Archie

Perhaps the only defining characteristic of the young Archibald Herring Rothsporg is a tendency towards service. Born in the country of Avalon to a Fisherman and a Lady's Maid, from a young age Archibald (Archie) knew that he was destined to one day serve the nobility.

Also, it could be said that he was a bit of an idiot. Though surely his idiocy could not and would not interfere with the performance of his duties to his Duke.



Occupation
Archie is currently under dual-employ. He is the official Valet of the Duke of Rosemond (whereabouts currently unkown) as well as performing Valet-ish duties for Mallorie's household.

Infancy to Early Childhood
Archie's mother, Corra Camden Rothsporg, served as a lady's maid to the Dowager Duchess of Rosemond (now deceased). Over the course of her service she frequently took charge of the growing Duke and was charmed by the child's sincerity and grace. Herman Codlin Rothsporg, her husband and Archie's father, had never wanted children but after several strongly worded hints and more than a few 'accidentally' burnt puddings, he relented. 9 months later, Archie was born.

Archie was, surprisingly, a very quiet, serious child. From crib to the grounds of the Rosemond's summer estates, Archie spent the majority of his time gazing into the distance, only occasionally crying out to draw attention to a butterfly or some other wonder.

Being the child of a servant, Archie had a great deal of contact with the local nobility -- though rarely direct contact. Whether it was the young Duke himself (some five years Archie's senior) or the children of the various local minor nobles, Archie spent the majority of his childhood watching others sword practice, dance practice, take lute lessons, endless hours of needlework, etiquette courses, etc. It was from this fascination with how the better half of society lived that Archie began to realize just how hard it was to be noble. This realization would eventually become the foundation for a life of support and service.

[[File:Archie-Duke_Sword_Practice.png|thumb|The Duke of Rosemond at Practice by Hugo D'Anise

Archie began his career of service swaddled in blankets and pillows, under orders not to cry.]]

Duelling the Dukeling
It was during one of these voyeuristic spells of fascination that Archie first came to the young Dukeling's attention. Struggling with one of the finer points of swordplay, the frustrated Dukeling threw his practice sword with great vigour into the azaleas where Archie crouched. Archie dutifully grabbed the foil and waddled over to present it to the Dukeling.

Sensing an opportunity for easy victory the Duke cried to his swordmaster "Here's a likely lad! Let's see if he can spot a feint in quatre."

"I can indeed Yer Grace," said Archie with a bow (for he had spent the last 2 hours watching the Duke repeatedly fail to do so).

"A test then!" shouted the Dukeling. The swordmaster ran through a set of very complicated forms and to the Dukeling's astonishment, young Archibald was able to name them all. So impressed was the swordmaster (and so contrary a pupil was the teenage Dukeling) that he quickly recruited Archie to assist him.

Swaddled in makeshift armor (blankets, cushions, and bits of crockery until he grew to a suitable size for protective clothing) Archie became the Duke's sparring partner and the swordmaster's chief confidant and aide in the delicate science of telling an adolescent noble that his Grete Steppe left his guard weak on the right side.

(Here it should be noted that though Archie's youthful command of the theoretical principles of swordplay was vast, his only practical training consisted of being repeatedly thwumped, stabbed, cut and cursed by a more powerful opponent. When the Dukeling's fencing tutelage had run its course, Archie promptly forgot all but the most basic forms and theories).

Perhaps it was his size and age, perhaps it was the fact that Archie openly worshipped Rosemond, or more likely it was his ability to mercilessly stab Archie in the cushion whenever fancy took him, but the Dukeling soon came to feel affection for his sparring partner and something akin to a friendship was struck up between the two lads.

Mother's Death to the Great Terrier Chase
When Archie turned fourteen, his mother, Cora, became gravely ill. As a favored lady's maid to the Dowager Duchess she was well cared for until her passing. On her deathbed Cora asked the Rosemond's house steward-- Rupert Fiskington -- to find a place within the young Duke's household for Archie. She knew (in that instinctive way that mother's always know) that Archie's destiny was tied to the Rosemond's and that no other career would satisfy the boy.

Master Fiskington, moved by Cora's request, broached the subject with laudable tact and grace to the aging Dowager Duchess who, after a few months, skillfully maneuvered and wheedled the Dukeling into taking young Archie on as his personal bootblack.

Archie quickly moved through the ranks of the service, performing at one time or another the duties of a groom, a tea boy, a footman, a lamplighter, a torch-dowser, and a rather lamentable and feather-filled afternoon as a game keeper (which all and sundry agreed was probably best forgotten about... and quickly).

As a sixteenth birthday present the Duke gave Archie his current position as valet and despite all the expectations of Master Fiskington, the fit was perfect for Archibald.

