Post by Blaise de Callébeau (D) on Oct 1, 2008 22:40:47 GMT -5
Name: Blaise de Callébeau, Duc de Callébeau
Age: 27
Height: 6'4
Gender: Male
Race: D'Angeline
Home Province: Siovale (Siovalese/Cameline)
Appearance: A handsome man beyond most would expect, Blaise is almost known for his good looks as much as his impediment. Tall and slender, but firm in muscle and strength, all his life Blaise has worked at his body, honing it to perfection. His hair is a sandy blond, wisps of wheat and straw mixed with almost white and chestnut. His eyes are a summer blue, light, like his personality, something that gets looked over when most see him. Unlike some of his kin, Blaise has a soft tan year round, something because he loves the outdoors.
History: Blaise's life seems touched with irony, even from a young age. His parent's life was nothing from the ordinary, his father was the eldest of five from Siovale and his mother the eldest of three girls from Camlach. Benoit and Mariannette met young, both sixteen, at a summer masque in the City of Elua. After years of correspondence and a summer together in Siovale, they wed at nineteen and three years later gave birth to their first child Béatrice. For many years they were happy in their family home in Siovale, a small farming estate selling wool, beef, lamb, and more recently chocolate. When Béatrice was six, Mariannette gave birth to their second child Blanche, and then four years later Blaise, followed by their last child Barbe eleven years after that. Barbe was a surprise to all, especially her parents.
Blaise was a quiet child even when he was a babe, always calm and preceptive to everything around him. It wasn't till he was three when his mother and father started to recognize the problem with their son. When Blaise reached speaking age he began to stutter, or at least that's what the Chirurgeon called it. Something rare, something the professional had only heard of and something with an unknown cause. In fact it was the Chirurgeon that pointed out that the name Blaise meant “to talk with a lisp”.
His family was devastated, their only son was simple. They had hopes of making their only son heir of the estate, but this changed everything. In his stead Béatrice was made heir. It broke them a little, to feel so hopeless in their future. But strangely enough this action caused the biggest life change for Blaise. He was left to his own most of the time, many of the other children making fun of him for is speaking, people talking down to him because they thought him an idiot. Blaise didn't mind being left on his own, but it was the taunting of the others that kept him strong, in fact it encouraged him to read and keep himself educated. Thinking it would be useless to teach him, his parents, at the beginning, gave their son no education at all. Blaise was incensed though, for the fact was he had a keener mind then most the boys around, quicker, smarter, better. But he never let that on, in fact Blaise didn't speak much for many years because of his stutter.
When Blaise was ten, he showed them that he wasn't simple and proved that he wasn't slow at all. He spoke, firmly, with courage and conviction and told his parent he deserved to be treated the same as his siblings. That he wished to learn about the estate, to ride, to fight. Benoit and Mariannette were aghast at the sight of their son, speaking intelligibly despite the impediment.
And so it was done, Blaise was giving an education like the rest of his siblings. He learned to do all the things a good young nobleman learns to do.
Strange twists happen though, and when Blaise was fourteen, his sister Blanche met an unfortunate end. While riding with a young suitor her horse was spooked and she fell and broke her back. She lived for almost a month before a fever took her life. It was a horrible time for the family and for almost a year and a half they mourned. That was until Béatrice announced she was in love and wished to wed. Blaise's parents were ecstatic about it. She had met an Agnacite Duc of higher standing then their own family. It was the perfect match until Béatrice announced she was giving up her title as heir apparent to her father's Duchy and that she would be moving to the City of Elua with her husband.
It was a shock as they had always figured that Béatrice would happily take the seat but what with Béatrice no longer in the contention for Duchesse it would fall to Blaise. For a year they thought and wondered, spoke with priests, priestesses and counselors, trying to figure out if Blaise could do it or not. He fought for it though, with the help of Béatrice ensuring that he could do it. In the end they decided that he could and the belief that Blaise was simple was cast aside and he was made heir.
For almost five years Blaise spent his time learning the job of future Duc, he trained and worked, honing skill and preparing for his twenty fourth birthday when he would take over.
During his time as newly appointed Duc, the war broke out and Blaise fought for his right to be included. Unfortunately though due to his stuttering they denied him passage to the front lines and instead left him within the ranks of defender back in Marsillikos. This killed him to be honest, he always imagined he would be there to fight for his country if need be. But he was never given the chance. In time Blaise's anger toward being left behind faded and he was welcomed home a hero never the less. Though in his eyes if you were to call him such he'd rebuff it, he never saw true action and could never be considered as such.
For the most part Blaise is a quiet man, choosing not to talk due to his stuttering. Shy would be the way most would describe him. He travels to the City of Elua often and is comfortable there despite the fact he loves his home province.
Being in the City is good for him, it lets him spend time with his sister, whom he loves deeply. They're very close, especially after Blanche's death. One of Blaise's favourite activities is a small pan flute that he plays when boredom hits.