Lord Wrath

Sir Killian d'Artes is a Paraphilian nobleman, the 22nd Duke of Quelling, Margrave of the Eastern Front, and a Lord of Sin. As Lord Wrath, Killian plays a vital role in the final section of Kingdom of Paraphilia: One Wish, as either an enemy or a potential ally in the battle with the Crown.
In addition to being a man with far more titles than he'd like, Killian is a decorated soldier, known for his dire temper, and an unmatched skill in the art of combat. House d'Artes has always been known for its warriors, and Killian is the greatest they've seen in a generation. He is a prize-winning fencer and master swordsman, favoring the greatsword, skilled in numerous other weapons, including the rapier, bow, dagger, spear, battle axe, and bullwhip. He notorious around Court for his 'scenes,' demonstrations he puts on involving the use of a whip, and--often--a noble volunteer. Though not known for his social graces, his eccentricity makes him wildly popular.
== History ==
=== Almost Perfect ===
As first-born son, expectations were high for Killian right from the start. Before he was born, his parents had planned his life to the detail. He would begin his training the moment he turned eight. He would attend the most prestigious school. He would serve his four years at the Front. Then, military rank in hand, he would return, marry, take his place at Court, and await the day when he would succeed his father as Duke of Quelling. It was his destiny, and at first, it seemed like Killian would do just that.
His brilliance was clear early on; he learned quickly, obeyed promptly, and took instruction with eerie focus. The first time he held a wooden sword, at seven years old, he knew he had found his calling. Killian demanded lessons, and spent hours practicing, until he had memorized every move. His focus was unshakable. He would work late into the night, until the Duke was summoned to take the sword away. The moment the sun rose the next day, he was at his father's chamber door, waiting to get it back. Mastery of his art was all he cared for. When he couldn't practice, Killian practically lived outside. He was only indoors when forced, and spent his time doing laps around the courtyard of Valmont Keep, trailed by his brother, Devlin. That he was so active was chalked up to the d'Artes blood. They had always been warriors. It was only natural that he would be eager to meet his destiny.
However, as time passed, it became clear that Killian was...different, somehow. Most people found him difficult to be around, his boundless energy and razor-sharp attention to detail seen as unnatural, and odd. He was obedient, but only to the letter of what was said. Told to sit down, he would sit where he stood. Told to go to his room, he would go--and then, stand there. He seldom spoke, and when he did, his tone was flat, words artless and blunt. He avoided conversation, and eye-contact, dodged affectionate gestures, and rarely smiled. He liked to be outside, but not with other children, or even adults. In fact, he seemed to want to be alone. His parents assumed he was shy. His fixation on weapons was also a two-edged blade; though he excelled in the physical, Killian struggled to attend to his lessons, unless the topic was warfare. It seemed that all he cared about was biding time until next he held a blade. Nothing else mattered. And he had no interest in changing that.
=== A Game of Strategy ===
The Duke of Quelling was a wise man, and he knew what had to be done. Left to his own devices, Killian would be a legendary swordsman, and a miserably unprepared duke. That could not be allowed. In a bid to ward his heir from growing up 'strange' and alone, he made a decision: Killian needed other interests, and he needed to learn how boys behaved, that he might have a template to emulate. To that end, Axel d'Artes sent a message to the lords of Quelling: his son needed a companion. More than a dozen noble Houses responded. Axel picked three candidates. Only one would stay.
Killian was informed of this decision, and bluntly voiced his objection. He liked to be alone, and did not want the company of someone he did not know. The thought made him uncomfortable. Still, the Duke insisted, and Killian was forced to obey--but only to the letter of what he was told. "Show your friend what you can do," said the Duke, expecting his son to play-fight. Killian took the first boy into the courtyard, and fired arrows around him into a tree. The boy lasted one hour. "Go and teach your friend something," said the Duke, expecting his son to instruct him on war history. Killian took the second boy into the woods, and demonstrated how to set a trap by snaring him in one, and leaving him hanging in a tree. Two days later, he had fled. By the time the third arrived, Killian had his strategy: if he could scare his friends away, he would not have to keep them. Eventually, he reasoned, his father would relent, and leave him to his solitude.
