Dorian Aubecoeur
Dorian Aubecoeur
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Dorian is a slim boy, his physique might be confused with being too skinny for his own good.
Apparel & Accessories
Wears a long, dark brown coat with lapels. His hands are covered by two gauntlets. The gauntlet on his left hand bears a small, brass, round structure on the back and a blue gem in the palm. Upon contact with the gem, blue crystals quickly form out of the brass structure, forming a proper shield. The gauntlet on his right hand bears an arcane symbol on the back, and another blue gem in the palm. Upon contact with this gem, the arcane symbol on the back lights up, and magic used by Dorian originates from either the gem or the symbol on this gauntlet.
Specialized Equipment
Has an owl for a companion. The owl is the result of a summoning ritual, and Dorian and Percy, as the owl is called, are so in tune that Dorian can use a plethora of magic through his owl.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Dorian was born to Theodore and Adalena Aubecoeur, a wealthy aristocrat family from Swansbay, Britannia. He grew up in a big mansion for the first 8 years of his life where he wanted for nothing, except maybe the love and attention from his parents that any child needs. He never had issues with school work, and his parents just let him be. His little brother required much more guidance and this kept his parents busy, as well their work for the company, and the city. Dorian could often be found sneaking off and playing in abandoned buildings or at the park, playing with some of the other kids. He liked to spend his time reading about all the wonders of magic and spent many a day in the belfry of an old church, accompanied by many doves, bats and a pair of barn owls.
One day, he was wandering around some darker parts of the city, having strayed from the main thoroughfares against his parents’ orders. Here, he ran into a scuffle between some thugs and a lone gentleman. The gentleman tried his best to fight off the thugs, hailing them with powerful magic. Dorian hid among the collection of crates that he found stashed in an alley and looked with wonder at the mage. The man shot projectiles of force at one thug and sprayed another with freezing cold, but he was severely outnumbered. Seeing their comrades falling to the magical assaults from the wizard, the thugs enraged and swarmed the man. A few more explosions of magical force could be seen coming from underneath the pile of anger before everything fell silent. The thugs took a pouch from the still wizard and stormed off back into the shadows. When Dorian approached the man, there was no sign of life. The thugs had clobbered the mage and his body was black and blue all over. At first, Dorian tried to look for a pulse, or a hint of shallow breaths, but then something shiny caught his eye.
The wizard was wearing a set of gauntlets, one embroidered with arcane sigils, one with a small, brass shield-like configuration on it. What had drawn Dorian to them however, was a blue crystal that was embedded in the palm of each glove. Against his better judgement, Dorian removed the gloves from the dead mage’s hands and stowed them in his rucksack. Where at first there was a sense of fear and sadness for the mage’s fate, now a rush of excitement took over, as Dorian started rummaging through the mage’s satchel. In it, he found a book that had a strange energy about it. His curiosity was peaked and he wanted to rifle through it, but a shout from across the street rushed him to his feet and he darted away.
After a few years of practising, and a few lies on how had received the book, Dorian had shown to be a prodigy of the arcane arts. He had learned to use some of the spells in the book easily enough and his parents saw real talent in him as a spellcaster. Because of this, Dorian was sent to the Archives of Azuth, an institution for spellcrafting and spellcasting education, as well as a boarding school for young children to function as pious citizens. At this school, Dorian was taught the ways of Azuth, the God of Spells and protector of the faithful. He learned how to read Abyssal as well as Infernal, about true names and their uses, about abjuration magic and how it could be used to ward off evil. After his first year, his little brother was sent to the Archives as well. Bren Aubecoeur had always looked up to Dorian and he wanted so eagerly to join the followers of Azuth, to protect the city against fiendish forces, and the undead menace.
