Crown Prince Elisen Stewert is the only son of King Eldwin Stewert. A boy amongst several girls, he was always aggressive and rowdy in his youth, tormenting his sisters with muddy snakes and gross worms. He was also the first to beat any other kids that looked at his sisters even slightly disrespectfully, quite overprotective of them.
King Eldwin trained Elisen well, in terms of administering a kingdom. Elisen particularly took to the sword, an unusually natural talent for him. He struggled with bludgeons and polearms, and was just alright hand to hand, but if the boy had a blade in his hands, he was nearly unstoppable. He was also an insatiable reader, devouring the famous literature of the kingdom at a voracious rate.
Unfortunately, Elisen battled illness throughout his youth. Eventually, it was identified as not a cold, but rather, asthma. This began to limit his exercise, and so he took up dancing instead. Dancing enabled him to move about without triggering an episode of difficulty in breathing. Doctors in the kingdom have instructed him to sleep on beds of spun silk instead of feathers and to stay clear from fields of flowers and, particularly, roses. Another instruction meant to help is he takes a cold bath at least once a day.
While Elisen was trained in how to run the kingdom, his younger sister Rowena seemed to be the one best suited for ambassadorship. That suited Elisen fine, since one day he’d be the one to send others away on the kingdom’s behalf anyway.
When the war broke out, Elisen was twelve. He was sent with a knight for a few weeks to see the battlefield and to fight in a few smaller skirmishes. The King felt it was a necessary experience to understand war if one was to command a country at war. This was the first time Elisen killed a man, and over the course of several skirmishes, Elisen would kill four. It was an experience that weighed heavily on him, leaving him hopeful he would never have to rule during war time.
In his final battle, Elisen was knocked from his horse and lay unconscious, face down and bleeding from a slice across his arm, in a shallow stream. He nearly drowned in the small amount of water, and ever since, he’s had an irrational fear of water.
As he grew older, Elisen earned a quiet reputation amongst his family for always being incredibly quick to fall in love with every pretty girl that he saw. He was a hopeless romantic, probably a result of his love of literature. Rarely did he ever get serious with any of the ladies, however. In fact, it seemed to be more pining than actual courting. At the same time, because of his asthma, he became known for his reading and dancing, and his skill with the blade seemed to be mostly forgotten by all but those he was closest to.
The war didn’t end, however, and as Elisen grew, it became apparent the day would come when Rowena would be sent as ambassador to try and bring things to peace. Elisen insisted to his father that he be allowed to accompany her. While sending his only son, the heir, was not his favorite option, the King reluctantly agreed.
