Post by VICTOR D'ANTHÈS on Mar 4, 2013 17:17:32 GMT -5
[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: f9f9f9; border: #1f4579 solid 10px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] At the end of the day you're another day colder FULL NAME: Capitaine Victor Alexandre d'Anthès NICKNAMES: HERITAGE: French AGE: 28 GROUP: Aristocrat CANON: No PLAYBY: Ralph Fiennes (young. Like in Onegin). ----- PERSONALITY: Victor is in some regards a different man personally than he is professionally, though both of course share some of his basic characteristics. Professionally, he is a capable, highly trained cavalry officer with the talent and ability to gain membership to the Saumur Cavalry School's famous Cadre Noir. He is brave, an intelligent commander, able to win the respect of any men below him in the ranks, capable of being a strong but quiet authority if necessary. His loyalty to the King and to France is unquestionable, and although he loves life, he knows that his role as a soldier means he may be called upon to die for his King. He is an expert horseman, patient with horses and young soldiers in a way he seems incapable of being with his equals. On a personal level, the figure he cuts is quite different. Clever and brave as ever, his talents are turned toward his vices as much—if not more—than his virtues. A bachelor with a taste for women, wine, and the occasional bout of gambling, he nevertheless will always report for duty in the morning perfectly clean and able to carry out whatever orders he receives. In the meantime, however, he tends to be a daredevil and look upon everything in life as something of a joke. He can be brought out of this, however, and become the serious and well-trained officer he is if called upon to do so. He does generally try to avoid causing any truly serious scandals, and has at least some regard for his reputation. There is always some trace of his wildness in him, but when subjected to his more serious side it serves mainly to grant him a flexibility and sometimes healthy disregard for the rules that might help him in the field, should he ever have to fight a war... or suppress a rebellion. A proud man, he does have a penchant for dueling. Obviously such a dangerous habit is not one he regularly partakes in, but he has fought several—and is not afraid or unwilling to fight another if the situation should come about. Mostly, he's fought over women—though he remains unmarried and, despite strong attends to be charming and a flirt, claims he's never yet fallen in love and will even sometimes insist that he doesn't believe in its existence. APPEARANCE: A slender man who has grown into his looks far more than he did as a younger man, Victor has dark hair that he keeps in a style more or less in recognition of military standards and lighter eyes. Still quite young, his hair hasn't started to fall out or go grey yet—something his vanity is pleased with. Proud of his rank, he does generally dress in his black Cadre Noir uniform but will sometimes wear civilian clothes. GOALS: His more serious goals are to earn promotions and do his job well, and he would like—secretly--to impress his father and eldest brother. Less seriously, his goals tend to be of a much more rakish nature. He would also like to someday have a son of his own, though he is in no hurry to settle down with a wife despite slowly approaching thirty. HISTORY: The third son and fourth child of an aristocratic family, Victor felt that he grew up always in the shadow of his brothers. He was the troublemaker of the family, good at his studies when he bothered to try but usually far more interested in practically anything else. He showed early talent with the horses and, like many small boys, was fascinated with military trappings—something which pleased his father, who intended to send both of his younger sons into the army after a badly-healed broken leg ruined any hopes for a military career for the first. His father was himself an officer, and was wounded during the partisan fighting that marked the Second Revolution despite being in official semi-retirement. Victor, still too young for war, chafed at the lack of opportunity to prove himself and be seen as a man. The prospect of entering military life through training to be an officer excited him and motivated him to do a little better in his lessons. Victor began his military career at the Saint-Cyr Military Academy. Though he quickly proved capable of a very high standard of performance in both academic and more practical areas, he rarely applied himself well and risked expulsion during his first year for undisciplined behavior. Nevertheless his record improved, and upon graduation he was commissioned as a lieutenant. Victor had every intention of serving France loyally, but privately regretted that the monarchy he knew his father supported was apparently gone. Aware of his place as a soldier, he tried not to speak of this too openly--his duty was to the French state, even if that was not presently a king. He understood, even, that the republican government was supposedly founded on good intentions--but it went against everything he had been raised to respect. He resented the feeling that his orders might come from the masses, and he resented the trouble they had given men like his father. After a year of service as a cavalry lieutenant, Victor entered the Saumur Cavalry School. It was here he found his talent even stronger than in the general military academy; he had always been good with the horses, and at Saumur he was educated in the finest points of riding and in almost anything else necessary for cavalry officer. He performed so well that he gained admittance to the Cadre Noir, the top-level display team of the school. After several years with the Cadre Noir and some participation in the military side of the reestablishment of the monarchy, Victor has received a summons to the capital to serve as a riding instructor to the boy king. In the meantime he has been promoted to captain, in part for his service during the reestablishment of the monarchy. ----- ALIAS: Ashley AGE: 21 GENDER: Female OTHER CHARACTERS: Henri (Sacred Heart Henri, lol), Feuilly HOW DID YOU FIND US: RPG-D ROLEPLAY SAMPLE: I wrote one actually for this character this time!! Morning light filtered in through the gate of the stable, and Victor d'Anthès could sense the excitement in the air. He did not relish the early mornings inherent in military life; if there was one thing, beyond the expectation of military discipline, that he disliked about his profession it was that. The discipline he had become more accustomed to. The early mornings he felt he could not. The horses never seemed to object to the time of day, however. The young gelding he had been assigned was a good horse; not as fiery or troublesome as his father's grey he had coveted throughout his childhood, but a more than serviceable mount. The most serious complaint he could invent was simply that the horse's bright chestnut hairs would stick to his black uniform and, perhaps, detract from their overall appearance. Overall appearance would not be so important for the service they were about to perform, however. The everyday business of the Cadre Noir was not his concern this morning, nor the concern of any of its other members or even the cadets. The concern was in handling whatever military insurrection might occur in connection to the Chouannerie's coup. He sensed that some of his fellow officers disliked the prospect of fighting against the forces of republicanism and on behalf of those who would put in place a new king. Victor could not share their aversion. This was the life he had been born for, the type of adventure his father had raised him to dream about. This was where the tricks of horsemanship, of marksmanship, of fencing that he had been taught would play out. This was what he had longed for through all the long years of the republic in silence. He doubted Saumur would see much action. They were too far from Paris, and what republican scoundrels would be so stupidly brave as to assault a military installation whose commander had gone over to the monarchists? Victor knew that the man had. He had seen it in his eyes even before the commands had come to prepare to fight. He was sure he had seen it. Taking the chestnut's reins, he led the animal out of the stable and into the courtyard, willing his hands not to shake from the excitement. This was better than anything he had experienced during his year of more standard active duty. And the shirt on your back doesn't keep out the chill |
