Dieudonne Agarwaen (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
guilelessenvoy) wrote2021-12-04 07:59 pm
guilelessenvoy) wrote2021-12-04 07:59 pm
Dieudonne Agarwaen | About
D I E U D O N N E A G A R W A E N | BASICS
PERSONALITY Quixotic and exuberant, Dieudonne is the product of a highly focused upbringing, tempered after the fact with ideals of mercy and humor. He was brought up to be the perfect knight, and to the credit of those who raised him, that upbringing was not in vain. In a narrow range of topics, he can be considered a savant: he can recite the history of the Dragonsong War (as told in Ishgard, at any rate) by rote; he has a firm grasp of both Halonic doctrine and formal etiquette; and his technique with sword, shield and spear is precise, adaptable and lethal. When brought outside of his fields of expertise, on the other hand, Dieudonne quickly becomes painfully—even comically—dense. Combined with his fascination with the unknown and a sort of oblivious confidence, this density frequently leads him to jam his foot in his mouth. Fool though he may be, however, Dieudonne is no idiot; he is eager to learn from his errors, and seldom makes the same mistake twice. He is always looking to share in the knowledge of others, and to pass on what he knows--including the sayings of his late commander, Haurchefant, whose true meanings often flew over his head. BACKGROUND BORN IN DISHONOR, RAISED TO REDEEM As scion and heir of the Ishgardian noble house Agarwaen, Dieudonne was born into disgrace. His uncle Valereaux, the former head of the house, disappeared from Ishgard three years before his birth; reports from the soldiers who served under him claimed he lost his nerve in battle against the Dravanians and fled into the wilds. In his absence, lordship of the house fell to Matis, Valereaux’s younger brother, a clergyman who now found his advancement in the church blocked, his social life falling apart, and the fate of his family squarely on his shoulders. Unsuited to bear the burden alone, Matis determined that he would raise an heir who could redeem the family name in battle, where it had been lost. Relying on what goodwill he could still glean from his faithful service to the priesthood, he married as high as he could manage—a particularly devout blacksmith by the name of Felicienne—and began a family line of his own. From the moment Dieudonne, the first son of this union, was born, he was immersed in preparation for war. His mother, and the handful of servants left to the house, drilled him unceasingly in sword, shield, and spear from the moment he was old enough to hold a weapon. The lessons of Ishgardian history, the ideals of knighthood, the deeds of House Agarwaen, and the tenets of the Halonic faith were implanted in him by his father, repeated over and over again until he could recite them from memory. When he came of age to prove himself, however, he had few places to go. The Agarwaens had no fortress of their own, and despite his learning, many commanders were unwilling to trust his untested nature—even nineteen years later, the shadow of his uncle’s cowardice made an expected hurdle into an impassable barrier. But there was one fort willing to take him, one that welcomed even outsiders into its ranks: Camp Dragonhead. HONOR, HUMOR, HAURCHEFANT The years spent at Camp Dragonhead were the freest and the furthest from Ishgard that Dieudonne had ever been. Time spent sparring and patrolling alongside people from across the southern span of Eorzea awakened him to the idea that other ways of life existed. Those sparring matches and patrols grew into friendship, the first Dieu had ever known, as he bonded with others who saw him as an equal, rather than someone to be molded or judged. And as those bonds gained strength, a desire to learn more about the lifestyles his friends had left behind blossomed within him. Though a certain stiff formality meant that his circle of friends grew slowly, for those who did befriend him his incessant, well-meaning questioning became a fact of life at Camp Dragonhead. None of these friends, however, made as great an impression upon him as did Lord Haurchefant. To Dieudonne, the bastard knight seemed to have stepped straight from the pages of Ishgardian history; he was not merely brave and noble, but inspiring as well, possessed of both skill at arms and a way with words that enkindled hope and drive in those who served under them--and occasionally brought some of them to laughter for reasons Dieudonne never truly understood. Regardless, the would-be knight had found his role model, and sought not only to emulate him, but to serve as faithfully as he could in duties ranging from combat to patrols to alerting the commander to the arrival of certain Miqo’te of whom he seemed particularly fond. ISHGARDIAN ENVOY Haurchefant’s death—storming the Vault, of all things—was a difficult moment for Dieudonne. Such a collision between his idol and his faith, and with such grievous cost, struck the young man silent for a time. In the end, however, he resolved to continue following the words of his Commander. He would live to serve, and aid those in need. There could be no greater calling. That commitment saw Dieudonne through the Dragonsong War, as he continued in the service of House Fortemps and Camp Dragonhead. When the unthinkable occurred, and the war finally ended, it led him to petition Knight Commander Aymeric de Borel directly for leave to quit his post, and go out into the world to garner goodwill for Ishgard in accordance with the nation’s new goals. To the Knight Commander, granting that petition was an amusing and inconsequential thing; to Dieudonne, it was a personal blessing and an infusion of glorious purpose. The day he strode forth from the Gates of Judgment, venturing south into Eorzea, was the grandest day of his life—and thus far, nothing has topped it. It is part and parcel of his self-imposed duties as an envoy that Dieudonne occasionally serves at KIT-TEAHOUSE; at this establishment, run by his dear old friend Laurent’s charming sister Liliane, he seeks to share Ishgardian ideas of virtue, hospitality, and camaraderie with the world at large, while learning the ways of other lands from its patrons—and to turn his recently-learned hobby of Astrology to their aid. Though the demands of his own quest carry him from land to land at a moment’s notice, he is ever ready to step in and serve—typically when the teahouse’s resident Astrologian is away on other business. For his patrons, he does his utmost to bring charm, a listening ear, and a swift serving arm—a perfect knight, at rest. TRIVIA |
