"Sant" Charlez Blaez (Char-Lez Blez)
Dug Charlez Blaez (a.k.a. "Sant Charlez", "the Saint of Iron")
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Charles is a gaunt figure with sunken eyes and a bony, thin frame. Despite this appearance, Charlez is quite strong, his muscles honed from battles and physical labour, refusing to ride or indulge in luxuries. He is capable of prolonged periods of physical activity or fasting, and is seemingly unphased by the hardships of campaign life.
Body Features
Receding on his forhead, his grey hair reaches his neck, but is typically swept back and uncombed, giving him a wild appearance. He sports a stylized moustache and beard that tapers to a point.
Facial Features
Charlez has a gaunt, almost emaciated, countenance, thin and bony from his strict religious diet and denial of basic comforts, his eyes wild despite the constant bags under them.
Physical quirks
Charlez walks with a noticeable limp, often filling his shoes full of pebbles as penance.
Apparel & Accessories
Charlez wears a hair cilice underneath his armour and clothing, a rough and intentionally uncomfortable garment, interwoven with wires and twigs for self-mortification, while shunning comfortable and elaborate clothing.
Specialized Equipment
Charlez uses, almost exclusively, armor and weaponry of cold iron, including a two-handed greatsword made of reforged windblades. Knowing the metal is toxic to many fae in its pure form, Charlez goes out of his way to craft as much as possible in the material,
His armor bears the Ermine field of Breizh, but his simple civilian clothing typically lacks decoration, including his house colours or sigils.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Early Life
Charlez is the Firstson and heir to the County of Blaez, a politically powerful domain with close ties with Gallian Crown, his cousin. Starting at an early age, Charlez was trained to be a knight by his martially minded father, Guy de Chatillon. Guy had served King Philippe Le Bel during the War of the Golden Spurs, securing The Cloth Cities for the Kingdom of Gallia. This service had earned Guy distinction and honors as a knight, a military commander and a loyal baron, ascending to one of the most trusted and powerful nobles in the Gallian Crownlands. It was his hope that Charlez would continue his legacy and bring military glory to House Chatillon. Charlez, however, was largely disinterested in his martial training or in furthering this martial legacy of the family. Instead, he became obsessed with religious texts and spiritual writings, devouting his every free moment to their study. Although forbidden from doing so by Guy, who felt these were a distraction unfitting of his heir, Charlez continued to acquire and consume any such material he could find in secret. He dropped the pretense within an hour of his father's death.Kont of Blaez
Charlez was quickly summoned to Per-Ys by his cousin and crowned Kont of Blaez. The same day, he married Janed "Ar Gammez" Frihep, a Lethan noblewoman and the Kontez of Pentevr. Seeking to strengthen Gallian ties with Letha, and secure the somewhat rebellious barons of his wife's holdings, Charlez began to spend time traveling to the Armorican Peninsula, overseeing the construction and refurbishment of castles, manor house and industrial holdings in both Sant-Brioc and Roazhon Here, he made the acquaintance of his brother-in-law, Gidas Frihep, who became his trusted advisor and primary executor of his Lethan holdings.War Comes to Letha
The death of Dug Yann III opened up a new opportunity for Charlez and Janed, as political maneuvering and personal grudges muddled the succession to the throne. Yann had selected, during a periodic fight with his half-siblings, had selected Janed as the presumed heir, but had since reconciled with his estranged relations, ostensibly repairing the line of succession. Before a clear answer could be given, Yann fell ill, quickly spiraling into madness and death. Charlez's cousin, the King of Gallia, quickly through his support behind Janed Frihep and Charlez, who promptly left for Roazhon to claim the crown. As he traveled, however, a complication arose. Janed "Ar Flamme" Monforz, the half-sister of Yann III, with the backing of Kingdom of Logres and the Korrigan, laid claim to the crown as well. The noble houses of Letha split their support, jeopardizing Charlez's easy victory.Gender Identity
Cisgender Male
Education
Charlez received a comprehensive education between a stable of private tutors, the same who taught his cousin, the eventual King of Gallia, as well as the University at Fontrevaud, where he actively studied religious history, philosophy and theology, meeting and befriending Gidas Frihep there, as well as other eventual political allies.
