The Basics
Name: Derivant Ardignon Lawvern Crowniere (Crowniere for short)
Age: early thirties
Appearance: About six feet tall, pale with blue eyes and with hair like pitch. Sports a peachfuzz mustache and beard; hair is wavy and shoulder-length. Has horn stubs hidden in his hair and fangs.
Context: Crowniere is a medieval noble, of the fantasy variety. Demons are essential.
Their Deal: Crowniere has made a literal deal with the devil in hopes of getting rid of a rival; his aim achieved, he now finds himself indentured to his patron, and hopes to find a way out of his contract before the news gets out and his good name is soiled. Also, he’d be executed.
The Advanced
History: Crowniere was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Since the day he was born, he was pampered and praised; he was told he would be the most important person he would ever know, and he believed it. In truth, his family was relatively small-time, barely holding any lands; it was his father’s friendship with the King that made them such valued members of the court.
Crowniere grew into a boastful young man, one who believed everything and everyone was worth criticizing, save for him. His charm and good name saved him from retribution more than once, but eventually his attitude caught up with him.
One particularly eventful year, a powerful Duke died, and his son inherited his titles; his introduction to the court was a rousing success, and Crowniere found himself embittered by this newcomer’s sudden popularity, who was both more powerful and more skilled than he. He began belittling him behind his back and condescending him in front, childishly trying to diminish the new Duke’s reputation.
Having done so before, Crowniere knew this usually lead to his victim mostly leaving his day-to-day, placing them out of sight and out of mind. Unbeknownst to him, most of the court considered him to be a petty nuisance, somewhat pathetic in his belief that he held any sway over anyone. The new Duke, however, was not so: he returned his harsh words in kind, and for the first time in his life Crowniere was taking just as much as he dished out.
He did not like this.
Crowniere eventually snapped and challenged his new rival to a duel; the winner would gain all of the loser’s titles, stripping even their family of their nobility. The Duke did not need to accept, since Crowniere’s titles would have been a measly addition to his own, but he did so earnestly; his patience for Crowniere’s antics had run out.
They met in the Duke’s own courtyard at dawn, and drew blades. Though Crowniere had been trained in the art of swordfighting as a boy, he had been lazy in his practice and overconfident in his abilities, leading to an easy victory for the Duke.
Shamed and stripped of both titles and lands, Crowniere was banished from the court and thrown to the rabble to live as a common peasant. Driven desperate by shame and blinded by anger, Crowniere turned to something else he was taught as a boy: the Dark Arts. Though he was only given a brief warning about its dangers, his curiosity and overconfidence drove him to find out more, studying forbidden texts long into the night. He summoned a Demon, a Duke of Hell, and pleaded for the power to destroy his rival once and for all.
The Duke was amused, and offered him the terms thusly: so long as his rival’s bloodline lived, Crowniere would remain in Hell’s service. Not sensing the obvious trap, the young man accepted, and was granted the very powers of his patron’s minions: he could evoke fire, turn to smoke, suggest and charm and even predict the future, as well as having all of his senses significantly improved.
Crowniere returned to the court the very next day, and challenged the Duke once again; this time, however, there would be no mercy. The winner would, again, take the loser’s titles, whilst the latter would perish to the blade.
The Duke, of course, did not really wish to accept, but Crowniere egged the crowd into pressuring his rival. Once again, they met at dawn and once again they drew blades; this time, however, the fight was far shorter. Crowniere was careful not to show his new demonic nature, but even without his flashier abilities he easily outmaneuvered and ultimately defeated his foe.
Now one of the most powerful individuals in the court, Crowniere found himself back into his old life even more decadent than before, his ego inflated tenfold and his power similarly so. However, just a few nights after his victory, a missive appeared amidst smoke and brimstone in his chambers, instructing him to kill one of the other nobles. At first he tried not to, but found himself crumbling to ash; finally realizing he had been tricked, he morosely set out and killed his quarry, making sure to leave no traces that would lead back to him.
Several months and quite a few victims later, the rumour of the Court Killer was a rumour no longer; each of the vassals feared for their lives and even the King could not be sure of his own safety. Discord was sowed as the nobles demanded the King do something and threatened rebellion if he did not, and Crowniere became more and more agitated by the day.
Eventually he decided he would leave under the pretense of a diplomatic mission and search for someone who could free him of his curse before his next missive was delivered; failing that, he hoped to find whomever the last of his rival’s bloodline was and kill them, fulfilling his contract once and for all.
Personality: Crowniere is a stubborn and prideful noble of refined tastes; he is a pompous narcissist who is both overconfident in his abilities and incredibly sensitive to insult. That said, he does have merits; he can be very charming and his sharp tongue is often an appreciated skill to his few friends. He is a cultured man and enjoys both involving himself and discussing them with others. His respect, whilst hard to win, is also hard to lose; he makes sure not to forget a threat once he finds one.
Strengths: Crowniere is, as mentioned, partially demonic; his body can turn to smoke and he can manipulate its temperature to become white-hot. His senses are improved to the limits of human capacity and he’s also able to evoke small fires near him and set sparks, and can create embers to burn his foes. That said, Crowniere isn’t much for fighting and prefers avoiding direct confrontation, opting instead to manipulate and maneuver around obstacles. He can charm others into doing as he says, with weaker wills being easier to take control of, and he can insert suggestions into his normal speech in order to persuade interlocutors to subconsciously perform the actions he is suggesting. Finally, he has limited knowledge of the future, though this doesn’t manifest as visions so much as intuition; the more immediate the event, the more accurately he can pinpoint it.
Weaknesses: Crowniere’s biggest weakness is his narcissism; he can be baited into aggression almost without fail with a few venomous words. He’s also not particularly able in combat, and tends to panic and/or overthink when placed in situations unprepared. Less directly, he’s deathly afraid of revealing his demonic nature; this would generally not be that much of a problem, but using any of his abilities actively turns his appearance mildly more devilish. The changes revert after a day or so, but repetition causes certain features to remain, such as his horn stubs and fangs. Because of this, he’ll use his powers sparingly and shy away from utilizing them even in scenarios which require quick thinking.
Likes: The arts, fine food and wine, being clean and not being cursed.
Dislikes: Commoners, insults to his person, responsibilities and being cursed.
