Numerius Octavius Arius

''"Long live the High Queen!" - Numerius. ''

''"Where one Gryphon lands, the flock ain't far behind!" - An insult heard whispered about him by an unknown citizen of Stonegate during a festival. ''

Appearance and Character
Standing at 6ft with broad shoulders and chest, Numerius, like Kor and Edric, is one of the taller people in Stonegate as well as one of the physically larger. Like the majority of those who live in the hotter climes of Andarus' mid-southern region, Numerius has naturally tanned skin and dark hair.

Due to his training and service in the Atrean army, he is stoic and calm when on duty. Off-duty, he is friendly enough to others, although keeps his true thoughts close to his chest as he is aware that not all of the Betonians welcome him or Octavia.

Because of Numerius' stoic nature and the thick steel armour he wears at all times, he is viewed with suspicion and fear, especially by the common folk. This has left him with few close friends in Stonegate.

Biography
Born in the five-hundredth and fifty-forth year of the Aria Dynasty's reign, Numerius is three years older than Prince Harold and Edric. His father, Decimus, named him Numerius, a name meaning that he was born swiftly and easily. However his mother, Seia, passed away an hour later, leading Decimus to refuse to call Numerius by his first name, instead referring to him as Octavius.

History
Like most male children born in Atrea, Numerius was raised for war, being inducted into the Atrean army at the age of sixteen, but trained at home by his father beforehand. Steadfast and determined, he proved his metal time and time again over the years, eventually becoming a Centurion during the Clash of Claws, a brutal battle between the Atreans and the Dragons. The battle was so named because the Atrean symbol, and that of its army, is a Gryphon.

By the five-hundredth and eighty-seventh year of the Aria Dynasty, aged thirty-three, Numerius was sent to Stonegate in Betony to serve as his older cousin's personal bodyguard after the death of her original one, Caius Sepurcius Libanius. As Queen Octavia's cousin and loyal guard, she entrusted him with the truth of her being Edric's mother, as well as another secret which he has been sworn to take to the grave above all else.