Count Wilhelm de Sade
Count Wilhelm de Sade
Wilhelm de Sade is a high ranking Count in Parisius. Powerful enough to request personal audiences with the newly crowned Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne. Most people respect him and quite a few fear him too. He has a sadistic streak, and a temper, that can come to the fore when angered. He is also a direct ancestor of the infamous Marquis de Sade.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
The infamous Count Wilhelm de Sade is a known figure in Parisius and beyond. Highly thought of as Charlemagne's personal 'attack dog' and enforcer, he rules with an iron grip when the Holy Roman Emperor is otherwise engaged. Though saying this, he is considered fair & even handed when not angered.
He was born on the family estate just to the north east edge of Parisius 63 odd years ago. Like any de Sade, he even had a cruel domineering streak built in, yet the knack to control the worst of it. Even on the tender years of his early childhood, he was able to control the worst of this. The only times it showed was when he was enraged. This was partly due to an incident when he was 9 years old, while riding his favourite pony. After it broke it's leg in a riding accident with the young count, the courtiers and stable hands seen that the pony had to be put out of it's misery as it would never recover, and waste away. Enraged by this, Wilhelm severely beat the youngest stable hand involved. The stable hand barely survived but the de Sades paid compensation to the family. Realising at this stage how dangerous having this sadistic side is, and that such a trait ran in his family, he decided to try to control it and use it to his advantage.
Becoming an excellent if somewhat temperamental noble and officer in his late teens & early 20s it served him well. Despised by a few who angered him, especially the Burgomaster de Rais (who de Sade thought was corrupt in spirit even then), he didn't care. Better to be dominant & ambitious, than a weakling or submissive, was his mantra.
When Charlemagne came to power, he saw the value of having someone like de Sade. Placing de Sade in a position of his own militia, personal guards, and the policing of laws in Parisius & the surrounding areas, proved a stroke of genius. Despite being one of the largest cities in Europe, Parisius has some of the lowest crime rates and uprisings due to de Sade. By the time he entered his late 40s, de Sade had even brought the Thieves & Assassins Guilds of Frankia to heel, curbing the worst of their crimes, and forcing them into an uneasy truce. He even made a pact with them that when the nobility needed the skills of such specialists, they would jump without question. So far, years later, it still strands and fear is slowly being replaced with grudging respect between the Guilds & de Sade. How much this is due to him having to crack down on their 'antics' during the Night of a Hundred Blades a few years ago, and the severe punishment de Sade meted out (sometimes personally by his own hand), may have had something to do with it.
Over the remaining years, he has turned his attention to the Noble Family of the de Rais clan. Whispered to be a thoroughly corrupt and degenerate group behind closed doors, he will stop at nothing to find out the extent of their crimes against the state & the crown, the church, and the people in general. So far, with the help of a thief called Fleec Snow, he has already caught out the Burgomaster de Rais in practising black magic, and a possible power grab by him too.
Exactly what he can do in whatever time he has left in life is another matter.
Tough unflinching Count Keeping an eye on the de Rais family Governs Parisius
Character Location
Alignment
Neutral
Current Status
Running Parisius
Current Location
Species
Ethnicity
Age
63
Children
Gender
Male
Eyes
Brown
Hair
Grey
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Wrinkled
Height
5' 5"
Weight
120 lbs
Belief/Deity
Roman Catholic
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Related Plots
Ruled Locations
Gotta love a man with a plan / goal and the power and prowess to accomplish it all. I also appreciate that he's not afraid to get his hands dirty. Sometimes, if you want something done right, ya gotta do it yourself. >:3
Whole point. He gets the job done... promptly.