Aloysius Esch
Lord Aloysius Esch
At first glance a gracious young nobleman, good for little but spending his inheritance and being a delightful handful on the dance floor. Take the time to engage him and one will find he perhaps cares more for what is good and right than the image presents.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Slender and fit, not overly muscled. When he moves, it's like water over silk. Dance with him and one will find a firm and supple armful.
Body Features
His hands are fine-boned but more hardened than one might expect. He has a small collection of scars but the chance of seeing them in public is vanishingly remote.
His left arm has an intricate tattoo in green, red and black of thorned roses and small dangerous creatures; felines, garden dragons.
His left arm has an intricate tattoo in green, red and black of thorned roses and small dangerous creatures; felines, garden dragons.
Facial Features
He's neither handsome nor plain, with a perfectly servicable face. His hair is trimmed stylishly short and a light blond. His eyes are a very pale blue
Identifying Characteristics
The aforementioned tattoo, how slender he is for his height.
Physical quirks
He fiddles with things sometimes. Drums his fingers when thinking or idly twirls his cane.
Apparel & Accessories
Dressed for every occasion as though everyone's wardrobe is bespoke tailoring. For him, dressing is simply the way of things and he acts as though it's just what one does.
He carries a gentleman's cane and usually wears a top hat.
He carries a gentleman's cane and usually wears a top hat.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
He's the youngest of three children of the noble Esch family, a smaller house within the Bremen. They are rich, politically powerful, and shockingly well adjusted in their family life.
Father: Andross Esch, a powerful minister of parliament espousing progressive causes and is distinctly successful in his endeavors.
Mother: Vivienne Katarine Esch of house Bremen, the engaged and potent Lady of the family's holdings.
Eldest & heir: Angela Esch – Noble, well-versed in law and politics. Presumed eventual successor to the parliamentary seat and title. Active in Andross’ offices performing political duties.
o Second: Dietrich Esch – Up & coming military officer. Cultivates the image of an engaging himbo but in reality, is nearly as sharp as his sister.
Father: Andross Esch, a powerful minister of parliament espousing progressive causes and is distinctly successful in his endeavors.
Mother: Vivienne Katarine Esch of house Bremen, the engaged and potent Lady of the family's holdings.
Eldest & heir: Angela Esch – Noble, well-versed in law and politics. Presumed eventual successor to the parliamentary seat and title. Active in Andross’ offices performing political duties.
o Second: Dietrich Esch – Up & coming military officer. Cultivates the image of an engaging himbo but in reality, is nearly as sharp as his sister.
Gender Identity
Cis-male. Primarily heterosexual but not blind to beauty or attraction in other forms.
Sexuality
His experience is narrow but steadily deepening. Aloysius is expressive verbally and physically in his space. He is ferociously in love and romantically bonded to one person.
Education
He's a graduate of the presitigous Academia Casus, with a degree in history and coursework in law and philosophy.
Employment
Publicly he is a noble 'spare' enjoying his privilege.
More secretly, he addresses society's injustices by supporting social projects and direct action.
Mental Trauma
He is dedicated to doing what he can, where he can. It is more difficult for him to be able to do nothing than to try and fail.
He died and was raised from the dead after an encounter with banshees. This was not as traumatic as it might have been as he was comforted and guided by Eriu, helping affirm his path.
A near miss with an intellect devourer was worse. The horror of his mind being psychically and physicially invaded was traumatic. It also gave him an avenue of deep empathy for others under malevolent influences.
Intellectual Characteristics
His greatest strengths are in connectedness, insight, and caring. He invests the time and heart to understand where others are and feel the connections to their lives. He is of normal intelligence and will grasp most intellectual concepts with time but his insights can leap ahead of understanding frequently.
His training these past years made it more difficult to touch the world. The image of the bon vivant in public and the ascetic reality behind closed doors left little room for real connection. In recent months, he has found someone to build a bridge back to the world and his soul is flowering.
His training these past years made it more difficult to touch the world. The image of the bon vivant in public and the ascetic reality behind closed doors left little room for real connection. In recent months, he has found someone to build a bridge back to the world and his soul is flowering.
Morality & Philosophy
Law is a tool of good, not its final form. Effective society benefits from rules, but these rules need to be evaluated regularly to ensure the well-being of the greatest portion of people. The default is rule of law (procedural justice).
Exception handling is part of a healthy system. Goodness and kindness are higher order principles than process. Process enables the outcomes of goodness, kindness, health, safety, and justice.
Violence is a specialty tool, to be used narrowly and judiciously. He carries a struggle of loving it too well.
Exception handling is part of a healthy system. Goodness and kindness are higher order principles than process. Process enables the outcomes of goodness, kindness, health, safety, and justice.
