Laurent of Vere

Nothing in Vere is ever as it seems. Laurent didn’t understand this until he was thirteen. Until this time he had been protected by his older brother, ignored by his father and others in power as only the second son, but when Laurent became heir everything changed.

Laurent changed, too. In Vere to survive is a matter of art - every choice must be examined from every possible angle to ensure its positive outcome. Laurent is an incredibly perceptive young man and a brilliant tactician - he’s smart enough to be manipulative when he has to be, and in Vere, one always has to be.

As such, Laurent is two people - the person who above all wants the health and safety of his kingdom, and the cold, unfeeling person he must pretend to be to keep his throne. Known to everyone as cold blooded, even those who respect and would die for him, beneath that calculating mind is a young man who truly wants to see his country to prosperity. Laurent never wanted to rule when Auguste was alive, but now he wants to rule as Auguste would have, and he knows what’s at stake if he doesn’t. His uncle the Regent will continue to cut good people down and take their sons into his bed. His uncle will perpetuate the slave culture that has always been part of Vere, and always abhorrent to Laurent himself. Laurent keeps no slaves at all, save for the one given to him by the Regent, a ‘gift’ impossible to return without ensnaring himself in another of the Regent’s plots.

Despite his depth of feeling, Laurent has earned that cold reputation. He is cool headed and never rash, always considering. He is smarter than most young men of twenty, and his sweet face belies the shrewd mind beneath. He has been alone since he was thirteen, surviving every Veretian plot to usurp him, most notably of all his Uncle’s, who is perhaps the only one in the Kingdom as smart as Laurent himself. Laurent is a survivor, and as such he doesn’t hesitate to cause or endure pain if it serves a greater end. Over the years he’s developed an acerbic tongue, and when Laurent puts that sharp mind behind an insult, it’s enough to strip paint from the walls. The only thing that undermines Laurent’s incredible mind is his temper, and the only way to invoke it is to threaten one of the very few he’s allowed into his heart. One doesn’t have friends in Vere, for friends can be used against you, but Laurent feels a kinship with the other young boys in court, all struggling to survive. The loss of his brother is a wound that has never healed, and when he is gifted his brother’s own killer as a slave, Laurent is nearly undone. But he plays the game as best he knows how, and despite his best efforts, Damen’s guileless nature and honest attempts to help him win his trust.

He is the only real friend Laurent has ever had. Laurent can’t allow himself to be weak, but in the moments that even his own iron will can’t keep his feelings at bay, Laurent is terribly lonely. He has to hope that when his uncle is defeated at last, and Vere is under his control, he might be free to find some happiness, and to finally rule Vere as it should be ruled.

MAJOR SPOILERS

Laurent was born the second son to King Aleron and Queen Hennike of Vere. As his older brother Auguste was the heir, Laurent was free to pursue interests more educational than lordly in nature. Though they were both of a regal, golden coloring, Laurent was bookish, smaller and slighter than the tree like Auguste, not a warrior but a keen thinker and tactician. This talent would come to serve him well, for his position as second in line to the throne was not to last.

When he was thirteen, Laurent’s mother died. Swiftly after that, both his father and his brother were killed at the battle of Marlas, a territorial skirmish with the neighboring kingdom of Akielos. In the thick of battle, Vere’s defeat seemed impossible, especially under the fearless command of Auguste. But Vere’s lines were broken by the Akielon prince Damianos, who fought his way to Auguste and, after a long and brutal combat, killed him and ended the battle.

Laurent’s heart never recovered.

His brother was everything to him, his greatest friend and most stalwart protector. Suddenly Laurent was thirteen years old and alone in the world, meant to rule his entire kingdom when he came of age, and Vere was not an easy place to be alone. Its court was cunning and deceptive. No one spoke the truth if a more productive lie could be told, and everyday life was rife with other people’s machinations. Laurent knew better than to let his guard down for even one second, but when his uncle came to him to comfort him, as the last of Laurent’s living family, Laurent welcomed him.

His uncle betrayed this trust and molested Laurent, taking him into his bed and ripping away the last hope Laurent had of finding kindness in the world. Laurent transformed himself accordingly.

He trained himself in combat for long hours everyday. He stopped speaking his true thoughts and learned the art of manipulation. All his words and actions spoke of respect and conformity to his uncle’s rule as Regent, but Laurent now knew the man didn’t have his or the kingdom’s best interests at heart, he only wanted power. Laurent knew that one day, unless he managed to outmaneuver him, his uncle the Regent would betray him and take Laurent’s throne for himself.

The Regent’s plan began in earnest when Laurent was twenty years old, one year away from coming of age. The Regent gifted him with an Akielon slave named Damen. Laurent didn’t speak of it, but he knew this slave was in fact Damianos, Prince-killer, who had years ago robbed Laurent of his brother. Laurent hated Damen, but he recognized him as another piece in a game he must win if he wanted to keep both his throne and his life. Laurent and Damen struck a rocky accord, one that blossomed into a tentative friendship, trust, and eventually, love. Mere months after meeting him, Laurent found himself willing to give up his own life if Damianos could reclaim his throne in Akielos. If Laurent couldn’t lead and reunite their kingdoms, he trusted that Damianos could, and could do it well.

Laurent would arrive from the very end of the trilogy, after his Uncle is defeated, as well as Damianos’ brother Kastor, who wrongfully took the Akielon throne from him.

INVENTORY ITEM #1. One acerbic tongue.