Le Marquis du le Seine
From Circle Of The Crone
Player - - Joseph Abbott
Current Name - Currently known only by the ambiguous title "Marquis".
Clan - Nosferatu
Apparent Age - Early to mid-thirties.
True Age - Elder, believed to be between seven-hundred and a thousand years
Students/Childer - Elliot Grimm (recent student), while unconfirmed and denied publicly, he is rumored to have sired up to 3 times.
Location - Phoenix, Arizona
Common Knowledge - Le Marquis makes his residence within the 'Queen Creek' section of the Valley of the Sun, where he serves as the Regent over the area within the Eastern Valley Court. While it is not the Rouen and the Seine River Valley where he ruled for several hundred years, he has found the quiet, not yet overbuilt section of the city perfect for his needs. Upon his large estate a piece of the Old World has been rebuilt with a few humorous nods towards what American minds would expect in the layout, the decor, and the nature of the cemetary that surrounds much of the property, appropriately named "Le Rue de Mort".
Being outgoing and affiable to the extreme, Le Marquis suffers from a reputation as something of a gadfly and a shallow posuer. But when it comes time to deal with the Restless dead (as ghosts or zombies) there are few who can rival his knowledge and power. Not so crass as to flaunt the mystic powers at his command, more than once it has been observed that the very casual, the quiet and efficent way he deals with such matters is almost more chilling and awe inspiring than if it had all been done with flash and bang.
As one of The Voodouisant faction, he is one of the few members of the coven of the Valley of the Sun to be openly faithful to any specific religon.
Specialties - Anything and everything having to do with Zombies or the Living Dead. Spirit binding, warding, and banishing. Counterweaving magic. Manipulation of inherent energies. Alchemy
Brief history - While the exact time of his birth and Embrace are matters of rumor and speculation the known facts point to his origins in or near Le Havre, France at the mouth of the Seine River. His reasons for leaving range from kidnapping to banishment as a rival to the throne of the Marquis de Rouen.
From here it is known that he travelled East. There are reports of his passing through Germany, Russia, the Middle East, Mongolia, and India before he was marooned in Okinawa by a Typhoon. In the following decades and centuries he travelled through China, eventually taking his first Praxis in Huanghua. He was known to frequently travel to the Gion district of Kyoto and may have served as an advisor to the Shogun there.
For unkown reasons, he suddenly abandoned his Praxis and returned to France with great haste. There he led a coterie of powerful individuals in a shadow war against the Spanish Inquisition in Western Europe. He also claimed the mortal title of Marquis de Rouen and used his mortal troops to advance his immortal agenda. His cruelty and ruthlessness in these times is legendary amongst the historians of the Holy Mother Church who chronicle the Inquisition, though modern scandal keeps them from acting on it. Despite this fact, it was widely known that despite his eccentircities he was very adamant in caring for his home and his subjects. This allowed him to spread his influence over much of the Seine River Valley and prompted him to adopt the title of "Marquis du le Seine". The King of France took issue to this in the late 16th century and dissolved the seat of Rouen, sending the Marquis to oversee French interests and granted him a large plantation in San Domingue. This move changed his path forever, eshewing his former faith and throwing himself fully into an archaic form of Voudon. Largely influenced by the West African roots of the faith, he saw it as another way to shepherd and enrich his people. Already a member of the Circle of the Crone since his time in the Far East. He encountered little difficulty during the revolution as he was Houngoun (Vodoun Priest) and known for strict but lavish treatment of his slaves and charges. He left voluntarily in the first few decades after the revolution.
Spending most of the 19th century in New Orleans, he was eventually driven West by the War of Northern Agression and settled in the isolated and barren wasteland of the Arizona desert. There he entered Torpor in a tiny town and awoke in the fringes of a thriving and growing metropolis guided by the hands of Julia Kincaid. He ended his seclusion and has re-entered Kindred politics only recently, with the disappearance of long time Prince Victoria Strauss in the last few years. He seeks to reestablish himself amongst his fellow Acolytes and aid Kincaid in shepherding the Valley of the Sun.
Philosophy - As a Vodouisant and Noble, he places an enormous amount of importance on the safety and stability of his community. He seeks to be sure that every facet of his surroundings are controlled either by himself or one he trusts. His Met Tet, or patron loa, is Rada Papa Anansi Ghede, or the Great Weaver, a great Spider God who is said to have created Man. As Anasi weaves the Great Web, the Marquis believes in the interconnection of all things and the manipulation of said connections to acheive his goals. He does not believe that the Crone was necessarily a single deity or individual, but that the Spirit of the Crone lives in the teachings and messages left behind over the millenia. He sees the Crone as living, breathing, and growing as more and more wisdom is added to the collective, ensuring that the Dark Mother will never stagnate. As such, he teaches that the Circle exists to keep Her message prevelant in the world. It is a political construct that allows those who follow Her teachings to survive the onslaught of an increasingly faithless world and the persecution of the Lance. He speaks of Faith as mutable and universal, and Religion as a necessary codification to allow a finite mind to conceive and thus tap into the infinte. He is known to be a harsh taskmaster and firm advocate of enlightenment through pain, and has done much study into the nature of the Kindred soul. He has always been willing to teach whomever petitions him as long as they are willing to submit to his particular style. He places a great deal of emphasis on observation, contemplation, and is widely known for his love of physical sensation (whether pleasure or pain.) He has little regard for the differences between the covenants and will gladly accept any Kindred (or Mage, Lupine, or otherwise) as an apprentice. He firmly advocates that the true lessons of the Crone defy all boundaries.
Rumors and Stories
- The Marquis is a member of the Burakumin bloodline, only thinly hiding his nature
- Temperance Walker, gangrel, Invictus Knight known as Spineripper, is his student... to what extent is unknown.
