Post by Alexandre LeChevalier on Mar 23, 2018 21:24:09 GMT
Character Name: Alexandre LeChevalier
Player Screen Name: Strigus
Character Type: Primary
Supernatural Type: Vampire
Concept: Modern Philosopher-Warrior
Nature: Idealist
Demeanor: Architect
Morality: Path of Humanity: 7
Clan: Brujah
Sect: Camarilla
Titles: Primogen of Clan Brujah, The Librarian, The Lycotonum
Physical Appearance:
Personality:
Despite this, he is one of the few elders who still seems to care about more than his continued existence. Before being embraced, Alexandre genuinely believed in the liberating power of the enlightenment, and fought to spread those ideals with all his heart. As he aged and experienced the politics of the Camarilla firsthand, he learned to understand the value of stability and is not unwilling to compromise. However, this is only a lack of naiveté, and he still ultimately acts with the wellbeing of those he leads as one of his primary motivations.
Biography:
At the age of 9, Alexandre began an education in liberal studies at a Catholic school, then at 12 transitioned to study in a military academy, training to become a cavalry officer. With the outbreak of the revolution in the next year, his education became even more politicized, with the school attempting to groom recent graduates to support the royalist movement, the same movement which his father had sided with and which he wrote to his son with fervent support, urging his son to uphold the family tradition of soldiers under the crown. Had Alexandre not graduated at the age of 16 in 1792, the year the Republic was founded and shortly before the execution of King Louis, he may even had followed his father's advice. Instead, he entered the world stage just as the Enlightenment ideals he had been raised on seemed to be expanding into government, and was swept up in the excitement of those changes, and at the urging of one of his close friends Léon Jacquier, volunteered at the Battle of Jemappes, locking him in with the side of the Republic.
Shortly thereafter, he joined Napoleon on his invasions of Austria, Italy, and ultimately Egypt, helping to spread to ideals of liberty and introducing the area to the scientists and savants the campaign brought. Following the campaign, he was present at the Treaty of Amiens, after which his life ended. After the treaty was signed, he went to a tavern and had a chance meeting with a man who simply went by Cornutus. There they discussed everything, with the big topics being the politics of the revolution and the recent military campaigns and Stoicism's influence on Enlightenment ideals. Sufficiently impressed with LeChevalier, Cornutus embraced his that same night.
Shortly after, Cornutus explained Alexandre's new condition, the history of Clan Brujah, and how Cornutus had seen the clan begin to fall from proud philosopher warriors to a petty rabble. Cornutus believed Alexandre had the right mixture of modern excitement and revolutionary spirit to connect with the members of the clan who were falling from their ancient traditions, while also having the love of philosophy and the classics that would tie them back to those traditions and please other elders. Stoicism would also offer the clan a means to control their increasingly unruly tempers, while also representing a cultural victory of Greece over Rome, which the Brujah had always been pleased with. Under his tutelage, Alexandre saw these qualities grow.
Unfortunately Cornutus, in his haste to embrace Alexandre, had not sought permission from the local prince. While his status as a Methuselah protected both him and his childer, this was taken as a personal offense by the Alphonse César, the Toreador prince of Amiens. When the time came for Cornutus to enter torpor, the ancient mysteriously vanished to whatever preparations he had made, and though he gifted his childer and powerful spear to protect himself, the lack of his sire's influence left Alexandre without protection. LeChevalier had made enough Toreador allies in that time that the prince couldn't comfortably order an execution without damaging support amongst his own clan. Instead, the neonate was sent on a fool's errand to the Forlorn Isles, a small and insignificant coaling station being used by the British. With little choice, Alexandre arrived in 1847 to his new home.
Arriving at the Isles, he continued his sire's work of restoring the Brujah to their former glory. However, as a French vampire in either Portuguese or British territory, and completely lacking in connections upon his arrival, he found himself at the bottom of the totem pole. Upon introducing himself to the Prince, his lack of connections made him ideal for policing the other Kindred, and also meant that if he met final death he wouldn't be missed. This also meant that, when in 1903 rumors of a plot by a Sabbat pack of Gangrel to attack made it's way through Kindred society, LeChevalier was made to volunteer, alongside others who either had earned the Prince's distrust or were eager to earn his favor. Notably, the Brujah Primogen and the Sheriff were also present, likely to ensure that there would be a victory despite the ramshackle group present to enforce the Prince's will. When the pack turned out to be Garou, the force was desperately outmatched. Alexandre not only managed to survive the slaughter of his comrades, but he had slayed one of the beasts using the spear Cornutus had given him, earning him the favor of both his clan and the Prince.
As a reward for his service, Alexandre was given domain over the Oddhaven Library. This expelled the Tremere Thomas Becken who resided there, likely punishment for some transgression against the Prince, and such short notice was given that the Thaumaturgical books were left behind, though Alexandre still hasn't been able to make sense of them. It also meant that wards protecting the library hadn't been removed, which prevented those unwelcomed from entering the library, unless they come with permission of the Prince. Unfortunately, while studying and tinkering them, LeChavlier ran afoul of them, becoming cursed such that he requires permission to enter a residence unless it belongs to an enemy of the Prince, though he's attempted to keep this a hidden secret.
