 Aaric Barca 
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| Duke of the Isle of Guardian
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| Status
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| Fullname |
Philip Aaric Barca
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| House |
House Barca
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| Titles and styles |
His Grace, Duke Guardian, Dux Bellorum
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| Investiture |
Dec. 24, 505
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| Predecessor |
Eadric Conway
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| Heir Apparent |
Marquis Marcus Damien Barca
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| Date of Birth |
January 10, 482
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| Place of Birth |
Gwencalon, Caerdach
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| Father |
Duke Damien Barca
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| Mother |
Duchess Chloe Barca
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| Gender |
Male
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| Height |
6 feet, 1 inch
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| Eyes |
Black
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| Marital Status |
Widower
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| Issue |
Marcus Damien Barca
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Lucas Barca
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Tegan Barca
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Philip Barca*
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| Quote
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"Life is like a game of chess, in which there are an infinite number of complex moves possible. The choice is open, but the move made contains within it all future moves. One is free to choose, but what follows is the result of one's choice. From the consequences of one's action there is never any escape."
-- Shelly Smith
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| Unlikely Beginnings
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"And we understand him well -- how he comes o'er us with our wilder days, not measuring what use we made of them."
-- Henry V, I.ii
Being the middle child in a small family is difficult enough. Philip, to his personal dismay, found himself the fifth out of a total of eight children. Far enough from the head of the line for inheritance of the Guardians duchy, he did not immerse himself in the training and fighting; far enough from the tail end, he did not gather the attention his younger siblings did. He made his way primarily through diplomacy and negotiation, and unintentionally gained considerable skill in resolving conflicts not only in his own family but among others as well. He has studied fighting and warfare enough to have developed an expertise in strategy and tactics, and shines particularly in the fields of either maintaining or interrupting the flow of logistics.
Having interacted regularly with the Claremont family of Draught during his formative years, he developed a close friendship with Isolde Claremont, at that time the Marchioness. In the early years the pair got along well, playing countless games of chess and developing all manner of secret coded communication. Eventually this friendship led where most boy-girl friendships do despite the disapproval of their respective families.
As part of an effort to separate the pair Duke Damien Barca installed Philip as Baron of Caerdach, in hopes that his secure title and land management responsibilities would sway him from attempts to pursue courtship with Isolde. About that time Isolde's public behavior began to make her a questionable companion for him, and Philip was sent to Caerdach for two years to "learn" his responsibities. During his time away Damien was injured in a mine collapse that left him severely debilitated, mentally and physically, to the point that his daughter Asha Barca became Duchess.
On his return to Gateway in late 502 A.G. for Asha's marriage to Tairell Flint, Philip encountered Isolde, by now without title. Although he avoided public association with her and attempted to maintain a respectful distance, their initial reunion was apparently close enough that nine months later she gave birth to Demetrius Lieberman and Persephone Lieberman. Isolde initially attempted to pass off the children as those of Baron Erich Liebermann, whom she had married shortly after Philip's return (and who died within a fortnight), but the twins were eventually acknowledged as Philip's and the pair were subsequently betrothed. For just under six months he was both Baron Caerdach and Baron Consort Destine. When the appointed date for their wedding came and went without a ceremony it became clear that the match had been quietly terminated at the last moment for unknown reasons, at least one of which might be Philip's regular assertion that he cannot trust the woman.
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| Rise and Rule
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"Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence. Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting."
--Sun Tzu
Philip returned to Caerdach in the spring of 504 A.G. to support the duchy's forces against the rebellion, taking charge of connecting the inter-isle logistics shipments with the legion quartermasters. After his sister's apparent death and transfer of ducal title to Eadric Conway and Arianell Conway (a descendant of an older branch of the Barca line), he continued to serve as Baron Caerdach. Over the course of the next year, however, calls came from many in Guardian and some without for him to reclaim the title. Initially reluctant, Philip began to find increasing support. When a fortuitous combination of events including riots in Trebachas, the disappearance of Baron Tarrant Conway, the sudden death of Dux Bellorum Trahearn Conway, and a Green Fields harvest allowed an increase in shipments of food and weapons to prepare his forces, he moved to reclaim the Ducal seat in an action taken without initial bloodshed but with threat of siege. Following negotiations with Duke Eadric and a fortnight's truce for mourning Trahearn, the sitting duke agreed to step aside in Philip's favor...but not before replacing the leadership of four of Guardian's five baronies.
And so on the 5th of December in the year 505, the Restoration of Barca rule on Guardians was completed and Philip became Duke of the Isles of Guardian and commander of the legions, thereby reintegrating the political and military command on Guardian in a single authority. And yet he did so not as Philip Barca, instead adopting his middle name of 'Aaric' for public use from that time forward. Somewhere, his little brother was laughing himself silly. Aaric's first public moves were conciliatory. He arranged meetings with his new barons, including those who had supported his bid for rule as well as those who had not. A flurry of baronial betrothals were arranged in those first few months of rule, and even the duke himself was not immune. In April bans announced Aaric's betrothal to intelligence analyst Shayne Locksley, eldest daughter of the powerful diamond and shipping magnate Dane Locksley. It is an open secret in Guardian and elsewhere that the Barca Restoration would not have been possible were it not for the proceeds of Locksley mines, and the match caught few by surprise.
(More to come.)
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| Personality
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"First say to yourself who you want to be, then do what you have to do."