Unfortunately for Killian, the third candidate was not like the others. The bastard fourth son of a lowly baron, Darin Harte was the House's last chance, and it did not look good. The boy was waifish and flighty, and Killian--detail-oriented, as ever--keyed in on it right away. He wasted no time in making a grand display of his welcome. He dropped an antique chandelier inches from Darin's heels. Axel was not pleased. Surprisingly, while this did scare little Darin, the apparent attempt on his life did not scare him away. If anything, the show of bad manners only offended him. This reaction was unique enough that the Duke agreed to give him a chance. By the end of the first day, Killian had failed in his mission, earning nothing for his trouble but a scolding, both from his lord, and his 'victim'. 
"I'm going to be the best friend you ever had!" Darin declared as they parted, "And then, you're gonna feel like a jerk for being mean to me!"
And--to everyone's shock, himself included--Darin was right.
=== Deaf ===
Despite his initial discomfort, Killian quickly grew accustomed to having Dare around. It wasn't any particular moment that marked the shift. He simply came to accept that Dare lived in his house, and over time, ignoring his constant presence became part of a comfortable routine. For his part, Darin made an effort to be friends, taking his assignment as companion very seriously. His efforts were largely wasted, as Killian's interests lie mostly with exercise and weaponry, and he had little attention for books or playing pretend. Over the course of their first few months, however, Killian was confronted with something he had not known about himself. Apparently, he was rude. It seemed that every time he spoke to Dare, he was being corrected, when he had done nothing wrong. In retaliation, Killian would go days without speaking to him, only for Dare to get angry that Killian was 'ignoring' him. (He wasn't.) When he did talk, he was rude. (He wasn't?) When he didn't, he was rude. (He wasn't...) Killian couldn't win.
His saving grace in the end was his brother, Dev. Though technically Killian's friend, Dare got along better with his little brother than Killian himself, and Dev--who was much better at talking--took it upon himself to interpret during their arguments. It was during one such instance that Killian was struck by metaphoric lightning. "Killian isn't mean," said Dev, mollifying an angry Dare, "He just can't hear himself." The words puzzled him. He certainly wasn't deaf. What did that mean? "It means," Dev clarified, for his benefit, "You don't know you're being mean, but everyone else does."
Killian was shocked. He hadn't realized he was mean. He had thought he was being honest.
That one interaction changed things. Killian spoke less often, partly for the fear that he would say something wrong. Dare was more than willing to fill the silence, saving Killian the trouble of speaking up, except when spoken to. Even then, he hesitated, Dev's words ringing in his head. 'You don't know you're being mean.' Helpless, Killian resolved not to speak unless he had to--and when he did, he would use Dare and Dev's reactions to gauge if he had given offense. It was a struggle. Luckily for him, Dare was a quick study. "That was mean," Dare would volunteer, when Killian commented on a maid's dirty apron. "Say you're sorry," Dev would prompt him. And, though he did not see what he had done wrong, Killian would apologize. Eventually, he learned not to voice his observations--and, suddenly, people stopped being upset at him. It seemed that Killian really was the problem.
It was a lesson he learned well. Killian would spend the rest of his life analyzing every word he spoke, haunted by the knowledge that he somehow could not help but say the wrong thing. As he aged, this restriction evolved, applying itself only to people he cared about. Those he did not care about, he simply did not speak to--unless, that is, he didn't care about offending them.
=== Balance ===
By the time Killian was in his teens, he and Dare had reached a middle-ground. Killian only cared about weapons, and Dare only cared about silly things that Killian did not care about, like fashion, and art--but, because they were friends, they were expected to share interests. So, Killian tried. He still struggled with scholarship, and found both reading and writing difficult, so he found ways to compensate. If Dare wanted to read a book, Killian would ask him to read aloud, while Killian sharpened a blade or practiced stances. If Killian wanted to train off-schedule, he would have to attend a play with Dare afterward. Killian listened as Dare read their lessons aloud, and Dare kept pace as Killian went for runs, and even joined his sword lessons. If he went to an opera, he did so knowing that he would hate it, and that Dare would do something he liked the next day. The give and take made logical sense, and they both got what they wanted. The system fit right into Killian's growing need for structure.
