Character Avatar: Riley Smith
Character Name: Benoit de Couverlette (formerly no Eglantine)
Age: 33
Race: D'angeline
Country/Province: L'agnace
Rank: Duc
Player: -
Appearance: Short, dirty blonde hair accentuates a youthful, almost ageless face. Piercing blue eyes peer out from a sharp-angled face, which usually sports stubble, (mainly because he forgets to shave) and shows that he is not fully D'angeline in his make-up. His general physique is slender, and he practically fizzes with nervous energy. Benoit's voice is soft and quiet in conversation but when raised in song it is a thing of beauty.
Personality: Benoit is somewhat of a musical prodigy. He has an ear for music and rhythm and usually only has to hear something played once to have it memorised and is able to play it back perfectly in moments. His favourite instrument is the Cello and although he can and does play a wide variety of instruments to a greater or lesser degree, it is to the Cello that he always returns. His passion for music knows no bounds and that passion is clear from the moment you meet him as Benoit is constantly either humming, tapping or conducting an invisible orchestra.
It's not all peaches and cream for Benoit though...he is often absent minded and abrupt, especially if he has a performance in mind or a sudden inspiration hits for a song or melody. Those days he can seem to live in a daze, barely eats, bathes, or registers the world around him. Benoit can also be a bit of a diva; any perceived slight to his beloved music sends him into a tailspin of sulks and rages and it takes a while for him to snap out of it. Despite these flaws, he made an excellent adept, easily able to identify with and give his devotion to those Patrons that shared his passion for music.
History: Benoit was the youngest, born to a poor family but he never wanted for love. Indeed, although he was an unexpected surprise - his brother and sister being a good ten and eleven years older than he - he was doted on. Life was harsh and money was scarce but he was loved unconditionally by both his siblings and his parents. As Benoit grew older, it was clear that he had a passion for music and not only that, an ability that surpassed anything his parents had ever seen. They watched as he blossomed into a quietly spoken but fiercely passionate about all things musical and eventually his parents decided that the best thing they could do for him was to take him to Eglantine and see if they would take him on. The audience with the Dowayne was successful, they were delighted with his abilities, even as raw and untrained as they were and immediately took him under their wing.
Under Eglantine's tutelage he became a very popular adept, at least with Patrons who shared his passions. Anyone who contracted him and did not share the same depth of feeling were quickly shown the door by him or they left because he ranted or sulked. One of his regular Patrons was a Dowager Duchesse. Benoit had come to her attention at a fete someone was holding, he was providing the musical entertainment and she was enraptured by his voice. She contracted him repeatedly over the years, never to sleep with, but always to play for her and she made it her mission to give Patron gifts of strange and unusual instruments and expect him to have learned how to play them by the time she contracted him again.
Their friendship grew over the years but she never asked him to leave Eglantine, nor did he enquire it of her, they just continued to meet up, he'd play or sing for her, demonstrate his prowess on the latest instrument she had given him and discuss the latest musical news and compositions.
One day, he was summoned to the Dowayne's office and was introduced to a lawyer who told him in grave tones that his Patron, the Dowager Duchesse de Courvelette had passed away and had left a Will. When that Will was read, she had left everything to one Benoit no Eglantine. The title, the Duchy, her funds. She'd had no heirs, no living family and the only person that had come into her life, affected her life with love, joy and passion was Benoit and so she had left the entirety of her estate to him.
Now a Duc, and no longer an Adept, a bewildered Benoit is trying to make sense of the sudden upswing in his fortunes.
Updates and Character Development:
- After a short settling period, Benoit began to fall for a stable-lad by the name of Patrick O'Donnell and the feeling was mutual
- They began seeing more of each other and Patrick began spending more time in Benoit's bed than his own
- After a while, Patrick expressed the desire to start a family - or, more accurately, for Benoit to start a family with someone else, whilst he became a carer for said child.
- This revelation took Benoit by surprise and his response made Patrick withdraw into himself, even when Benoit tried to tell him after a period of thought that they would try and make it work
- Eventually the two split up and Patrick moved out, finding a job elsewhere.
