Emil Adalius

[Emil Adalius]

Hi, it's Ran. Here's the character I've been asking all those annoying questions for.

Name: Emil Adalius

Age: 29

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 158 lbs

Physical Description:

Emil cuts a lean figure, graceful and awkward at the same time. He moves cautiously but with majesty, fearing the world and yet daring it to act against him. His physical demeanor reflects the way he relates to the world: it is his possession and birthright which has been torn from him by hostile forces.

For such a man, Emil's countenance is surprisingly soft, with small, rounded features on pale skin. His gray-green eyes hint at gentlness by the shape of his lids, but the force of his gaze bears lightly veiled steel.

Dark, curly hair, kept short, sticks close to Emil's oval head. Side-burns run the length of his chin to form a light beard, with a well-groomed moustache and goatee.

Emil dresses well, usually in clothing of high craftsmanship in the respectable style befitting the status of a young bureaucrat rising in prominence.

Possessions:

A high salary-

As a civil magistrate, Emil commands a respectable salary of 500 bishani per month. Much of this salary goes into maintaining a high standard of living for him and his younger sister, Adriana, though a sum of about 1,000 bishani have been put aside for emergencies.

A home-

Emil is leasing a modest, two bed-room town house between Marn’s school and university. The kitchen and living area take up the first floor, while the two bed-rooms are located on the second floor. The town house is part of an upper-middle class neighborhood, where the streets are well-guarded and kept clean of dirt and crime. The interior of the home is unevenly decorated, simple and elegant for the most part with the exception of a few paintings picked out by Emil. There are enough furnitures to entertain a few guests, but these remain unused for the most part. Pots of vines and flowers are tended to by Adriana and add a slightly feminine touch to the house.

A small library-

Emil owns a small library of academic texts and novels which he keeps in his living room. The books number somewhere in the thirties and include a wide range of topics such as politics, rhetoric, philosophy, history, law, and economics. In comparison he owns relatively few creative works, though he has read every book he owns at least once. The library includes several books on Thar Shaddin’s history and geography, as well as copies of the Tomes of the First Settlers.

A high-class wardrobe-

Emil prides himself in always dressing to the occasion, and as an ambitious civil magistrate, that almost always means dressing well. As such, he owns the appropriate wardrobe, including a small collection of fashionable accessories.

A single-barrel, muzzle-loaded flintlock pistol-

Emil’s primary means of self-defense, the flintlock pistol is a masterfully crafted item. It is one of the few crafted by human hands, and as such is not susceptible to the kind of illogical unpredictability of gnomish technology.

The barrel of the pistol is made of finely crafted steel, with a treated wooden handle. A ramrod is stored under the barrel. With frequent and careful maintenance, and in dry climate, it is a fairly dependable, short-range weapon; it misfires only occasionally, and is fairly accurate within 10 feet. It is somewhat accurate up to 20 feet, after which the chances of the shot going where the muzzle is pointed is rather slim.

Small paper-bags filled with black powder and shot, called cartridges, make it relatively easy for Emil to load the pistol, a process which takes 15 seconds on average under ideal conditions. He could load it much quicker, though careless handling of powder could have many potentially dangerous consequences.

Usually, Emil carries the pistol unloaded. At times when he feels the need for greater security, he keeps the gun locked, loaded, and holstered on the inside of his coat. This is also quite dangerous, and Emil rather prefers that he remain out of harm’s way entirely.

Emil owns a comfortable number of catridges, spare powder, and shots, as well as a set of tools to clean and maintain the weapon, which he keeps in his room.

The pistol was a birthday gift from Emil’s father, and he treasures it greatly.

A Dagger-

A simple dagger for self-protection. Emil knows how to use it, just barely.

Strengths:

Civic Authority-

As a civil magistrate in charge over the downtown area, Emil wields a small amount of political power. Though his position is minor, it is nevertheless a respectable one. He maintains cordial relations of mutual respect with the city guard. He makes it a point to be well-informed about the city guard and to always stay on their good side. Though he commands no authority over them, he is often able to garner small favors from them using his magistrate position as a pretext.

Intelligent-

Emil is highly intelligent, possessing of quick wit and keen analytical abilities. His intelligence has been honed through years of study. He possesses knowledge in a wide variety of disciplines, but his studies are focused on the political. In Marn’s University, Emil studied law and history, and studied rhetoric and political theories on his own time.

Emil thinks diligently. In all situations, he strives to hold absolute mental control over his surroundings. He carefully reasons his way through life, seeking to maximize gains and minimize loses at all times. He criticizes his decisions before he makes them, but knows how to be decisive.

Driven-

All his talents would be for nothing if not for his burning ambition to restore his family’s status as land-owning nobility. This ambition gives context to all of Emil’s decisions, and is the scale by which he judges the value of his actions. It ceaselessly pushes Emil toward his destiny, whether it be to ruin or redemption.

