Mildmay

Mildmay is a former assassin and cat burgler, and is - along with his half-brother Felix Harrowgate - one of two primary first person narrators throughout Doctrine of Labyrinths.
==Appearance==
Mildmay is fair-skinned and red-haired. Because that makes him stick out like a sore thumb in Mélusine's Lower City, his Keeper, Kolkhis, makes him dye it dark for nearly 14 years. When he falls in with Mavortian von Heber, he stops dyeing his hair. He braids his hair with a scrap of indigo ribbon. 
He has a long scar on one side of his face from a knife-fight he was in when he was thirteen. He has scarred, callused, lumpy-knuckled hands. His nose is uneven, due to being broken so many times (this also causes him to snore lightly). Later, he gains a permanently disabling wounds on his leg that develops nasty scars that he begins to treat with medicinal oil to keep them pliant. 
After he takes on the obligation d'âme, he dresses in black.
==Name and aliases==
Mildmay's full given name is Mild-May-Your-Sufferings-Be-at-the-Hands-of-the-Wicked.
Aliases Mildmay uses:
* Mildmay the Fox
* Mildmay Foxe
*Dennis
*Gilroi Felter
*Ananias Wainwright (The Virtu while travelling through the Grasslands)
Nicknames:
* Milly-Fox (given to him by Kolkhis, Mildmay loathes this name and often uses it towards himself when feeling disparaging).
==Personality==
Mildmay is a lonely, heavily accented but quietly spoken man who despite his background of thievery and assassination, has a good and kind heart, and cares for the people around him. He forms attachments easily, and is sometimes hurt as a result of them. Mildmay has a set of personal ethics, but will do whatever he must to protect Felix's life and wellbeing. 
Mildmay is self-sacrificing and scared of being abandoned. He chronically downplays or tries to hide his pain across all four books, even when chronically disabled and experiencing agony, or later, Winter Fever and nearly dying. He is very sensitive about the way his mouth scar makes him look when he smiles, so he chooses to never smile with his mouth, using only his eyes. He tends to be sensitive about any personal features that he perceives as shortcomings, such as being illiterate, or slurring his speech due to his mouth scar. He primarily responds to this through avoidance, though this does improve in Corambis.
Mildmay has a tendency to fall in love and be quite devoted to the woman he's courting, often ending tragically or sadly for him. As a character, he has a lot of love to give, but also keeps a lot of his personal thoughts and feelings behind closed doors. 
Mildmay will purposefully slur his speech when he wants to be left alone.
Mildmay is religious, and observes many rituals within Melusine.
Mildmay uses extremely colourful turns of phrase which we never see fully replicated in any other character, including those we meet from the Lower City in Melusine. Aside from general slang, he blasphemes, and has interesting phrasing like: 'About as useful as ballet shoes to a duck' or 'bitchkitty.'
==Life==
=== Pre-Canon ===
Mildmay's mother is Methony Feucoronne, and his father is unknown. Mildmay's mother sells him into slavery when Mildmay is three years old, and his Keeper is Kolkhis. He lives in an environment where child prostitution, assassination, thievery and other crimes are common, and excels at being a thief and pickpocket (kept-thief). A knife fight at age 13 leaves him with a facial scar that makes him too obvious in crowds, and leaves him sensitive to knives in general. Kolkhis starts having him assassinate people: he kills his first man for money at age 15. She tries to teach him to read, but then called him too stupid to learn. 
Around the age of 13 (before he'd finished his second septad), Mildmay starts having sex with Kolkhis, but never permits Mildmay to kiss her because of how ugly she finds his scar. Around age 16 (two septads and two) she asks him to pretend she's a boy, and then accuses him of being molly when he can't get erect as a result. She frequently threatens to send him to "boy brothels" in Pharaohlight. She controls him a great deal, and doesn't allow him to take any comfort in her body, while frequently drawing blood as a result of her long fingernails. 
