Forsilvra: Gaius DeLauncey

[Gaius DeLauncey]

[Your Information]
Name: Shelly
Contact: Ask and you shall receive! (Message me)

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[Public Application]

Character Name: Gaius Auguste DeLauncey
Character Age: 50
Gender: Male
Birthday (including year): November 23, 190
Current Location: Forsilvra Island
House [Birth and Marriage if applicable]: Birth - DeLauncey

Player Base: Sean Bean

Appearance:



Height: 6'3"
Weight: 250 lbs
Build: Muscular
Hair: Brown, gets darker when it grows longer.
Eyes: Green/Greyish

Personality:
Gaius is very, very good at what he does. He is a man who can sit in a stifling hot room with hundreds of reports and write a hundred letters, calculate a thousand averages to pinpoint accuracy, and make precise decisions on grain quotas, how to encourage livestock herding, push for certain types of crop in certain areas. Where other men would find the constant stream of fisheries, forges, farms, workshops, breeding kennels, and other producers, boring to the point of insanity, Gaius seems able to go over every report and make a concise and logical decision. It's like his mind hasn't got the ability to be bored with things that are conventionally boring. Because of him, the Authority of Welfare is considered one of the easiest jobs in the Capital; but those in the know accept that it is probably the most difficult. He does not at all care for the welfare of the common man, but considers it a source of pride to solve some of the most severe problems in the King’s realm.

The years have taken a toll on the man’s personality, likely a result of keeping to his studies analysing the information from his envoys throughout the islands. The man was once a heavy drinker, with a tendency to get into brawls. Such aggressive behaviour has now been drained out of him, partly due to the rigours of work, as well as demands of his wife. No longer as hotheaded as before, Gaius is perceived as very bookish, and boring – perhaps even more so than his younger brother Julius. He is not interested in tales of bravery, or of court gossip, he prefers to focus on important information. Generally when a conversation is not about an important issue, he will get bored easily as it is not something he is interested in or considers being significant. At times he will respond with a dry sarcasm, usually keen on proving fallacies in one’s logic, or just wanting to purely humiliate them.

Despite his boring nature, he really does take pleasure in the work he does. Gaius is always striving to be as accurate and correct as possible, demonstrating his skill and competence. His brilliance aside, Gaius has taken quite an interest to using his position as Authority of Welfare to influence power throughout the Kingdom. The responsibility of resources brings him much power to give and take, as a bestower of life and death. Though his aims are to always prevent death, he likes to extort something out of his dealings to benefit the well being of his family. Gaius’ personal wealth has drastically increased since his time on the Council, significantly more than the considerable pay members get for being on the Council. Essentially he has been using resources to bribe, and extort others, all the while using mathematics and a variety of excuses to cover it up. One person might need more food, or building materials, but if they don’t pay him the money on the side, well the products could be late, or raided along the way. Considering he is the foremost expert on these matters in Forsilva, few would dare challenge him on such actions.

Though his official duties take up most of his interactions, not all of his living, breathing time is spent in his work and studies. Family is very important to Gaius DeLauncey. The man is truly in love with his wife, and she drives him passionately in love with her. It is almost as if she is an enchantress who has bewitched his heart, because there is pretty much nothing he wouldn’t do for her. The woman has an influence over him, whispering advice, perhaps even commands into his ear. Though he does not like to admit that his wife holds so much sway over him, sometimes she has been right. The woman was vital in turning him from too much drinking, and ended his brawling ways, instead getting him to focus on strengths. Though he has been apart from his wife more recently, he always enjoying spending time with her and the children when he can. Gaius is usually sullen and stern towards his children, but he is always pampering and indulging them from behind the scenes. He wants to be seen as an authoritative figure by his children, not a doting father who spoils his children excessively.

Albeit lacking in the capacity to show his care to his children through emotion, he does love them and will ruthlessly protect them and his wife. The man is overly defensive of his children, and if any harm comes to them he will be out seeking retribution personally. One does not simply screw with his wife or children and get away with it. He will break legs, torture, or murder if he has to. The man has a raging temper that is well known. It is advised for people not to make threats to his children, displease them, or cause any harm to them. One simple mention that he is a cuckold, of the possibility of his wife’s infidelity and he will lash out to assault the person saying such things. He will hurt someone on the spot with a heavy object, or will challenge them to a duel to protect his honour and that of his family. You can do anything else to the man, but these things will set him off like a lit match to nitroglycerin.