Manipulative-

Emil knows how to fake sincerity, and he knows how to do it well. It is a function of his analytical mind. It is a subtle change in the intonation, a slight shift in the position of one eye-brow, and a thorough understanding of human thought. He has great control over his facial expression and body language, and is able to hide his true feelings from others with some effort. He combines this ability with his intellect to grow his influence in Marn.

Weaknesses:

Adriana-

Emil has a younger sister, Adriana, who he greatly adores. It is an obsessive, domineering love for his only remaining kin. He keeps Adriana sheltered at home, and treats her as if she is still the daughter of a noble family. In truth, Emil channels the stress and trauma of his family’s ruin into a twisted love for Adriana. As he takes on increasing burdens in his quest to restore his family’s wealth and status, he grows ever more dependent on Adriana to provide the emotional refuge needed to keep him sane and stable. Yet the increasingly tyrannical affection threatens to push Adriana away from Emil.

No true allies-

Being exceptionally manipulating, Emil has no true allies in the world. Though he has charmed his way into the favor of many, they are merely tools, only to be used and never to be trusted. As such, Emil has not a single true ally, and only a few, nominal friends. All other relationships are lies, which though powerful today, may be gone tomorrow.

In addition to this, Emil is a relative newcomer in Marn’s high society. He may have charmed a few notables here and there, but to most anyone who matters, he is an unknown. In Marn, and in fact ever since the death of his father Adam, Emil has been a commoner, a fact which irritates him to no end.

Low stamina-

Emil has devoted much of his time to study and is not used to physical labor. He tires easily from physical activity.

History:

Emil Adalius was the eldest son of a landowning aristocrat, Adam Adalius. The Adalius were minor nobility, having come into favor of the Emperor many generations ago. Over time, the tie between the Imperial royalty and the Adalius family stagnated and so did the family’s power and influence.

When Emil was born, the Adalius family owned great tracts of land in mid-eastern Eyropa (modern day Poland). There, they owned a large estate, from which the family governed the small city that had grown around it. For twelve years, Emil lived a previleged life not unlike a prince. Unknownst to Emil, his family was under siege by a rival noble family, who desired Adalius’ land.

Fennever Walezy was that noble. Walezy planted his agents among the city’s people and incited a long-term rebellion against Adam Adalius. The years wore down Adalius’ coffers until finally the family collapsed under the mounting pressures of Walezy’s puppet rebellion. Adam was executed by his own people, and twelve-year-old Emil and two-year-old Adriana fled. Walezy owned the lands to the west, so the two Adalius children were exiled to the east. A small retinue of loyal servants escorted the children to the city of Marn, capital of Thar Shaddin.

There, Emil and Adriana were left under the care of a Marnian aristocrat with loose ties to the Adalius. The bond was just enough for the aristocrat to prepare a modest lodging and a small stipend for the children to live on until Emil was old enough to work.

Emil was devastated by the fall of his family. He had witnessed the slow decay of his family under siege by its own people. They had executed his father and mother. Emil brooded over these events, running his mind over them repeatedly, looking for some pattern to give meaning to the tragic events of his past, and the result was a sort of madness.

His parents were weak. Emil came to hate them for that. The people his father had governed over were weak. They fell easily to the lies of Walezy, and by their stupidity caused not only the deaths of his parents but their own lives as well. Emil hated them, too. Walezy, he was strong. And for that, Emil hated him the most.

Yet, Emil loved his parents. He had looked up to his father. He had loved his people, during the times of peace. What he desired most was peace, and to regain peace, he needed power; power to restore his family to its former glory, power to bend the people to his will. Only then, would he have the peace that was robbed from him through force and deceit.

For every bit of hate which was wrung out of Emil’s twisted meditations, brought with it an obsessive love for his younger sister, Adriana. Emil sheltered her in his domineering influence, treating her tenderly and with affection, protecting her from the imagined evils lurking behind every corner.

For her part, Adriana acquiesed to Emil’s authority, hypnotized by his charisma as much as she was dependent on him as her only family. Though she has no idea what it means to be a noble, she followed along with Emil’s private play at nobility with her.

Emil spent the last of his family’s money to support a long and intensive university education. After graduating, he placed himself close to increasingly influential citizens of Marn. This led Emil to employment with the government as a bureaucrat.

Emil was a highly capable civil serant, and moved up quickly. He had a fiery intelligence and charismatic pride that suited him well to the career of a politician. By the age of 28, he found himself appointed one of the youngest civil magistrates in Marn, making a comfortable salary and gaining the respect of ordinary Marn residents.

However, this was not enough for Emil. He could not stop his search for power until he had achieved his family’s return to grandeur. In Marn, power flowed from one place: the Justice Hall. Emil schemed patiently for a chance to prove his use to the Judges of Marn. They would open all the doors he needed, in time.

Meanwhile, Adriana, now 20 years old, begins to find it difficult to reconcile the reality of middle-class life in Marn with Emil’s fantasy aristocracy. As Emil slowly wrestles his fantasy to reality, his madness begins to swallow Adriana, the very thing he wishes to preserve unharmed.

[Saruna]

Approved.