Name: Commodore Pierre Du Beke
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Country of Origin: Essellar
Appearance:
Pierre follows the trends of most gentlemen of his age. With the lengths of time he spends at sea his skin is tanned but such a complexion would be unfitting for a man of nobility, as such he powders his face. He sports a Dali moustache and a small triangular goatee, both of which are the same shade of hazel nut brown as his shoulder length curled hair. All of Pierre's facial features are well defined, he has strong cheek bones, a well chiselled jaw and a pointed nose. He is five foot four tall and of a healthy physique being around average weight and muscle mass. In fitting with naval tradition Pierre has his right ear pierced and normally has a gold stud in it with a ship bearing Essellar's flag engraved on it. Round his neck he wears a gold chain with an idol of Atlantia on it. He has a black and white tattoo on his left shoulder of a swallow, though he rarely shows it to anyone.
Every where Pierre goes he has to be dressed as a gentleman would. He wears a white shirt with large frills around the collar and sleeves. Often he wears a single piece of plate mail over his shirt even if he doesn't expect to be fighting, since he thinks it makes him look more manly. His plate mail is steel and etched with the crest Du Beke along with other ornate designs. The plate mail has been in his family as at least as long ago as his great-great-grandfather, though rumour has it that it was made to be worn by a distant descendant of his during the sea battles with Shinguo in the sixteen hundreds. Regardless since the time of it's creation it has undergone no small number of restorations, to the point where upon receiving it from his deceased father Pierre had a new plate fitted over the existing one just to hide the battle scars that it had gathered over the years.
Next he wears his jacket, it is navy blue and falls to his knees stitched into it is golden thread and down both sides are gold buttons. His frills extend over the jacket and are folded back to cover his lapels and the ends of his sleeves. From his right shoulder to his left hip and around his waist runs a red sash a good three inches wide Fastened it are a number of medals. Over the middle of his sash runs his belt which follows the same route. Clipped to his left hip is his rapier's sheath and half way across his chest sits his dagger in it's scabbard.
While at sea it is often necessary for him to wear a cloak for shelter from the weather, as such he has a black hood-less cloak with a silver cord around his neck and a silver broach pinned to the left side which he uses to secure it when he draws it round him. His trousers are formal navy blue and cut from the same cloth as his coat to ensure that the colour matches exactly, a request witch Pierre's tailor was less than impressed with then it meant having to order an other batch of a very expensive imported cloth to make the trousers.
Since his right hand is protected whilst fighting he wears a simple black glove over it, simple being the wrong word to use here since it is as decorative as everything else on his outfit but by which I mean it serves so little purpose. His left hand is protected by a steel gauntlet, which means tat he has to use his right hand for most complicated tasks, as it hinder his dexterity. On his feet he wears a pair of black leather boots with large gold clasps on then, the souls are a few inches thick a clever design used by his cobbler to hide Pierre's less than impressive stature. It is something that Pierre takes a little comfort in. To finish his out fit he wears his iconic three pointed hat, the right side of which is turned up, also on the right side is a red feather. With all his attire Pierre locks more dressed up than a peacock and has more bling than all the kings of Areon combined but so what anything for fashion right?
Personality:
History:
The Du Beke family can trace it's history back over two hundred years in the kingdom of Essellar, his lineage is well documented in it's annuals and records. The earliest notable ancestor of the Du Beke line was Henry La Roach who was given land and a title in exchange for his efforts in the war with Raelus. This marks the beginning of the family's noble history, through out which the La Roach and later Du Beke family has always had strong ties to the Essellar military. For the last five generations every first born son of the Du Beke line has achieved the rank of Admiral in the Essellar navy, a feat that to some extent that may be due to nepotism. All the sons of the family in recent history have been enlisted in the Essellarian military.
Pierre was born to Hector and Elizabeth Du Beke some 27 years ago. He was their second son and also second of their five children. In total the Du Beke's had three sons all of whom competed regularly in almost every activity they embarked upon. As a young child he and his siblings were brought up in the family manor by their governess. At the age of eleven each of Hector's children were sent away for schooling as it were his sons were sent to a school in Tallis. From here they were to learn essential skills for their life in the military service of Essellar. They were taught a wide range of academic subjects along with skills like strategy, fencing and sailing. The aim of their education was to make these children into men that could lead soldiers.
Shortly after Pierre enrolled in the Essellar navy his older brother perished in a naval battle with Rarlus pirates. This filled Pierre with mixed emotions he was saddened at his brothers death and angered but also felt that it was his duty to restore his families honour. His brother had died before achieving the rank of admiral, thus breaking a trend dating back over one hundred years. As such Pierre felt that he should achieve it for his brothers honour. In the months after his brothers death Pierre's father fell ill, he was never the same after the death of his eldest son and some claim this to be the reason behind his death. The line of Du Beke passed to Pierre as the eldest son of the family.
Pierre began to take every opportunity to further his career regardless of the risks associated with taking such dangerous tasks, though the rewards came quickly it wasn't long before he became captain and was given his own ship. He became known amongst the admiralty as a particularly good pirate hunter, he was willing to chase down fleeing pirate vessels for days, even when the rest of his unit would see fit to turn back. Following them relentlessly matching their pace regardless of how perilous the water he traversed were. He was quickly promoted to Commodore firstly by being granted a smaller, faster and more importantly better armed ship and permission to patrol the seas in his lone vessel as he saw fit. As his campaign of pirate hunting continued no pirate that crossed the path of him and his crew was left alive.
He gained a great many friends amongst Essellar's traders and though he was already in the higher social circles this brought him considerable wealth. He was privy to knowledge of the world of trading and not above using it to his own gain. For a few gold coins he would for example let slip that pirates had captured a number of ships exporting wine, three days later you have a ship burdened with wine ready to sail days before the competition and with it's own personal escort. In the past year Pierre has been assigned a small fleet of five ships to command and there are rumours that he is on a short list of candidates for the next Admiral of the Essellar navy. The fact that he has been asked to join the knights of Elkilore is seen by some as a test of his skills.
Weapon Preference:
Pierre's weapon of choice is his rapier. A one handed sword with an ornate handle and cross guard both plated in gold. In addition the handle is encrusted with ivory. The blade is three foot three long and sharpened to a point. The furthest two feet of the blade is razor sharp for slashing. The closest half a foot is a comb toothed sword breaker designed to catch on opponents blade and in some cases snap the blade completely, though this only works with lighter swords. The sword breaker works well against the type used by many Raelians.
Having his left hand free Pierre chooses to use a main gauche. This is a short dagger around six inches in length. While wielding his rapier Pierre uses his dagger to parry blows and occasionally attack, though it's shortness normally would put him at risk. However when the situation calls for it he will use his dagger as his primary weapon, this usually involves wrestling with his opponent or being in a very confined space. The dagger Pierre commonly uses has a silver plated handle and a black blade with a silver coloured cutting edge.
Pierre's choice of weaponry reflects the nature of nautical battles. Most of the range combat is done while he commands the ships Capitan and crew. Even then it uses the ships mounted ballista and the crew's ranged weapons. It is only when the boarding starts that Pierre enters the fray, as such he has no need for ranged weapons. On dry land he only fights in duels or to defend himself, yet another reason that he doesn't carry a ranged weapon.
RP Sample:
Other:
Side: Knights of Ekilore