Renata Medeiros, Princess of Ethuria

Age: 19

Appearance: Renata has long, dark hair and relatively light skin which nonetheless darkens in the summertime. Her eyes are blue, like her father's, and she is an inch or two taller than him.

History: The Ethurian royal family, while extremely wealthy, is also surprisingly frugal, which has contributed strongly to their popularity wth the commonfolk. To this end, the family has added no new expensive crowns or jewellery to the royal collection and spend no more than the Dukes and other high nobles when it comes to clothing and required refurbishments to the palace. Thus, while Renata and her twin brother grew up very privileged, they were taught to be more responsible than most princes and princesses. Both received a basic education in literature, the sciences and mathematics and each pursued their own interests, supported fully by their parents.

War never reached the palace, though the capital was briefly under siege late in the conflict. Those dark days has necessitated lessons with weaponry in addition to the more traditional studies allowed to a princess. Renata trained alongside her brother, though she took little pleasure in it, preferring to read the histories or work on her various art projects. Once the invaders were thrown back, she and her mother went personally amongst the populace to grieve with those lost, and Renata executed a number of sketches, some of which were turned into paintings or were used by others as inspiration for tapestries and painted scenes on ceramics.

The war and rebuilding in the aftermath prevented a betrothal at an earlier age, and rumours soon flew that there was some disagreement within the palace regarding her hand. Nonetheless, a marriage contract with the High Duke of Hrethmar was signed by representatives of both nations one month earlier.