Etienne
Etienne is a half-elven mage, and a member of the distinguished Katheroi Ilios family and the grandson of the great paladin Lord Alden Ilios, Marquess of the Reaches and Lord of Sentinel Fortress and Lady Mazelina, Marchioness of the Reaches and Lady of Sentinel Fortress that saved the Reaches from the Bloodspear Orc Invasion. He is currently a member of The Company of the Furies: Eumenides.
Personality/character
Etienne is unquestionably given to vanity, ostentatious displays, sensual indulgence, and flights of fancy. But much of his charm can be attributed to the fact that he does so with a curious, distinctively elven air of earnest bonhomie. That is, one senses Etienne does it all on a lark, while he seems to exude an undeniable air of trustworthiness and good-nature. The best example of his true character might be in his rescue, mentorship, and genuine friendship with Sappy, to whom he continually imparts his magical knowledge. Likewise, Etienne seems incapable of bearing ill-will toward his cold, distant father or even his cousins - who seem to actively intrigue against him to ensure he will not one-day inherit the rule of Sentinel Fortress and the Wild Reaches. Truth be told, Etienne would be perfectly content to live all his days like Loreilei of the Fair Oaks, simply going wherever his interests lead him and enjoying life. That said, there is something of his duty-bound father in him still, such that he can't completely dispel the call to lead the fair folk of the Wild Reaches and sacrifice his own desires for a greater Good .....Physical Description
General Physical Condition
From head to foot, Etienne defines panache. Blonde, wavy locks "to die for" atop his crown, while kept trimmed around the sides - the better to showcase the elegant points of his half-elven ears. Eyes of dreamy blue and mystic green (left and right, respectively) form the centerpiece of a smooth, chiseled and heroic face. His wizardly robe is quintessential style: the finest elven fabric, light yet durable, collar ever-upturned, "elephant bell" flourishing along the forearms, as well as long, embroidered folds hanging down below his knees. And even his shoes somehow manage to marry classic chic with an avante-garde edge - a supple, brown leather construct, hand-crafted by a gnomish cobbler.
Finally, Etienne's cherished Staff of the Magius is virtually a fifth appendage nowadays, grasped firmly in his right hand to supplement his sorcery.
Social
Family Ties
Etienne's mother was Loreilei of the Fair Oaks, a shy and mysterious elvish lass of a curious beauty, charm and prodigal understanding of the magical arts. Where she originated, or even where she now is, remains shrouded in uncertainty. The clasp (pictured above) holding Etienne's robe together is actually something akin to a magical homing beacon that allows Etienne and his mother to find one another. Lord Raymond Ilios, Marquess of the Wild Reaches and Lord of Sentinel Fortress's 3-year love affair with this elven sorceress remains something of a puzzle to most. Lord Raymond has enigmatically referred to this period as his "Wilderness Years" while out on some quest (which is pithily and bitterly referenced as a "mid-life crisis" by Lady Maribeth Ilois, the mother of Lord Raymond's three older children, now deceased). In all events, these Wilderness Years lasted just long enough to sire Lady Eva and Etienne. And Lord Raymond will almost never be drawn to discuss Loreilei openly now, even in private conversation with Lady Eva or Etienne.
Lady Eva Ilios - is Etienne's older sister is also half-elven and descended from Loreilei of the Fair Oaks. Lady Eva inherited both the beauty and natural magical aptitude of her mother, although not the full measure of her mother's shy, secretive and mysterious ways. Etienne enjoys a close bond with his sister - albeit she finds his pomp a tad excessive.
Lord Raymond - The strain in this father-son relationship is almost exclusively attributable to Lord Raymond. While Lord Raymond is loath to discuss the issue directly, one can easily glean:
He regards his "Wilderness Years" as a frightful extravagance, epitomized by his "bewitchment" in falling temporarily under the "spell" of Loreilei of the Fair Oaks. He seems to genuinely regret the violation of his marital fidelity during this period.
Etienne, especially, confirms to him the shading toward Evil in which he indulged with Loreilei. A neutral observer would probably consider Raymond's conception here highly idiosyncratic - i.e., basically a product of Raymond's discomfort with the "beyond good and evil" perspective in which Loreilei lives, placing the pursuits of esoteric discoveries above all else, even if she never actually articulates such a philosophy. But in all events, Raymond can hardly look upon Etienne without seeing his mother - which is like a constant reminder of a bad dream. And he regards his son as something of a beautiful fop, charismatic and skilled to be sure, but hardly of the mettle to rule over Sentinel Fortress and the Wild Reaches. Or, as he has been known to say without any tinge of humor and with sighs of deep regret: "Etienne is more than a little too Elvish."
