Character Avatar: Andrew Smith
Player: Merle
Character Name: Nathanael Fauvel
Age: 25
Birthday: Jan 22, 1998
Height: 6'1
Rank/Title: Adept of Gentian
Race: D'Angeline
Country/Province: TdA/City of Elua
Appearance/Personality: Nathanael is tall and lanky, a bit on the wispy side. There is some definition to his torso and limbs, but not so much as to be considered toned. He calls to mind reeds and willow. Thin, wan, and flexible. His complexion is fair, but not washed out completely, and it can warm considerably with a little time in the sun. His eyes, too, are pale. Luminous. His hair is a middling shade, worn in an unruly mop around his head that he rarely gives any thought.
In fact, he's not the type to worry overmuch about any aspect of his appearance, as his attention is often focussed inward in true mystic fashion. Or outside of himself entirely. With his mind off in the clouds as oft as not, he can be easily distracted or seem out of touch. But while physical concerns might slip from his notice, Nathanael can just as easily spend hours of intense contemplation on the esoteric. Having a discussion of these same concepts can prove more difficult for him at times, however, given his reserved and introspective nature.
Having been harshly disillusioned, Nathanael's natural inclination to be trusting--even idealistic and naive--is at war with self-doubt and wariness. He's tried not to become bitter or suspicious, or generally pessimistic, but struggles sometimes to trust others, or even his own judgement. It's not always easy to tell who or what to believe. His optimism has also been somewhat tarnished, and Nathanael will sometimes retreat into himself, leaving him mopey and less than personable.
Additional Information
Marital Status: Single
Known Languages:
fluent: D'Angeline, Hellene, a very specific sign language (rusty)
basic/intermediate: Caerdicci
Strengths and Weaknesses:
Strengths: kind, gentle, intuitive, has an abiding curiosity and wonder at the world
Weaknesses: can be naive and too trusting--or conversely suspicious at times, uncertain and self-doubting
Family Members/Important NPCs:
Basile Montmarte - priest of Elua who brought Nathanael to the Night Court as an infant.
History: Alone, exhausted and heavily pregnant, a young woman... scarce more than a child herself... going simply by Elise, appeared on the doorstep of a small temple in rural L'Agnace dedicated to Elua. It was the dead of winter, and hardly unusual for some poor unfortunate to find their way to the temple in search of warmth and sanctuary. What made it more so was that Elise did not seem like most who would take refuge there.
Her clothes, even torn and dirty, were of a higher quality, her skin smooth and soft and clearly unmarred by a life of coarse labor. Though all D'Angelines bear some stamp of their angelic heritage, her beauty was more, her eyes luminous, her medium blonde locks shining with health. It was clear to Basile, one of the temple's priests, that here was not a peasant needing shelter from the elements, but a runaway. Though he wasn't able to pry the truth of her circumstances from the girl.
Elise was painfully shy and nervous, withdrawn, and it was often a struggle for Basile to get her to speak to him at all, in fact. Nevertheless, she remained welcome, and in time she gave birth to a baby boy. The child was called Nathanael Fauvel, though whether the name was hers or just that of the father was another mystery that the young woman declined to illuminate. Not just that, but whenever the parentage of her child was brought up, Elise became even more anxious and reticent.
Thus it came as less than surprising when she decided to leave the temple, and her baby, behind. Basile had seen it before, those who would not, or could not, care for their infants and left them in the priesthood's care. Unfortunately, it had been a rather harsh winter, and the temple was already caring for more foundlings than it could really afford. There was a wetnurse there, but it was a struggle for her to feed another, and finding someone else was unfeasible.
There was some attempt to find anyone with the name Fauvel in the area, but what few there were seemed to have no connection to Elise or the baby. So, given that he had once been an adept, Basile decided to take the child to the Night Court. Given his mother's demeanor, it was to Alyssum House he took little Nathanael. Trusting in the priest's assessment, the Dowayne accepted the new charge, handing off a decent amount of coin that would benefit the rest of the temple's residents greatly.