Essentially, the man is known amongst his family for having a hair-trigger temper. Gaius is usually quite placid, unmoveable to emotion. His sudden explosions are quite the contrast from the calm, contemptful administrator he usually is. He becomes an intimidating, six foot three adult male with a fierce reputation. One would expect such a studious man to eventually come against someone who would put him down, but that has not happened yet. The reason likely lies in the probability that Gaius is one of the best duellists in the Kingdom; practicing without any interruption since he was ten, for four hours a day, every day. The exercise keeps him strong and in shape, and allows his mind to remain clear and sharp. His hands are steady as grounded boulders, his footwork is simply unbelievable, and his facial expression never changes the whole while. Gaius has an aim, by all that is holy, is quite the aim. The man never misses a mark in the ring, and this has meant his foes rarely die in any duel; a touch to the sword hand and they simply can no longer fight.

The rest of his family typically tire him. Only once has he duelled a fellow DeLauncey, his older brother Marcus. Before the fight had properly started, Gaius had tripped his brother and pointed the long steel at the man’s throat. The dispute was later forgotten, and Marcus made sure never to insult Gaius or those he cared for - ever again. This is part of an overriding tolerance of fellow DeLaunceys that Gaius exhibits. He will put up with them to an extent, but if they cross the line he will be far easier on them than if they were someone outside the family. This is partly due to his strong views on family, and doing what is in the greater good for House DeLauncey. Out of all his family, he usually got along with his younger siblings better, especially Julius given their interactions on the council. It was always Marcus and his children that gave Gaius headaches the most, with their stereotypical DeLauncey shenanigans. For their part, Gaius is seen as a boring old bastard with no fire to him – except when someone steps on a ‘tripwire’. Within the family, and amongst some others, these outbursts are humorously referred to as ‘Welfare Disputes’.

Gaius is rather sullen, and angry towards the King in particular, partially holding a grudge against the boy’s uncle who decreed that his children could not stay on Forsilvra Island. That being said, he is always helpful and matter-of-fact when it comes to presenting his information to the King. He is not always talkative on the council, unless his area of jurisdiction comes up. Sometimes Gaius is quite combative, and condescending towards other members of the council, especially when they cannot see things as clearly or logically as he can. Aside for Julius, he is rarely polite or friendly towards the other councillors. For their sake, it is best for them when he is merely professional and in no other moods.

History:
Gaius Auguste DeLauncey was the second son and third child born between Lord Victus DeLauncey and his wife, of The Vandermark. Due to the fact he was the third, like all children further down in the order of precedence he was ignored for the most part in his younger years. Nevertheless, he was a DeLauncey, and there were expectations for all children in the household. He was assigned tutors to educate him on many of the basic things, and as he got older more tutors were brought in to give more expert education on areas of specific interest. The young boy showed interest in working with the sword, holding grandiose views of perhaps being a valiant noble knight, but such dreams were dulled by his thirst for knowledge. One of the tutors had convinced him that strength was desirable, but that true power was concentrated in knowledge. His childhood was filled with physical training in the morning by the time he was ten, with education in the afternoon, and family dinners and functions in the evening.

Gaius was seen as boring, and uninteresting, even in contrast to Julius. He was anti-social, and kept to himself working on the fencing, fighting, as well as the scholarly studies. He was really intrigued in the theories of economics, and pursued that avenue into more detail. History, philosophy and such were all good, and he had some instruction on those, but his younger brother seemed more interested in that stuff. Gaius liked stuff that was applicable to reality to fix solutions, and mathematics, though hard to imagine, was very related to making things work. In his spare time in mornings and evenings he would fence and train until his muscles would ache and his feet felt like lead. He took interest in industry, agriculture, forestry, mining, how things were made, and the skills required to run a farm. One of his tutors recommended the foremost mind on such matters, one Albert Reinhardt. Gaius wrote his father for permission to study under Reinhardt, and it was granted.

Reinhardt was a man of Arbrecht, who had left his homeland and family to study in Ahestere, where he became the foremost scholar in his area of study over decades of reading, writing, debating, and testing theories in an applied manner. Despite his knowledge, few ever noticed the man until he was summoned to mentor Gaius DeLauncey. The man felt it was a great opportunity to impart his knowledge upon a young noble of sound mind, and of position in life to actually do what Reinhardt had long wrote to authorities to do with no response. The trade off was that the man was sharp-tongued, sarcastic, and extremely snide. Reinhardt’s ability to snidely insult was equalled only by his clear, analytical insight, and his talent for instilling a similar mindset upon his student. Gaius certainly hated the man, but was fascinated with the knowledge, and how the man taught. Gaius managed to get his father to hire Reinhardt as his scholarly adviser and attendant. Over time the two often traded barbs and theory, Gaius focusing solely on his studies and fencing, not participating in any other activities. During this period of time, Gaius often neglected family events and duties.

