Bowen Saith Kincaid is the second son and third child of Duke Aidan Kincaid and Lady Isys Kincaid nee Crawford, born on a stormy night in late November when waves lashed Lakeshire and promised a vengeful winter. In direct contrast to the weather ravaging the coast, Bowen arrived happily, wide-eyed in wonder at the word and cooing like a pigeon. His mood at birth would set the tone of his childhood: easy, cheerful, and curious. And though he was never spared the brunt of his parents’ strict upbringing and moral discipline, he nonetheless enjoyed a slightly relaxed place within it as not the heir, but the spare, and the baby of the family to boot.
From the time he could walk, Bowen was into everything: every cask, nook, cranny, crate, box, barrel and rooftop. His curiosity did not stem from a need for attention so much as it did a thirst for adventure and discovery. Things that are new held a huge part of his attention even then, as they do now. His natural curiosity led to a number of broken bones and to more than one stern lecture from his father, but, in truth, the patriarch of the Kincaid family held rather a soft spot in his heart for his youngest son’s escapades, the luxury of having another heir. Like his elder son, the Duke trained Bowden in the arts of combat and strategy and the younger Kincaid made a shadow of his older brother Hadrian, always underfoot and wanting to know what he was doing. So intense was Bowen’s curiosity that when the time came for him to be fostered beyond the home of his birth, he greeted the event with excitement rather than with dread. That excitement was magnified tenfold when he learned that it was not to another duchy he was to be page, but to the royal family itself.
If Bowen ever hurt his family, it was by not writing to them with thoughts of homesickness and nostalgia. On the contrary, he took to his new home at Darfield Castle with the joy of a duckling to water. The simple beauties of Lakeshire mean little to a boy. The bustle of the capitol on the other hand was a wonder and a thrill to him. Losing himself in marketplaces, climbing the endless rooftops, and becoming enthralled in the pageantry of the court made Bowen breathless. Determined to become of a knight of the Rioga, he took to the studies of combat rigorously, and found an idol in the crown-prince who had recently catapulted himself to fame in the battle of Kundar’s Crossing. Imagine, then, his astonishment and delight when he was squired to Prince Tyrel.
Since that time, Bowen has learned a great deal, and not just about weaponry, chivalry and tactics. He’s received some eye-opening lessons about the wilder side of life as well. Surprisingly, in spite of this ‘underbelly’ of his education, the young squire maintains a wide-eyed idealism and innocence that often make him seem even younger than his years. This quality, paired with gullibility and a natural desire to please often make him an easy pawn in the games of power that are played that the court. Perhaps Bowen will one day awaken to the cruel political realities of Darfield Castle. If so, the growing pains would be tremendous indeed. And if not, he will end up a paving stone on someone else’s path to glory.
