Post by Baltasar de Cordova on Mar 11, 2009 15:32:37 GMT -5
Name: Baltasar de Cordova
Age: 23
Height: 6' 2"
Race: Publicly: Aragonian (Cordovan/Toledan)
Secretly: Aragonian (mother) / D'Angeline (father, unknown male Cereus adept)
Location: Cordova, Aragonia/City of Elua, Terre D'Ange
Appearance and Personality:
Baltasar holds a very interesting beauty that is claimed to come from his mother. He is tall and lithe, his body toned, his shoulders broad and waist narrow, and his muscles long and lean from work on his family's vineyards, matching his well honed mind. He is usually seen in something fitting, but not overly tight, showing off his best assets, although with taste and a business-like flare. His jet black hair is curly, hanging over his brows and down his neck, the curls not as tightly wound as some others in Aragonia, his are more defined. His eyes always seem to smile at onlookers, crinkling at the corner, and even moreso when his lips decide to play along. His smile is catlike, his lips holding a natural curl at the corners. They are full and pouty, but not overly so. His most striking feature is his eyes. They peer out beneath his curly locks, shining a bright blue with a hint of grey speckled throughout -- making them seem almost periwinkle in colour as they sparkle from a distance. If it were not for his inability to maintain a perfect smooth face, a shadow of dark hair always covering his jaw, though well groomed, and his constantly tanned skin that only darkens from days in the field, he could be pass for a mixed D'Angeline.
He is usually happy, although he can turn to serious at the drop of a centime. He is business-minded when he needs to be, but enjoys having fun when he can. He is manipulative, but those he manipulates rarely know until it is too late, if at all. Quick witted and charismatic, he has few enemies (other than those whose love interests he has enjoyed), and many friends. His temper is not usually quick, but can be when he is tempted too far or if someone dare insult his family. When these moments do occur, he tries to separate himself from the situation, although he has failed, resulting in fist fights and apologies for broken body parts. When he can get away, he will go, find a room or a place where he can be alone, and sing an old Aragonian song to himself to calm. His voice is low and melodious, and when he is not working on the family business, he can be found in the large salon where he plays his lyre.
History[/u]:
Pilara de Toledo was a green-eyed, raven haired Aragonian beauty from the city of Toledo in Aragonia. Her family was wealthy for their city's standards. She was the second child born to Alejandro and Andreja, Marques and Marquesa de Toledo. She had an older brother, Muelo, who would inherit the title, but she was always her parents' favourite. They made sure that she was well educated, and especially so in the D'Angeline language, due to the proximity of the country. At the age of 19, after blooming into a very smart, very beautiful woman, she was conveniently introduced to Giorgios de Cordova, the heir apparent to Cordova in the southern part of Aragonia. She was smart enough to realise the power that this would bring her, the money, wealth and station that came with his name. He was 27 at the time, his father was 70, dying, and Giorgios was an only son. Giorgios, an only child, spoiled, wealthy, powerful and conniving held beauty, amongst power, his vast vineyards, and money, as one of his highest ranked loves. When the two met, it was an instant attraction. Pilara wanted his money and power to surround and uphold her, while Giorgios wanted to flaunt Pilara as his gorgeous wife, far above the paltry wives his serfs and peers held in Cordova. This resulted in a hasty marriage, and Pilara's move to Giorgios vast estate. That same summer, his father died, passing on the title, making Giorgios the Marques and Pilara the Marquesa of Cordova. His vineyards produced one of the most esteemed vintages in Aragonia, utilising imported Siovalese mechanics to aid in the mass production of the wines, which he exported through trade with Terre D'Ange. For all this, she doted on him, waiting on him hand and foot, playing the docile house wife. To him, she was everything he could imagine and more.
On one occasion, Giorgios needed to travel to Terre D'Ange to tend to trade agreements he had. He decided to bring his beautiful wife, who, he thought, even by D'Angeline standards, would have turned a few heads. Plus, he wanted to show her just how accomplished he was. He hired her a guide who was to show her the City while he went about his work. One day, the guide showed her to Mont Nuit, explaining the Night Court. That night, she could not stop dreaming about the beautiful men and women, and the concept that they would sleep with others for mere gold coins just boggled her mind, and intrigued her, although it shamed her to think on it. The next day, though, when her husband went to continue discussions, she slipped away before her guide came for her. She hired a carriage and went to Mont Nuit, contracting a beautiful Cereus adept. His name was Souvalle, and he was beautiful, blonde and blue-eyed, which, in Aragonia, was a rarity, and highly prized. At first, she was reluctant, not sure how to proceed, and even though she had learned d'Angeline, the accent with which he spoke made it difficult to understand, and likewise for him, although they understood enough. There was, however, one incident. She tried to explain that she did not want to get with child, and he thought she was inquiring about her safety. When he answered that she would be safe, she automatically assumed that he meant it would never occur. With that worry put out of her mind, she enjoyed him that day, returning home before her husband did, telling him and no one else anything of the matter. They returned to Aragonia later that week.
