Francis ap Burke
Archbishop of Cei Newydd
Played by: Cheri
Name:Francis ap Burke, Archbishop of Cei Newydd
Age: 42
Height:-
Weight: - lbs
Background:
Francis' life reaches back over 40 years from a small village in the port city of Suier. He was born to the textile merchant, Tomas ui Burke and his wife, the Lady Pista. His youth was spent in relative luxury, in gaiety and music, in the enviable role of leader amongst his friends. He was a young man of charm and wit, of kindness, good humour, and the prodigal generosity of a wealthy, spoiled son. And his consuming ambition was to be a knight after the fashion of his heroes, the High Knights of Alban.
And so, in his twentieth year, he rode off to battle in a minor skirmish between Ccyldd and Caewry. The citizens of Suier are routed, and Francis is taken prisoner at Cromstadt a small village between Ccyldd and Caewry. For a year, he was kept in a castle dungeon cheering his fellow prisoners, and in general, making the best of a difficult situation, a character trait that still lasted throughout his life.
Because of his wealth and position, Francis was imprisoned with the nobles, not with the common citizens, a distinction and a separation that begins to haunt and trouble the young Francis. Even in the somewhat finer quarters of the nobility, the damp, squalid conditions of the dungeon began to wear on him. Most perplexing to him was the derision of those who followed his own gods and the kindness of an old priest of the one god. Francis converted to the faith of this old priest. Finally, the time, confusion and dampness took their toll on his constitution, and Tomas Ui Burke is able to ransom his son on the grounds of illness.
When he was released and returned to his native Suier, he spent the next year, bedridden - another form of imprisonment, another year of testing. When he finally rose from his bed, he walked the hills of Suier disconsolate, for the world has lost its splendor. A light has gone out inside of him; he no longer saw with the bright eyes of a child. It is here in the desert of his desolation that he began to hear the voices and see the visions that transformed his life.
The first voice comes in to him in a, where Francis is bivouacked in another futile attempt to break out of his doldrums by going off to war as a knight. He sees the large room of a castle whose walls are covered with shields, and a voice proclaims that they belong to Francis and his followers. Misinterpreting the dream, Francis is ready to embrace this prophesy of knighthood and glory when he hears another voice: "Francis, is it better to serve the Lord or the servant?"
"Oh, sir, the Lord, of course."
"Then why are you trying to turn your Lord into a servant?"
And like the prophet Samuel, Francis recognizes the voice that is speaking to him. "Lord, what do you want me to do?"
"Return to Suier. There it shall be revealed to you what you are to do, and you will come to understand the meaning of this vision."
And so it is that Francis begins to listen to God instead of his own impatient desire for glory on the battlefield. He starts the long, inner journey back to Suier.
Of course, turning from the battlefield is not something Francis did easily and in one quick decision. It costs him great mental suffering. That whole year after his dream, Francis prayed in a cave outside of Suier, trying to come to terms with God's will, allowing God to purify his heart. And somewhere in all of that struggle, out of the visions and revisions of his dreams, Francis found the philosophers' stone that transformed the base metal of his knightly ideals into something very fine and high, and at the time foolish and full of paradox; the knight comes off of his charger and became a fool and singer at court. Not the usual fool for Christ, but a court fool with all that implies of wisdom and influence in the lives of everyone in the miniworld of medieval society. He became a man who was listened to, a man whose foolishness is wiser than the wisdom of sages.
He worked his way up the local chain of clergy and finally was assigned to be the Archbishop for the isle of Land of Cei Newydd. His one goal, to let all know the power of the one god, to drive the ancient druids off the isle and to bring into full glory, the path of the One God within his homeland.
Personality Profile:
He is Cheerful when things are going the way he wishes. Zealous in what he believes must be done for the cause of the One god and cold when harsh decisions must be made that others would quell at.
Physical Profile: Shaved bald as a penance for his own sins, his skin is weathered and makes him appear older then he is. He carries himself as the warrior he once was.
Skills and Abilities:
Special Notes: