Frantz Erzulie

*The Lazyhead Vudau Rapscallion*

**Frantz Erzulie** is one of the two main deuteragonists of *The Unnamed*. He is the last known Vootian left in all of Unition, and one of the very few practitioners of the ancient Vudau arts.

After losing the family office when ALERT strikes Miviia in his absence, Frantz is left with no where to go. As such, he finds himself enlisted by the Lua spirits to go on a pilgrimage around Unition, spreading the good name of the Vudau and aiding those who are in need. He is eventually pulled into the War for the World and plays a large role in the massive conflict.

## Biography

### Early life

Frantz was born in Miviia to Vudau artist Freda Erzulie and street fighter Paris Bourgeois. While Frantz was still a very young age, his father abandoned him and his mother in pursuit of fame and fortune, leaving them to fend for themselves. Freda continued to raise him as she ran her Vudau-practicing business and managed to survive just above the poverty line. During this time she would teach him the ways of the Vudau and the Lua, and he was still a child when he first communed with Papa Legba. When Frantz was eight years old Freda fell ill and passed away, leaving him in the hands of the Lua. Frantz fell into poverty and often had to forage for food, but he eventually became proficient enough with Vudau to continue Freda's business on his own. Citizens of Miviia were shocked by his abilities due to his young age, and his business prospered.

As a teenager with a more independent mind, Frantz began to drift away from the Lua and focused on improving his Vudau skills on his own. He also moved away from the mainstream market to work with a shadier underground demographic for higher pay and more interesting situations. This irked the Lua, and they began to limit his powers for ignoring their words and not properly respecting the Vudau's reputation. Frantz continued to work and tried to ignore his waning abilities, slowly falling into apathy and ambivalence.

### The Pilgrimage

Thirteen years had passed since Frantz had inherited his mother's business. One night while he was off completing a job in the nearby **WOODS**, ALERT suddenly attacked Miviia. Sounds of the catastrophic battle alerted him, but by the time Frantz made it back, the city was already smoldering ruins with no invaders to be seen. He returned to his home and found it had been utterly destroyed. Frantz then heard the words of the Lua beckoning him to visit with them - with no other options, he begrudgingly complied.

## Personality

At the beginning of the story, Frantz is an apathetic and nonchalant businessman who's stuck in an extremely immature mindset. He takes care of himself just fine and rarely gets into trouble, due to the fact that he's so laidback and wants to stay where he currently is in life forever - he refuses to both advance and retreat, not willing to put any effort into improving himself or his talents. He is driven on his journey only by the orders given to him by the Lua spirits due to the fact that if he does not comply, they will revoke his Vudau powers.

Frantz is quite antisocial, claiming he doesn't understand how "normal people" work. As the last of a dying faith, he sees society as an annoyance that forces its values on him, pesters him, and expects him to do things he doesn't want. He gets irritated often and has a short temper, and is rarely seen smiling or laughing at anything. He has a very dark and sarcastic sense of humor that he uses to bully others.

Despite his pessimism and laziness, Frantz is a clever, perceptive, and insightful individual. His quick thinking and flexibility aid him tremendously in adapting to the numerous and uncanny challenges presented by the War for the World.

However, near the end of the story Frantz has changed for the better. Frantz slowly softens as the War for the World forces him to learn from and listen to everybody around him. He begins to develop compassion for and the ability to empathize with others better. He becomes more open and trusting as he gets to know people and learns to love doing service for them. He becomes determined to fight for the new relationships he has formed, and for the sake of the Lua. He smiles at jokes and even makes some of his own (albeit still with dark and questionable humor). In the end, he has shown to have grown from being a selfish, unthoughtful loner into a compassionate, selfless and caring young man.

## Abilities and equipment

Frantz is a Vudau artist, a special magician of sorts who can harness the neutral energies of the world and use it as Vudau magic. He was taught by his mother Freda from a young age and continued to train in his adolescence, but now he mostly just uses the special Vudau elements - Kalfu (shadow), Ogoun (fire), Loco (plantlife), Agwe (water), and Sogbo (lightning). Frantz doesn't care much for the healing or defensive attributes of the Vudau, mostly due to being stubborn and just too lazy to learn about them.

When Frantz met with the Lua before departing on his pilgrimage he was given the Asson, a special Vudau shortsword. Its blade appears to be composed of shards of multicolored stained glass, but it is actually made of a divine indestructible alloy. He can teleport it into his hand at any time, normally storing it inside the Lua's realm. The Asson can channel the energies of the Vudau elements to power up its blows. Frantz has not been trained very much in the ways of swordplay, and thus he has a fairly brutal, random, and uncouth fighting style, mostly preferring to use his fists and feet with a few sword strikes here and there. The Asson is made more effective when used alongside a Wanga Rosary, which Frantz just so happens to have and wears on his wrist.

## Relationships

### Claerwen Flamel

At first, Frantz and Claer are fighting for different goals with different motives and don't get along at all. They form a fearsome rivalry when they first cross paths, seeing each other as polar opposites - a sleazy and nonchalant businessman versus a polite and worrisome noblewoman. Frantz is annoyed by Claer's uptightness, naivety, and optimism, while Claer is annoyed by Frantz's apathetic, uncaring, and pessimistic attitude. They stumble upon each other several times over the course of their journies, often getting into petty arguments or comparing their progress in an attempt to outdo each other. They cross swords several times, initially out of malice and attempts to show off.

While they didn't ever plan it out, Frantz fights against the Scions while Claer focuses more on ALERT and they manage to cover an exceptional amount of ground with this unintentional strategy. They grow closer through their achievements and almost begin to congratulate each other on their respective accomplishments. Their battles become more about how much they have grown rather than who the better fighter is, and they begin to have fun while sparring too. They even end up working together to take down Rinya and the Scions, where they show a great deal of respect and care for each other. The line between rivalry and friendship starts to blur, although neither wants to admit it.

Eventually, after the fall of the Scions, they both receive calls from Mankind's Army requesting they join their ranks and help fight ALERT. Frantz and Claer accidentally run into each other again during at this meeting (where they attempt to act like they're still not friends), and find that they will be fighting on the same side and against the same enemies this time. This becomes a greater opportunity for the two to grow closer as they now share a common goal and have to work together to achieve it.