Rafaello Loredan

Physical information

Hair Color: Black

Eye Color: Green

Distinguishing Marks: Rafaello has his share of battlescars and war wounds. Most recognizably, he has a scar extending from his left temple back into his hairline.

Description of General Appearance: Black hair. Olive skin. Sharp green eyes flecked with amber, with prominent limbal rings. Sinewy musculature pulled taut over a scaffold of heavy bones. It is said the blood of the Romans runs in the veins of House Loredan, from whence comes their warlike natures. Indeed, in Rafaello's countenance one might see an echo of old Roma. Lean, saturnine features, prominent nose and solemn mouth, hollow cheeks and deep brow: the look of eagles.


Society Information

Family:

• Wife, Vittoria Loredan, née Papafava (24): link to another game
  
• Father, Dario Loredan (deceased at age 58): a loud, likeable, charismatic man, perhaps a little crude and careless but not cruel, quick to anger but quicker to forgive. Well loved by his friends and family and by the citizens of Castello. It's hard to believe anyone would have wanted him dead.
  
• Mother, Portia Loredan, née Zulian (57): an august, dignified woman, stern but warm, and the undisputed dowager of the family. Still capable of bringing any of her children to heel with a hard look or that tone. Once a major political contender in her own right, she had little interest in marriage and childbearing until meeting Dario Loredan by chance at a senatorial function. Her first child, Rafaello, was born when she was already considered somewhat overaged at 25, and most predicted a pitifully small family tree for Dario. However, Portia then proceeded to upend expectations year after year, bearing nine children across a stunning twenty years with not one miscarriage or stillbirth. Her youngest made her fashionably late entrance the better part of a decade after her next closest sibling, when Portia was a shocking 45 years old.
  
• Siblings: Giacomo (30) closely followed Rafaello; his father's son, cheerful and fiery, now married with two young sons of his own. Agustin (29) came next, serious-minded and pious, an ordained priest; then the meteoric twins Luca (28) and Leandra (28), inseparable but eternally bickering and often up to no good. Both are too busy sailing with the fleet to settle down, but each leaves a rumored trail of broken hearts behind them. A small gap after this as doubtlessly either Dario or Portia or both tried to call it quits; then the dam broke and Orelia (22) came along, sweet and romantic, recently engaged. She was followed closely by Cristofolo (21), bookish to a fault, and Stefano (19), an aspiring ladies' man with little else on his mind. Then another long gap as most considered Portia at last done with childbearing - but then Fiametta (12) made her appearance, a surprise gift from God and the doted-upon baby of the family, a Venetian princess spoiled rotten, but miraculously (so far) not a brat.
  
• Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and Untold Others who potentially might think themselves more suited to Rafaello's position

Occupation: Head of the House of Loredan and aspiring Caposestière of Castello, a position previously held by his recently-murdered father

Political Goals: Consolidate power. Avert a succession crisis. Protect his family. Avenge his father.

Secrets: It is an open secret widely acknowledged that Rafaello's marriage to Vittoria is anything but content. Originally forged as a reaffirmation of a longstanding friendship between Houses Loredan and Papafava, there is such contempt and tumult in their union that there have even been whispers of a fracture in that age-old alliance.


Personality Details

Personality:
As a youth, Rafaello was known to be a bit of a bully, a bit of a brute. As with many firstborn sons of fabulously wealthy families, he grew up immensely certain of himself and his place in the world. He was known to be fond of the finer things in life, fond of wine and women and war in equal measure. Despite his frequent carousing, he was, unlike his well-loved father, always rather prone to brooding. The Rafaello that recently returned to Venice is somewhat changed: grounded, reticent, driven. Sudden responsibility has fallen heavy upon his shoulders, and he is determined to rise to the occasion. Although none would mistake him for a good man, if any virtue might be ascribed to him, it is that he holds familial bonds sacrosanct. The fact that he was not present to prevent his father's death weighs on his conscience, though he is unlikely to reveal this to anyone outside immediate family. Vengeful, fierce and ambitious, he has come home to settle all of House Loredan's scores.

Background/History:
The firstborn son of Dario and Portia Loredan, it was always expected that Rafaello Loredan would one day assume his father's title as Caposestière of Castello and head of his House. However, no one thought the day would come so soon.

