The Chevalier
The Chevalier is a Acanthus Adamantine Arrow from Chicago, Illinois.
Overview
Quote: "I'd like to show you something - very special. I have to be sure I can trust you, though, no?"
The Chevalier grew up as Ramon Toulouse, with loving patents who performed as an acrobatic trapeze team with a traveling circus during the 1950s. Times were often harsh, but the family had a warm "home" life, and Ramon was never without the necessities of life. He lacked the talent for aerial stunts that his parents enjoyed, but they never pushed him to follow in their footsteps. Instead, he developed a love for circus life in general, and grew attached to the strange "swami" who worked with the sideshow.
Sri Swami Takitnananda would do amazing feats of bodily control, walking across red-hot coals and lying for hours on a bed of nails. Ramon knew these stunts were real, and not stage magic, like so many of the other "weird" attractions, and, as a teenager, his curiosity led him to befriend the old Indian man. The swami taught Tamon that his greatest talent was his ability to accept all people as individuals, not judging any of the "freaks" who traveled with the troupe.
In the '60s, Ramon Awakened gently with the encouragement of the swami, who finally revealed that he was a mage and that Ramon was "special." For several years, he learned about aspects of reality he had never imagined, and the swami initiated Ramon into the Adamantine Arrow. The old Indian man broke the mold of his order, training Ramon with a sense of discipline and enlightenment, not harsh asceticism and struggle. Newly named Archard Sartordi, Ramon was at a crossroads. They had been able to keep his tutelage secret for a long time, but his desire to do something with what he'd learned was overpowering. In 1967, Ramon's father died. After several months of grieving his loss, his mother decided to retire to her childhood home in Paris. Archard and Takitnananda both felt Archard had learned enough to set off on his own and make a name for himself, freed from the ties of family. Though he grieved the loss of his father and wanted badly to comfort his mother, Archard knew it was time to see what the rest of the world had to teach him.
Eventually, his travels brought him to America, where he vowed to live up to the ideals of his aged Mentor. Attaching himself to one political structure or city seemed to be a mistake; with the right group of mages at his side, he could do more good by traveling where he was needed most. Knowing he would only be comfortable with a troupe of performers, Archard started his life in the United States by taking on the moniker "the Chevalier" and filling the role of ringleader for the mages he would induct into his unusual sideshow. His history and his true identity have faded into the past, making him a mysterious figure with powerful allies, rarely questioned and often feared.
The cabal he assembled has come to be his new family, all of them looking out for one another and aspiring toward similar goals. Even Madame Strega, the only non-Adamantine Arrow mage in their group, feels more closely bonded to her fellow "performers" than to any order hierarchy, mostly due to her romantic relationship with Archard. She was one of the first mages he found, and they fell in love almost instantly. Due to her special "sight," Sartordi's Satanic Sideshow, now the Abattoir, had nearly always been in the right place at the right time.
It's no surprise that the Chevalier does not intend to stay in Chicago forever. However, Madame Strega knows they need to be here, and he will stay put until they fulfill the purpose she sees in her cryptic visions. He does not entirely trust that the Consilium's intentions are pure, and when the truth about the obsession Chicago's mages have with the Celestial Flange is revealed, his cabal will be ready to act.
Description
The Chevalier is the oldest mage in his cabal, and a mane of salt-and-pepper hair frames his wizened face. Dressed more often than not in a meticulously clean, stylized, red and black ringleader uniform, he is a fiercely imposing figure when he chooses. His eyes are deep set and serious, but his wrinkles seem to come more from smiling than scowling.
His Nimbus is characteristic of an Acanthus mage, charged with an exciting synergy of synchronized heartbeats and emotional highs.
Stats
Dedicated Magical Tool: Ruby-and-onyx tie pin
Real Name: Archard Sartordi (Ramon Toulouse)
Path: Acanthus
Order: Adamantine Arrow
Mental Attributes: Intelligence 3, Wits 3, Resolve 2
Physical Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Stamina 2
Social Attributes: Presence 4, Manipulation 3, Composure 3
Mental Skills: *Medicine 1, Occult 3, Politics (Consilium) 3
Physical Skills: *Athletics 2, Firearms (Pistol) 2
Social Skills: Expression (Circus Ringleader) 3, *Intimidation 2, Persuasion (Fast-Talk) 4, Socialize 2, Subterfuge 3
Merits: Fame 1, High Speech, Language (English), Resources 2, Sanctum: Size (Shared) 4, Sleeper Retainer (Jacques Levalle) 3, Status: Consilium 3
Willpower: 5
Wisdom: 7
Virtue: Justice
Vice: Greed
Initiative: 5
Defense: 2
Speed: 9
Health: 7
Gnosis: 4
Arcana: Time 4, Fate 3, Space 2
Rotes: Time - Perfect Timing, Temporal Eddies, Postcognition, Temporal Dodge, Acceleration, Temporal Pocket; Fate - Interconnections, Exceptional Luck, Bestow Exceptional Luck; Space - Correspondence
Manna/per turn: 13/4
Armor: 4 ("Temporal Dodge," Time **)
References
- CofD: World of Darkness: Chicago, p. 338-340