Akseli

• Akseli is DECEASED in the canon. He passed away of heart complications in his old age. 
• He has a large scar on his head from an injury he suffered as a result of an attack from his son.

Akseli is a complicated man, hidden behind a very calm and relaxed demeanor, appearing to have quite simple pleasures and outlooks on life. He presents himself as someone who doesn't do more than the bare minimum, a joker who cares for his people but can look to outsiders as distant or even lazy at times. He's a bit of a joker who enjoys a bit of good fun and as a leader he's someone who is as relaxed as they come. He's impossible to really upset, and rarely enacts with vengeance or vigor, to the disdain of many of his people. He often comes across as naiive or weak as a result- however, this isn't the case.

Akseli is incredibly wise despite the mask he wears, and his true nature is something he keeps distant from most of his people. He's a confident, well spoken leader who absolutely excels at utilizing the public image to his benefit and knows quite well how to get people to think what he wants them to think. He's a master manipulator- but only utilizes it in the best of ways, keeping people safe and making sure problems are handled under the table before they can even arise. He's got a fantastic eye for reading people, and can often predict trouble before it hits, able to prepare and shut it down in advance notice before it ever reaches the public eye.

He was chosen above his two older, also leadership-eligible brothers because of his innate ability to walk the political field and keep peace with his ambivalent exterior personality, while still being capable of laying down the law as necessary in order to protect those under his command. He knows when to act, how to act, and how to approach the people with his actions. He is good at choosing his allies, and recognizing his enemies, and it made him one of the most well regarded spade leaders in their history. The undercover actions he took to save his people and better their ways of life are still coming to light even dozens of years after his death.

He puts his family above all else and regards love and care in higher understanding than most of his predecessors, something inherently unusual for a spade leader. As such, many higher ups of the spade district and spade traditionalists detested him and his new ways of leadership. They blamed this on the unusual (For their people) circumstances of his birth. Luckily for him- his skill at juggling political disdain was more than competant enough to diffuse most of the issues harmlessly. 

Akseli was the son of a spade leader through his second marriage. He was third child of two older half-brothers who also bore the marks of a space leader, making any of them potential candidates to take their father's place. Akseli's father was married first in the traditional manner of spade leadership- through an arranged marriage to an elected woman of high stature and skill by the spade higher ups. This woman was the mother of his brothers, but after her passing in a great battle, his father chose to remarry. Remarrying when heirs were present was heavily frowned upon by others of his father's council, but his father dismissed their concerns and married a low level spade scout to whom he had fallen in love with. This was extremely controversial, and even moreso when Akseli was born and he also bore the marks of a leader, making him a third candidate alongside his brothers. He was very close to his mother, and entirely devastated when she passed away when he was in his mid-teens. 

After her passing, his father's health steadily declined and as he felt his own end nearing he looked to his sons to finally make the decision between them of who would take his place. He put them all through rigorous tests to determine who would succeed him. His older sons competitively butted heads to outdo one another, while Akseli just enjoyed the 'game' of it and didn't take it seriously. He never wanted to be leader- it wasn't his goal. He only wanted to make the world better for those around him. To his surprise- that caught his father's eye far more than his brother's battling. He was chosen as the next leader.

Despite their competitive nature, his brothers were supportive of this. They never had a problem with their younger brother and he was known among the family to be a great mediator and problem solver, often helping them with their own troubles. They were quick to give their weight behind him as the next leader, helping sway some of the people who may have had concerns otherwise. This didn't stop the council from heavy debate and protesting, but Akseli's father stood tall.

When his father finally passed away, Akseli took his place as the leader, and a quite young one at that at only 19 years of age. 

He followed his father's footsteps of sticking it to the old traditions he didn't agree with at every opportunity. He fought to change laws that would make life better for those who were currently discriminated against, including mongrels and those of other suits. He knew how to tango with the boundaries of spade law and how to make people listen to him. He eventually ended up falling in love with Nessia- a heart maid and servant, and in the process broke the unbroken line of spade leaders marrying for "good heirs" instead of for love. He wouldn't compromise on his affections for Nessia, and rejected any alternative. 