Then, at last, the time came for Killian to start school. He was less than enthused. Not only would Axiom interfere with his training regimen, but it was, by its very nature, a place filled with people he did not know--a prospect he dreaded. His only relief came in the form of Dare, who was sent along as part of his companion contract. Deep down, Axel knew that his son needed familiarity, so sending Dare only made sense. At her husband's request, the Duchess of Quelling pulled the necessary strings to have them assigned to the same dorm, and made roommates, to assure Killian would have the support he needed to face four years away from home. 
That gesture was the last thing Axel d'Artes ever did for his eldest son. He died on the Front sometime later, leaving Killian to succeed him, when he came of age. The loss of his father was only one of the major shifts in Killian's life, but it would prove to be the first domino of many--and the pattern they would carve through his life would soon change it, forever. 
=== An Uphill Battle ===
Far from home, often for the first time, many young noblemen found wonder and freedom in the halls of Axiom. Killian d'Artes--now, Liam Foster--was decidedly not one of them. No sooner had he arrived than he hit the wall of academia, and found himself fighting to climb. Though he excelled in every physical discipline, his lifelong struggle with the written word soon reached a crisis point. He put up a valiant fight, spending hours poring over tomes he could hardly read, and writing his lessons out until they were at least legible. It was a titanic effort, and bore little fruit. His grades in literature-heavy subjects suffered. He often failed to complete his reading, and eventually stopped handing in work altogether, knowing its quality would only earn him scorn. Killian hoped to be expelled for this rebellion. Only his father's title prevented that end. 
When he wasn't struggling in classes, or breaking records in every sport, Killian kept busy by fighting every boy who so much as looked at him wrong. Both he and Dare were regular targets of ridicule--Dare for his snarky effeminacy, Killian for his silence and perceived stupidity--and their close relationship only invited gossip on top of that. It was here that Killian learned something vital about himself: his temper was a beast of its own, and it took little more than a sideways comment to cut its chains. Between his learning difficulties and the petty bullying, he was angry nearly all the time. The result saw him in the headmaster's office more than once, bruised and blood-spattered, and completely unrepentant. No amount of correction dissuaded him, no injury sustained slowed his assault. Killian plowed the field of his tormentors with the blunt, focused intensity of a bulldozer. 
The only force that could stay his hand was Dare, ever-present at his heels to calm him, even as he criticized those who incited his wrath. Dare's intervention may have been partly for self-interest, as his stay at Axiom was contingent on Killian's presence, but he made no secret of his concern for his friend's safety. He could not spend the next four years fighting everyone. Killian largely dismissed this, as he certainly could do that, but he still made an effort rein in his temper. The discomfort of knowing Dare was unhappy with him well outweighed his irritation with their peers. By then, most of the bullying had stopped, the brute force of Killian's response dissuading their classmates from further tempting him--but the damage had been done. Killian's standing at the school had fallen so low that he was at risk of getting his wish.
=== A Shield for the Sword ===
Having seen the result of Killian's growing angst, Dare made a decision. He began dragging Killian to the theater, to watch historical plays, all the while criticizing what bits were inaccurate. He read their shared lessons aloud, heedless to his roommate's vocal disinterest. Killian hated every minute of it, but he paid attention, completely unaware that he was being taught. For all his struggle with reading, Killian memorized instructions by reflex, and easily absorbed most everything Dare read or described. His grades slowly stabilized. People stopped being punched. And no one questioned why.
They completed their first two years of school without further incident, and Killian and Dare reached their fifteenth year, just in time to face an all-new challenge: social obligations. With the Duke of Quelling now at rest, and the Duchess busy running the province, it fell to their heir to take his father's place at court. To say that Killian was reluctant would be an understatement. It took less than an hour for him to decide he despised the whole business. Dare, meanwhile, was dazzled by the wonders of court life, and eagerly set about making friends while Killian sulked, counting the minutes until they could leave. Attempts by Dare to introduce him to people were met with indifference, if not flat rejection. If Dare strayed too far from his sight, Killian would leave his post by the wall to pull him back, unwilling to be abandoned. People attempting to approach him inevitably ended up talking to Dare instead, and usually found him more agreeable than his escort. This arrangement suited Killian just fine. Dare could talk all he wanted to a captive audience, and Killian didn't have to talk at all. He promptly commissioned a full court wardrobe for his friend, to be certain Dare could attend more events with him. Dare was only too happy to oblige.
