Post by Emma on Feb 13, 2011 22:42:09 GMT -5
Name:
Anastasio D’artagnan (ah-nah-stas-yoh dar-tah-nyan)
Age:
225; appears to be in his mid-thirties
Race:
Half-elf; under the guise of an elf
Occupation:
Researcher; guard of Dellanir
Allegiance:
Du Weldenvarden
Physical Description:
Anastasio has not magically modified his body as so many in Du Weldenvarden are fond of doing, but there is still a notable difference between him and other elves. Though two hundred years of life in the Guarding Forest has effectively completely erased any question that he is anything but a full-blooded elf, his bearing and general appearance does differ from other males. For one, he is not a particularly tall man, standing just a hair’s breadth under 6’1”, although he often appears taller due to his slim frame. And though considered attractive by most standards, he is not the stunning image of physical perfection that most elves are regarded as. However, not being a godly beauty generally makes him more approachable when it comes to interaction.
Anastasio’s Latin and Gaulish ancestry is also clearly seen in his facial features and general colouring. Though his normally dark complexion is still very pale from twenty years spent in a sunless prison, his features are more masculine than other elves’, most clearly seen in his high brow and cheekbones, thin lips, strong chin and jaw, and straight nose. Arched black eyebrows sit above a pair of piercing golden eyes that can sometimes appear poisonous green, framed by long lashes. Anastasio’s straight hair is a muted shade of black, and hangs to his mid-back when left unbound. In keeping with his cultured personality, however, he almost always keeps it slicked back and tied into a knot.
Anastasio is always very neat with his appearance contrary to his laid-back demeanour, and more suited to his love for eloquence and sophistication. He is a great fan of classy attire such as cloaks, and particularly partial to the three-piece suit and tie. Usually, his outfit is embellished with polished dress shoes, elegant white gloves, overcoats, and classic scarves. Anastasio also leans towards more neutral hues in his choice of dress, such as black, white, and dark blue, minimally tempered with other colours.
Personality:
Perhaps blameable on his half-elven nature, Anastasio D’artagnan is, in one word, a psychopath. However, his insanity is not comparable to the raving lunatics and bloodthirsty serial killers most link to the term ‘psychopath’. Someone who truly suffers this particular mental disorder is able to maintain the façade that they are normal individuals- which Anastasio can do flawlessly. Cool and mannerly, he is a soft-spoken gentleman that is surprisingly friendly to anyone he meets, whatever race they may be. Outside observers also usually note his laid-back demeanour, endearing charms, inquisitive nature and sly wit. He is also quieter than most people, but not shy, and is known in Du Weldenvarden for his level head, good looks, and high intelligence.
Anastasio’s twisted psyche is all but impossible to see in his outward manner, but it is not particularly difficult to find what lies beneath. Driven by mindsets such as ‘survival of the fittest’ and ‘to the victor go the spoils’, he is a ruthless, calculating, methodical tactician as well as an entirely amoral observer of human nature. Apathetic, intuitive, and admittedly sadistic, he assesses people and situations with logic and perceptiveness, ignoring morality, emotions, and the concept of grey areas as ‘contaminating factors’. He cares little to nothing for the lives that are often affected or even lost as a result of his plans, not even his own- an avid nihilist, even his own life is accountable to his ideals.
However, Anastasio is very lucid regarding his mind-set and actions, enough to realize that they aren’t ‘mainstream’ and largely viewed as frightening heresy. He actively shrouds his madness with the gentlemanly decorum and clever semantics mentioned above. As an analyst of human nature, he knows precisely what needs to be said and done to hide his personal philosophies from those who would not understand them, but will be more than happy to explain his nihilism to any that question him. He is an avid philosopher and skilled rhetorician that is versed and cemented enough in his ideals to silence many a naysayer.
History:
Lucinde D’artagnan was an elven sleeper agent hailing from the western country of Gaul. Trained in poison and seduction, she was sent to the aggressively expanding empire of Latinae to worm her way towards its emperor, and assassinate him. To do that, she disguised herself as a human noblewoman and married a major lord named Giacomo Leone. Lucinde remained married to him for thirty years, during which she steadily rose in the ranks of Latinae’s hierarchy and got steadily closer to the emperor. However, in order to remain married to Giacomo, Lucinde would have to do her duty as a consort and bear him heirs. Though she had a natural aversion to half-elves like all her kind, she did eventually beget two children- a boy named Anastasio, and a girl named Lucrezia.
Anastasio was born believing himself to be a full-blooded human and without any reason to question that heritage, but was aware that he was somehow different. Though his father was highly pleased with his healthy son, crowning him with gifts and praise, his mother always treated him as a lesser being. Anastasio also noted that his standards and beliefs were different from others’, and that he had different abilities. He was physically stronger, and cultivated a deep interest and talent for magic that few humans possessed. He spent much of his childhood and adolescence studying the arcane arts, and had little interest for manual combat, much to his father’s chagrin. He also developed a passion for music and became partial to painting, and avidly studied philosophy.
