Character from The First Law by Joe Abercrombie
The last Luthar king — a charming, well-meaning prince who inherited his father's puppet throne and discovered that being likeable doesn't keep you alive when the empire falls apart.
Orso is the most likeable character in the Age of Madness, which is Abercrombie's way of marking him for tragedy. He's witty, self-deprecating, genuinely caring, and completely unprepared for the world he's been born into. He's Jezal without the arrogance — which should make him a better king but actually makes him a weaker one. He sees the problems with the Union clearly — the inequality, the corruption, the ossified aristocracy — and tries to fix them through reason and good intentions. Reason and good intentions do not survive contact with Bayaz's schemes, Savine's ambitions, or Leo's army. His execution is the Age of Madness's most devastating moment — the good king hanged by the people who should have supported him, proving that in the First Law world, decency is a death sentence.
Good-looking in a dissolute, slightly rumpled way — the prince who stayed out too late and slept in his clothes. Dark-haired with his father Jezal's features softened by indulgence. Dresses like royalty but wears it casually, as if the crown is an accessory rather than a burden.
Also known as: Orso, Orso dan Luthar, King Orso