Sir Leon

Appearance:

Leon is almost unfortunately tall, and with his signature curly ginger-blonde hair he stands out in a crowd. He has a very strong widow's peak which he is somewhat embarrassed about and he hopes that his hair is not thinning. He slouches habitually, resembling an ungainly blonde Irish wolfhound. His beard is a little patchy, so he takes care to keep it trimmed to avoid becoming scraggly. His frame is thin--despite his tall stature he is quite light. However, he is more lean than scrawny. He likes keeping in excellent shape (and it's not really a choice for a knight). However, he also makes a point of remaining thin despite his access to as much fatty foods as he wants--this he feels makes him more approachable by the people of Camelot.



Background:

Leon spends most of his time in the background and his history is not very stellar. He grew up in a noble house of Camelot called Cameliard. There, under direction from his parents, he studied hard and became a squire to a Camelot knight, and eventually came to serve King Uther as a knight. His parents, while heavily involved in his life, were distant. They practically decided his occupation before he was born, and have since molded him into a prize son. He has an uncle who he never had much contact with, but who will inherit the land that Leon's parents have. Because of this Leon hopes to get high enough in the knightly ranks to earn some land for himself. He often felt he had to prove himself to his parents. Thus he continued to work hard as a knight and made his way up to second in command. All this time he has been acquiring money and with no land or family to spend it on he has become quietly wealthy.



Skills:

Very good at the usual knightly skills: riding, climbing, sword-fighting. He always fights by the rules, often proving to lawless thugs that rules do not limit one's ability by any means. He is very agile and since most of the fights he's encountered are for sport, he has some fun with it, adding extra unnecessary flair to his moves. He fights well under pressure and duress, but when he is distracted he can be bested.

This penchant for flair also stems from the fighting style of Cameliard. The people from this castle are of an old Roman line, and are particularly known for wielding long, light swords with great skill. They rely on their speed and agility for such sport, often not wearing armor and using a second weapon in the off-hand (dagger, cloak, buckler, etc.). Leon is the best at cloak and sword, though not many people know since such a fighting style is unwelcome in Camelot.

Leon is also quite intelligent, though this does not often come across because he keeps his thoughts to himself. He has a methodical thought process which makes him good at math (he is often left doing Camelot's accounts).




Personality:

Leon has a bit of the "Athur complex", which tints every aspect of his personality. He grew up rich and never had to worry about money, a family, and that kind of thing. It gives him an ideal, skewed view of the world. His life experience has shown him that hard work can get you anywhere you need to go. This can make him act somewhat superior.

However, growing up as a knight has instilled in him many good qualities. He is kind and mild-mannered to everyone regardless of class, often bordering on a doormat if people tell him what to do. He is tender-hearted and a silent romantic. He is cautious and thinks about the consequences of his actions. He does not lie if he can help it (and is as a consequence very bad at it). He feels more free to let his inhibitions go around his peers and lets his sense of humor show around the other knights. On any given day he is cheerful and offers his services to those below him. He is very brave and protective of innocents, his peers, and his liege. He is easily made annoyed but hardly ever really angry. He has a strong sense of morality (especially loyalty), and is particularly sensitive to the crimes of betrayal and cruelty--though he remains polite, he will never give up his morals. He is very respectful and will pull back when sparring with someone of higher rank or a civilian.

Although he is extremely loyal to Arthur, he is most loyal to the people of Camelot themselves. He has extremely strong emotional ties to the kingdom and always puts the people first, even contradicting Camelot's rulers in order to do so.

Leon loves collecting flags, standards and pennants. He also has an expert's appreciation for fine, well-crafted weapons. He has a very beautiful Cameliard sword and has his heart set on purchasing a rosewood double-action crossbow.



Relationships:

Arthur: Leon probably grew up as a young man with little Arthur running around causing mischief and blaming others for it. This probably contributes to Leon's protective, unassuming nature. Leon, despite his lower station, tried to be a good role model and influence on the young Arthur, considering that Uther was a distant father. Leon would do anything for Arthur, no questions asked--they are almost like family.

Gwen: Leon counts Gwen as one of his best friends. They played together as children, and thus they know a lot about each other. He also looked out for her when he was younger, especially since Elyan was out of her life for so long. I imagine he probably went over for dinner a lot when he was a squire. While they moved apart after he got a job as a knight he is still attached to her, and has enjoyed watching her grow up. He can't forget the amount of time they spent together as kids and he wished that they could somehow renew their relationship. After Gwen becomes queen (is Leon a little jealous that Arthur got there before him? Probably, though he'd never admit it), he hopes to renew the friendship they shared as kids.

Merlin: Leon recognizes Merlin's innate kindness and appreciates him for it--not all servants are as attentive or caring. Because of Merlin's constant presence and somewhat ambiguous social standing (what with hanging out with Arthur all the time), Leon finds himself treating Merlin like a friend, sharing riddles and complaining about the various annoyances of royal service. Leon still considers Merlin as below him, of course, but this relationship puts him in the place of an older brother. Leon and Merlin's relationship will go through some tough times, as Leon's adherence to law and rules clashes with Merlin's circumvention of rules, but Leon cares a lot about Merlin and wants him to have every advantage in life. When/if Leon finds out about Merlin's magic, he will be able to treat Merlin like the younger brother he never had.

Gwaine: Gwaine epitomizes everything that annoys Leon--he is undisciplined, never follows a plan, and could care less for class distinction. He is also jealous of Gwaine's ability to interact easily with people of all social standing, seeming to ignore standard conventions of politeness but never making people uncomfortable. He is also jealous of Gwaine's optimism and ability to make things go his way (seemingly) without trying. However, he respects Gwaine's determination and adherence to right, and admires his ability to look past convention and think in creative ways. Gwaine is the only one who can really make Leon angry, but he learns to appreciate it.

Kilhwch: Leon was forced to act as Arthur's and Killhwch's unofficial babysitter for a few summers as a squire, and he's never gotten over it. Leon feels like the prime target for Kilhwch's antics, and thus becomes so. He tries to be polite but nothing seems to work. He avoids Kilhwch as much as possible, his pride damaged by every encounter with him. Someday Leon plans to stand up to Sir K once and for all...but that day always seems quite a ways off.

Elaine: He started to notice Elaine soon after he broke up with Morgana, but he only recently ever spoke to her. He is somewhat in awe of Elaine--she is pretty, wealthy, a noblewoman--but he starts to really fall in love with her when he realizes that they have a lot in common, and that they can have conversations on anything from crossbows to epic romance ballads. She is actually attainable by him, which scares him to death. She seems less self-conscious than he is, which he admires. She's also got a temperate spirit that Leon identifies with--he needs someone a little bit more gentle, and Elaine can be that girl, if he ever gets up the courage to pursue the matter. He secretly hopes Elaine will do better in her pursuit of him.

Morgana: Leon, like many other noblemen in Camelot, quickly became entranced by Morgana's beauty and confidence. About a year before Merlin came to Camelot he plucked up the courage to court her, and she tolerated him for a few months. Morgana did not particularly care for Leon very much, and often used him just to get what she wanted. Leon's generous, meek nature meant that it took a longer time than most to realize that Morgana was using him. When he started to question her she broke it off between them. Leon never got over it, and he still respected Morgana even after she went publicly evil (even if he hates her guts, he still feels the need to be relatively polite).