A few years after the birth of his sister Lucrezia, however, Lucinde finally achieved her goal, seducing and quietly murdering the emperor of Latinae. Originally, she intended to leave her unwanted offspring behind to take the blame, but Lucinde noticed something about her children that night. Half-blood indeed, but both of them could prove useful. Lucrezia showed a manipulative streak even as a toddler, and would clearly grow up to be an exceptionally beautiful woman. Anastasio was a skilled magician and deftly calculating. Both were highly intelligent, amoral, and most of all, eager to please their mother. Lucinde had two monsters that would never turn on their master. And so, she decided to take them with her on her new mission to Du Weldenvarden.
On the boat ride there, Lucinde revealed to her children that they were, in fact, half elf and half human, as well as revealing her own true race. Lucrezia was still too young to properly understand, but for Anastasio, it was a moment of truth. His detachment from others, the feeling of being different, was all because he was not human at all. This realization is what drove Anastasio to become an outside, indifferent observer of human nature. He also held this mindset about elves when they arrived at Du Weldenvarden, and Lucinde instructed her children to take on the guise of that race. This being nearly a hundred years before any human set foot in Alagaësia, the government was still very relaxed. They were happy to take a poor foreign elf and her two children in.
It was then that the training began. Lucinde began to instruct Anastasio and Lucrezia on behaving and living like an elf to escape attention, but also gave her son lessons on how to be an effective diplomat. He learned the dance of manipulation and wit, the game of politics, and as years became decades, integrated it as a part of himself. Lucinde’s new task was simply to report to Gaul on Du Weldenvarden’s plans, but she still had a pecking order to climb. Anastasio was her right hand in achieving that goal. However, some years later, a problem developed- Lucrezia. She had become violent, cruel, and had a chilling lack of empathy. Lucinde knew that she had some sort of mental disorder, but did not want doctors to examine her and find her half-elf nature, thereby ruining all of Lucinde’s carefully-laid plans. And so, Lucrezia was disowned and shunted off to Ilirea.
Anastasio was disturbed by how carelessly his mother tossed away her own daughter. After some thinking, he realized that she cared for him just as little- he was a tool for her own political gains, and nothing more. This perceived worthlessness made him angry, angry enough to confront Lucinde. There was a brief fight, during which Lucinde stabbed Anastasio in the stomach and called the guards on him. He was arrested and then imprisoned for several months on grounds of assault. During this imprisonment, Anastasio developed an interest in one of the prison wardens. Tall, blonde, and a true soldier, she was called Myaja Kolbjorn. With an obstinate will and devotion to her country, he was fascinated by her strong personality- and decided he wanted her.
She, however, was adamant in that all criminals were below her, and refused his every offer. But Anastasio was patient and persistent, and by the time he was released from prison, he had managed to chip Myaja’s wall. When he was certain she was falling for his charms, Anastasio began to plot. After confronting his mother, she had disowned him as she had Lucrezia, and he was eager for revenge. By then, Lucinde had managed to win over the position of Countess of Ellesméra, which Anastasio was eager to knock her out of- and he would use Myaja for it. He convinced her of Lucinde’s evil ways, and insisted that it would be in the country’s best interest to be rid of her. Myaja, blinded by newfound love, believed Anastasio- and promised to do anything he asked of her.
Together, they engaged in sabotage against Lucinde. Carefully staged political movements and disruptions slowly undermined her, resulting in paranoia and anxiety, and ultimately led to her making mistakes. Once Anastasio had had his fun, he personally murdered her in her estate- only to be caught by the law once again. Punishment had little meaning for Anastasio, and he went without complaint, expecting to be imprisoned or executed. But instead, was taken to Vänskä Könungr’s private chambers. This was still several years before the Blue Divide, but the king was convinced that the shadow of war was upon them. Anastasio had shown a great deal of magical Talent and intelligence in the plot against his own mother, which Vänskä wanted to utilize.
And so, Anastasio was introduced to blood magic. The artist in him saw immense beauty in the human body externally and internally, and he studied it intensely and passionately. By the time Palancar Angrenost finally did snap and order the full-scale invasions of Kirtan and Osilon, Anastasio was put on the front lines. For twenty years, he executed the murder of countless humans, mainly working in the Silent Plains. He became obsessed with his newfound abilities. When Vänskä was killed in the fighting, his advisors were told that Anastasio was utilizing blood magic, and ordered him to tell them his secrets. Anastasio refused, and used his macabre artistry on them as well.
Even Myaja fell to his manic glee. When she revealed to him one night that she was pregnant with his child, he realized that the birth could reveal his identity, and he disposed of her. For slaughtering people not on his government-approved kill list, Anastasio was arrested a third time, and imprisoned for a second time- for life. He rode out the final ten years of the Blue Divide in jail, and remained there for ten years still. But one night, Anastasio received news that he had been released- by conspiratorial acts at the top of the government no less. Upon leaving the penitentiary, he was taken to Dellanir Dröttning, who informed him of his tasks as her hidden left hand in the secret battles to come. Officially exonerated of his crimes, he joined Dellanir in her later pursuits to discover new and forbidden magic.
