Marie deCygne
Lady Marie Decygne (a.k.a. Marie of Melun)
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Marie is slim and generally healthy, surprisingly agile and athletic for her small frame.
Body Features
Marie has pale skin and long, light brown hair, usually pulled back in a tight ponytail.
Facial Features
Marie has pleasant features and a rounded, freckled face.
Special abilities
Marie retains a muted version of the Gentian's mimicry ability, and is able to affect the persona and a passable skillset of characters given to her in story form. These begin with the phrase "Il etait un fois" (Once upon a time) and end with "Fin" (the end), which removes the effect. While she cannot obtain mastery of a skill, nor perform physically impossible abilities, she does gain a passable skill level to fool a casual or non-expert observer.
Apparel & Accessories
Marie favours simple, practical clothing, well suited for her library or travel. She typically wears long sleeved amaranth shirt with bare shoulders, with three decorative brass buckles on the front. She wears dark grey trousers and brown cloth and leather boots extending halfway up her calf. She often wears a long, fur trimmed cape of a dark red colour, secured by a horseshoe shaped silver clasp. She wears an amaranth muffin cap, with a bronze pin securing a blue, a green and a pink feather.
Specialized Equipment
Marie is almost always seen with her prized Lute, Fleur d'Illyria, emblazoned with a Gentian flower.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
The Court of Miracles
The Gallian capital of Per-Ys teams with beggarfolk of all stripes. The blind, the lame, the mad and the plagued all ply their pitious trade in the dirty streets and dark alleyways of the city. But at night, they return to their hovels, their infirmities vanishing with the toll of the the Dark Hour. Truly then, this must be a Court of Miracles. The Gentian Court, named for the blue flowers that grew in and around the old Church of Rue des Coquilles in the Marais, the swampy slum on the Northern banks of the Sena River, was one such place, run by The Coquillard criminal organization. A child, a girl was sold by a child-taker for a pittance. This was far from unusual, but this once, the Coquillard were not going to make another pickpocket or wretched cutpurse destined for a short, brutal life. Gourmand had vision. A disgraced drunkard had come to Gourmand's table, a Similherez from The Crystal Palace, fallen from the Court of the Crown to the Court of Miracles. But a deal was struck, and the child was offered, placed under a powerful Ere-Hud that would bring one man's vision to life, spreading a criminal empire from a leaking church through the locked gates into the glittering stained glass halls of power. The key merely needed to be fashioned and she lay crying before him. The Gentian became the secret weapon. Trained by day apart from the other child-thieves in the criminal arts, the Gentian was kept alone, ushered to her cell each night to sit alone in the dark. But the child had a power and a curse. When told a story, she would adapt to the identity of the characters in the tale, adopting their mannerisms and limited skillset. The girl had no dreams or personhood of her own. The Gentian was a tool, a blank slate for the Coquillard. When she was needed, she became a beggar, a courtier, a cutpurse, a sick child and dozens of other roles, each stripped away in turn with the conclusion of the tale, leaving her empty as she sat silently in her cell for the next story. But the Gentian was not as empty as she seemed. The identity and abilities were taken, but the stories themselves remained. And then, she made a discovery that would change her life. She could tell her own story. "Once upon a time. . ." Quietly, each night, she retained memories of the tales from the day, slowly crafting a new story for herself, muttered in the silence of her cell. The gentian built it up, each night stripped away by the cursed words "The end." But each night, she added more to her secret story. She would craft a character so real that she would rescue the Gentian with a final story. She would be reborn. "Once upon a time, there was a girl who loved stories..."The Farmer's Daughter and the Bronze Branch
Marie was born, the thirddaughter of House deCygne, a wealthy noble farmer in the County of Melun in the Gallian Crownlands. The fief, a small walled farm, was located on the old road from upper Arle to the capital of Per-Ys, a hard day's ride away. But Marie was ill-suited for farmwork and so spent most of her time in the house, where her family hosted a constant trickle of travelers to the city. She loved their stories and songs, and knew she had a calling. She would become a bard, collecting the lost stories of the world like seeds and throwing them to be spread in the winds. She left her home in Melun, heading towards the great city of Port De La Lune in the Grand-Duchy of Akitainia (+). The shadows pursued her, close, but never catching up. A guardian angel or faerie benefactor perhaps, kept the unseen interlopers at bay all along the road. Marie arrived at The College of Cana Cludhmor, armed only with a lute and a story. She was accepted, learning the songs and stylings of the greatest trouveres in Akitania. She excelled, gaining the bronze branch of a bard. She had dreams of visiting far off Serenissima, the floating city, entertaining the merchant princes of the Golden Sea. The man came one night. He came, dark and brooding, with broken hand and glassy eye. With powerful magic, he appeared, demanding Marie come with him. The story had run its course and she was needed elsewhere. He would take her back and end the farce. He would say the dread words. Marie didn't know what he meant, but the she feared what would come next. "The ... End." But that was not how the Gentian's story went. It was not the man's to tell, nor to end. That was not how the story went. For there was no Gentian. There was only Marie. And her story had only just begun. Marie left Port de la Lune suddenly, without the branches of silver and gold. She did not head to the olive groves and sunny islands of the Golden Sea, but instead traveled North, to the mist-filled lands of Letha. She would seek her adventure here. She had a quest, to rescue the lost stories of the world. The Man returned the next day, without a book, but with strong men, killers and cuthroats. They burst down the door. The man howled with rage, thrashing his mangled hand as he ripped apart the room. He screamed as the men grabbed him, hauling him off his feet, away from the solitary blue flower that he cursed with his frothing breath.Sexuality
Marie views herself as heterosexual, insisting she is only interested in a male partner. Since leaving her farm, however, she has come to suspect there is another part of her, curiously seeking the company of women with increased interest and intensity, wondering if she may actually be bisexual. (She is)
Education
As the Gentian, Marie was trained in the art of thievery, gaining skills as a pickpocket and cutpurse, as well as a second-story thief and lockpick. She learned to brawl and fight with knives and crossbows. She learned alchemy to create poisons and antidotes. Marie retains some shadow of her magically gifted skillset, and the "natural" skills she learned as the Gentian.
