Aleksei Courtanvoux
Aleksei Courtanvoux du Agenais is the son and heir of a Marquis in Le Motte province.
History
Many considered Marquis Martin Courtanvoux du Agenais' choice of wife to be an odd one. The porte sorcerer, known by many at court to be an ambitious social climber with more than his share of plots and schemes, confused friends and rivals when he travelled to the backward lands of Ussura to secure a political union with Boyarynya Zoya Alekseeva Galipovara rather than selecting a prominent Montaigne or Vodacce woman as his wife. Through his use of Porte magic the man was rarely away from Charouse for more than a week at a time in order to assure that he could play the games of intrigue, all while his wife and children remained far from l'Emperor's court. That changed with the birth of his son.
Aleksei was Martin's first son and only heir- his wife had given him three daughters whom he has since married off fairly well. While he was willing to accede to Zoya's demand that his children be raised in Ussuran culture for at least their early childhood when only women were involved, he refused to deny his heir his birthright as a Montaigne nobleman. The entire family moved to Montaigne a year after Aleksei was born.
Martin played an active, perhaps even domineering, role in his son's upbringing. From the moment he learned to speak Aleksei was tutored in languages and culture. At 10 he received private tutelage in the arts of war from several generals and captains who owed debts to Martin. Arms instructors taught him various weapons and field-craft. Tutors instructed him on mathematics and philosophy. All the while his progress was measured and found wanting by Martin on his occasional visits to the family estate.
This slapdash education provided Aleksei with a broad but not particularly deep understanding of the subject matters he was taught. His natural intelligence allowed him to grasp fundamentals quickly but with only a superficial education on each topic he was rarely able to develop his understanding of the intricacies.
By the age of 13 Martin had come to spend considerably more time with the young Aleksei, now taking it upon himself to teach his son the intricacies of etiquette and proper courtly behavior. Aleksei seemed to excel in seeing the intricate patterns of social rivalries and friendships that developed at court, and perhaps he would have eventually developed that skill into a formidable political asset. But close to Aleksei's 14th birthday he was struck by the White Plague during a brief and sudden outbreak. After many long weeks of recovery Aleksei pulled through, but not without scars. Aleksei was left frail and weak by the toll the disease played on his body.
A strange side effect of the white plague was that it caused Aleksei's eyes to change from the deep blue of his father to the emerald green of his mother. Doctors were baffled by this change, as it was surely not common among the rare few who survived the plague, but it seemed to have special meaning to Zoya who took this as an omen that she ought to spend more time teaching her son of his Ussuran roots.
A weak, frail, timid heir was worse than no heir at all to the Marquis and his disappointment in his son only grew. In an effort to make something useful out of him Martin demanded that Aleksei study at the Grande University or the Leveque War College in order to perhaps gain some use as a bureaucrat. The boy enrolled in both with his father's help, and while he nominally remains on the rolls he has "taken some time off" to visit Paix, near his family lands. His father arranged for the boy to learn Valroux from a master in Paix, but his progress is slow.
Only six months ago Aleksei was approached by the Rose and Cross and offered a place as a trainee. He accepted but feared that he wasn't actually a worthy candidate and that once again his father's influence provided him with undeserved opportunity.
Aleksei realizes he's a disappointment to his father (and by extension his family) and he isn't sure what he can do to change that. But he's willing to do anything he can to show his father that he's good enough.
Family
Marquis Martin Courtanvoux du Agenais is one of Montaigne's most gifted Porte sorcerers, a well known patron of the arts, a patron of the Rose and Cross, and a member of several elite gentleman's clubs. Descended from Montanus (though through a matrilineal line) it is of little surprise that his family has enjoyed consistent wealth and prestige from generation to generation. A man who has never known anything but the greatest privilege he is prone to indulging in the excesses that have become vogue in L'emperor's court. He is now in his early forties and remains a handsome if stern looking man.
Boyarynya Zoya Alekseeva Galipova is a Molhyna noble woman who in her youth possessed a harsh beauty born of a harsh land. She was sent to Rurik by her father in the hopes of catching the eye of a powerful (and wealthy) nobleman as her family lands provided exactly as much as needed, but never as much as desired. It was there where she met, was courted by, and eventually married Marquis Martin. The marriage provided her father with considerable political contacts in foreign lands but he could not understand why his daughter was worth so much to a Montaigne nobleman. There's a saying about gift horses, however...
The Boyarynya herself is a woman of practicality and faith, and adheres to many of the traditions of her people even in Montaigne. This makes her something of an oddity and political liability to her husband were she ever interested in entering public life. Thankfully for the Marquis Lady Zoya has spent much of her time in Montaigne on the family lands near Paix, staying engaged with her studies and occasionally traveling the family holdings.