-- Epictetus
 No one who knew Philip in his youth would have pegged him as a likely candidate to rule an island renowned for its warrior heroes. But those closest to him will readily attest to private changes in his bearing and person since attaining the ducal seat that extend well beyond the sharply tailored wardrobe, the newfound self-possession, or even the arguably ostentatious discarding of his first name in favor of his seldom used middle. They say it's as if the man has shed the skin of the boy he was and exposed something far sharper gestating beneath. After four years of rule, Aaric has demonstrated a knack for negotiation and diplomacy, though he has also shown that he possesses all the ruthlessness of his ancestors, which combined with his own chilly brand of logic can make for a potent and decidedly unpleasant cocktail. Those who know him best, and they are few enough, would likely say that the Duke is a careful, serious man deeply devoted to his people.
Pragmatic, canny, and possessed of a prodigious strategic insight, the duke also benefits from a robust poker face that betrays little of his calculating turn of mind. Though his longtime love affair with chess has gifted him with an abiding patience, it is also rumored that beneath his stoic front Aaric possesses all the brimming passion of his bloodline. By inclination a private person, the demands of his office require him to become a regular fixture at court -- and a sharp wit, a love of games and puzzles, and a sophisticated but broad-based appreciation for alcoholic beverages (whiskey being his favorite) all serve him well there.
Though he is in regular consultation with his vassals about affairs of the island, his inner circle is quite close. His chancellor is said to be closest to his ear, though in military matters he has relied on the counsel of others. Aaric's relationship with his own liege was famously strained for reasons as much personal as political, but in recent years they seem to have arrived at an improbable friendship -- not the least because they have more in common than either of them seem prepared to admit.
As a traditionalist and unlikely patriarch of the Barca clan, Aaric is a deeply committed family man. His youngest sister, the Baroness Caerdach, is a point of particular tenderness and has come to play a vital role in the domestic life at Guardian tower since Aaric became a widow. Chloe, meanwhile, has become a nearly indispensable administrator and diplomat for Aaric on a fractious, unruly island. He was at one time quite close to his ne'er do well youngest brother, but they have drifted apart since Aaric took the ducal seat. His elder brother's years at sea -- years which included the fall and restoration of House Barca -- have left their relations uncertain, though to all appearances they maintain a jostling rapport. Rumors persisted about tension between Aaric and the beautiful heiress whose family helped bankroll the Barca Restoration throughout their three years of marriage, but none could deny the extent of his grief following her unexpected death.
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| Notes
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- In fact, he enjoys games of all kinds, and is famously eager to take a bet on the most trifling of matters.
- He can read and write in Baecish, and could quote you line and verse from the poets and philosophers of the old empire... were he ever to actually speak it.
- He is a voracious reader in general, and it's said that his collection of texts in Caerdach would put almost any self-respecting Draughtian to shame.
- Though he was never the most athletic of his brood, he established a grueling training regimen under the supervision of his former guard captain that continues to this day. It might be a mistake to underestimate him.
- His time in the legion beyond basic training was served with the Quartermaster. He knows his logistics.
- He wore mostly sweaters in his younger years. He doesn't anymore, and would prefer if you didn't bring it up.
- He apparently needs very, very little sleep. Among a hard-working staff he is first up and last to bed.
- Rarely he will smoke a pipe or cigar.
- He drinks more often these days, and does not time it.
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| Playlist
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- Chaconne -- J.S. Bach, Andres Segovia --
- Tone.
- You Are a Runner and I Am My Father's Son -- Wolf Parade -- Lyrics
- I'll draw three figures on your heart. One of them will be me as a boy, one of them will be me, one of them will be me watching you run.
- Theme.
- Barely Legal (NSFW) -- The Strokes -- Lyrics
- You aint never had nothing I wanted, but I want it all and I just can't figure out nuthin.
- Young loves.
- Psychotic Girl -- The Black Keys -- Lyrics
- I thought you'd changed but I shoulda known, you play nice for a time and then you do me wrong.
- Bad news.
- Next Girl -- The Black Keys -- Lyrics
- Oh, my next girl will be nothing like my ex-girl. I made mistakes back then, I'll never do it again.
- Refrain
- Battleflag (REALLY NSFW) -- Lo Fidelity Allstars -- Lyrics
- Gotta revolution behind my eyes, we gotta get up and organize.
- Restoration.
- Play With Fire -- Cobra Verde -- Lyrics
- Now you have your diamonds and you will have some others, but you'd better watch your step girl or start living with your mother.
- New arrangements.
- Por una cabeza -- Carlos Gardel --
- Last tango in Gateway.
- Everything Goes to Hell -- Tom Waits -- Lyrics
- There were a few things I never could believe.
- A dark turn of mind.
- Hate is All You Need -- The Delgados -- Lyrics
- Build a different world, hate will help you find what youve been looking for.
- Self explanatory.
- Secret Meeting -- The National -- Lyrics
- I'm sorry I missed you; I had a secret meeting in the basement of my brain. It went the dull and wicked, ordinary way.
- Who doesn't have a touch of paranoia?
- Wolf Like Me -- TV on the Radio -- Lyrics
- Got a curse I cannot lift, shines when the sunset shifts.
- Old wounds.
- Have You Passed Through This Night? -- Explosions in the Sky -- Lyrics
- Is this darkness in you, too?
- Dun Artan.
- Things Have Changed -- Bob Dylan -- Lyrics
- A worried man with a worried mind, no one in front of me and nothing behind.
- Strange days.
- 3rd Planet (NSFW) -- Modest Mouse -- Lyrics
- And baby cum angels fly around you, reminding you that we used to be three and not two.
- Hard times.
- Teardrop -- Jose Gonzalez -- Lyrics
- You're stumbling in the dark.
- A very strange sort of mourning.
- On Chess (NSFW) -- The Wire --
- Unless they some smart-ass pawns.
- Coda.
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