Meet The Recluse. They’re the child of Merida, a sophomore at Auradon University and hails from Auradon. Some say they look like David Corenswet and they’re TAKEN.
Name: Calum Fergus Fraser-Dunbroch
Occupation: Freelance Illustrator
Sports and Clubs: Archery, Tourney, Painting
Standing tall upon the emerald cliffs of the Scottish Highlands lays Castle DunBroch. Decrepit, choked by ivy, and crumbling to the ground, the castle is the epicenter of Clan DunBroch’s Kingdom and the homestead of its fierce and courageous leader, Queen Merida. Despite its decaying state, there is no hearth warmer in all of Scotland as the one within the castle walls. It’s a vast and rich realm that any of the Scottish Lords would die to possess… all except the lord poised to inherit it. To Callum Fergus Fraser-DunBroch, the fog-dense woods and mystical hills surrounding the castle are his kingdom. It’s there among the kelpies, the will-o-the-wisps and the witches rumored to be within that Callum finds comfort. With as much daring nerve as his scarlet haired mother, it’s of little surprise that the boy feels more at ease in the wild moors - Merida herself was known to spend hours in the confines of the forest, climbing Crone’s Tooth and drinking from the golden streams of The Fire Falls. Targets long since forgotten by the queen’s bow are now claimed by her son’s adept arrow, this now his domain to run barefoot and free through. But this is where most of the similarities between Callum and Queen Merida end. For as the lords would tell anyone that asked - he wasn’t truly a DunBroch anyway.
The story of Princess Merdia and her mother Queen Elinor is common knowledge. Callum knows it better than anyone - he could recite it in his sleep. Once upon a time there was an unruly princess and a queen who was deeply steeped in tradition, two forces constantly at odds. After fighting for her own hand, a disagreement caused a great misfortune to fall on the mother and together the two needed to reverse the terrible curse. It’s just another in a long list of fairy tales that are so commonplace in Auradon and its neighboring kingdoms. It’s the aftermath that isn’t so well known. With the mother and daughter reaching a new understanding, DunBroch fell into an era of reconstruction. Merida’s direct rebelling to the traditions and decision to fight for her own right to the throne had caused a great stir among the clans. To some, the changes were welcomed, the idea of a woman on the throne being just as normal as having another lord ruling. To others, the differences being proposed to DunBroch’s long withstanding traditions went directly against everything the clans stood for. The divide had only grown greater when Merida met Catriona Fraser. There was always something different and unconventional about the princess, some parts of herself not even she fully understood. It wasn’t until that fateful ride deep into the forests neighboring her kingdom that Merida came to realize things. She had been drawn to the soft gaelic singing coming from a meadow hidden within the trees, and the moment she’d laid her eyes upon the dark haired beauty she was forever changed. Mo nighean dubh. My dark haired lass.
It wasn’t that the lords weren’t accepting of Merida’s love for another woman - it hadn’t mattered what they thought of that anyway. Just as fiercely as she fought for her own hand, the young Queen would fight for her right to love whomever she pleased. They were incredibly supportive of the union, each showing up in their best highland formal wear to attend the wedding. They were fine with her marrying a woman… They were not okay with a Fraser potentially sitting on the DunBroch throne. Since the clans joined forces under Fergus’s sword, their kingdom has been ruled by DunBrochs and DunBrochs alone. It was the DunBroch blood in Merida’s veins that gave her the right to fight for her own hand. The conservative and narrow minded Lords couldn’t fathom how the sanctity of the throne could remain if two women were in the equation - especially when rumors of Merida’s inability to have children began making its way through the clans. If the heir did not come from Merida’s womb, would they be heir at all? It was this question that colored the atmosphere on the night that Catriona gave birth to Callum. He was named a DunBroch, but the lords refused to see it. He was biologically Catriona’s, biologically a Fraser.
Callum was none the wiser to the tension his birth caused among the clans.
His was a charmed childhood. Merida and Catriona loved their son more than anything in the world. It was as though he was the center of their universe. He spent most of his formative years in the forests where the women had first encountered each other, at one with nature. Catriona taught Callum all there was to know about the forest and the things that lurked within and Merida taught their son the ways of the bow. The latter was something he took to rather well, knowing how to notch an arrow before he could walk or talk it seemed. He had been just as gifted an archer as the queen was - better, according to Merida herself. But archery held no candle to Callum’s deep love for painting. He would gladly set aside his quiver and bow in exchange for a paintbrush and palette. His room was filled with sketchbooks upon sketchbooks - watercolor paintings or charcoal drawings of the moors contained within. He had even been the one to design the newest DunBroch family tapestry, the family’s mythical story and past woven into the intricate mantle piece. It was art that warmed his life, and would continue to do so after the claims of his “illegitimacy” began making their way through the clans. When Callum was old enough to understand, his mothers had made it very clear that he was a DunBroch and had every right to the throne. The constant reminders had only proven to do the opposite of their original intent - the more Merida tried to beat it into her son that he was in fact hers, the more obvious it was to Callum that he wasn’t a DunBroch.
