Head of the Order of the Owl and, for two weeks, the designated Regent and Lord Protector of Averoigne — murdered in the royal castle alongside the heir he was sworn to protect.
What We Know (all GM)
- Knight Commander of the Order of the Owl in Summer 1731.
- One of the close supporters who witnessed Etienne de la Courcel’s deathbed designation of his illegitimate daughter Marie-Celeste de la Courcel as sole heir.
- The dying king named him Regent and Lord Protector until Marie-Celeste came of age.
- He gathered owl knights at Vyones for the coronation — and per Visenne de Tarrand, he did so “in anticipation of potential issues.” He was not assembling an honor guard; he was concentrating his order because he expected an attempt. (S6)
- Two weeks later he was killed in the castle by a large, well-equipped band of assassins, along with Marie-Celeste and numerous of his knights. The Owl lost a fifth of its members that night. See The Night in the Royal Castle.
- As head of an Order Militant he held a seat on the Divine Council (Western Church) — the body that elects the Most Holy.
What the Owl Knights Say (S6)
From Visenne de Tarrand, who served under his successor and has no reason to flatter him:
- “A powerful and wise Knight Commander.”
- He gathered the order to himself in anticipation of trouble when he was declared regent.
- He was rumored to be Madeline Foussard’s paramour. Madeline — who has been talking to the party for a session and a half — has never mentioned him.
Why He Matters
He is the version of the Order of the Owl that existed before the fall: an order whose commander was trusted by a king to run a kingdom. Five years after his death the same order was dissolved as corrupt and its members executed. Everything the party has been told about the Owl is the story told after Marc Abayante was removed from it.
Speculation
He saw it coming and it killed him anyway. Concentrating an order that “was always small” into one castle before a coronation is a defensive measure. Two weeks later a large and well-equipped band killed him, the heir, and a fifth of his knights in that castle. Either the assassins were good enough to storm the Owl’s own concentration, or they waited precisely because it was concentrated — which turns his prudence into the mechanism. See The Night in the Royal Castle.
Speculation
If the paramour rumor is true, Madeline’s silences make a pattern. She has told the party about the folly, Constanza, and the ritual — and omitted that she tutored Marie-Celeste (GM), that Marie-Celeste was murdered, and now that she may have been the lover of the man murdered beside her. She lost her pupil and possibly her lover in one night, in the same hours her prisoner escaped. That is not a woman who forgot to mention things; that is a woman who chose the small half of her story. Ask her about Marc.
Relationships
- Etienne de la Courcel — the king who named him Regent.
- Marie-Celeste de la Courcel — his ward-to-be; died with him.
- Madeline Foussard — rumored his paramour, per Visenne de Tarrand. Unconfirmed. (S6)
- Visenne de Tarrand — Owl knight; the party’s source on his reputation. (S6)
- Jehanne d’Allais — his replacement, installed by Michel d’Envers within weeks.
- Order of the Owl — his order.