In his later teenage years, Gaius felt like he needed to go out and learn some of these things in real life. He spent one full year on a farm, learning the life of a farmer and all the work that went into that trade. He spent another year in mining and production, and finally spent one year in the transporting of such goods. These three years were highly valuable to the man, as practical experience was added into his knowledge, he learned how it truly operated in real life. This really opened his mind and changed how he saw things, and he would never forget what he learned in these vital years. He had travelled The Vandermark, but also to other parts of the Kingdom in this process. He returned home after his travel, and was encouraged by Reinhardt to publish papers on crop rotation to the scholars of The Vandermark. Following that he wrote one focusing on agricultural techniques and practices regarding all the regions of Forsilvra.

At age of twenty, the marriage that had been arranged earlier in his life to Isabelle Fontenot was called upon. He vowed to the Old Gods that he would be a faithful and dutiful husband. He consummated the marriage the night of their wedding. Gaius published a paper on the benefits of heating steel in a gradual and slow manner during forging at this time. He was astonished to find that the argument and process he wrote about was lauded and well published. As a result of this, Vandermark steel was well sought after, far and wide, due to its razor edge and ease of use. It was also during this time that his first son, Demetrius, was born. Unfortunately, just as one new life was brought into the world, another was taken. Reinhardt died in his sleep, and the death was hard on Gaius. After his work during the day, he would drink and sometimes brawl at night, often hurting many others in the process.

His problems at night aside, Gaius Auguste DeLauncey became one of the foremost scholars on production, courtesy of Reinhardt’s teachings. He was often attending meetings with his father’s council and working with his uncle as assistant on administrating the lands of The Vandermark. A few years his second son, Titus, was born. His uncle finally decided to pass the position over to Gaius, and very soon by the age of twenty-five he was responsible for the administration of the lands in The Vandermark and making sure the economy was operating smoothly. One year later his first daughter, Aureline was born, followed by Warrine two years after. During this time he had been an effective adviser and administrator in his home province. Things started to change in 220 when his father died, making Marcus the new Lord of The Vandermark. With the death of Victus DeLauncey, his sons all rose into positions of significance in that year, perhaps out of respect for the great man who had fathered such worthy sons.

Indeed, after many years of proving his administrative abilities, he was selected to replace the previous Authority of Welfare. During this time his younger brother, Julius, was also brought into the council as the Authority of Knowledge – giving the DeLauncey family some significant influence on the Royal Council. His predecessor had proven to be quite incompetent at managing some of the agricultural lands during a drought and the mismanagement left some parts without food leading to some riots. Immediately, Gaius sought to correct the problems that he assumed responsibility over. The newly appointed Authority of Welfare needed about a year to properly acclimatise to the new position he occupied. The position helped turn him quiet and sharp, as he was on a council with some pretty intelligent people, or just outright scheming types.

Coming to Court, his wife was very happy, but she pleaded with Gaius to give up his drinking. It didn’t work at first, but she withheld sex as an incentive, which still wasn’t enough. His wife had to warn him about the dangers of court, dealing with people that were scheming and backstabbing, that this was no game for one to be belligerent in. He reduced what he drank, still enjoying some wine with dinner, but decided to stop drinking and brawling for the sake of his wife and children. It was when it was for the sake of the children that giving up such bad habits was truly worthwhile. Gaius did not want for them to grow up as drunkards with a bad role model. He calmed down, getting used to Court, and becoming more of a reserved person after he learned a lesson of not trusting people here when he said some things and the next morning it was major gossip. Since then he has always been annoyed by gossip, and very tight-lipped in Court, unless he had an ulterior motive to let information get out. Many nights he would sit down with his wife to discuss matters of court and politics before making love with her.

Within the year he arrived at Court, his wife had given birth to twin girls, Marcheline and Josephine. His wife was really happy with the two of them and decided she would educate them like urban, sophisticated girls of the capital, unlike the more laid back, DeLauncey attitude notorious in The Vandermark. The girls were very much DeLauncey, but with a touch of class, a touch of Fontenot. Four years passed and his wife gave birth to another child, Feronius DeLauncey. This would be her last child to birth, and though things had not always been great over the years Gaius liked to think he pulled through with his wife so far. They would need to continue strong parenting to pull through in the years to come.