A month later she realised she was possibly pregnant, against her beliefs and what she thought she was promised, and made it a point to sleep with her husband, seeing as the month before their intimate relations had been extremely infrequent, due to the travel and business that needed tending to. Eight months later she gave birth to a baby boy, dark haired and blue eyed. Giorgios was ecstatic to have a son as a first child, an heir to his land and title, although he was mightily confused when the boy grew, day by day, month by month, and kept the blue colour of his eyes. Pilara passed it off as a family gene, the cause of her own green eyes, more common but not the most common hue to be found in Aragonians. He believed her then. The boy's skin tone darkened, and his eyes more often took on the look of grey, which put the doubt out of his mind. Even though he was rather beautiful by Aragonian standards, with his mother's beauty, the boy's lineage would not be questioned outright. The boy was named Baltasar.
Baltasar was a very content child. He was adventurous and enterprising, even as a child, learning ways to convince his comrades to always take his side, and always do as he said. He learned to turn a quick coin in gambling with his friends as boys are wont to do. His father watched him grow with proud eyes, knowing he would make a great marques, and wield the power properly to the utmost success.
When Baltasar turned nine, his mother gave birth to his younger brother, Calijeto. Giorgios was happy to have been given another son, seeing it as another strong hand in his business, although he knew that Baltasar would be the one to take over. Baltasar loved his little brother, playing with him when he could, fawning over the dark eyed bubble of joy. But he didn't have much time. By the next year, Giorgios made sure most of his time was used around the vineyards.
During his youth his father made sure he was primed to be his heir. He had a firmer hand with Baltasar than he did with Calijeto, ensuring that he was educated in D'Angeline to perfect fluency, as well as Carthaginian so that when he would be introduced to the business, he would be ready and able to carry on as his father's protégé. He learned the ways of the lands they owned, the vineyards, the people, and the mechanics, knowing every bolt and lever. By the age of thirteen he exhibited a well defined body and a mind to match. By the time he was fourteen he already developed the ability to impress girls his age, earning himself the nickname of the Cordovan Angel amongst giggling and shy female peers. But even with his flirtatious ways, he still had time to learn everything.
His father placed him on a pedestal, making him seem grandiose in comparison to others, which he soon started to believe. He knew the vintages, their flavours, their blends, and when he turned eighteen, he was so well versed that his father let him be in charge of cultivating the grapes and other various berries and fruits they would use to make new and exciting wines. He pleased his father with his ability to learn quickly. He enjoyed this greatly, knowing it to be his fate, but he felt there was something else, something he was missing. He could have lived that life, content to live his days out in Aragonia, but one event changed everything. He had gone to Terre D'Ange with his father, accompanying him on a business trip, one that Giorgios used to test Baltasar's abilities. Baltasar excelled, but the trip changed him forever. He saw Terre D'Ange, the land, the women, and wanted badly to be a part of their world.
Baltasar's relationship with his mother was naught special. She was his mother, he was her son. She doted on him no more than any other mother would, and certainly not as much as his father did, and she often seemed to hold some ill regard towards him, or made herself distant at times. He didn't understand why, when everything he did, everything he excelled at, was to show her that he was a good son, trying to earn her approval. He didn't know that he was the product of a day of total passion, total abandonment, lust, want and attraction. He felt that, maybe if he excelled outside of his father's tutelage, not under his shadow, he would impress her. Now he needed to get to Terre D'Ange. It wasn't just a dream anymore, it needed to be made a reality. His quick mind came up with a plan that would ensure the best of both of his worlds. He took the next few years, pouring himself into his work, nearly running himself ragged, creating new wines, effecting new contacts all for his master plan.
At his twenty-third natal, after closing a deal for his father in Carthage, Baltasar approached Giorgios with a proposition. He believed that he had learned all he needed to know of his father's vineyards. But he was not really needed at home to tend the vineyards, they practically ran themselves. He proposed that he be given a house in the City of Elua, making it possible for him to run business within the City, while Giorgios could run business with Carthage. He also wanted to open something of a wine shop and cafe there in the City where they could try out their new creations and get an idea firsthand of how their vintages would sell. Not only would this plan expand their business and give their name more power, it would make sure that Baltasar was able to quench his thirst and obtain the D'Angeline experience. Sealing the deal with a promise of his return, Giorgios could not say no. The plan was fail proof, and in the back of his mind, Giorgios hoped that Baltasar would fall in love and bring home the most gorgeous of women, a D'Angeline, to be his wife. Baltasar would go, and, with his father nowhere near death, he would be able to stay in Terre D'Ange for a long time. That very day, Giorgios and Baltasar started on the plans that would take Baltasar out of Aragonia and make him a wolf among sheep... very beautiful and free-minded sheep.