Name: Francois Gautier, Lord of Aleine, Also holds the official title of Knight.
Race: Breton
Age: Thirty six Summers
Birthsign: The Warrior
Physical Description: At five foot ten inches, Francois had never had much of an imposing figure. Metabolism and other factors such as military training and a fairly active life, have blessed him with fitness and athleticism, although he is not overly toned. With dark brown hair, deep blue eyes, a typical Breton skin tone, and an unmarked face, Francois is a decent looking man; neither handsome nor repulsive, just above average. Aside from a few minor scars mainly from minor injuries on his legs sustained as a child, he has no distinguishing marks to speak of, likely due to being raised in a pampered environment. As a representative of his family, and his people, he is always clean shaven if possible and wears his medium length hair in a tidy fashion typical of nobility.
History: To understand Lord Francois Gautier, one must first understand how he came to power. His Father, Maurice Gautier, was a very wealthy landowner, his possessions including many acres of land, a large town, several villages, and a sizeable number of troops. Likewise, his uncle, Bernard Gautier, owned several businesses, and also, a sizeable piece of land and his own band of troops. But what does this matter to the story of Lord Francois Gautier? Well, that question is answered by the fate of Maurice and Bernard, a smith's stone ceiling collapsing on top of them, crushing and killing them instantly. Francois inherited these combined holdings, and soon, the title of Lord. For a time Lord was merely a symbolic title, a term of respect more so than any indication of any real power, but Francois aimed to change that. Immediately, messengers were sent out, troops were readied and militia levied. Over the span of a few years, through various purchases and military conquests, Francois acquired many Rural lands near Wayrest, and rural holdings down the shoreline of the Bjoulsae River. The Corprus raged across his lands, spreading quickly in the cities and villages, and quickly claiming even a large portion of his knights, most of the rest slain by their converted comrades. Since, he has searched Wayrest, and upon finding no survivors there, turned back and headed for the Imperial Province in hopes to find survivors in the capital.
Weapons: A straight double edged steel sword with a blue handle, and silver crossguard and pommel. Usually sheathed at his left side.
Armor/Apparel: Francois typically wore a light chainmail and padded armor, covered by a large grey fur cloak. At the beginning of the outbreak however, he donned a heavier mail and a shield from the Knights of Aleine armoury, grasping a masked knight's helmet as Corprus began to flood the building. Since beginning his journey, his fur cloak has become slightly ragged.
Misc. Items: Wears several rings made of various precious metals, some inlaid with gems, and a golden necklace inlaid with a finely cut ruby. All tarnished by harsh travelling.
Companions:
Knight Gaston Moreau- A high ranking knight of the Knights of Aleine, he assists Francois in the commanding of the Lord's personal army and elite bodyguards. Also serves as a bodyguard and stays by his Lord's side at all times. Garbed in the typical white mantle bearing the http://www.stjoan-center.com/time_line/crest.jpg overtop a full suit of mail. Carries a large blue kiteshield, also bearing the crest, constructed from steel, and wields a sword similar to Francois'. One of the few knights to survive the Corprus onslaught, and now slightly ragged from travelling.
Knight Jean Fournier- Overseer of the guard of Aleine, and bodyguard to Francois. Owns several of the farms near Aleine as a reward for his service during the land skirmishes. Wearing the same armor as Gaston, he has also travelled with Francois, hoping to find survivors in the Imperial Province.
General Ghalib- Lhotunic mercenary from Hammerfell, established a small barracks in Aleine after Francois hired him to assist in his conquest of nearby lands. Apparently Ghalib took a liking to the large town and decided to stay, his forces becoming a semi-permanent high paid auxiliary force. Garbed in desert robes, and fights in a padded bamboo-weave cuirass, with padded armor underneath his robes. Doesn't fight with shields often, but when he does he prefers a wooden shield covered with leather, and reinforced with small bands of steel. Wields a fine crafted http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31QXF97PKQL._AA280_.jpg and a recently acquired http://www.armart.antiquanova.com/images/sb2_full.jpg As the group passed through Hammerfell, he insisted that they make a quick search for survivors along the way. In doing so, they discovered a young Desert nomad named Talib.