Halfway through his second year, Dorian was now 12 years old, there was an incident at the Archives. No one is entirely clear on what happened, but after the incident, the Clerics at the school instated new rules and restrictions, forbidding students to use the tomes found in the Archives without supervision and limiting their learnings on magic. An order of Paladins was recruited to train students in their ways and to follow their rules and orders without exception. The overall spirit of the institution changed from one focussed on teaching to one fearfully protective of its secrets. Dorian, ever the scoundrel, didn’t fare so well with these new rules, and was repeatedly caught sneaking into the library, stalking the halls at night, or practising magic considered forbidden by the new leadership. This went on for a few months, until Dorian couldn’t take it any longer. His will was too strong to be shackled by unjust laws born out of fear, and he made plans to leave the Archives forever. He snuck into his brother’s dorm and begged him to come with, but as Bren tried to change his mind and have him stay with the teachings, Dorian spotted a shield with the symbol of the Paladin Order at the side of his bed. Feeling betrayed, he ran out the dorms, rushed through the long corridors and came upon one of the many vaults that were built to keep the forbidden magic hidden. Dorian managed to break open the doors, but as he did, an alarm went off somewhere else in the Archives. He hurriedly scrambled together as many scrolls as he could find, before rushing off. As he turned the final corner towards freedom, a small patrol of Paladins awaited him. As they commanded him to halt, Dorian complied. He raised his hands and dropped whatever scrolls weren’t inside his backpack and waited until the Paladins had approached him closely. Then, he dropped his gem-adorned gauntlets in front of him and braced himself. From outside the walls, a flash of vibrant colours could be seen filling the courtyard for a fraction of a second, and a moment later, a dark figure made his escape into the night.
Over the next few days, Dorian found a cave along the coast to hide in. He made several expeditions back to the city, to steal some paper and ink and copy the spells from the scrolls he got into his book. It took him a couple of weeks to find enough materials to copy all of them and there was one spell that required a bunch of herbs and incense, along with charcoal. He knew his parents had the appropriate stuff growing in their gardens and so he went by his old house. When he got there, it was eerily still and appeared empty, but this didn’t bother Dorian at the time, as his parents had often gone on long trips and him and Bren had spent many hours by themselves in that big empty house. He plucked the materials he needed, took one of the small, ornate braziers they had used on warm summer evenings and rushed back towards his cave.
Here, he started practising the ritual that was the final spell scroll. It required him to dig deep to his inner self and what had made him whole in the past. A vision appeared of a young Dorian sitting in front of a large church bell, looking out over the city. He had never been happier than when he had sat there, mostly alone but for the company of a few critters, and seeing the bustle of the streets below him. With this image firmly in his thoughts, Dorian spread the incense and herbs over the small brazier. The magic of the ritual coursed through his body and mind while he enjoyed the scene of his past, and in front of him, a small shape started to appear over the burning ingredients. It was the shape of a barn owl, the perfect metaphor for his memory, and as the ritual completed, the owl screeched and spread its wings as if it was stretching its muscles for the first time in years.
The following months, Dorian and his new feathered friend Percival, roamed about the lands of Britannia, going from settlement to city, from village to lonesome homestead. They traveled as a pair, in small groups with other hermits, with bands of troubadours and even a merchant caravan or two, before arriving at the outer limits of a grand city. They had reached Arnheim, in Nedigie. Many of his fellow travelers had told Dorian Arnheim might offer him a fresh start. It was a city free of oppressive laws and with no oversight from the Archives. When he entered the city, it wasn’t as hospitable as some of the stories had suggested, as he quickly found out that without coin he wouldn’t get too far here. Luckily for Dorian, he had spent a lot of his childhood playing on the streets, which meant he knew a thing or two about meeting places for the less-fortunate, and he managed to spot groups of forgotten youth all throughout.
It wasn’t easy to get accepted among the urchins of Arnheim, but Dorian eventually proved his worth by saving a band of small thieves from the city guards that had caught them stealing. Among this group was Mud, a halfling kid who didn’t speak much, but whom Dorian quickly grew fond of. Dorian spent his next few years among the lowlifes of the city, with Mud teaching him the ways of sneaking and thieving and even sharing a few basic concepts of Thieves’ Cant with him. Most urchins in the city would remain poor for the rest of their lives, some falling prey to disease, human traffickers or crimelords, but for Dorian’s band, there had always been the hope that was the Adventurer’s Guild. The youngsters among their group had always seen the Guild as a way out of their sorry existence, for those who had the guts and the skills to back it up that is. For years Dorian couldn’t bring himself to leave the group and join the Guild, until Mud did just that. Mud always was the braver of the two and one day, or so Dorian remembers, he just got up and walked towards the Guild Hall, Dorian watching him as he went. A few months went by without much of a word, until a newspaper article caught Dorian’s eye. There was to be yet another Gold Ceremony, a celebration for adventurers who had fought bravely, conquered foes and defeated evil beasts. In the article, there was the name of one young adventurer that Dorian had missed for a long time. On the night of the Ceremony, Dorian snuck into the Colosseum and watched from the stands as Mud faced the challenges thrown at him, and he was amazed at his friend’s cunning and prowess.