This complex followed Callum to Auradon Prep where your legacy was everything. There was never a question that King Adam’s son was heir to Auradon, or that the Charmings’ children had a right to rule Cinderellasburg. Everyone knew who they were, where they came from, and where their life would eventually go. Callum was not as confident. He knew he was a Fraser-DunBroch - it was in his very name - but he didn’t know if he could truly claim the kingdom. For the first time in his life, Callum felt like the odd man out. He didn’t consider himself a “royal”, and as such didn’t really feel as though he belonged. This new insecurity altered a once sweet and warm boy, turning him shy, withdrawn, and incredibly melancholic. As he grew up, Callum crept further into the fringes of Auradon’s society until before he knew it he had gained a reputation as a stoic and reclusive prince. He didn’t have a terribly huge number of friends, he rarely felt comfortable opening himself up to others. And he didn’t dare entertain romance - easy enough when your mother had a reputation for spurning off suitors and fighting for her own hand. Callum coasted in the background of Auradonian society, and retreated to the woods surrounding DunBroch where legitimacy and clan names didn’t matter.
Auradon University was not something he wanted to entertain. He barely interacted with his peers in high school, why continue into college? If it were up to him, Callum would have retired to his beloved highlands and lived out the rest of his life in the woods painting the creatures that inhabited them. Unfortunately it wasn’t up to him. Tension between the clans was mounting, the Lords making demands. If a Fraser could claim the throne, then any of the Lords’ sons should have the same chance. The clans were calling for a Highland Games, and Callum was ready to throw in the towel. At the request of Merida, Callum decided to attend university in Auradon City. It would be the excuse they needed to postpone the games and the Lords’ desperation. If the prince was away studying, they had time to change the Lords’ minds and convince them that he was in fact the first born and thus worthy of his throne. But it also gave Merida the chance to work on her son’s insecurities and help convince him the same. If Callum wasn’t willing to fight for his throne as she did, then what was the point of fighting the Lords? In her mind, being among peers who saw him as a prince would help him understand what he was rightfully the heir of.
So far the university has only proven to be another irritant for the Scotsman’s social anxiety. A situation which had only been further complicated by the arrival of children from the Isle of the Lost. The political climate of Auradon has shifted, and suddenly Callum’s problems back in the Highlands seem so inconsequential. Everyone has opinions, on the VKs, on Prince Mitchell’s decree, on what this inclusion means for the fragile balance of nobility in Auradon. Callum keeps incredibly neutral on the topic, his focus entirely on finishing school and going back to his hermit life in the woods… but deep down he’s hoping the balance is disturbed, and that the caste system of Auradon comes crumbling down. Maybe then he won’t have to face the problems at home, the games, the Lords, or his melodramatic identity crisis.
positive: romantic, honest, chivalrous
negative: withdrawn, melancholic, stoic
Callum has no real opinion on the VKs. While it seems like the rest of Auradon was buzzing with either excitement or apprehension about the Isle children coming to study at AU, Callum couldn’t care any less. His mother’s story doesn’t have a classical villain, no “evildoer” to banish to the Isle. The evil that Merida needed to overcome was an inner demon and a conflict between she and her mother. As such, there was no one being housed on the isle that was a threat of any sort to the Highlanders. Their arrival has neither interested or bothered the Scotsman and he’s stated several times that it doesn’t matter to him whether or not they stay permanently in Auradon. If he even cared to rule his family’s domain, he may even say they could all settle in the Highlands.
His homeland comes with many mythical and heroic tales from the past, including his own family’s enchanting history. Callum, like all the DunBrochs that have come before him, is a skilled swordsman, archer and warrior, but there aren’t many situations in the modern world that call for the sword. As such, Callum’s adventuring mostly happens on grid paper and with dice. He’s an avid dungeons and dragons fan, if only because a lot of it is inspired by his country’s culture and mythology. He used to run a d&d club at Auradon Prep - an extracurricular that hasn’t followed him to university, perhaps fortunately for him. He plays with what little friends he has, their dedicated dungeon master, and used to have a campaign back home with some of the Lords’ sons. It’s one of the few “social functions” he actually enjoys.
Callum’s reclusive nature isn’t just due to the problems escalating at home with the clans - it partially has to do with his accent. Much like his infamous mother - and just about every other person who calls Scotland their home - Callum has a thick scottish accent. He knows it can be difficult to understand him - he’s heard the whispers, knows that people in Auradon often comment on the colorful accents of the DunBrochs and their people. It’s just another thing on a long list of things that he is thoroughly insecure about. Add that to his knack for slipping into Scottish Gaelic occasionally when rather emotional and the boy has always felt a little uncomfortable talking with others. He knows some people make fun of the way he and his family talk - that added to the kilt he wears to formal events gives a lot of material for juvenile insults. It’s part of why he’s so quiet and stoic half the time - “‘S better ta nae open yer mouth than ta have all o’ Auradon laughin’ at ye, ye ken?”
The Pristine: The Pristine is stunning. A work of art, in The Recluse’s eyes. And while they’ve never shared more than a few words over the years, The Recluse has developed quite the crush. Unfortunately, The Recluse has yet to gather up the courage to confess their feelings to the Pristine, and is determined to do so before college is up. College is about growing, and after four year at Auradon Prep, pining for The Pristine, The Recluse knows it’s time to take the plunge.
The Magnetic: The Magnetic and The Recluse were once the fiercest of competitors. They had met at an archery competition when they were young, and year after year found themselves matched in skill. But as the years went by, an admiration developed between the two, until it turned into a friendship as deep as either had ever known. Now they’re best friends, and while neither will admit it, they’re still vying for the top spot of Auradon’s Archery Champion.
The Fervour: Most joke on campus that the only reason The Fervour and The Recluse were paired together is because of their red hair, that it would give the two something to bond over. Well, it didn’t. The Recluse likes to keep to themselves. They have enough friends, they don’t need anymore, and after living their whole life as an only child, they’re finding it increasingly hard to share a room with someone. The Fervour is trying, bless their soul, but a connection has yet to be made between the two.
