Freedom cannot be bestowed — it must be achieved. (WRC)
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Wilhelm Svoboda
"Cause in a world, where they don't separate gold and law
Where they crown a murderer and burn the healer
In a world where everyone is hiding out of fear
It is time to awaken the dragon"-- Feuer, FaunBasic Information
Alias: Whilem Svoboda
Name Meaning: "Svoboda" translates to freedom in Czech
Birth Name: Ferdinand von Rothschild
Title:
Age: 28
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Hetrosexual
Nationality: Veredunian
Status: Ferdinand is legally considered to be dead. Whiliem however, is not. Therefore, Ferdinand lives under his alias, "Whiliem Svoboda."
Current Residence: Ikh Khüree, Rougan.
Marital Status: Unknown
Profession: Military Intelligence Officer stationed at Rougan.
Theme Song: Feuer, Faun.Appearance
Height: 6'1
Hair: Wavy
Hair Color: Chestnut Brown
Eye Color: Sapphire-Blue (or "Rothschild Blue")
Body: lean, athletic, strong, agile
Face Claim: James Norton
More Information
Personality: honorable, humble, open-minded, easy-going, relaxed, disciplined, determined, hard working, honest, loyal, independent, intelligent, strategic, curious, stubborn
Biography:
Ferdinand was Nicholas and Serafina von Rothschild’s third child, their second son. Younger than his older siblings, Ferdinand was significantly closer to his younger siblings, his younger sister in Juliet particularly. Despite Juliet's health being quite questionable during the early years of her life, Ferdinand and Juliet were almost inseparable. After all, they were only a year apart. As the two mild-tempered children of the house, both of them got along exceedingly well. They did everything together- watched the same movies (which was just Sound of Music on repeat really because that was and is Juliet's favorite movie), listened to the same music, played with each other in the vast gardens and grounds of the Shloss Hoensalzburg, and went exploring the city of Salzburg together. As Ferdinand and Juliet grew older, they increasingly became peace-keepers among their siblings- bridging the gap between Erik and Alexander and Evangeline.
For the most part, Ferdinand was a happy child- a bundle of energy really. Chestnut brown hair and bright blue eyes with round rosy cheeks, Ferdinand was a precious child. As a child, Ferdinand really did look like a little doll. Of course, he was much to active to actually be a doll. When placed beside Juliet, it was clear that they were siblings. They resembled each other strongly, in terms of personality as well as appearance. While Juliet's health was considerably worse than Ferdinand's, that never stopped her from trying to be as active as he was. And naturally, there were consequences to that. Every time Juliet overexerted herself, which was quite often to be honest, she'd pay the price by being bed-ridden for the next few weeks. In these moments, Serafina did her best to distract Juliet from her poor health and generally make the atmosphere far more lively and fun. After all, every time Juliet was bed-ridden, Ferdinand felt exceedingly guilty. And as their mother, Serafina was aware of that. Ferdinand recalls spending his days playing various board games and indoor games with his mother and Juliet, and when Erik was old enough to join, Erik as well. It would range from monopoly, to chess. And in each game, Ferdinand would let Juliet win- she would notice and demand they played again. Eventually, it became a force of habit. Despite Erik being quite close to both of them, he was never as close to Ferdinand as Juliet was. None of his siblings were. Juliet was more than just his sister- she was his best friend. And arguably his only friend to be quite honest. As many cherished memories Ferdinand had of Hoensalzburg, there were no other children around besides his siblings. After all, Shloss Hoensalzburg was also Serafina von Rothschild's own private genetic research center. And in the absence of other children, both Ferdinand and Juliet grew that much closer.
The death of Ferdinand's parents was tough on him, as it was on his other siblings. He was distraught to say the least. However, seeing the fact that his other siblings were in a far worse position than he was, Ferdinand internalized his grief. And like him, Juliet had done the same- placing consoling her other siblings before herself. They began with Erik, the youngest. Barely 10 at the time, Erik was the least aware of what had happened. Following Erik, it was their older siblings- Alexander and Evangeline, both of whom were visibly devastated. The next few days went by exceedingly fast. At their parents funeral, Ferdinand and his siblings were informed that their parents died in an airplane crash. The night of the funeral, Ferdinand and Erik were quickly put on an aircraft and taken away to the military base in Arad to live under the guardianship of Rene Flemming, a rather notable Veredunian general. Juliet on the other hand, was taken by Empress Catherine herself. She would be the first of his siblings to be accepted by Empress Catherine as the legitimate daughter of Serafina von Rothschild, and only one of his siblings who was truly beloved by the Empress of Veredun.