And so, the pair of them went on in this manner for the remainder of their school career. In spring and fall, they attended classes, Dare finding increasingly clever ways for Killian to learn the material, and in the summer, they attended balls, feasts, and dances, where Dare would dazzle the tonne, while Killian silently loomed, and intimidated them. 
In the spaces between, their friendship blossomed, slowly, invisibly, into a connection that neither of them fully understood. Their time at school, once so fraught with struggle and conflict, became a haven in which they could be together, far from the powdered and brocaded chaos of court. For the first time, Killian was the one to figure it out--but, as always, he kept his mouth shut, cautious of breaking the fragile thing they were starting to forge. He simply continued as normal, letting Dare drag him about and make demands and read to him, and was content with the safety of what he knew.
And then, the next domino fell.
=== To Want Too Much ===
It was in the middle of his final year that the Duchess of Quelling abruptly withdrew Killian from Axiom, leaving Dare to finish the year alone. He arrived home to the shock of his life: in two weeks, he would be deployed to the Front, to join the Quellan border guard, as was the family tradition. That this was a full year earlier than tradition dictated did not escape Killian's notice, but his mother's order was clear. He was to pack up what little he needed, and prepare to leave. Obedient to a fault, Killian did exactly what she said--and when he was finished, he sat down, and set about the task he hated most. He started writing a letter. Lucinda had assured him that Dare would be allowed to finish his schooling, so Killian knew he would be safe for a time while he was away, but he needed to be certain that Dare knew where he had gone...and, with that, how he felt. About everything. It was the work of days, countless pages of vellum resigned to the fire as he struggled to order the tangle of thoughts and feelings, and to write them clearly. When the task was finally complete, he instructed the letter be posted to Axiom, so that Dare would know where to find him. If he wrote to him, Killian reasoned, he would struggle to read any letter, but he would want to try all the same. Then, Killian was on a coach, heading to the border. 
Killian's four-year tour passed in a terrible brown and gray blur, interspersed with colors no eyes should have ever seen--and in all that time, he received no reply. No news from home, at all. No answer to the letter he practically bled to write. Not a single word from the friend he thought he had. After the first year, he stopped hoping for an answer. Clearly, he had misunderstood something. He had done something wrong. It was only fair that Darin would move on, free of the burden of a friend that asked too much. Perhaps it was better that he'd never said any of that out loud. By the second year, he couldn't even feel hurt anymore. By the third, he couldn't feel anything at all. He walked into battle after battle, time after time, and put to work the years of hard training he had dedicated his life to, hardly noticing as he was slashed, and stabbed, shot with arrows, struck by blows that should have broken bone. He bled, and he scarred. Sometimes, he limped. He always recovered. He felt nothing. Often, he wondered if he had died, and simply been too stupid to notice. He did not care, either way. It hardly mattered.
It was in his third year that Killian was taken out of combat, for good. A skirmish with the Force Beyond the Border left him nearly bisected, with a penetrating wound that missed his spinal cord by inches. The medics fought to stem the bleeding and stitch the gaping wound, but there was little they could do in the end. Whether from blood loss or infection, Killian d'Artes was going to die. And so, stitched from hip to ribcage, the heir of Quelling was loaded back into a coach headed home, where he could die in his bed.
He didn't die. 
At the age of twenty, a mere three months after the mortal wound that should have taken him, Killian appeared at court, alone. To anyone who had seen him before, he was unrecognizable. The silent, looming boy had been replaced by a man wracked with a frenetic energy, and strange intensity. He spoke to anyone who approached, at length, and with a dark, sardonic charm that quickly drew a crowd. Those who lingered a while may have noted the reek of blood about his person. He spoke openly of combat, and the many deaths he'd seen. Asked of his own assumed death, Killian d'Artes simply smiled.