Aleksei's three older sisters, Caterina, 25, Michelle, 23, and Caroline, 20, are all married to various Montaigne nobleman. All three are gifted Porte sorceresses. Of the three, only Caroline maintains friendly contact with her brother. The elder two engage in courtly politics in Charouse.
Aleksei's uncle, Aleksei, visited him in his youth after he came down with the white plague. He was recently supposed to return to visit Aleksei and his mother, but he has not arrived yet.
Current Events
Aleksei independently investigated the Staatholder, an Eisen ship reumored to be carrying his uncle to Montaigne. He could not find his uncle, but discovered a severed hand in his uncle's stateroom. Aleksei now presumes that the fiend who beset the Staatholder and killed the crew was the same as the man who oversaw the torture of the unknown Ussuran nobleman discovered in the basement of the unknown villa.
During the events preceding the recent invasion of Isla Tormentos by the Montaigne navy, the young Rose and Cross knight made the acquaintance of the Governor's young daughter, Senora Zoya Villar del Velasquez. During a moonlight walk on the walls overlooking the sea she confided in Aleksei that she wished to be reunited with her mother whom she has not heard from since the Montaigne invasion of Zepeda. Aleksei, seeing the approaching guards, assured the young Castillian beauty that he would see to it that she and her father were reunited their lost wife and mother.
Upon breaching the fortress Punte Grande, Aleksei and his compatriots stumbled into a storage room in which four Vodacce noblewomen huddled, awaiting Carlotta's return. They believed they were to be smuggled off of the island to someplace safe. Fearing that the women would not be safe once the battle for the fortress began Aleksei extended his hospitality and protection to them. When Lucien, Philipe du Paix's pet porte mage arrived to ferry soldiers into the fort Aleksei instructed him to take the four women to safety even though that left the invasion four men down.
After the conquest of the island Admiral Price allowed Aleksei custody of the Governor and his daughter, as well as the four Vodacce women. With only a brief interlude in Paix to purchase appropriate dresses for the ladies the Vodacce noblewomen are offered the complete hospitality of Aleksei's personal country estate where they may remain as long as they wish and Aleksei has written a letter to his aunt, Baroness Miriam du Avion, whom he happens to know has a nearby country estate which she rarely visits (preferring instead the Court at Charouse). Should the four women wish they may stay in Montaigne under assumed names for as long as they wish.
Aleksei now intends to cross into occupied Castille with the Governor and his daughter. Once there he intends to locate Zoya's lost mother and perhaps see them safely into Castillian territory if necessary.
Journal
GM Stuff
Aleksei has the Background "Complicated Family-Variable.
Aleksei has the Background "Lost Relative-2", Uncle Aleksei
Aleksei has the Background "Friend-2", Earl of Luthon.
Aleksei has the Background "Hunting-2" via the fate deck showing his future.
Aleksei has the Background "Something-2", Carlotta
Aleksei has the Background "Something-2", Captain Crispino
Aleksei has the Background "Obligation-1", Zoya and her Father: He is obligated to reunite her with her mother and family.
Aleksei has the Background "Obligation-1", Constanza Gastone, Amelia Vellini, Julia Vellini, and Maria Vellini. He has settled these three women near his family lands and is obligated to protect them from the Vodacce men who want to claim them.
Aleksei's father is a Porte Master and the family estate maintains a few permanent portals to locations throughout Theah.
Aleksei's mother is a Pyeryem Adept. She is from Molhyna, Ussura, but spent three years enjoying the hospitality of the Lord of Rurik while she attempted to catch the interest of an important nobleman.
Marquis Martin purchased land near the coast for Zoya and the children only to have that land recently conquered in the Montaigne invasion of Ussura. Ironically the small estate by the shore remains in the family's possession despite it being in conquered territory due to the Marquis' clever use of Montaigne law.
Aleksei has no idea what to do with the tax money he receives. Approximately 100 guilders is invested with Vendel banking and shipping operations every month, and 200 guilders are spent on his serfs in the form of tax reduction, feasts, and other efforts to ease the crippling Montaigne taxes. He keeps a nice apartment in Paix and is in the process of developing a personal library, but almost all of his remaining money goes into clothing and living the life of a fop. Consequently he rarely has money for larger purchases.
Aleksei has heard word from Ussura that the Gaius is a voracious reader of books, and Aleksei sends rare or very modern books via Vendel merchants to the Gaius' palace as gifts.
Aleksei feeds a number of neighborhood cats on his balcony. Many are the offspring of Aleksei's childhood pet, Dima, an black Ussuran Angora.
Aleksei is a recently admitted member of the Rose and Cross.