In Arad, both Ferdinand and Erik were in for a rude shock. Raised as princes with tremendous excess, the two brothers had a tough time to adjusting to life at Arad. Rene Flemming was renowned for his "Spartan" ways- there were no excesses across the entire base. Every single element of the base was being utilized to its fullest capacity, and if it wasn't, it would soon be. Rene Flemming believed that excess makes the soul weak- it made a person far too reliant and attached to inanimate, material objects. It diminished the individual's innate humanity by curtailing the individual's human reactions of sympathy and empathy. Material possessions made individuals isolated. It came as no surprise then when Ferdinand and Erik learned that Rene Flemming despised modern communication technology. Had it been up to Rene himself, the two brothers would contact the outside world only through letters and photographs. However, due to the grace and goodwill of the other members of the military base, the brothers were provided with communication privileges. Though, both of them would soon learn that these privileges, like with everything in life had to be earned.
For the most part, Ferdinand actually flourished on Arad. It turned out that he worked best under consistent pressure and structure. At the base, Ferdinand and Erik were taught a wide variety of subjects to supplement their schooling. And along with these subjects, both were also expected to live according to the rules of the military base- the physical exercise, the discipline, and most of all, the military drills. By the time Ferdinand was 16, he was allowed to begin his military service. By doing so, he would be the youngest person in Veredun to ever complete his mandatory military service. And he was. Having grown up on Arad, Ferdinand had essentially been undergoing his military training along with Erik since the day he had arrived at Arad. Therefore, when it came to actually completing his military service, Ferdinand sailed through it all and was quickly swept up by the Veredunian army as an intelligence officer and quickly made his way up the hierarchy. To be honest, Ferdinand absolutely loved working in the Veredunian army. Away from the base, he had greater freedom to meet his older siblings, and greater freedom to travel in general. Even so, Ferdinand made it a point to keep in close contact with his life at Arad. He kept a close eye on his younger brother Erik, eventually persuading him to begin his military service at 15, hoping that some military structure and a change in scenery would make him less reckless and rebellious- and it worked of course. But most of all, Ferdinand made it a point to keep in touch with Rene Flemming- a legal guardian who had eventually evolved into being his father-figure.
As Ferdinand rose in the army ranks, the more freedom he got. He used this freedom to travel of course. Once in 3 months, Ferdinand and Juliet would often vanish off to a remote location for about a week. They would never disclose the name of their destination of course, wanting to keep the entire thing a secret. Both were in serious need of a vacation, and this was often the easiest way to do so. After all, there was no stress if no one could contact you right?
Ferdinand's army postings took him all across Veredun, and during one of his postings, he made the acquaintance of a certain Antonio de Medici. The two became easy friends. And it was not surprising really. Despite Antonio's checkered past, in many ways he and Ferdinand were extremely alike- both realistic, honest, methodical, surprisingly humble, and both oddly intellectual. What began as meetings for work soon evolved into evenings at the bar, where both would be always discussing something or the other over a beer, or more. They'd often end up discussing work-related matters over a serious game of chess, or horseback in some Veredunian meadow- Ferdinand advocated that the human mind worked better in nature. And when Ferdinand eventually was transferred to a different location for a posting, both made it a point to keep in touch with each other. Then it came as no surprise that Ferdinand was eventually asked to witness Juliet and Antonio's secret wedding ceremony- he obliged of course.
And it was through Antonio that Ferdinand met the lovely Elenora de Medici- his cousin, and the sole, female Medici survivor. The day Ferdinand met Elenora, he knew that he would marry her one day. She was everything he could have asked for in a woman, and more. Sharp-witted, sarcastic, intelligent, independent, playful, and simply effortless. Words didn't exist to explain how Ferdinand felt about Elebora. However, seeing how negatively his siblings and Empress Catherine had reacted to Juliet's marriage to her cousin, Ferdinand and Elenora agreed to keep their relationship secret. Only Juliet and Antonio knew. Antonio because he was Elenora's cousin (and her only confidant to be frank), and Juliet because Ferdinand could never successfully keep secrets from her. This was no different.
But their happiness would soon come to an abrupt end.
The more Ferdinand rose in the army ranks, the closer it took him to Vienna, the imperial city. And it was around this time that things began to go downhill. All of a sudden, Ferdinand was exposed to a new Veredun. A bad Veredun. He was hearing all sorts of unsubstantiated rumors- Veredun was developing biological weaponry and advanced health care through human experimentation; the Veredunian police was involved in thousands of cases of disappearances, unlawful arrests and accounts of cruelty and barbarism upon the prisoners; oh and the fact that the entire Medici "purge" was orchestrated by Empress Catherine to silence her opposition, and the fact that Vincent de Medici was alive. Absolutely lost and drowning in doubts and conspiracy theories, Ferdinand found himself loosing clarity. In Vienna, he was paranoid and constantly on edge- very much unlike his usual easy-going personality. Feeling the need to take control of the situation, Ferdinand quietly began to investigate some of the rumors that were spread around Vienna, starting of course with Vincent de Medici being alive. And he was- living in Rustavya under an alias actually.
And after this, Ferdinand's life was effectively ruined.
