ruaridh sutton

Ruaridh, whose name you pronounce as Rory, don't worry, is a man of great conviction but not magic. He is a knight under the royal Valerian banner, and has had to prove himself over and over again as a man of worth to both his family and the world at large. He is a noble on his father's side, but was technically born out of wedlock and then adopted, and has thus missed out on being a proper Valerian Lord as well as his inheritance. The next best thing he could be was a Kingdom Mage, but that didn't work out either, considering that Ruaridh's talent for magic is genuinely appalling. So he's the next best thing after that - a royal guard serving the country he loves so much. [break]
Ruaridh is loyal but stubborn, professional but judgmental, educated but a little arrogant about it. He's the quintessential knight, deeply invested in the wellbeing of both the royal family of Valeria and the country itself, valuing loyalty and persistence over everything else. He has a difficult relationship with magic itself, although it does not extend to mages - he both desperately wants to wield magic and despises his need for magic in order to be useful. This dichotomy lies at the core of his character, and most of his opinions are a result of this constant inner struggle.[break]
Then again, he could just get a magical sword and get it over with. But he has refused to do that so far, because that would be giving up. And Ruaridh doesn't give up. Ever.

friends

When it comes to friends, Ruaridh tends to favour people with similar worldviews - it keeps his life simple and his resolve strong. He's a lot like a guard dog in his friendship - it takes a while for him to warm up, but once he has, he will defend his friend and his friendship with tooth and claw. And, in his case, sword. He has a great deal of admiration for kingdom mages and, as he is technically a member of the same guard as they, most of his friends will be kingdom mages. From childhood, he might have a couple of leftover friendships with other mages. He might have a sort of rivalry-type friendship with a guild mage, as he finds himself terribly jealous of the adventures they are able to go on and the freedom they have, while he also kind of disapproves of their use of magic, which is not to serve Valeria directly. He has a healthy amount of respect for anyone from the rebecca church, even though he is perhaps not as faithful as he ought to be (it's hard to fit in church time while you're trying to keep up with as many things as Ruaridh). I'm very open to any likely or unlikely friendships Ruaridh might develop or might already have developed, from sparring partners to banter-lads to genuine, caring friendship based on a mutual respect for one another.

foes

Let's be real - it's mostly going to be dark guild mages on this list. Not because he personally dislikes them or their life choices (even though he probably does) but because it is his duty to make sure they are stopped. Other potential rivals could be rogue mages with whom he has an ongoing rivalry (one that usually works out against his favour, because he's a useless non-magical swordfighter and not a capable mage), colleagues in the guard or in the kingdom mages who he just doesn't get along with, or anyone else who you would feel comfortable pitting against this boy.

romance

I would be lying if I said that I'm not interested in giving him a romantic storyline. I'm always up for a little romance, preferably with a mage he can be delightfully jealous of before realising that he probably has a crush on them. I'm not dead set on anything here, but if you're interested in romancing the knight beyond his stern ideals, then please hit me up with your ideas!