Three years prior to the events of Mélusine, in the summer, Miriam sends Mildmay to assassinate Cerberus Cresset with the help of Drake in the Mirador.Monette, Sarah. “Chapter 8.” Mélusine, Ace, New York, 2005. The Doctrine of Labyrinths. A curse latches onto Mildmay as a result, but is put off by a charm made by Miriam. 
Eventually, Mildmay realizes his situation with Kholkis is unhealthy and flees. 
===Mélusine===
Mildmay goes to visit Cardenio Richey on Cardenio's half day one Neuvième. They go to talk in Richard's Park and Mildmay gives Cardenio a gift of earrings for making journeyman. On their way back to Havelock, Mildmay asks if Cardenio knows about Brinvillier Strych, and Cardenio asks about Mildmay's potential interactions with Vey Coruscant. Cardenio says that the Mirador said they buried Strych in Boneprince, and Cardenio believes they buried him in the Mirador.
Through Ginevra, Mildmay meets Estella Velvet and Faith Cowry.Monette, Sarah. “Chapter 3.” Mélusine, Ace, New York, 2005. The Doctrine of Labyrinths. When Faith is arrested during a witch hunt, Estella turns in information on Mildmay to free Faith.Monette, Sarah. “Chapter 5.” The Mirador, Ace Books, New York, 2008. The Doctrine of Labyrinths.
After the bodies of Austin Lefevre and Ginevra are pulled from the Sim, Auberon has Cardenio seek out Mildmay on 11 Messidor.Monette, Sarah. “Chapter 4.” Mélusine, Ace, New York, 2005. The Doctrine of Labyrinths. Cardenio takes him to the Dead Gallery, where the dead are displayed. While Mildmay looks at the corpses, Cardenio checks in on him to see if he's okay, and offers him tea. Once he gets Mildmay to sit and have some tea, he fetches Auberon to speak with Mildmay. After talking, Mildmay sharply tells Cardenio to stay away and leaves.
After the Kalliphorne helps Mildmay, Mavortion von Heber, and Bernard Heber escape Mélusine, Mildmay tells her to seek out Cardenio if she wants to escape, too.Monette, Sarah. “Chapter 6.” Mélusine, Ace, New York, 2005. The Doctrine of Labyrinths.
===The Virtu===
After what Mildmay feels to be prophetic dream of his own death, he begs Felix to place the obligation d'ame upon him. Felix - who at this point has been stripped of his rank and is therefore no longer technically a wizard of the Mirador - obliges, because he is no longer subject to the punishment of committing heresy, and wants that close connection to Mildmay.
Mavortian has the idea to send Mildmay to kill Vey Coruscant, and when Mildmay and Gideon disagree, Felix uses the obligation d'ame to force Mildmay to obey, even though it risks Mildmay's life. Mildmay steals one of Mehitabel's scarves as the intended murder weapon.
The Kalliphorne visits Cardenio in the morgue to report she saw Mildmay being taken out of Mélusine by Malkar.Monette, Sarah. “Chapter 14.” The Virtu, Ace Books, New York, 2007. The Doctrine of Labyrinths. Cardenio gets himself indebted to Kholkis to get a way into the Mirador. She gives him a message for Felix and a letter of introduction to Hugo Chandler, who brings him to Mehitabel Parr, who takes him to Felix, who questions him, letting Felix know about Mildmay's fate.
===The Mirador===
Mildmay goes to Fishmarket with Simon Barrister and Gideon Thraxios to see Cardenio.Monette, Sarah. “Chapter 10.” The Mirador, Ace Books, New York, 2008. The Doctrine of Labyrinths. Mildmay congratulations Cardenio on his Mastership, and asks about Jenny Dawnlight and who she was working for. Cardenio tells Mildmay that Jenny worked for a necromancer named Augusta Fenris. He and Mildmay later chat and part ways warmly.