His cousins are Dame Agnes Ilios, Sir Roland Ilios, and Redmont Ilios, and his aunt Lady Ramona Ilios.
Etienne's upbringing
Given all of the above, Etienne has unsurprisingly spent far more time away from Sentinel Fortress and the tutelage of his father. For about the first 10 years of his life, he'd never even met his father. In fact, Lord Raymond did not reveal the existence of Lady Eva and Etienne until his other three, "wholly legitimate" children had all perished. Only at that point did he deem that the interests of lineal succession and the good of his people justified bringing these two half-elven children into the fold. Until then, Etienne and Eva had spent about half the time with their mother, and half with extended elvish family whenever their Loreilei would be off on some sudden, unpredictable adventure. Wherever they were or with whomever, however, Eva and Etienne were constantly exposed to and being schooled in magic. And Loreilei and other relatives oft frequented large urban centers where magical tomes and items could be more readily be found - hence Eva and Etienne's cultivation of a love for "soft city life." When Eva was about 13 and Etienne 10, they were brought to Sentinel Fortress - Eva to be trained to be a Katheroi as well as to potentially become a young lady of the court in Fulton, with Etienne to be groomed as a paladin and heir apparent to his father's domain. It was viewed that as a half-elf, Eva might be a good representative of Sentinel Fortress to the Fultonian Nobility. That was the plan, anyway. Lady Eva turned out to be a middling success, hating the Katheroi faith and austere life style, but loving the what she saw as the pageantry of the distant court in Fulton and earning the "Lady" title by merit. In the end, she still more inclined toward magical research and less toward anything religious or the common gossip and prattle of courtly intrigue to ever be considered a perfect fit for the role. Conversely, Lord Raymond abandoned any hope that Etienne would follow in his footsteps before his son turned 12. The boy was just not cut from the rigorously disciplined, paladin cloth. And, while well-liked and charismatic in spades, Etienne critically lacked a "martial spirit" that Lord Raymond deemed a sine qua non for any ruler of the Sentinel Fortress and Wild Reaches. Etienne's lack of successful grooming at Sentinel Fortress was not helped by the frostiness with which Lady Maribeth Ilois and her friends, family and allies always regarded him. No one ever called him "the half-breed bastard" to his face, but the slur was not unknown to him - even from the first months of his arrival. And while Lady Maribeth Ilois actually behaved herself with perfect propriety in all outward forms and conversation to Etienne and Eva (as these were the children of Lord Raymond), there was never any illusion as to the complete lack of affection and love with which Lady Maribeth Ilois regarded them. Interestingly, Eva and Etienne experienced virtually no bullying while at Sentinel Fortress. At first, some of his cousins (those now vying for inheritance of the realm) attempted to haze and bully the "half-breed" newcomers. But those would-be bullies swiftly found themselves subject to a torrent of "good-natured" humiliation - i.e., by dint of humorous cantrips cast upon them by these elven-raised siblings. Such skill and cleverness soon enamored both Eva and Etienne to almost everyone at court - save the Lady Maribeth Ilois camp and these gently abused cousins, of course. And the preternatural beauty of such elven blood helped raise their stature amid courtly circles, too (albeit with corresponding jealousy harbored by their "next-in-line" cousins). After three years, Eva and Etienne were sent back to their elvish family. Periodic visits to Sentinel Fortress would still occur at the behest of court advisors favorable to the siblings. But inevitably, such sojourns would be short-lived - due both to Lady Ilois' thinly veiled displeasure and Lord Raymond's personal reaffirmations that neither of these "prodigal children" could ever properly rule the realm. Or, as Lord Raymond would tell his closest advisors, the pair were "hopelessly Elvish."Relationships
Etienne's father, Lord Raymond Ilios, Marquess of the Reaches and Lord of Sentinel Fortress.
Etienne's lover, Pencheska Natyssa, and mother of his daughter Furia Ilios.
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Etienne the Erudite, Etienne the Excellent, Etienne the Epiphany, Etienne the Enormous (as has been whispered with giggles among certain ladies-in-waiting), or his own favorite, "Ergo the Etienne"
Spouses
Pencheska Natyssa
(spouse)
Siblings
Children
Etienne's grandmother, Lady Mazelina, Marchioness of the Reaches and Lady of Sentinel Fortress and grandfather, Lord Alden Ilios, Marquess of the Reaches and Lord of Sentinel Fortress.