Talib Orhan- A desert nomad of Twenty Nine years of age, tribal tattoos running down his left arm. Joined the group when they discovered him searching a village for supplies. Tends to stick to Ghalib a bit more, and although he was already a strong warrior upon meeting them, the three knights have made attempts to teach him their ways. Talib has resisted these attempts consistently, preferring his much more agile style. Wears desert robes, and sometimes a cuirass similar to Ghalib's. Preferring no shield, he is skilled at parrying blows, and wields a http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31QXF97PKQL._AA280_.jpg which rests on his back in a smooth leather scabbard, and a http://i642.photobucket.com/albums/uu146/W00tz/yokublades_166.jpg hanging across his back, forming an X with his Scimitar, and resting in a rough sling made from the hide of a mantya-khourana.
Mount(s):
Gilad, Talib's Camel: A large loyal beast, they have been together since the day Gilad was born, and Talib was Three summers old. Strong pack animal and capable of traveling long distance, harsh terrain, and sustaining speeds faster than other camels. Carries Talib's extra supplies.
Albert, Francois' Horse: A fine Breton horse given to him by his father, suited to travelling and being ridden for extended amounts of time.
Jadier, Pack horse: Large Breton pack horse, discovered in an abandoned stable.
Bukra, Ghalib's Horse: A hardy and fast Arabian horse, the fasted horse of any of the group.
Bayard, Gaston's horse: The finest horse a knight could ask for. Gaston has ridden him for many years.
Haines, Jean's horse: Also another prize from Francois for his services. Nearly as fast as Ghalib's Arabian.
The group has also attained two horses and a wagon from the farms near Aleine, loading it with as many useful possessions as they could muster. Weapons, food, armor, a few small tents, and horse feed being the priorities.
High Rock was far, far away, as was Hammerfell. Today, the group's thoughts drifted to thoughts of home, that is, home before the corprus. Francois Gautier, the beautiful town of Aleine, the markets, gardens, thick, immaculate walls, the wealthy districts magnificent architecture, the astonishing city center, adorned with fountains, statues, beautiful landscaping.. The Knights of Aleine's Stronghold, a large array of buildings, often with stain glass windows.. His own Manor even, all overrun by dimwitted beasts that could not even appreciate any of it. Friends and family, either dead or left with mutilated bodies and empty minds. Tens of thousands of people, in his Lordship alone, gone.
The only survivors of Aleine- Lord Francois Gautier, Knight Gaston Moreau, Knight Jean Fournier, General Ghalib, and the desert nomad, Talib Orhan, -had travelled through Hammerfell, crossing the mountains into Cyrodiil, rode through county Chorrol and the Great Forest, and were now crossing the bridge from Weye to the Imperial City. After passing through various cities in Hammerfell they made the decision to avoid Chorrol entirely, lest more people lose their lives.
Despite the circumstances, and the coming winter, it was a fairly nice day. Sun shone on their backs as the horses trotted down the cobblestone bridge, Jean and Talib riding behind the wagon, Gaston riding beside the horses pulling it, guiding them along, and Ghalib and Francois at the front.
All men present had hopes that the city would bear more survivors than they had found so far, and that they could find a house they could bar off and successfully hold for the night. With no archers or mages present, their best hope was a building that could be secured so that no amount of pounding would breach its walls.
With each to their own thoughts, not a soul realised the progress they were making, and soon the walls loomed above them. Instantly, one saw smoke rising above the walls, filth and a few corpses lay outside the gates.
The inside was no improvement.
Bodies strewn across the street, limbs and pools of dried blood everywhere, doors smashed in, fires and smoldering ruins all around. None of them had ever been to the Imperial City, and this was quite a negative first impression of the supposedly grand city.
Everyone seemed to have a rather grim expression on their faces, knowing fairly well that few residents of the city could have survived.
Talib muttered matter-of-factly, " Nice city. "
» Sat Aug 15, 2009 1:21 pm 