The very next day, Dorian gathered his few belongings and made his way towards the Guild Hall, ready to leave his old life behind.
Gender Identity
Male
Sexuality
He's a not-so-queer gay man. Might be bisexual, leaning more towards men.
Education
Studying the art of spells at the Archives of Azuth. As part of this education, Dorian was taught about devils and demons and how to battle them, before an incident occured that transformed the school. Now, the Archives keep their secrets to themselves out of fear.
Employment
Is an adventurer at the Guild in Arnheim.
Accomplishments & Achievements
Has reached Gold tier as an adventurer after spending years on the streets as an urchin. Has defeated countless enemies, including a Mind Flayer.
Failures & Embarrassments
Couldn't convince his brother to join him and he had to leave the school in the middle of the night, running away from his family and his home.
Mental Trauma
Dorian defaced a religious symbol of some underwater deity and his dreams have been haunted ever since by a dark creature sporting a single eye with red and yellow concentric rings, its tentacles dragging him down underwater.
Has an attention/love deficit from his upbringing. His parents were never much focussed on their firstborn son.
Intellectual Characteristics
Is a very quick learner and has a knack for the arcane.
Morality & Philosophy
Wants to experiment and explore, being truthful to the teachings of Azuth without being limited by manmade laws such as those imposed by the Archives in modern day.
Stealing is ok if you steal from people who "would be happier with less" or who "would never use it as well as I could".
Taboos
Not many. He is curious and thinks that taboos only get in the way of knowledge and understanding.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Wants to succeed as an adventurer to not have to live on the streets again.
Has recognized a symbol of his childhood in Arnheim, which is miles away from Swansbay, Britannia. He is driven to find out what this means, even though this will put him on a course back to his family after all these years.
Curiosity is the best virtue, as it is how to overcome fear, ignorance and misunderstanding.
Likes & Dislikes
Even though he spent years on the streets of Arnheim, he has never forgotten what life was like in his parents' mansion and he will take any chance he gets to enjoy decadence.
Virtues & Personality perks
Is always willing to help, especially those under the oppression of unfair leaders. Thinks curiosity is a virtue.
Asks a lot of questions.
Vices & Personality flaws
Has loose hands when it comes to taking what isn't necessarily his.
Curiosity could get him into trouble.
He asks a lot of questions
Social
Family Ties
Theodore and Adalena Aubecoeur are his parents. As far as he knows, they still live in Swansbay.
Bren is his little brother, who joined the Archives of Azuth a year after he did. When Dorian ran away he tried to convince Bren to join him, but Bren had already been inducted in the Order of Our Lady Etaine as a paladin.
Religious Views
Has a will to fight the evils of the other planes, such as Devils, Demons and Mind Flayers (that last one is recent). He follows Azuth, the God of Spells, which was a God revered by the Archives to gather as much of an arsenal against these evils as possible.
Social Aptitude
A bit awkward, might ask a lot of questions. Is eager to partake in luxuries when offered.
Hobbies & Pets
Percival is his pet owl, a fiendish familiar that he summoned after escaping from the Archives.
One of his hobbies is spraying graffiti art all over the place, combining his painting supplies with his magic to create a graffiti kit.
He also enjoys stealing stuff from wealthy people and enjoys partaking in their luxuries.
Another hobby of his is getting to know more by asking too many questions
Speech
Very British (at least I try), with a lot of inflection.
Scoundrel of a wizard, dabbling in arcane knowledge that reaches beyond the Mortal Realm. Accompanied by his familiar, Percival the owl, he fights in the Adventurer's Guild to escape life on the streets as an urchin.
Character Location
Alignment
Chaotic Neutral
Birthplace
Swansbay, Britannia
Children
Current Residence
The Guild
Gender
Male
Eyes
Green
Hair
Shaggy black hair
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Fair or pale skinned
Height
6 ft 2
Weight
150 lbs
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