Nukai Christophé, Duke of Rokostov

Prince Nukai Christophé
Duke of Rokostov
File:Prince Nukai of Rokostov.jpeg
Born	5 November 2067 (age 12) Rokostov, Russlande
Full name Nukai Christophé Dreyfus-Volonté
House	House of Voloné
Father	Ferdinand II of Romania
Mother	Charlotte of Geneva

Nukai Christophé (born 5 November 2067) is the ninth child of Charlotte of Geneva and the fifth child of Ferdinand II of Romania, born as a result of their affair that they conducted while imprisoned on the island of Rokostov in 2067. As a grandson of the King-Emperor and the Tsarina, he has been made an official prince of both Derita and Russlande. When he was 4 he was he was made the Duke of Rokostov.

Early Life

Prince Nukai was born under stressful circumstances, the product of the extramarital affair of Charlotte of Geneva and the fifth child of Ferdinand II of Romania on the island of Rokostov, where the two were imprisoned by his grandmother. It was believed that imprisonment was intended as an attempt by the Tsarina to break up her son and Charlotte’s marriages. This however failed and when they were freed in 2067 following the death of Carlos II of Espana, he was originally taken in by his mother’s family to be raised alongside his half-siblings in Connuriste such as Crown Princess Emily and Princess Alexia, among many others. In 2071 Prince Nukai was sent to Romania to live with his father. Ferdinand II and his wife were devoted to each other and to their children, providing an excellent education for the child.

Normally the Imperial children were kept under female supervision until they were seven. However, by the time he was five Nukai had become too willful and difficult for a governess to handle and his father appointed a male tutor for him. Ferdinand II intended that Nukai would eventually become Admiral General of the Russen Fleet and with this in mind chose Sobolev Stanislav (nicknamed Stas) as tutor for his son. Stas, who had circumnavigated the globe at the age of twenty, and travelled to several planets by 30, was a brash and bold man, unafraid of controversy or offense, and he passed these qualities along to his student. He trained the boy in naval sciences and filled his head with tales of the sea, and then of the Stars, gaining the friendship of his pupil for life. Languages were an important part of Nukai's education; he learned Russen, Deritain, Norian and Arabic. As he grew older, his lessons increased in length and complexity to encompass mathematics, science, statistics, and government administration. There were also early military lessons and drills. Nukai also enjoyed music, learning to play the piano and cello. He loved drawing and had great appreciation for the arts. He also became an enthusiastic reader and his fascination with Homer led him to translate the Odyssey from Norian.

In 2075, Nukai accompanied his parents to Rhine-East Berlin and from age eight onwards was taught to keep a diary. When he was just eight years old, he was given a small yacht, which he would sail between Saint Petersburghe and Kronshtadt, spending his days at sea and returning home at night. In 2076, accompanied by Stas, he embarked on a lengthy sailing expedition and finally he was given command of the Russian frigate Sofya under Stas’s direction. During his training Nukai was treated like all other naval cadets, even to the point of his title of Duke and Prince of Derita and Russlande being dispensed with. Throughout all this time Nukai would take many visits to Connuriste to spend at least five months out of the year with his mother and her husband, who proved exceedingly kind to him.