Rupert Hopkin

This article is a small part of a larger article I have planned. It has been written for Summer Camp 2024, and therefore lacks proper structure, formatting and full, biographical detail.

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Rupert Hopkin is the son of Varsii immigrants living in the Kredasene capital of Rykfontein. His education was sponsored by his mother's employer, who advised that the child adopt a Kredasene-style name in order to avoid Varsii prejudice. Rupert now officially goes by the name Rubrecht 'Brecht' Hoekstra. Rupert has always been drawn to folk tales and history, and initially tried to support his own university studies in anthropolgy by working as a student support aide. He nows works full-time as an aide for Eryk Senyavin, the second-son of the Fourth Judge of Kredashmi.

Varsii Curse

According to Rupert's mother, his grandfather is a Varsii droll teller. These men and women are viewed with great scorn and disdain by Kredasene for their theatrical, pestering ways, spreading ridiculous tales of monsters, hubraic histories, and false gods. And yet Rupert cannot help but feel drawn to these droll tellers, and their stranger tatter jackets made of coloured rags and intricate beading. When he encounters one in the street, Rupert now does as the Kredasene and chooses to give them a wide birth. He will not dwell on his silly, childhood delusions, where he believed that he could actually hear those strange beads whispering to their master - and, sometimes, even calling out to him. Rupert certainly never dreams that one day, in his future, he will return from the execution of a Vigilant droll teller, only to find a rag coat lying on the end of his bed - whispering to him, and bidding him to lend an ear to its stories.

University Studies

Rupert applied to study anthropology at the Universiteit of Rykfontein. His sponsor was generous in covering the cost of tuition, but the cost of living proved more difficult to secure. Rupert therefore applied for a part-time position within the university's student services, providing study support for those struggling academically. At the end of his second year, Rupert was quietly approached by the Secretary to the Fourth Judge of Kredashmi. He was offered a full-time job in supporting Senyavin's second son, Eryk, in his legal studies at the university. Eryk had great difficulty with reading and writing, and would struggle to take notes fast enough to keep in up lectures. The wage Rupert was offered was enough to convince him to quit his own studies to take up the position.
Rupert has formed a close relationship with Eryk, and, by extension, the student's younger siblings. As Eryk reaches the end of his university degree, Rupert was feeling settled in the knowledge that he has been promised further employment supporting Eryk as he starts his new role abroad as a clerk in the Kredasene Ambassador's office in Latharin. However, that peace was recently shattered when he was asked to attend a meeting with Judge Senyavin, only to be confronted by a second job offer from the Judge's guest - the First Judge of Kredashmi himself. Gedeon Senyavin and Ludwig Dunheuvelin share a nephew: Tiaan Senyavin. With the return of Chazley Dunheuvelin from exile to be trained as a successor to his uncle's crown, the First Judge finds himself without a fully-trained heir. With his Dunheuvelin blood, Tiaan Senyavin is the only candidate, and it has been revealed to Rupert that his difficulties with reading and writing far exceed Eryk's struggles. Rupert now faces a difficult choice: follow Eryk into the diplomatic core, or find a way to support this unwilling, unmotivated and unappreciative young man as he finds a way to transition away from life in the personal guard of the Raskvaerii Throwback himself.

Rupert Hopkin by Brinsmead via ArtBreeder

Woodcut of a Varsii droll teller by Brinsmead via Bing AI

A droll teller's rag coat by Brinsmead via Bing AI

MAJOR Series Spoiler

Rupert will be a central character in the Sorrow of Souls series, both as a love-interest to Tiaan Senyavin, possible POV character, and ally to the series' central protagonist. Inheriting his grandfather's tatter coat will force him to confront his inheritance as a droll teller: a collector, protector and purveyor of Saeric folklore, history and hidden truths.