believe yourself to be ready, then I suppose you deserve the chance. Go now, I never spoke to you or saw you leave. If Icarus catches you and you tell him I allowed you to leave… I will deny it and the punishment you receive from me will be far greater than that of your father.”

”I understand,” Alex said, nodding, “I accept full responsibility for my actions. That is what I want after all.” A moment of silence between them, ”Goodbye Samson.”

And with that Alex was free.

The ride to Maximilian Kastor’s house was a relatively smooth and uneventful one. The traffic that usually inundated some parts of Rigard City was gone. The roads seemed to be empty veins; the blood of the city had ceased to flow.

Max Kastor was the son of Reamus Kastor, head of the Kastor House. That House is quite easily the most powerful and influential family in the entire Republic It is no wonder then that Alex and Max were friends.

The two sat on the roof of the 4-story Kastor Mansion. The air was surprisingly warm and the stars surprisingly bright. They shared a joint between them.

”My life sucks Max,” Alex said dejectedly.

”Oh get off it you poor sport. You’re the son of the Emperor, what the hell could be wrong with you?”

”Well,” Alex started, “I seem to be treated like a child. There’s nothing for me at that palace anymore except a watchful eye. I almost feel as though Rigard were watching me right now.” He looked over his shoulder to the spire like structure some 10 miles away.

Max shook his head, “ I see you’re point, even if it is pretty lame one. If your only problem is an overprotective father then you have nothing to worry about.”

Alex took a drag before continuing, creating a long pause, ” That’s not my only problem. Do you know what I’m going to be someday? I’m going to be Emperor of the Republic… that’s some fuckin scary shit man. I mean, I’m going to be in control of over a billion people. What did I ever do to earn it? What have I done that gives me the right to lead these people?”

”That is some deep stuff,” Max said laughing, ”I don’t think you’ve done anything personally. You were born and that’s about it. But then again, why does a poverty stricken child deserve the fate it gets? It didn’t wrong some God before it was born. There was no divine influence that decided the kid’s fate. It’s all a roll of the dice Alex, plain and simple. You were just lucky to be born who you are, just like I’m lucky to be born who I am. Some people are victims of circumstance; whether it be rich, poor, strong, weak, man, woman… its nobodies choice or fault. Don’t feel bad for being born rich and powerful.”

Alex nodded solemnly, ”But… how can I not feel bad? I mean, there are billions of people out in the cosmos who cant even afford clothes or food. If the world isn’t fair to them in the slightest, why does it seem to be so fair to me?”

Max takes a long pull and thinks hard before answering, “Well, I wouldn’t so much try to answer the question of why the world isn’t fair. The way the world works needs to be left up to the philosophers, your job is to do what you can with the tools given to you. It’s all a matter of perspective Alex. While you may feel bad and depressed over the poor people in the universe, another man could exploit those very same people for his own purposes. Then again, you could find a worker out there that sees a bit of poverty in everyone, and therefore devotes their entire life to helping those poverty stricken families.

Three different viewpoints, three different interpretations. The outcome, the result, the conclusion, whatever you want to call it, all of it is based on how you see and view the world. The situation those three people saw was exactly the same, nothing even remotely different about it. The difference was how each person reacted and viewed the situation inside their head.

It’s not so much that the world isn’t fair to them, or the world is overly fair to you. It’s because of the fact that people see things in the world and believe they can’t change anything about it. Nothing gets done because no one feels it’s their responsibility. You yourself can either sit here groveling as to how well off you are, or you can go out and try to change something about it. You can approach the situation in a proactive way, so you can in turn empower the people you view as helpless. If they aren’t even given a leg to stand on, how can they ever hope to get out from under the immense weight of poverty?”

Akex chuckled, “Damn, that is deep; so true too. I’ll never uh… feel depressed about being rich again.”

Max laughed, “Well, the point isn’t so much to not feel depressed so much so as it is ‘go out and do something about… something.’ You are going to be Emperor after all.”

OOC: May I add a few words of wisdom that some old guy might teach Alex? "Remember. Your focus determines your reality." and "You're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view." They're just so appropriate. If you guess rightly where they came from, I'll give you a cookie. :)