Mildmay learns of Hugo Chandler's connection to Vey Coruscant and Kolkhis, and that Hugo got Ginevra killed, and goes to interrogate Hugo in the Mirador.Monette, Sarah. “Chapter 17.” The Mirador, Ace Books, New York, 2008. The Doctrine of Labyrinths. Mildmay then drags Hugo to Giancarlo, and Hugo confesses a great many things concerning Dulcinea, Vey Coruscant, Ivo, Gloria Aestia, Cotton Verlalius, Cornell Teverius, and Robert. Giancarlo has Hugo taken to prison in the Verpine.
===Corambis===
Learns to read.
== Skills ==
Mildmay is an excellent assassin, specializing in the use of knives. He's also a skilled pickpocket. He has an above average sense of direction, demonstrated when traveling the underground Klepsydra labyrinth with no landmarks for orientation in near complete darkness. Mildmay is a proficient and reliable cardsharp, using these abilities on occasion to get money when necessary. He enjoys many different card games, some of which are named in the series, such as: Long Tiffany, Dragon's Clutch (a western variant of Long Tiffany).
Mildmay has an intellectual mind, and is effective at strategizing as a result. He can often handle quite technical aspects of planning and other subject matter, though he doesn't tend to credit how skilled he is. 
Mildmay knows slang Troian after his time on the Morskaiakrov.
Mildmay can swim, unlike most people from the Lower City. 
As an assassin, Mildmay murdered the Witchfinder Extraordinary (Cerberus Cresset), via the heart, on this he said: 'If you want to kill a hocus, you got to take 'em by surprise.' He also kills via garroting. 
==Relationships==
=== Cardenio Richey ===
Mildmay feels very comfortable and unashamed around Cardenio in ways he doesn't around other people. Cardenio cares a lot about Mildmay. Mildmay often dreams of him.Monette, Sarah. “Chapter 10.” The Virtu, Ace Books, New York, 2007. The Doctrine of Labyrinths.
=== Felix Harrowgate ===
Felix and Mildmay have had a relationship marked with deep love from the moment they realize they're brothers, despite the toxicity between them and the things they do to hurt each other. Felix has done terrible things to Mildmay in particular, especially in the height of his post-trauma and madness throughout Melusine, the Virtu and the Mirador. Even his general bullying, such as mocking Mildmay for his grammar or constantly correcting it, reminds Mildmay of his Keeper. Things improve markedly in Corambis when they begin opening up to one another. Despite their difficulties - not least Felix pushing his lust for Mildmay onto his brother non-consensually many times - their love is indisputable, and Mildmay will never leave Felix's side, and vice versa. 
=== Gartrett Corbie ===
Corbie is initially Felix's pimp and friend in Corambis, but later becomes Mildmay's friend, and then his lover. This is one of the healthier relationships he ends up having with a woman, and he learns to enjoy sex and connection again without it being so emotionally loaded.
=== Ginevra Thomson ===
Dated Ginevra for a while, broke up shortly before her murder. 
=== Hugo Chandler ===
Hugo is scared of Mildmay.Monette, Sarah. “Chapter 4.” The Mirador, Ace Books, New York, 2008. The Doctrine of Labyrinths. Mildmay seems somewhat ambivalent to Hugo, but the ambivalence turns to fury when Mildmay discovers that Hugo led to Ginevra's murder. Mildmay also pities Hugo, and considers him a poor, stupid man involved in things beyond his ken.
=== Mehitabel Parr ===
Mehitabel Parr and Mildmay are at first friends, and then friends with benefits. When Mildmay pushes for more, she makes it clear she only wants a casual and friendly connection.
=== Methony Feucoronne ===
Mildmay didn't remember Methony very well, though he remembered what she looked like.Monette, Sarah. “Chapter 5.” Mélusine, Ace, New York, 2005. The Doctrine of Labyrinths. She sold him when he was around three.Monette, Sarah. “Chapter 7.” Mélusine, Ace, New York, 2005. The Doctrine of Labyrinths.
== Quotations ==
== Trivia ==
* Loves oranges
== References ==
Category:Characters