Unfortunately, two years after the birth of Feronius, his daughter Josephine had got into an altercation with a young nobleman’s boy. His defence of his children dealt a blow to his relationship with his wife, and family as a whole. The young boy had attacked and insulted Josephine. Gaius snapped and beat the boy so hard that the lad would never walk again. It was said Gaius’ rage was horrific to behold. The boy’s father was outraged and Gaius demanded a duel with the man. In the duel, Gaius demonstrated to all how deadly he could be with a blade. He started the duel off with some blunt blows to the man, and then proceeded to tease him out, before lancing his blade through the man’s throat. Apparently this entire mess had become a scandal in the capital, and Gaius refused to apologise feeling he was in the right.

Joseph Fontenot had a talk with Gaius and Isabelle, with Stephane also present. The King and his brother had decided that this issue must be brought before the council. The Royal Council gave their support to the King and his brother in sending Gaius’ children back to The Hollows. Isabelle was very upset, but during this meeting Gaius had sat down with his head down, and only raised his head to acknowledge what he had done and explain that he was morally justified. Gaius skipped the Council meeting, not wanting to be in a room with some of those self-serving men who might just provoke him even further.

The relationship with his wife was strained, but they did reconcile. Isabelle felt the need to be with her children and so returned to The Vandermark, while he remained at Licorn to carry out his duties with the King and Council. He would visit his wife when he could, but work started getting busy for him. His wife returned to the capital, but was often back and forth now visiting her children and returning to the capital, leaving Feronius in the capital for his care and education. Nevertheless, times were growing dark as news of a terrible plague started spreading. Gaius, as Authority of Welfare, was positioned to look into this and the reports were true. It started in Arbrecht, and spread to The Vandermark, and slowly made its way throughout Forsilvra.

Regardless of class or position on society, the plague struck fast and hard, killing many people. Many noble families lost loved ones, and even members of the royal family were not safe when the Queen and soon the King perished. Stephane Fontenot took over as Regent for his late brother’s son, who was not yet old enough. As Authority of Welfare, Gaius assumed full responsibility in how the Kingdom reacted to the plague. The disease never caused him harm, but he spent many nights stressing as grain production and general welfare fell. Farmers and apothecaries were falling sick, unable to produce food and medicine to distribute fast enough. With no cure or preventative measure to be found, he recommended to Stephane to order quarantines across the Kingdom for those severely ill. These actions were too little, too late and Gaius knew that full well. They had not acted soon enough, but even with their time there was no way to cure or prevent the disease. Stephane soon succumbed to Turphis Morbi in the waning days of the disease.

By this time cases were dwindling and no one further was getting sick. Adrien Fontenot was crowned as King of Forsilvra, without any elder male regent of his family to guide him –aside for Jacques Fontenot, whose dementia made him a liability. The Royal Council felt it best to crown the King, and advise him on matters to help him in his early days as such a young ruler. During this time Isabelle traveled to be with her children and brought Feronius to The Hollows with her. Feronius asked his mother if he may stay there to get to know his siblings, and other relatives, as well as to experience what life was like in the region his paternal family comes from. Gaius thought it was a wonderful idea, and had actually recommended Feronius to ask his mother once they were over in The Vandermark.

Though the plague has disappeared it has only been a year since the last documented case, and Gaius has taken no chances with the disease. He has ordered cities to burn possessions, and offered new goods to replace those destroyed for the necessity of general well being and health. He has called for the burning and eradication of vermin and other pests within cities that could be vectors of the disease. The man has been diverting and directing funds and goods from well-off regions to help in the aid of heavily struck regions. This is part to respond to the areas that were most hard stuck during the plague, and work at cleaning things up and returning life to normal. So far his measures have been working.

Writing Sample:
The messenger had arrived nearly and hour ago, calling for Lord Gaius DeLauncey regarding a matter of Welfare. Gaius had been working out in the training room he had specially designed in his manor on Forsilvra Island. His manor was on the north side of Lake Bellelac. Lord Gaius didn’t usually like to be disturbed when he was working out, he enjoyed his private time as he often didn’t have much of it. The only exception was if the King summoned him, an emergency meeting of the Royal Council was called, or there was a serious family problem.

