Guillaume Of Flambeau

Character Sheet
Familiar

Table of Contents

Description:

Guillaume appears to be a fit, average-sized man of middle age, probably closing in on forty years old. He keeps his head and facial hair cut very short, leaving him with an eternal five-o'clock shadow on his face and scalp. Though he has been known to relax at times, Guillaume's eyes generally seem stern, broadcasting intensity and seriousness. His most recognizable feature are the hideous burns on his neck and upper chest. While he generally keeps them covered, this doesn't stop them from showing up in his voice, which is now somewhere between a rasp and a gurgle and always sounds sinister.

Hidden beneath an intense and serious exterior lies the zeal that drives Guillaume. A Flambeau through and through, he is extremely loyal and dedicated to fighting for the Order. Secretly he is quite driven to cement his reputation as the greatest magical warrior of all time. This shows up in his enthusiasm to partake in things like the Shadow Wars and to act as a Hoplite. One day he will be better known than Flambeau himself.

History:

Guillaume was born to one of the grogs and one of the servants at Doissetep in the Provençal Tribunal. His father was a shield grog to a fairly young Flambeau, and his mother worked in Doissetep's kitchens. He had a rougher childhood than many, taking after his father and having to deal with other childrens' reactions to his Gift. But once he learned he would be groomed to become a warrior, he devoted himself to it and found the other children easier to tolerate.

Despite a natural inclination toward magic that might likely have led him to House Bonisagus or House Criamon, Guillaume grew up among the grogs at Doissetep. As the Flambeaux tended to associate more with the grogs, the magi he became most familiar with were Flambeaux. This combination helped bring about a personality much more in tune with the Flambeaux. On top of this the magi at Doissetep were not about to pass up a potential apprentice in their midst. That his Gift was blatant made it quite obvious to those at Doissetep that Guillaume was a potential apprentice in their midst. The magi decided the senior-most interested magus among them should take him as an apprentice. That is how Evandrus, filius Julius (himself Julius, filius Delendos) came to take Guillaume as an apprentice late in life.

Though apprenticeship was not easy, Guillaume had not previously realized he was being groomed to be a Knight of Seneca. He had only thought he would be a grog. Once he understood his true path he became even more driven than before and found his drive could carry him through any hardship he had to endure. Tasks other might have found grating he found to be tests of his mettle. The finale of Guillaume's apprenticeship was an obstacle course (both physical and magical) through which he had to lead four grog volunteers. Magi kept close watch on the grogs to make sure they could be extricated quickly if in any serious danger, which would also result in the failure of the gauntlet. Through careful use of ropes, some weak spontaneous magic, The Unseen Porter and significant use of Wizard's Leap Guillaume led the grogs past the physical challenges. He tended to dispel magical threats when coming across them. In the final fight he had the grogs form a shield wall while he hurled Pilums of Fire at the beast they had to defeat. Though some light wounds were sustained, there were no serious injuries and Guillaume passed his gauntlet, earning his sigil and the key to the Parma Magica. At this point Guillaume decided to keep his name unchanged because the grogs had known him by that name his whole life.

Guillaume's first decade as a Hermetic magus was relatively quiet by Flambeau standards. He spent some time in the lab augmenting his spell repertoire. But he also spent a lot of time traveling and exploring. Some of this was in service to his Covenant, the House, or the Knights of Seneca, but such missions were relatively short. It was during this time that he found the wounded wolf pup he named Astrid. He discovered the young wolf's magical aptitude despite being mundane, and this intrigued him. As Guillaume nursed her to health Astrid became more comfortable around him, slowly working past the problems of his blatant Gift. Guillaume suffered his share of nips and rakes during the adjustment period, but once he'd started he developed feelings of loyalty toward her. Eventually Astrid became his familiar and eternal companion. Toward the end of the decade it appeared the Third Cathar Crusade was about to break out. Guillaume decided it would be good for them to steer clear of these events and so they spent a little more time than usual in the library and laboratory. It was during this time that Guillaume developed an interest in alchemy and became initiated into the Order of the Green Cockerel. But events outside the Third Cathar Crusade were soon disrupt their relative calm.

In 1208 Archmagus Karandos was slain, and the Knights of Seneca went to war in early 1209. Guillaume joined them, temporarily moving to Campo del Marte in Iberia. Though not a leader in the Shadow Wars due to his relative youth, he still saw plenty of action leading grogs into battle alongside other Knights of Seneca. After ten years the end of war was upon them as the Knights of Seneca bore down upon the Covenant of Jafaryia. Despite fighting valiantly Guillaume was surprised to walk in at the end of an Infernally tainted ritual releasing hellfire upon him and the grogs he led. He nearly managed to escape but suffered severe burns on his upper chest and around his throat, leaving him unconscious. Fortunately Astrid found him and dragged him back to a fellow Knight of Seneca. The Knights were able to prevent his wounds from worsening until they could transport him back to Campo del Marte. There he recuperated for a while, though despite numerous methods of healing he never fully recovered. Hideous scars remain on his upper chest and neck, and even hiding them physically does not prevent others from hearing his raspy and gurgling voice. While he can function fully, these scars tend to frighten many people and make them even more uncomfortable around him. He returned to Doissetep and worked in the lab, finishing recovering while further investigation into his wounds was done by those of great experience in medicine to no avail. Thus he missed the hunts for the last few magi at the end of the Shadow Wars despite having been a significant part of the wars.

His prowess in battle brought him to the attention of the Quaesitores through Octavian of Tremere, especially since they had lost several Hoplites during the Shadow Wars. Guillaume started serving as a Hoplite, mostly protecting some of the relatively young Quaesitores. After a number of years of service the Quaesitores recognized Guillaume's talent with Vim in addition to his devotion to the Order. They offered him training as a Quaesitor himself to become a Quaesitor-Hoplite, and he accepted. He has begun his training while maintaining his duties as a Hoplite, though he has not yet earned the title of Quaesitor. His training as a Quaesitor also fit his needs as a Green Knight well, as he hoped to somewhat temper his zealousness.

Most recently Guillaume heard through Carmen and the Knights of Seneca that tragedy had befallen the covenant of Andorra. As he was not so settled at the time and he felt it was his duty to the Knights of Seneca, Guillaume quickly chose to help her. He also figured this would help serve to train his investigative abilities to move him closer to being a Quaesitor-Hoplite. Through 1229 he gathered together a small group of magi to assist Carmen in her task.

Guillaume of Flambeau was briefly a member. He might still be. The player wandered away, so I am presuming the character did as well. For now.

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License