Richard Aengus

The pink-winged, bushy-bearded, big-bellied fairy called Richard Andrew Aengus has lived a complicated life, holding a number of positions in a number of areas. His primary role is that of the king of New Hibera, a small fairy kingdom positioned in the south-central area of Myrken Wood. Richard himself is currently 307 years old--elderly, for fairies from New Hiberan stock, who typically live 'only' four centuries. He has ruled the combined nations of Old Hibera and New Hibera for 251 years, taking the throne as a child at fifty, until his loss of control of the former. Now, Richard lives alone in New Hibera; his new wife Deidre was abducted in July, A.R. 206, by an unknown red-haired man in a carriage, and the adopted princess Snowtiger has been missing, apparently on her own or simply staying out of the picture, for a number of months. The majority of his life as prince, then king, was a simple one, governed solely by his whims and his gluttony, until he grew bored with it all and wanted to see just a little bit more. A mix of boredom and curiosity led him to investigate the lives of 'bigling' humans, an interest that would eventually culminate in a fictitious claim that he had taken on a fabricated identity of an actor turned politician named Aloisius Treadwell, supposedly from Westenford, a middling port town on the coast of Amasynia known for its shipping and its thoroughly corrupt government council. Of course, the claim itself was thoroughly false; the man in question was very much real flesh and blood. As punishment for devouring one of Richard's closest friends and advisors in late A.R. 205, Treadwell was captured and put to sleep for fifteen months, only to wake at the command of various Old Hiberan officials. For a brief time, Richard did manage to rule both halves of Hibera under his one reign; instead of ruling through messages sent to his cousin, James Aengus, he took responsibility for New Hibera on his own, moving into the palace there and severing ties to Westenford. On arrival, still claiming to be Aloisius Treadwell, he likewise systematically started to cut all connections that Treadwell had held. In his dedication to ruin Treadwell's life as a more permanent repayment for eating the fairy king's friend, a vengeful Richard was ultimately was the catalyst for Raylan Treadwell's leaving Myrken Wood and the Council's repossession of Treadwell's house and toy shop in Myrken Wood. Richard's true role and personality are tricky to uncover. He has a deep-rooted love for good art, wonderful music, and horrid poetry. Richard is quite beloved by all Hiberans, mainly because he seems quite harmless. He appears to be a dreadful political bumbler with little common sense, claiming ignorance and lack of interest in such things. However, below this comical surface--an image he relishes and exploits with the help of his plump appearance and jolly manner--lies the heart of a fairy able to be cruel, cold, and meanly mischievous--just as his grandfather, William Aengus, and his father, Richard Scott Aengus. Fairies care not for change, and this fairy is a living embodiment of that very belief. He will do as he must to maintain his control of New Hibera.