Wanting to learn more, Ferdinand foolishly reached out to Vincent de Medici, who of course obliged. Realizing that it would be far too controversial for Ferdinand to actually come to Rustavya, Vincent agreed to meet Ferdinand in a fairly neutral ground, Wahah. The wealth and extravagance of Wahah would shield both of them easily. It was a stupid thing really. Ferdinand should never gave agreed to meet with Vincent de Medici at all. In fact, had he been self-preserving, he would have simply looked the other way, just as his colleagues and superiors had been doing for years now. But Ferdinand's curiosity overwhelmed him. He had to know. And if not for his sake, at least for Elenora's.
Meeting with Vincent was pretty much as Ferdinand had imagined it to be- Vincent was nothing but charming, and evaded all his questions with questions of his own, elaborately confusing Ferdinand. And when the topic of Ferdinand's parents came up, Vincent simply shrugged and took a shot of vodka- "I did what I had to do." Those words confirmed everything Ferdinand needed to know- Vincent de Medici had killed his parents. And as much as Ferdinand wanted to enact his revenge upon him for that, he needed Vincent. Ferdinand suspected that Vincent held knowledge about Veredun's secret human experimentation, and in order to know the truth he needed Vincent unfortunately. Ferdinand knew that he wasn't going to get anything in Veredun besides baseless rumors after all. He was not a part of the "inner circle of power"- the Empress; his aunt and uncle, Princess Theodora and Prince Mattias; his cousins, Anastasia and Konrad; and a few other relatives of his extended family. And to be honest, nor did Ferdinand want to be. He knew that to enter their exclusive circle, Ferdinand was going to have to compromise on his morals- and he would never do such a thing. Instead, he would destroy them externally.
To be quite frank, Vincent had always needed someone like Ferdinand- a young, idealistic man who was swept away by his own notions of patriotism and loyalty. So in exchange for the information Ferdinand sought, Vincent used Ferdinand too- after leaving Veredun, he had almost no access to the inner workings of Veredun and her industries. And through Ferdinand, Vincent gathered his information. Very soon, conversations had become treason- and Ferdinand was in too deep to get out. Naturally, it wasn't long before suspicions arose. Ferdinand's repeated trips to Wahah were suspicious, especially because most of them were personal. And upon looking into it, Prince Mattias discovered that Ferdinand was actually meeting a Rustavyan and exchanging information with him- the identity of the Rustavyan was not disclosed. Upon presenting this information to Empress Catherine, her daughter, Elisabeth Koltovosky was asked to look into the matter from the Rustavyan side. After all, she was the Rustavyan Minister of Public Health at the time. And by the time Empress Catherine discovered that Ferdinand had actually been meeting with Vincent secretly in Wahah, Ferdinand had got what he wanted- solid proof of Veredunian human experimentation. Unfortunately, Ferdinand never actually got to expose this proof. Influencing Konrad, Empress Catherine convinced her grandson to orchestrate Ferdinand's death- it would be done quietly, in order to keep the information Ferdinand had discovered concealed. And it was. On October 26, 2016, Ferdinand von Rothschild was declared to be officially dead, after being MIA for about a week. In his death was commemorated as a Veredunian martyr- a hero, and one of Veredun's most promising young minds. His death impacted his siblings negatively, Erik and Juliet specifically. Both were devastated to say the least.
Surprisingly, Ferdinand actually did not die. In fact, he wasn't even MIA. One of his colleagues had tipped him off about the impending assassination attempt, allowing Ferdinand to orchestrate the perfect escape. First he went to Elenora and convinced her to leave with him- both of them would escape to the vast lands of Rouran and proceed to live a quiet life, away from Veredun and its toxicity. After a lot of convincing, she agreed. She was supposed to meet him in Rouran- Ferdinand had gone on earlier. He waited for 3 weeks. When he heard nothing, Ferdinand amused the worst- she had died. Unable to use any of his former contacts either, Ferdinand was left stranded in Rouran, forced to adopt an alias under which he would continue to live. There was no other option. This alias was Whiliem Svoboda. After establishing himself a little in Rouran, Ferdinand joined the Veredunian army once more as a military inteligence officer under the alias of "Whiliem Svoboda." Exceedingly detached from Veredun geographically and culturally, Rouran was the perfect place for him to hide- no one knew who he was, rather who he had been. After all, Rouran was Vthe Veredunian Eastern Front- its people had been terrorized by war for centuries. They hardly cared for Veredunian politics at all.
After establishing himself within the Veredunian military in Rouran, Ferdinand finally looked into Elenora's death. He found no details at all- in fact, it was as if she had never existed. When confronted with this, Ferdinand knew they had killed her. Any lingering impulses to contact Juliet or his other siblings were now gone. He would never mention anything about Veredun, or his former life in Veredun. As far as he was concerned, Ferdinand von Rothschild was dead. And he intended to leave it as such.
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