Hemlock Karrde
Master Karrde
Father.
Such a pragmatist, yet ultimately weak.
He enables mother and her desires far too much. Some call it romance; I call it foolishness. If you were to ask one of his many underlings at his Fortune 500 company, you'd get a parrot chorus of descriptive words about my father, such as fair, just, inventive, good-hearted, funny, kind, etc. Yet, I know the truth. Father has learned to use virtue and goodness as a front, as most charmers do. He has poised himself publicly to be a front for good when most of his success lies in his pursuits when few are watching. It is ironic how one, who so believes that he has everyone wrapped around his finger, does not realize how ensnared he is by Mother. Well, everyone has an Archon's Heel in one way or another.
Mother.
Ever worried about self-image.
She's responsible for my life-long predicament. Everything must fit properly in her OCD-filled vision of ideal living. The key difference between her and a normal "clean freak" is that she is a practiced noble; a natural borne diplomat who knows how to phrase almost everything to make you feel like you should want to do things her way, as though every little flaw she desires to change is a perfectly natural thing anyone should wish to change. I've seen her other side, however: her neuroticism. Beneath the calm, beautified exterior, she is a desperate, craven creature. Being the strong-willed person that I am, I've pushed past the exterior and exposed her true, shrieking self. Yet, this has only ever happened in private with mother. She is far too clever to allow me to bait her into revealing her true nature to Father and Brother, let alone the public...
Brother.
What a sneaky fiend.
Always the catalyst; the fulcrum for my misfortune. My younger brother has a far fresher, charming and welcoming demeanor than myself, as would naturally be expected of one whose features are unmarred by cybernetics and cynicism. That's why he is their preferred heir. If you thought that your parents asking you repeatedly, "Why can't you be more like your brother?" was the most frustrating thing to experience in a dysfunctional family, you'd be wrong. There are few things that my brother and I agree on, which makes it all the more frustrating when he tries to, as he puts it, "Help a bro out and show me a better way".
Then, there's myself. I need no introduction, for you've probably already heard of me. My name is Hemlock Karrde, but you can call me Master Karrde. All of my family's servants do so and I don't know you, so you can start there. I am in need of independence; I crave it so. My parents indulge me only to keep me occupied and "happy". I'm certain they're plotting something behind my back and I wouldn't be surprised if my younger brother were to be barely crafty enough to be in on it. Why else would he go out of his way many times to treat me with a nice attitude on top of the academic workload his goody two shoes have landed them self in?
Surely, my family is playing a long con, but to call them out now would be hasty and have potentially nasty lashback. It's far better to bide my time and enjoy it on my family's dime while I slowly consolidate my power base...Slow being the operative term.