Pierre Du Pont

From AJS.COM

Pierre Du Pont is the son of a minor noble from the region of Narbonne (on the border between France and Spain, see attached map). Because Narbonne has fallen on hard times, the family has used much of their remaining wealth to send Pierre abroad to study and potentially re-seat the family.

Contents 1 Training 1.1 The Madzimbabwe 1.2 Awakening and avatar 1.3 Madness 2 Return 2.1 Edith Binnoche 3 Family

Training

He spent time in Cartagena, Spain studying with a Moorish instructor who nominally was teaching Pierre the mathematics of the Arabic Berber peoples of the North Africa. His teacher was Yusuf Ibn Battuta (though he sometimes used the Spanish name Jorge when dealing with foreigners), an descendant of the famous Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battuta (1304-1368) a traveler whose journeys to the far east were more extensive than that of Marco Polo. Yusuf's teachings began as a gentle exploration of mathematics and philosophy, but having determined that Pierre was gifted, Yusuf also taught him the secrets which he had learned from his family, via Ibn Battuta, who had learned them in his travels: the secrets of the Chakravanti (Euthanatoi) which would form the basis of the Northern and Saharan African Madzimbabwe Chakravanti.

The Madzimbabwe

These teachings are a blend of Saharan polytheistic lore, Arabic Islam and the Indian Hindu teachings from which the core of the Euthanatoi sprang. Most of his training focused on the nature of disease and decay and how it is both a blight to be removed and a force of change which must be allowed to produce its results. This paradox is the way the Madzimbabwe express the Euthanatoi attitudes toward the Great Wheel, and is the reason that they work to cure and/or comfort those suffering from large-scale disease. The magickal spheres of Mind, Body and Entropy were the primary focus of Pierre's teachings, and he learned to master these spheres as well as any of Yusuf's students.

Awakening and avatar

Pierre's awakening was gradual and occurred throughout his 14th and 15th years, culminating in a blend of mathematical inspiration and religious ecstasy in which he believed he saw and understood the dimensions and meaning of the Great Wheel, and was told many secrets of its operation by the vadzimu (a deceased ancestor; part of the Shona traditions which influenced the creation of Madzimbabwe) that he met during his revelation. This vadzimu (Pierre's Avatar) is a comforting old woman who could easily be any one of Pierre's ancestors, and thus far she has not been forthcoming with any more information.

Madness

As a result of this revelation, Pierre became delusional for weeks, and his teacher feared that he would never recover from his madness. Through the application of Magick of the mind, however, Pierre did recover and was left with a profound desire to further understand the nature of and treat diseases of the mind.

Return

Upon his return, Pierre devoted himself to several tasks:

• Seeking contact with other Euthanatoi
• Maneuvering himself into a position of trust with respect to the church (which he sees more as a government and less as a religion).
• Developing a reputation as a social climber and reveler.
• Finding and treating those whose mental health had been destroyed by the Inquisition, and yet survived

This last task he accomplishes under the guise of a curiosity into what becomes of lesser heretics. In so doing, Pierre has run across more than one victim whose resulting madness was irreparable and dangerous. These he has quietly put down (or returned to the Wheel, as the Euthanatoi would put it).

Edith Binnoche

One such poor sole, it turns out, was a former friend of a Verbena named Edith Binnoche, who previously did not know Pierre at all. Someone (unknown to Pierre) has informed Edith of the event in unflattering terms, and after a number of heated discussions about the fate of her friend, Edith has retreated to watch the young Eutanatoi who she believes has crossed the dangerous line that all Euthanatoi tread between protector and assassin.

Because of some well placed words from Edith and simple bad luck, Pierre has fallen on hard times, unable to access the funds of his family due to concerns that they have about his state of mind, and failing to integrate himself into the trusted ranks of the non-clergy who work with the church, Pierre is at a loss as to his next move in the complicated game of society and Magick.

Family

Because of the efforts of Edith (see above), Pierre had returned to his family home to try to repair the relationship with his family. While staying in an otherwise unused wing of the house, he was visited by five strange men, who appeared suddenly in his room. They claimed to be searching for an item owned by an unknown ancestor of Pierre's and soon demonstrated themselves to be true Mages.

Not being quite sure how to react, Pierre did some research in the family archives, and discovered that the head of the family, approximately 300 years ago had had a brother named Hugh du Pont who was a Templar (as the Mages had claimed). His belongings were split up. Some kept and some sold to one Gabriel du Sidon and shipped, at his request, to a Lady Macella in the estate Sidon.

Returning to his strange guests, Pierre agreed to take them to the location of the object they seek if they would bring him along. He still does not trust them, and is prepared to defent his family's legacy if need be.

Also discoverd in this search was a sheef of papers with a strange code upon it. With the help of the other mages, the code was deciphered and appears to indicate that the Templar was quite concerned about the safety of some of the items that he had. Though Pierre does not know the history yet, it is likely that the end of the message refers to the burning of the Cathars stronghold.