Their first son, Tannon, was a surprise- but not one that Akseli protested. He was a doting father of a son he was sure would take his place and continue renovating the dated laws of their people to create a better place for everyone, and to fix the wrongs he'd so prominently fought. Akseli had laid the building blocks, but he needed a successor to uphold the changes he wanted to see in the world. He spoiled Tannon and gave him every opportunity, which inevitably led to disaster. He became blind to the warning signs of a child with a nasty temper and too much ambition for the good of anyone.

Nessia became pregnant a second time, fleeing the districts out of fear of the growing threat of consequence for Akseli's breaking of tradition. As tensions grew and Tannon's existence raised more and more questions of her and Akseli's (at the time hidden) relationship, she couldn't bear the thought of having another son she couldn't be there for. Tannon was away at training, rarely seeing his mother because she couldn't out herself as his parent- and the thought of her second child having to be "motherless" in the eyes of the public was soul crushing for her. When her son, Kapono was born inexplicably with two markings- two heart markings-indicating him as a hearts heir, it was simply too much for her to bear  She went to the exiled lands in search of a new life, taking her son with her for fear of what would happen to him if it was discovered who his father was, and as far as she knew- that he couldn't possibly claim the leadership he'd been born the heir to.

This broke Akseli's heart, and he fell into a deep depression for years at the loss of his wife and younger son. Neglecting his people, and in the process- his son as well. Tannon became enraged by this perceived abandonment by both parents, and- riling up the people who were also feeling the loss of a leader, Tannon forcibly took over leadership of the spade district by attacking and very nearly killing his father in the process. He left Akseli for dead, and went on to become a tyrant.

Akseli didn't die in this altercation, however. He fled the districts and managed to find some semblance of safety in the exiled lands at the edge of the forests. As a result of his injuries, however, he suffered severe trauma and struggled with it for the rest of his life. Strange blackouts, headaches, dizziness, and other such health issues were common for him.

He was quite surprised when reunited with Nessia, after she stumbled along the very forests he was hiding in. She was also seeking refuge after an attack on her caravan that left her with her own injury. They found each other and became close again, building a small home that they shared together in peace.  By this point, Kapono had already returned to the districts on his own and become the hearts leader using his two marks to succeed the former leader, who luckily for him-had no children and was therefore heirless. Akseli didn't get the chance to meet his younger son and Kapono never knew his father.

After Tannon's tyrannical leadership escalated, he attacked and pushed the hearts people out of the districts, forcing his brother (Whom he didn't know was his brother) to flee. Seeking refuge for his people, Kapono found himself at the same forests as his parents. They were reunited again, and Kapono had also brought them someone else. Myra- Tannon's daughter had been captured as an assassin sent to take out her uncle, but had chosen to turn on her father and support the heart's plight instead.

Akseli saw in her what his son lacked- He saw a desire for change and an ability for empathy that Tannon had never had. Akseli became her mentor as he guided her on the steps to becoming a spade leader herself. It wasn't always easy- Myra wasn't as charismatic as her grandfather, and certainly not as easygoing. She had a temper and lashed out at others- but she had a good heart, and a determination to do good. He helped teach her fighting skills her father hadn't, the traditional laws that would encourage people to join her fight, and the skills she'd need to become another of the greatest leaders ever known among their people and revolutionize their society into something greater than the traditionalist and strict military regime they'd had before.

He would never admit it to her- but he views her as the culmination of all he set out to do with his own leadership. The accidental pieces falling into place that created a revolution- and perhaps it came from somewhere he didn't expect, but he still views her as his greatest accomplishment (Except for perhaps- his son Kapono, who also made strides in ways that his father is more than proud of.) He spent the later part of his life mentoring Myra in all he knew and helping her in any way she could to repair the damage of his son's leadership. Along with getting to know and support his son Kapono- who was much more open to learning from his father than Tannon ever was.