At the College of Cana Cludhmor](organization:bbeb5f29-e471-480e-80dc-be4364be2af9), Marie learned how to play a variety of instruments, falling in love with the lute in particular. She memorized hundreds of stories beneath the stone, earning the Bronze Branch as a bard. She learned eloquence, rhetoric and a variety of musical and narrative styles at the college.
Employment
Marie holds two public jobs in Naoned. Firstly, she works as a librarian in the great Library of Gohard in the Papegault District. In the evenings, she is the "official trouvere" of the Ash and Hazel, entertaining the patrons of the Tavern with songs, music and stories in exchange for room and board. While not working in Naoned, Marie travels as a wandering trouvere, performing at castles and coaching houses as she scours Letha for lost stories.
In secret, however, Marie is part of the The Forthaves Vinegar Company, putting her old skills to work in daring heists and elaborate schemes across the Duchy.
Accomplishments & Achievements
Marie's proudest achievement was her attainment of the Bronze Branch of a bard, accomplishing the lofty goal without the aid of her magical abilities and on her own initiative, beyond the direction of the Mangled Man.
In her first year in Letha, she entered the bardic competition in Kastell-Paol, winning the event with her Lai of Milun.
Mental Trauma
Despite the Gentian's narrative craftsmanship in creating her new identity, Marie does retain some memories from the cold nights in the Court of Miracles, and sometimes sees the Mangled Man or the Shadow King in her nightmares. Even at Marie's most open, the Gentian remains on guard for danger. She is sometimes startled by loud noises and experiences bouts of insomnia, filled by frenetic whirlwinds of poetical creation.
Intellectual Characteristics
Marie is inquisitive, kind and logical, but has a tendency of getting carried away with romantic and idealistic notions. She can easily become enthralled in her reading or writing, neglecting to sleep or eat for long periods of time.
Morality & Philosophy
Marie remembers enough of the Court of Miracles to harbor a strong sense of justice, angered by the treatment of the poor and outcast. She understands that some must steal to survive, but draws the line against targeting the poor and desperate.
Taboos
Personal Taboos
Marie will not target certain marks, using her skills against the rich and powerful rather than the poor and desperate.
Ere-Hud
As Marie is the protagonist of the Gentian's story and as such follows the Ere-Hud set forth in the story, as well as, to a lesser extent, that of the Gentian herself. Marie is compelled to seek out and create stories to share with the world.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Marie subscribes heavily to the notion of Clergie, a duty that all people have to understand, learn and preserve the works of the past for future peoples. Marie has dedicated herself to collecting the fables and legends of the Bretoned and Sidhe.
Savvies & Ineptitudes
Marie is a skilled actress, musician and storyteller, becoming a talented bard. She is also adept at acts of thievery, including lock picking, climbing and sleight of hand.
Marie does not do well on boats and gets seasick easily.
Social
Contacts & Relations
Religious Views
Marie's writing openly defies the Southern Church's teachings on love, celebrating passionate adulterous relationships to escape loveless political marriages. Her celebration of female sexual freedom is directly at odds with the Church's conservative views of virginal love and strict marriage. Her endorsement of these revolutionary thoughts highlights social injustices as things to be corrected and fought against, not merely accepted as inevitable by divine will. This has led some extreme factions within the Faith to call to ban her popular works, but this has not yet occurred.
Current Location
Species
Ethnicity
Year of Birth
1217 SI
22 Years old
Birthplace
Per-Ys
Children
Current Residence
The Ash and Hazel, Naoned
Pronouns
She/Her
Sex
Female
Gender
Woman
Presentation
Feminine
Eyes
Dark Brown
Hair
Light brown and straight, typically tied back in a tight ponytail
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Pale white with some freckles
Height
1.73 m
Belief/Deity
The Faith
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Comments