His youth passed quickly, a haze of luxury and privilege and the finest things money could buy - be it a tutor, a stallion, a rapier, a ship or a whore. As with many heirs of House Loredan, Rafaello left home upon his majority and spent most of his adult life abroad, where it was expected he would avail himself of the opportunity to learn firsthand the seafaring and warfaring for which his House was renowned. Years later, when his father was old and grey, when he was his own man, he could expect to return to assume his father's mantle. Until then, the limitless horizons were to be his home.

It was likewise always understood he would marry a daughter of House Papafava, but the match was ill-fated from the start. He never liked Vittoria, and was known to be quite blunt about it: she's a bitch, always has been, always will be. The sentiment seemed to be returned by his darling intended, and what began as simmering dislike exploded into all-out loathing when he even couldn't be bothered to return from campaign to show up for his own wedding. He sent a proxy instead: a few solicitors, a scribe, and a smarmy merchant bearing a collection of jewelry from which Vittoria was bidden to choose her wedding gift.

Three years later, upon her majority, he at last saw fit to greet his now-wife in person, and in the process heaped insult upon injury. Arriving deep in the night after a long evening of carousing, the scent of courtesans and wine was still upon him when he took her to bed. Consummation was unkind and ungentle, though at least it was over quickly. Vittoria likely remembers it as an unmitigated disaster. Rafaello... well. The appalling truth, which he hardly wanted to admit to himself, was that he did not find his otherwise insufferable bride entirely undesirable, nor utterly unsatisfactory.

It did not matter. In the morning he was gone again. For the next six years Rafaello has been almost entirely absent from Venice, defending his family's interests across the Mediterranean and beyond, enforcing dominion over the trade routes that keep House Loredan at the forefront of Venetian politics. No letters were exchanged between him and his wife. What news she had of him came through rumors, gossip, and whatever spies she had embedded in his fleet. What he knew of her came through much the same means, and what he learned hardly pleased him. To icy bitch he added a few new charges: adulteress, harlot, vicious little harpy. Unsurprisingly, given this turn of events, he stayed at his father's estate on the rare occasions he returned to Venice. Vittoria may as well have been a widow.

Despite his frequent and prolonged absences, despite the cold ashes of his marriage, Rafaello maintained close and genuine ties with his parents and siblings. When the Night of Blood went down, his world broke apart. The moment word reached him of his father's untimely and suspicious demise, Rafaello Loredan sped for home, arriving mere hours later into chaos and uncertainty - and, for the first time in years, into his own house.


Skills and Abilities

Education: As befitting a noble of Venice, Rafaello was given the best education money can buy. That said, some lessons were likely better retained than others. He has a head for strategems and logic, a passable grasp of literature and poetry, and - like many men who grew up with no need to concern himself with ever running out of funds - a poor understanding of the value and flow of currency.

Skills: Rafaello is a talented warrior and commander, a capable though not extraordinary sailor, and a brutal but unsubtle intriguer. In battle it is his way to lead from the front, and he is uncommonly mighty with a sword or mace. However, being accustomed to having a small army watching his back leaves openings for cleverer opponents, particularly in situations where he is alone.

Retinue: Rafaello has the services of various councillors, advisors and men-at-arms that one might expect of a man of his rank, as well as a fairly small number of spies. The following list of notable NPCs will likely expand as additional persons are detailed or recruited:

• "Ombra," a spy, and his late father's former left hand, now in Rafaello's employ with a hefty pay raise.
  
• Ercole, Dario Loredan's former first mate, now serving Rafaello directly as an advisor and enforcer. Also possibly Ombra's former paramour?
  
• Zuan, Piero and Salvador, trusted men-at-arms who have accompanied Rafaello on many a campaign. Zuan: tall and lanky, golden curls. Piero: solid, thickset, dogged. Salvador: youngest of the three, soft-spoken and polite.
  
• Luca and Leandra Loredan, Rafaello's twin siblings, leading the Loredan armada.
  
• Tieri, first mate on the Vincitore, Rafaello's flagship.
  
• Captains, as-yet unnamed, of the other four frigates in Rafaello's personal fleet.
  
• Luca Bianche, not to be mistaken for Luca Loredan; new captain of the Ridente Belleza, which was formerly Dario Loredan's flagship.