As he grew, Nathanael got on well in his new home, but he was always a strange boy. Quiet and pensive. He was inquisitive, but didn't talk much, and when he did there was sometimes uncanny wisdom in his words... and at other times they were even more vague and cryptic than average childish babble. While it was never really in doubt that he would have made a fine Alyssum, the boy caught the attention of the Dowayne of Gentian, who saw great potential in Nathanael. Coin once again changed hands, and while he remained in Alyssum until his tenth birthday, it was Gentian that now 'owned' him.
As the Dowayne had expected, Nathanael did indeed show quite an aptitude for the skills taught in the House of mystics. Along with a genuine desire to serve Naamah. Not particularly surprising given he had known nothing else in his life. It was true that he was curious sometimes about his parents, his origins, about what might have become of him if his mother had chosen a different path, but the boy tended to be philosophical about it all.
In another twist of fate, it happened that the priest who had brought Nathanael to the Night Court was formerly of Gentian, and when Basile came to visit with family, he reconnected with his one-time charge as well. Few of Nathanael's questions about his past were answered by the meeting, but he considered it meaningful anyway. The two remained in contact after that, while those relatives that remained within Gentian took the boy under their wings. Giving him a sense of family that he had thus far never known.
Nathanael has since debuted, and is slowly making progress on his marque. It is not that he is unpopular, or untalented, but he is simply in no hurry, and sometimes has a habit of squandering his money on meaningless things -as he collects trinkets and bits and baubles of interest like a magpie.
Updates: At nineteen Nathanael met, by pure happenstance, an enthralling dignitary from Kriti--almost literally right outside his door. Vangelis Floros, son of the ambassadors from that distant island nation, had by some turn of chance or fate stopped to lunch outside the walls of Gentian House when Nathanael was returning home. The pair quickly became fast friends, and in time, lovers.
Their affair was an illicit one, given Nathanael hadn't yet completed his marque, but he was willing to take the risk to be with Vangelis. A fact which made it all the more painful when it came to light that his love was hiding things from him.
While Nathanael was under the impression Vangelis had been with no one else, it turned out that in reality he'd been secretly seeing someone else. The fact he was sleeping with another could have been forgiven--even though Nathanael felt himself foolish for laboring under the impression Vangelis only had his guidance in Naamah's arts--but the crux of the matter was the intentional duplicity. For it was revealed that he'd not only wanted to keep his dalliances with Meena of Jasmine secret, but had relished doing so. Had enjoyed the duplicity.
Given his trusting, guileless nature, the betrayal hit him hard. Shook him to the very foundations of his being. Having his trust so completely shattered left Nathanael hurt and confused and heartbroken. In part he blamed himself, wondered if he was a poor companion, or if he was overreacting. At other times he felt himself a dupe, foolish and simple. He asked his erstwhile lover for time--to untangle his feelings, heal his hurt, and figure out a way forward--but he struggled to make sense of it all. Everything Nathanael thought he knew seemed to be in question, uncertain. Even his own judgement and abilities as a Gentian mystic.
With Vangelis' sudden departure back to Kriti for a family emergency, any reconciliation was put on hold. Even hurt and heartbroken as he was, it grieved Nathanael that he couldn't join him. It had been their dream to go together. The young mystic's one clear vision of his future. His destiny, he thought. But his marque was incomplete, and though it wasn't long before the last inches were inked, it was by then too late.
Time has shown that it was perhaps for the best, and given Nathanael the space and clarity to heal and adjust to his new--less naive--worldview, but the experience has certainly left scars and echoes. He's become more wary, less self-confident, plagued by doubts and worries that never troubled him before. And where he had happily drifted through life with no apparent goal before meeting Vangelis, he is now troubled by the lack of certainty in the future before him.
He still sometimes misses Vangelis, but it mostly makes him feel foolish and sad. In his estimation, what he misses most--the open, trusting, deep connection he'd thought they shared--was more illusion than reality. Thus why his lover never fought to truly fix things between them or win back his trust.