Additionally, Alexandre was shortly thereafter promoted to Primogen. Despite his focus on bringing philosophy and knowledge back to the Brujah initially being met with annoyance, he was regarded as a hero for slaying a garou, earning the title Lycotonum, or Wolfsbane, while the previous Primogen was regarded as a coward for his role in the battle. It is even rumored that he was diablerized by his own childer, David Rodriguez, though nothing was ever proven. For a time, his position allowed him to fulfill his sire's purpose for him, and the Brujah of Oddhaven began to live up to the legacy of the clan. In recent nights, however, David Rodriguez has attempted to claim his sire's old position, working with the Brujah resistant to their ancient past that weary of the self-control and discipline being enforced, wishing to return to their baser natures. Authority can only last so long among the Brujah, after all, before it is rebelled against. Initially whittling away at LeChevalier's spheres of influence, Rodriguez has become bold enough in recent nights to even kill the ghouls of Alexandre and his followers, leaving him with increasingly little support.
Attributes:
Strength: 3
Dexterity: 3
Stamina: 3
Charisma: 3
Manipulation: 1
Appearance (Dignified): 4
Perception (Insightful): 4
Intelligence (Scholarly): 5
Wits: 3
Abilities:
Academics (Philosophy): 5
Alertness: 2
Athletics: 2
Awareness: 1
Brawl: 1
Etiquette: 1
Firearms: 1
Investigation: 1
Law: 1
Leadership: 2
Melee: 3
Meditation: 1
Occult: 2
Persuasion: 2
Politics: 2
Enigmas: 1
Linguistics: 3 (French, English, Latin, Classical Greek)
Backgrounds:
Age 4
Domain 3: Oddhaven Library
Alexandre inarguably holds domain over Oddhaven Library and it's immediately surrounding area. While in theory he holds domain over a larger swath of Penngrove Heights, his disputes with Rodriguez have made this unenforceable, with any feeding in that territory being very low priority. 2 points are dedicated to the territory itself, and one point to security measures, primarily in the form of occult warding that Alexandre learned while attempting to study the wards that had cursed him in an effort to remove the curse.
Haven 2: Oddhaven Library (Location, Library, Staff, Occult)
The Library itself retains its normal functions, along with a dedicated staff befitting its size. This includes librarians, archivists, administrators, security guards, secretaries, and, in these modern nights, a digital database specialist who, given time, could procure nearly any book which is not already among the volumes of the sprawling four-story building. Alexandre holds an office on the fourth story, positioned directly in front of the staircase in the center of the building, thus lacking any windows or ready access to the outside. Though he often entertains guests there, Kindred and mortal alike, the haven proper lies in labyrinthine hallways beneath the basement that the previous owner, Thomas Becken the Tremere, had installed after growing increasingly paranoid of his place in the Prince's eyes. Locked away from and largely unknown to the public, the protect of being hidden, secret, and a maze is supplemented by even more potent warding than that which guards the whole of the Library itself, most of which, though known to Alexandre, is beyond his knowledge.
Generation 5
Status 4
Despite contentions with David Rodriguez, Alexandre is the Primogen of Clan Brujah, commanding respect within the Camarilla. Even outside that organization, his title the Lycotonum from slaying a garou while still considered expendable by the Prince has given him a further reputation as a skilled combatant, and when paired with a reputation for scholarship being master of the Library, most find something in him they can admire, living up to his clan's legacy of Philosopher Warriors.
Disciplines:
Celerity: 2
Potence: 1
Presence:1
Virtues:
Conscience: 3
Self-Control: 4
Courage: 4
Willpower: 5
Maximum Blood Points/Blood per turn: 15/3
Current Experience: 0
Merits:
Blush of Health (2)
Concentration (1)
Dynamic Personality (5)
Eat Food (1)
Eidetic Memory (2)
Flaws:
Cursed (3): Hospitium
By tinkering with the Tremere wards of the Library in an effort to better understand them, Alexandre has suffered a curse that no amount of his occult knowledge or ancient tomes has been able to free him of. When entering a home, he requires the permission of the owner, unless that home belongs to an enemy of the Prince. Should he force his way in, he suffers the same penalties as he would trying to stay awake during the day until he leaves.
Enemy (3): David Rodriguez
Childer of the previous Brujah Primogen, who he diablerized, Rodriguez believes that he should be the rightful Primogen, and that LeChevalier has cheated him of this inheritance. Commanding the Brujah who would rather run wild than live up to a philosophical legacy that should have died thousands of years ago with Carthage. Though this rivalry started with petty attacks against areas of influence, such as severing ties to Plantagenet University, Rodriguez has recently stepped up to outright acts of war, like killing ghouls under LeChevalier. As such, his role of Primogen is challenged, and doesn't command the respect befitting it by those concerned of getting on Rodriguez's bad side should he successfully overthrow LeChevalier.
Enemy (1): Thomas Becken
A Tremere with little influence despite his age. He sits in disfavor with the Prince, and holds a grudge against Alexandre when this disfavor manifested in his loss of the Oddhaven Library. Along with the Library, he lost a book of Thaumaturgical secrets, which would ruin his already spotty reputation among his clan if ever discovered. While he is no ally to the uncultivated Rodriguez, and not willing to strike out publicly like him lest he fall even lower in the Prince's eyes for striking against a Primogen, he is more than happy to contribute minor and untraceable aid to seeing LeChevalier fall.