The Great Terrier Chase
During Archie's seventeenth year, the Duke began taking an active role in the defense of Avalon and her Queen through his obligations to Her Majesty's Foreign Office. While the Duke became ever more increasingly embroiled in the affairs of state, Archie began a campaign against a far more domestic enemy: Rosemond's prize terrier Phillipa Orange Blossom Schubert Nummykins the Third.

The long standing belief of the Rosemond's servants was that the family's prize terriers were such terrors that they must have been spawned in the deepest depths of some Fae-touched Hell. This view seems to have been at one time quite common as evidenced by Royal Decree #63c852.17 which prohibits the Rosemond family from bringing


 * "[...] beasts of a dogged and smallish nature within the confines, grounds, or within ten long strides of persons belonging to or under the employ of any member of the royal house or these undersigned members of the court [...] unless permission is obtained and signed by the Chief Clerk of the Exchequer, the Knight Captain General of the Realm, and Lord Baslington until such time as he expires[...]" - c. 1543

Despite popular opinion (or perhaps in long-suffering willful defiance of it) the Rosemond's loved their dogs fiercely and the young Duke took Phillipa with him whenever her condition permitted. As much of the Duke's business took place within royally owned property or with royally appointed personages, it fell to young Archie to "mind Her Nummy-ness" while the Duke was otherwise engaged. Despite Archie's best intentions, the two soon developed a deep and abiding enmity.

It was during a closed conference concerning the Duke's upcoming trip to Paix that Phillipa Orange Blossom Nummykins the Third very nearly sunk Archie's career by wriggling free from her lead. In the ensuing chaos of her escape she neatly dispatched Archibald by nuzzling at his boots until he fell into a potted palm and during his struggle to free himself from the foliage Her Nummy-ness dashed into the Rosemond's hedge maze, promptly disappearing.

There is much debate about how the events that followed played out. One camp holds that Archie immediately sent word to the House Steward to mobilize a search party before dashing full tilt into the hedge-maze. The second, more widely held view, is that the search party was formed several hours after Archie had charged into the maze when the potted palm was discovered with Phillipa's lead inextricably tangled around its trunk. Regardless, the entire estate and eventually the neighboring township were mobilized and dispatched into the maze to search for Phillipa.

The Great Terrier Chase, as it came to be known, lasted for two full days. It resulted in
 * 9 fatalities ( two of apparent natural causes, three by savage mauling by "predators unknown of extraordinary size", two by decapitation, one of apparent hysteria and one of drowning)
 * 3 marriages (two happy, one miserable)
 * the displacement by unknown means of the local priest to a brothel in Carleon (not immediately discovered due to travel time and general embarrassment)
 * the complete disappearance of 6 persons of the community and 3 servants of the house
 * the discovery of Head Cook Agatha's mother's famous Apple Treacle recipe (presumed lost for decades)
 * 3 pregnancies (two happy, one out of wedlock)
 * the unexplained correction of the angle of several paintings in the Duke's Gallery that had been crooked for a number of years
 * countless small scratches and bite marks discovered in the bath several days later by townsfolk who hadn't been near the hedge in the slightest
 * the discovery of Maid Jane's favorite cast-iron skillet in the cabinet of her neighbor the Widow Sarah and the ensuing firestorm of passive aggression (not to mention a few well deserved "didn't I tell ya"s)

When all was said and done, Archie and Phillipa were found curled up together on the third morning at the entrance to the hedge maze, snoring contentedly. Archie, when questioned, apologized for his long absence and told the Duke that during the time he was gone he had found employment as a footman for a beautiful lord and lady. Despite the grandness of his new employers Archie spent much of the time lonely and horrified at their shockingly bizarre notions of service. For the lord and lady had for months (Archie's notion of elapsed time was the Duke's first clue as to the nature of his servant's adventure) tried to get him to eat with them at table, which to a dedicated servant like Archie, was, "enough to rob the appetite from a thrice-whipped Cupperbug if ye catch my meaning yer grace." Eventually, Archie confessed, he became too uncomfortable, too hungry, not to mention incredibly homesick, and he tendered his notice to the lord and lady. He walked for several hours, it grew dark and he grew sleepy and when he woke up he was home.

The Duke, knowing a story of the Sidhe when he heard one and marveling at his young valet's luck, gave Archie a family heirloom terrier belt buckle to honor the occasion of Phillipa's rescue. It was easily the happiest day of Archie's life.

Whatever might have happened to Archie in the hedge maze did have one definite result, the war between Phillipa and Archie seemed to have ended and the two behaved thenceforth as though they had always been the best of friends. In fact, just before the Duke and Archie departed for Paix, Phillipa developed a nasty bout of rheumatism and was forced to stay behind. Archie openly wept.

Links

 * 1) http://www.thearma.org/terms2.htm
 * 2) http://www.waynesthisandthat.com/servantwages.htm