Cradle of the Dynasty, Cradle of the Nation

Posts : 1 Join date : 2016-12-21

Name:
Vasile Costiniu.

Representative of:
Peleș Castle.

Gender:
Male.

Age:
Human: 21
Historical: Construction started in 1873, completed in 1914.

Brief personality:
Vasile is an self-depricating, self-critical man who despises almost everything about himself yet covers it up with a confident act. Though he wouldn't tell anyone, he desperately wishes he could be someone else, anyone else, even his younger brother. Despite being notably handsome, he constantly looks at himself in the mirror and shuns his appearance, believing that anyone who calls him attractive is delusional. If one were to comment on his appearance, he might get startled and flustered, and that's about the only way to shake his confident façade. To further illustrate what this façade is like, he seems a bit cocky and slightly flirtatious, and he may crack a joke and smile once or twice. Although his humour is a bit twisted, he can still blend in, altering his humour to make him seem more normal. Because he so heavily relies on this façade, it leads him to be extremely unhappy, since he secretly feels that no one would accept who he really is. Yet even though he hates himself, he likes to get what he wants, and getting in the way of that may result in getting hurt. He doesn;t go about getting what he wants in a childish way, but rather in a violent way. When angered, he can become erratic since he tends to act on impulse at first, yet depending on what angered him, he may decided to sit back and plan revenge. He easily gets jealous of others, especially people he deems more attractive, and may trying to get revenge towards them even if they haven't directly done anything to him. Even though he can be extremely dangerous, he's an expert at covering up his twisted mind with his usual façade.

Brief physical description:
Vasile is a tall, lithe man at 6'4" and 155 pounds, and is quite notably handsome. He has piercing red eyes that pop out due to his thick, black eyelashes, which glow in the dark since he's a vampire. His pupils will turn to slits, like a snake's when he's angry, so its best to avoid him when his pupils narrow. He has a head full of thick, messy, yet soft black hair that looks glossy in the sunlight and looks dark like a soulless void when out of the light. His skin is deathly pale and almost white, and if one were to touch it, he or she would notice he's cold like death and yet his skin is smooth like a baby's. He has pristine white teeth with two pairs of fangs; a top set and a bottom set. He typically wears dark clothes, and one can almost always see him wearing gloves. He never wears anything that shoes off his legs, meaning his pants always go past his ankles and never less. Because of his dark apparel, he gives off a dark aura that may drive any passer-by away.

Appearance:

Brief history:
When the King Carol I of Romania (1839–1914), under whose reign the country gained its independence, first visited the site of the future castle in 1866, he fell in love with the magnificent mountain scenery. In 1872, the Crown purchased 1,300 square kilometres (500 sq mi) of land near the Piatra Arsă River. The estate was named the Royal Estate of Sinaia. The King commissioned the construction of a royal hunting preserve and summer retreat on the property, and the foundation was laid for Peleș Castle on 22 August 1873. Several auxiliary buildings were built simultaneously with the castle: the guards' chambers, the Economat Building, the Foişor hunting lodge, the royal stables, and a power plant. Peleș became the world's first castle fully powered by locally produced electricity.

The first three design plans submitted for Peleș were copies of other palaces in Western Europe, and King Carol I rejected them all as lacking originality and being too costly. German architect Johannes Schultz won the project by presenting a more original plan, something that appealed to the King's taste: a grand palatial alpine villa combining different features of classic European styles, mostly following Italian elegance and German aesthetics along Renaissance lines. Works were also led by architect Carol Benesch. Later additions were made between 1893 and 1914 by the Czech architect Karel Liman, who designed the towers, including the main central tower, which is 66 metres (217 ft) in height. The Sipot Villa, which served as Liman's headquarters during the construction, was built later on. Liman would supervise the building of the nearby Pelişor Chateau (1889–1903, the future residence of King Ferdinand I and Queen Marie of Romania), as well as of King Ferdinand's villa in the Royal Sheepfold Meadow.

The cost of the work on the castle undertaken between 1875 and 1914 was estimated to be 16,000,000 Romanian lei in gold (approx. US$ 120 million today). Between three and four hundred men worked on the construction.

Construction saw a slight slowdown during the Romanian War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire in 1877–78, but soon afterwards the plans grew in size and construction was quite rapid. Peleș Castle had its official Royal Ball of Inauguration on 7 October 1883. King Carol I and Queen Elizabeth lived in Foişor Villa during construction, as did King Ferdinand and Queen Mary during the construction of Pelişor Castle. King Carol II was born at the castle in 1893, giving meaning to the phrase “cradle of the dynasty, cradle of the nation” that Carol I bestowed upon Peleș Castle. Carol II lived in Foișor Villa for periods during his reign.

After King Michael I's forced abdication in 1947, the Communist regime seized all royal property, including the Peleș Estate. The castle was opened as a tourist attraction for a short time. It also served as a recreation and resting place for Romanian cultural personalities. The castle was declared a museum in 1953. Nicolae Ceauşescu closed the entire estate between 1975 and 1990, during the last years of the Communist regime. The area was declared a "State Protocol Interest Area", and the only persons permitted on the property were maintenance and military personnel.

Ceauşescu did not like the castle very much and rarely visited. In the 1980s, some of the timber was infested with the Serpula lacrymans. After the December 1989 Revolution, Peleş and Pelişor Castle were re-established as heritage sites and opened to the public. Today, Foişor Castle serves as a presidential residence. The Economat Building and the Guard's Chambers Building are now hotels and restaurants. Some of the other buildings on the Peleş Estate were converted to tourist villas and some are now "state protocol buildings". In 2006, the Romanian government announced the restitution of the castle to former monarch Michael I. Negotiations soon began between the former king and the government of Romania, and have not concluded yet. The castle is on lease from the royal family to the Romanian state. Peleş Castle receives between a quarter and almost a half million visitors annually.

Religious affiliation:
Orthodox.

Any special powers or abilities:
Well, he’s a vampire so he has magic.

This character's hexcode is #330000.

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