And, at the other end of the ballroom, Darin Harte looked on, and was silent.
=== Silver in the Dark ===
(To be completed)
== Personality ==
To the public, the Duke of Quelling appears militant, confident, decisive, and frightfully commanding, if not a bit detached. To the average courtier, the mere shadow of Lord Wrath is enough to either draw their eye, or send them fleeing, for fear of his temper and famed sadism. Both groups insist that their vision of Sir Killian d'Artes is the true one--and both of them are wrong. While facets of these two images are true to life, the full picture is much more complicated. The reason for that is simple: Killian is not allowed to be himself, and so he must be someone else. 
=== The Mask ===
The lessons Killian learned as a child left him with the knowledge that his manner is not normal, and requires correction. For this reason, he reluctantly developed a "mask," an alternate persona that allows him to accomplish his goals with minimal discomfort. He learned this trick early in his time on the Front, using the guise of someone confident and commanding as a shield between himself and his personal unease. He naturally has an aversion to socializing, finding new people uncomfortable, and familiarizing himself with them physically painful. However, his role as general of Quelling's Winged Brigade requires him to not only interact with soldiers, but to command them in defense of the Eastern border. His mask allows him to detach from his reclusive nature in order to make decisions and give orders. He employs a variant of this tactic for his duties as a nobleman, the mask adapted to suit the debauched and cut-throat arena that is the high court. In both cases, it serves its purpose: it protects the Killian who would rather be left alone, by holding up the illusion of a Killian that should, at all costs, be obeyed, or avoided entirely.
As Lord Wrath, Killian portrays himself as threatening and predatory, leveraging an unnerving smile and imposing physique to ward off any who might come seeking trouble. He allows some of his actual scorn to bleed through, just enough to make clear that he isn't here to make friends. He goes out of his way to scare people he suspects are up to no good, casually throwing out threats or making violent comments, often to the terror of the listener. He's become somewhat famous for his 'scenes,' times in which--during noble parties--he brutally lashes a volunteer before the gathered crowd. No one would guess that most of this instability is an act meant to ward them off. Often, it has the opposite effect of fascinating those around him, much to his private bewilderment. The combination of his commanding presence and brutally primal physicality has made him something of a sex symbol at court. Everyone is afraid of him, but they're also kind of into it. Killian could honestly not care less, as long as they keep their distance. Most of them do. The others volunteer for his scenes.
=== The Truth ===
In private, Killian is a very different person from the one seen at court. He remains stoic and reclusive, the majority of his focus dedicated to his work, and his physical training. When he does speak, he's blisteringly blunt, stating his thoughts in short order, no matter the feelings of anyone involved. Killian is regimented to a fault, up at the same hour every morning, in bed far later than he'd like every night. He's most comfortable when his days are predictable--but, between being Duke of Quelling and being Lord Wrath, he rarely gets that. It is understood in his household that he eats certain meals at specific times of day, and will not otherwise ask for anything from his staff, outside of an emergency. He rides his own horse to events, disdaining the formality of a carriage, and is rarely attended by guards, but always armed. Once he's made up his mind, nothing short of a lightning strike can change it. That might not even do it. 
Despite his antisocial tendencies, Killian is fiercely protective of people in general--a secret known to very few. To his mind, those who harm others in his presence consent to be harmed by him, and he will not hesitate to retaliate on behalf of someone who cannot defend themselves. Years spent fighting horrors on the Front have left Killian quick to draw a blade, and with few qualms about using it. The only difference between defending a stranger and someone he loves is how much the affront enrages him. For a stranger, he will intervene with quick but efficient brutality, but feel very little beyond that. For a loved one, his response is likely to be much more vicious, and almost certainly deadly.
(To be completed)
== Trivia ==
* His blunt speech, difficulty with social cues, attachment to ritual, black-and-white perspective and habit of playing a character to disguise his own perceived "strangeness" are all strong hints that Killian is autistic. This was not intentional initially, but makes sense after the fact.
* Killian has acute dyslexia, and struggles to both read and write. He employs a scribe for all but his most personal correspondence.