Violence is a specialty tool, to be used narrowly and judiciously. He carries a struggle of loving it too well.
Slender and elegant, usually a little overdressed. He is kind and sensitive to others' needs but still carries the perspectives of his upbringing as a noble. He is becoming more direct in fighting injustice.
View Character Profile
Alignment
LG (mostly)
Age
23
Date of Birth
15th of May, 1864
Children
Gender
Male
Eyes
pale blue
Hair
Blond, cut short.
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Pale
Height
5'9"
Weight
150 lb
Related Plots
Memories of Futures Past
5 March, 1884
Aloysius dreams
March, 1899
He woke at the sound of the key in the lock and so did the dog. Aloysius tensed his muscles just as nine kilos of big-eared, black and white terrier launched from his midsection and charged the front door. He smiled; his family was home.
Barking and the shrieks of children mingled at the door before reversing course in a headlong charge down the hall. Aloysius rolled to his knees from the couch to receive the onslaught with open arms. Anja, nine, hit first. She's the young image of her mother, but for the Esch blue eyes. She aimed to bowl him over because the concept of 'half' never stuck with her. He spun her sideways and caught her, then did the same with Melker, all of six. So clearly their son, marked with a mix of their skin and strawberry blond hair. Aloysius wrapped them up in his arms and kissed his giggling children before sending them in pursuit of the dog.
He was still on his knees and smiling when one of the most powerful women in the world entered the parlor. Margarete Esch. Some fools think love fades with age but fifteen years after they wed, she was more radiant in his eyes than ever. Aloysius rises, kissing her like it's the first time.
Memory unbidden -Burning buildings and spell light throw everything in garish relief. Gunshots and spellcasting concuss the air, a drum beat beneath Peg's voice as she sends curses and spells into her erstwhile grandmother. She's glorious.
Aloysius is on one knee, covered in blood. Some of it is his, most of it, not. May Muckbone is in front of him. She's been kissed by Ash Wand so many times there is barely anything holding her together. She's defiant, with one last barb to throw. "You're an idiot to love her." She hisses. "Do you know what you get when your kind mixes with ours?"
Aloysius rises, Ash Wand kisses May one last time.
"The love of my life." He whispered into Peg's hair, before waking back to now.
A Sliver of Madness
They've barely spoken yet, but the hurts are already being soothed. The beat of griffin wings fills the
Flowers, Fresh Air, and Husbands
26th March, 1884
A journalist. A purveyor of words and facts; a teller of true stories in print for all and sundry. Margarete Esch, journalist.
When she told him, there was fear in her that he would think it too small a thing. They settled that matter right quickly and now the last of the third-floor rooms was an office for her, fully appointed, including a broad and sturdy desk and promises to knock things from the corner of it now and then.
A journalist. Writer. Creator.
She had accepted his gift and raised the ante, wanting something to be shared between them. "...I want a space in the garden, for both of us, for when there is the work of reading and writing to be done but when the rest of my heart needs sights and smells of flowers and fresh air and my husband." She touched his heart with that. Now, with the first weeks of Spring turning, he's been able to get workmen out to start on things.
There isn't tremendous room in the garden. The only real option is to modify the gazebo that has been the scene of many important moments. He watches as the workers set to. Memories echo.
The slimness of her waist under his hands. "I fear that I have fallen in love with you and if you don't kiss me right now, I shall be very cross."
A gift of oleander
a pair of rings "one heart, one fire, one blood"
His heart and mind are full of important moments as they reshape the shelter. For Peg's wish, they build in a shared desk with two sides, each a little offset from the other; close, yet with enough room to breathe and work. Planters are added to the supports, raising flowers into their space. Prepared pots of crocuses and iris are hung up carefully where they can surround the couple with life. It's going to be beautiful.
Aloysius walks about the garden and finds himself drawn to the back corner. Oleander, foxglove, houndstooth - The season's too early and none are in bloom; their potency abides. His mind drifts between beauty and peril. His body is whole, his worst wounds are on his heart. Some have healed, some are scarred. Some are still tender and weeping; they catch him against his will.
...mind violated, adorned in the blood of his foes and the salt of his tears
...the right side of her face is covered in blood and her left shoulder and arm are badly burned... the disconnected lost sort of look in her eyes is more concerning
...her throat an open ruin and her belly slit, contents spilling. Her eyes empty, her fire extinguished
He closes his eyes and reaches for his center. It takes time but the weight of the rings on his hand pulls him back. Life is so often in perilous balance. His own, those of the people he loves, the lives that he might take. The path through his passions and fears and dreams is still fraught but his feet are becoming firmer upon it. The edge of might or might not recedes; he finds a touch of peace in the simplicity of what is.