Employment
Charlez is the Count of Blaez, and a claimant to the ducal throne of Breizh via his wife. In addition to his noble duties, Charlez devotes his efforts to his military campaign. A skilled military commander, he is often present on the field, taking a position on the front lines to direct the war effort, a hands on approach that has made him popular with his army's rank and file.
Charlez is an active member in the anti-Fae Staunchist movement, highly placed due to his political connects and fervent championing of the cause. Charles often uses his influence and resources to support other Staunchist causes outside of Breizh and Gallia, such as Bishop Marinzelli's crusade in Arle.
Mental Trauma
Charlez is obsesses with religious and spiritual purity, undertaking numerous compulsive actions to maintain this, typically in the form of extreme self-mortification. This takes numerous forms, from wearing an uncomfortable cilice and self-flagellation with an iron-tipped lash, to the denial of comforts like mattresses and rich foods. In addition to physical actions, the phobia manifests in the compulsive repetition of certain religious mantras.
The obsession with purity extends beyond his inward personal habits to those around him and under his control. He often becomes physically ill in the presence of Milliget or around the heavy usage of glamour, and often orders these be removed from his presence, imprisoned, or "purified" via tortuous and questionable methods.
Intellectual Characteristics
Charlez is a deeply religious man, heavily devoting himself to asceticism and ecclesiastic scholarship, leading to his deeply held convictions on a number of moral and political stances. He typically projects himself as a level headed scholar, able to ignore distractions from a lifetime of ascetic pursuits and is not easily thrown, instead funneling his rage into a cold, passionless dedication, rather than untempered outbursts, calmly praying for the souls of those he has killed while a village burns below.
Taboos
Charlez travels only on foot unless necessity requires the use of a windship or boat, refusing to mount a horse or enter a carriage or a palanquin.
Charlez will never miss a daily mass, and requires his army to do the same, stating that "Castles can be lost, but a day of prayer cannot." There are no exceptions to this.
Charlez will not willingly consume anything created by a Fae, Milliget or even Boermerzh, describing it, in no uncertain terms, as a poison.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Charlez's quest for spiritual purity manifests itself further as a hatred capable of triggering physical illness in the Count, directed at the creatures of Faerie, and especially Milliget, which he considers abominations and the Druids, which he deems to be worshipers of Azhi Dahāka and servants to demons. This has led to a personal creedo of "Baptism by water, fire or iron", offering a choice of conversion or death for Druids and Irondrink execution for milliget. This has manifested into his viewing of his claim on the throne as a religious crusade to purge Breizh, a stronghold of Faerie influence, of its Fae elements, and the massacre of several opposing settlements in the early stages of the war, most notably the town of Gwenrann.
Personality Quirks
Charlez is a devout ascetic, obsessed with his religious convictions and going to extreme lengths to illustrate his piety, including mortifying his own body regularly to purge it of sin, placing pebbles inside of his shoes and whipping his body with an iron-tipped lash.
Charlez shuns the luxuries often acquainted with Gallian nobility, sleeping exclusively on straw and stone rather than a mattress, eating a strict diet and compulsively confessing to a perfect he keeps by his side at all times each night, driven by a maddening fear he will die in a state of sin. He sprinkles every meal with powdered iron.
Social
Reign
During his time as Kont de Blaez and Kont de Pentevr, Charlez has proven to be a harsh, but skilled leader. He has administered his holdings in the Gallian crownlands and, through alliances, marriage and conquest, has expanded those holdings to include large swaths of Letha. Charlez is a Staunchist and a zealous supporter of the Faith, overtly favouring his orthodox followers over the Druidic and Faerie peoples of his Lethan holdings. He has outlawed the Druids in his holdings, set fire to Nemeton and allowed violent pogroms against Milliget in towns he has taken in the war.
