Josten Lancaster (LD Stories)

Sir Josten Lancaster is a character who is a part of The Reluctant Dark Knight series and is formally introduced in Season 11 of the Expanded Animated Universe.

Background Information
He is a squire for King Gerard who has a secret passion for literature and music. He is fifteen years old and has been serving his majesty as long as he can remember, but intends to become world renowned for his poetry and songs - he sings and plays either a flute or a lute to lyrics he writes when inspired by someone or something.

Growth and Development
He has always been looked after by Mrs. Sourberry if he stays in the castle, which began when he was a child of perhaps two or three years. In this time, he essentially grew up with King Gerard and wondered if they were brothers for a long while; this is clarified that he is not when he is seven years old. He wishes to be close to him, like a brother, but this never came true until much later.

He doesn't always stay in the castle; when he is amongst the common folk, he takes up residency with the village minstrel whom he is good friends with. He learned all he knows of music and instruments from him, but his writing is a self-taught talent.

He grew up mostly on his own and is considerably philosophical for his age; his most valuable lesson learned is that "one must remain humble through all achievements." Sometimes when he thinks he is alone outside the castle walls, he will play his flute to a tune he improvises on the spot - other times he will have his lute and make up lyrics to a song. The only time he has been caught in the act was by a fair maiden when he about ten years old.

Role in the Royal Court
He wants to work for the king as a spare musician, but on occasion he has been sought out for services such as delivering parchments to and from the castle, reading the proclamations written by the Clockwork Smurf, or riding to other kingdoms to summon another member of royalty. Though he is a skilled swordsman, he loathes being a squire and wishes simply to write, sing, and play the rest of his life. His wish cannot be granted, sadly, because he is usually unable to speak with King Gerard for more than a moment at any given encounter.

Becoming a Squire
Though he did not catch the girl's name at the time, he realized that she fancied knights, so he courageously applied for the position with the Man-at-Arms the day after their encounter. Despite hating the idea of jousting and going into battle for the good of the kingdom, he wanted to impress her. Luckily, he did not have to give up his passions to do so. This is why he has remained a page and was eventually promoted to squirehood.

Switching Gears
To be filled in later!

Compositions
As stated above, Josten has created both poetry and music.

Songs

 * 1) The Raven's Soul

Poetry

 * 1) Daughter of Eve

Meeting and Relationship with Johan and Peewit
Josten is first introduced to Sir Johan when they celebrate the king's fifteenth birthday, which takes place after Story Two. He meets Peewit in his debut episode of Season 11.

Sir Johan
To be elaborated later!

Peewit
He is not amused by the King's jester for his lack of singing talents - though he admits his playing is decent, his voice disturbs Josten greatly. He honestly tells him he is not good and offers to demonstrate how to "win the crowd the right way," bringing out his flute. Peewit becomes infuriated and storms off, leaving Josten unsure how to respond.

Seeing Princess Savina shake her head before turning away immediately reminds him to be humble about his position, even if he knows he is in the right. Since then, he has not mentioned this event in their presence, but hopes to have a decent relationship with Peewit so they may collaborate in the future.

Meeting and Relationship with Falla
This section will be expanded soon!

Reaction to Johan's Intimacy With Falla
This will be expanded later!

Reaction to Peewit's Intimacy With Falla
This will be expanded later!

Season 11 Episodes
After the Season 10 finale, Sir Josten makes an official appearance in Season 11 and is scheduled to be included beyond that.

King Gerard's Squire - Ep. 9
Pending...

The Princess and the Peewit - Ep. 10
Pending...

Tug-O-War Court Affairs - Ep. 13
Pending...

Mechanical Hero - Ep. 14
Pending...

Josten's Scar - Ep. 19
Pending...

Mother Nature's (Re)Creation - Ep. 21
Pending...

Falla's Birthday - Ep. 25
Pending...

Crestfallen Christmas - Ep. 26
Pending...

The Smurfs of Poetic Prose - Ep. 30
Pending...

Take Back the Knight - Season Finale
Pending...

Appearance
Sir Josten has pale skin, standard black eyes, and stands about 5'8 1/2" in American measurement. His white-blonde hair is thick and bushy with outgrown bangs, but is shorter in the back; he has a thin, but masculine figure. He wears a dark red minstrel hat with a yellow feather on the right side, black calf-length boots, and matching elbow-length gloves. His outfit consists of a dark red tunic with short sleeves (similar to Falla's), a yellow undershirt and leggings, and a gold-clasped dark brown mid-back-length cape.

His waist-belt is black with a gold hinge, and he has a necklace which connects to the clasps of his cape; he recieved this from the village minstrel when he learned of his promotion to squire hood. However, he has a scar travelling down and off to the side - in a ring pattern - of his left eye, starting at his eyebrow. The origin of this scar is stated in the "Meeting and Relationship with Falla" section above.

Voice Actor(s)
The best voice actor for Sir Josten would be Justin Timberlake speaking in an English accent. He is a famous singer and voiced Arthur Pendragon in Shrek the Third.

Trivia

 * He is based off of two people: Terence from Disney's Pixie Hollow, and Numbuh 404's real-life friend, Mars McCullough.
 * Much like Johan, there is no knowledge of who his parents might be or what happened to them; he has always been curious about them, but never enough to investigate.
 * His song is Every Little Thing She Does is Magic by the 1980s band, The Police.
 * In a non-canonical dream-based story, a villain seeking control of the King's castle is disguised as Josten to fool everyone into blaming the squire.
 * Unbeknownst to everyone besides Clockwork, he keeps a personal journal.