Following his training he dipped into a wooden tub with some heated water, and poured some cleansing oils upon him. Drying himself off, Gaius slipped into a clean white linen tunic, which descended down to just above his knees. He was comfortable and attending his own business at his manor, he did not need to dress anything formal. Gaius walked into the entrance hall and signalled for the messenger to follow him up the staircase to his study. The man had many studies, one here in his manor, with a small library next to it, there was another one at Licorn Castle, and of course back in The Vandermark he had a couple at various properties. Being an important man with much research pushed upon him, he needed room to work when he travelled throughout the Kingdom.

The study was spacious, with a desk, some bookshelves, and more off to the side was a couple of sofa chairs around a lower coffee table. Gaius went over to lounge upon one of the sofas, gesturing for the messenger to sit in the opposite one. The man handed the sealed parchment to the Welfare Authority, who decided to inspect it to make sure the letter was authentic and not tampered with. Convinced it was legitimate, Gaius broke the seal and unrolled it. His eyes immediately scanned the writing, followed by his eyes glaring at the messenger as the man sighed. He crumpled the parchment up, and tossed it on to the floor as if it were garbage.

[Time Line Events]

Year 190: Born.
Year 210: Marries Isabelle Fontenot.
Year 210: Demetrius DeLauncey is born.
Year 213: Titus DeLauncey is born.
Year 216: Aureline DeLauncey is born.
Year 218: Warrine DeLauncey is born.
Year 220: Gaius appointed Authority of Welfare, and the family moves to Forsilvra
Year 224: Marcheline and Josephine DeLauncey born.
Year 228: Feronius DeLauncy is born
Year 230: DeLauncey children return to The Hollows, save Feronius.
Year 240: Feronius DeLauncey decides to reside at The Hollows.
Year 241: Game start.

Family Genealogy:

Victus DeLauncey 58 + Wife Maiden DeLauncey

Marcus DeLauncey 52 twin - Wife Maiden DeLauncey
-- Rufus Addam DeLauncey 26 -- Atlanta de Valle DeLauncey
-- Cassius Theodore "Teddy" DeLauncey 27 -- Fiancee
-- Tiberius Lexington DeLauncy 25
-- Thelonius Larson DeLauncey 25
-- Lucius DeLauncey 22
-- Eveline DeLauncey 19
Araline DeLauncey twin - husband
Gaius DeLauncey 50 - Isabelle Fontenot DeLauncey 53
-- Demetrius DeLauncey 31 -- Wife
-- Titus DeLauncey 28
-- Aureline DeLauncey 25
-- Warrine DeLauncey 23
-- Josephine DeLauncey twin to Marcheline, 16
-- Marcheline DeLauncey twin to Jospehine, 16
-- Feronius DeLauncey 13
Julius DeLauncey 45 - Rochelle Fleurant DeLauncey
-- Augustine DeLauncey 18 -- Husband
-- Alexandrine DeLauncey 17 -- Fiance
-- Arius DeLauncey 16
Marcellus DeLauncey -
-- Rufus DeLauncey -- Fiancee
-- Ervine DeLauncey
Ammeline DeLauncey 30 - Conchobhar Tuathal Murchadh Vulferam VI
-- Child Vulferam 1

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I would like to credit Gent with the original creation and overall design of Gaius DeLauncey as a character. I consulted with his previous profile and kept parts of what he wrote, tweaked some parts, and added new parts to it. It would be difficult to mark what to attribute since much information is the same, albeit changed lightly, rewritten, with some removed and some added. This notice is to give him credit for his hard work in developing the character, and I hope to develop him more over time.

[Friday]

approved! yay Uncle! perpetuating that bad-ass DeLauncey name

[Jenn]

Can you credit the parts that Gent wrote

[Gaius DeLauncey]

The first paragraph in Personality I kept, I quite liked it.

For everything else, I took what she wrote and re-wrote it, and changed things around a bit. Added some new things. Could I perhaps overall just credit her for many of the ideas and concepts of the character? Also, how do I credit her? A disclaimer at the bottom?

[Jenn]

He wrote And yes that's fine! I just noticed the first paragraph and since it a c/p some mention of credit is all I'd need. Otherwise, I'm happy!

[Gaius DeLauncey]

I added a credit to the bottom, let me know if it is acceptable.

[Tiberius Lexington DeLauncey]

Very nice! Ka-stamp!

[Jenn]

Final Approval given, I need to Pm secrets, get out there and plot it up!

[Gaius DeLauncey]

Originally Posted by Jenn

Final Approval given, I need to Pm secrets, get out there and plot it up!

I was sure I sent the PM secrets to you...

[Jenn]

Oh oops, yes you did. I more meant checking the original ones and send them to YOU, but these are perfect. <3 And I don't think he originally had any anyway.