Seemingly protected by his faith, he leads in battle, riding out with the main force and overseeing sieges and major engagements directly. In day to day administration, he often relies on a network of barons, senechals and castellans, rather than dealing with local minutae.
Contacts & Relations
Gidas Frihep - Charlez's primary ally in Letha, the Baron of Porhoet
Family Ties
Charlez and Janed have three children - Yann, Marie and Marc'harid.
Religious Views
To call Charlez "religious" is an understatement. He devotes himself entirely and unflinchingly to an ultra-orthodox interpretation of the faith, rejecting any and all personal luxuries as sinful trappings of the damned. He devotes himself to a ascetic lifestyle, sleeping on a bed of rough straw, wearing a sackcloth beneath his clothing and eating only simple, unflavoured foods.
Charlez believes that sin must be purged from both self and from society at large. He regularly engages in acts of self-flagellation, both overtly, with whips and coals, and in more subtle forms, placing pebbles in his shoes. He believes that Faerie, and all those tied with it, are corrupted by Azhi Dahāka and must be rejected as false and evil. He regularly denounces the Fae and has looked the other way, if not outright encouraged, pogroms against Milliget in areas he captures in military conquest. Charlez believes his ducal claim to be one of divine right, a holy quest to purge the evils wrought by magic upon the land.
Social Aptitude
Charlez is typically described by those who meet him as burning with pious or self-righteous intensity. He can be an inspiration or a threat with ease, maintaining a direct, personal connection with friend or foe alike with the same ironclad control and directness.
Hobbies & Pets
When not overseeing his duties, Charlez spends every free moment either in prayer or pouring over religious texts, searching for enlightenment or divine inspiration.
Wealth & Financial state
Charlez holds Blaez, one of the wealthiest provinces in the Gallian Crownlands, with direct strategic access to Per-Ys and Northeastern Gallia, Anjev and Akitania. Its position on the Liger River grants in market access to major trading hubs in Angers, Naoned and Tours, with further access to the Pleg-mor Gwaskogn and ports beyond.
Blaez supports a thriving viticultural sector and is especially well known for its sparkling wines. The annual Champagne Fairs it holds are the largest agricultural and trade fairs in the North, as well as the largest luxury market in Gallia, moving huge quantities of spices, textiles, furs and leathers.
In addition to the ample income from his Gallian holdings, his own wealth those of his wife Janed, whose territory and position makes her own of the wealthiest women in Letha, holding the strategic port of Sant-Brioc and the river town of Dinan, among others. With the combined wealth of House Chatillon and House Frihep, and the backing of his royal cousin, Charlez's wealth is functionally limitless.
Despite being one of the wealthiest men in the known world, Charlez spends almost nothing on himself beyond what is required for the operation of his office and military duties. Outside of the eye of the noble courts of the capital, he lives a fanatically ascetic lifestyle, sleeping on a bed of straw, wearing a rough sackcloth beneath his armor and rejecting luxuries of any kind with an almost paranoid level of piety.
Current Location
Species
Ethnicity
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Kont de Blaez and de Pentevr, Dug (Claimant) of Letha, Defender of the Faith
Year of Birth
1217 SI
22 Years old
Circumstances of Birth
Charlez was born to Guy de Chatillon, Count of Blaez and Margaret Valois, the sister of Philippe le Fortuné, the King of Gallia.
Birthplace
Blaez
Family
Children
Current Residence
Roazhon
Pronouns
He/Him
Sex
Male
Gender
Male
Presentation
Masculine
Eyes
Dark Blue, Piercing
Hair
Light Grey, Wild
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Pale white
Quotes & Catchphrases
"I offer you baptism by water, fire or iron."
"Castles can be lost and regained, but a day of prayer lost is lost forever."
"Out of the depths I call to thee..."
Belief/Deity
The Faith
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Ruled Locations
Comments