Inhabitants of France

There are many throughout Paris and France at large that whether directly, or by association are involved with the Cardinal's Blades, each having their own significance and relationships with one of more members.

## The Royal Family

### **King Louis XIII**

Louis XIII is the current King of France and former King of Navarre, before its merging with the French crown.

Thrust into his role of King at only 9 years old after his father Henry IV was assassinated, Louis has worn the crown since 1610.

Taciturn and suspicious of all goings on around him, Louis relies heavily on the advice of Cardinal Richelieu to help him direct France through the many issues she currently faces. While there are many who, never to his face, think Louis a childish buffoon, there have been times where he has cast aside his childlike naivety in favour of action fitting of a King.

Along with his Queen, the Cardinal and Captain Treville, he is the only one who knows of the existence of the band known as the Blades.

### **Queen Anne of Austria**

Queen Anne rules France alongside her husband Louis XIII.

Anne was born as a member of the house of Habsburg, being the daughter of King Philip and Queen Margaret of Spain. In order to form political alliances, she was betrothed to Louis XIII of France in 1612, when both were the age of only 11, and then married three years later in the October of 1615.

Anne is a soft spoken woman of carefully chosen words, but is also not afraid to make her voice heard when matters concern her. Although she is of Spanish blood in a foreign land, Anne is generally well liked among the populace.

As with her husband, along with Cardinal Richelieu and Captain Treville of the Musketeers, she is the only one who knows of the Blades' existence.

### **Gaston, Duke of Orléans**

Gaston Jean Baptiste, younger brother to Louis XIII and heir apparent to the throne of France.

Gaston was born the youngest son of Henry IV and Marie de Medici, making him at the time, second in line to the throne behind his older brother Louis. When Henry passed away and Louis took his place as king following their mother's regency, he bestowed a dukedom upon Gaston, naming him his heir apparent, unless of course he was to one day be born a son.

Despite always being treated with kindness by his father and brother and being born into luxury, Gaston's heart is full of nothing but spite and hatred. He holds nothing but resentment for those around him, especially his brother, craving the throne above all else. Seeing it as his God-given right and cruelly denied to him, he has concocted a number of schemes over the years to remove his brother from power, sometimes by lethal force, but has never been successful in his plans.

#### **Marie de' Medici**

The mother of Louis XIII and Gaston, Duke of Orleans.

When Henry IV was assassinated, she spent no time naming herself regent to the new King, Louis XIII who was a mere nine years of age at the time. Quickly removing a great swathe of Henry's courtiers and advisors, she installed her own nobles and friends, regardless of if they were suited at managing the country. Once Louis had reached adulthood, he had her most loyal supporters executed and she was exiled. Returning to Louis's side years later, she showed she had not changed her ways soon after, and was exiled once more.

A master manipulator, she resides still in exile but hungers for power and has had a hand in many a scheme to dethrone her eldest son. And may do so again in the future.

## The Royal Court

### **Cardinal Armand Richelieu**

Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu, The founder of the Blades.

Utilising the Blades as his personal agents to root out threats to the Kingdom, Richelieu deals in all walks of life with cold and efficient ruthlessness. Failure nor disobedience is tolerated, and any man or woman in his service found wanting will be subject to his iron disciplinary.

When it comes to the existence of the Blades as an organisation, Richelieu refuses to acknowledge their existence in public, only dealing with l'Armand, and subsequently the Blades themselves behind closed doors. Though they risk their lives for him, he makes it aware that if any of them are to become lost, captured or die in action, he or the state not only hold no responsibility, but he would not even acknowledge their individual being nor any association with them.

While he may comes across as callous and unfeeling, Richelieu's interests are always aligned with protecting the country he loves, even if at times they may seem to be the opposite.

#### **Comte de Rochefort**

Easily identified by his distinct eyepatch, uncommonly dark clothing and eerie demeanour, Rochefort is the right hand man of the Cardinal. He serves as the head of the Cardinal's Red Guards, as well as his master's personal agent.

Rochefort is highly intelligent and cunning, a master strategist, but also arrogant and sadistic, to the point of extreme confidence. He is unimaginably ruthless, and has no complaints about taking many lives in pursuit of his goals.

A master swordsman, his skills only bolster his ego knowing that he can easily defeat several well-trained men at a time.

#### **Milday de Winter**

Cardinal Richelieu's most efficient spy.

Known by many as the Lady of Misfortune, any who attempt to get close to her seem to end up worse off for it, with tales kept below breath that she is even responsible for the murders of several.

A woman shrouded in mystery, she is seemingly able to insert herself into any group or setting, and retrieve the most well-kept secrets, using them for whatever benefit she can leverage.

There are many speculations as to her background, with some saying she was the stifled lover of a noble, and others whispering rumours that she was a lady of the night, brought into the Cardinal's service by pure chance.

### **Phillipe Achille**

Phillipe Achille, also known as the Marquis de Feron, serves as the Royal Chancellor.

The illegitimate son of Henry IV and half-brother to King louis XIII, Phillipe was born to an unnamed and long since deceased lady in waiting to the former queen. Though born of royal blood through his father, it was made clear that due to his status as a bastard, he would never inherit the throne nor be acknowledged as a member of the royal family. Upon his ascension to the throne, Louis however, raised Phillipe to the status of a Marquis, granting him land and power, as well the role of chancellor.

Despite this gesture, Phillipe struggles with a sense of duality. He has always been, and remains bitter and resentful towards his younger brother, and sees himself as the rightful king of France. Phillipe serves Louis dutifully in public, but behind closed doors often plots against his half-brother and would see him dethroned, with himself put in the vacant seat of power.

## **Nobility**

### **Vicomte Raymondin la Fontaine**

A Parisian vicomte and the father of Dominique la Fontaine.

A former musketeer and Cardinal's Blade who fought alongside l'Armand as a brother-in-arms, Raymondin was a decorated chevalier before joining the shadow guard, given title and prestige Louis XIII himself. Upon the disbandment of the blades, and later the death of one of his sons, Raymondin retreated from military life altogether, and now lives out his days tucked away in his estate.

### **Amélie d’Alençon**

The duchesse d’Alençon, wife of duc Francis d’Alençon and mother to Jean and Joan.

A well known face within the royal court, esteemed for both her ageless beauty and charitable acts of philanthropy. In reality however, she serves as a spy for Cardinal Richelieu, and is among others in her profession, a master manipulator and schemer, not above using even those close to her as pawns on her chessboard to attain her goals.

## The Musketeers

### **Captain Treville**

Jean-Armand Treville serves as the Captain of the Musketeers.

As the musketeer's captain, Treville is the only individual aside from the Cardinal, as well as the King and Queen, that know of the Blades existence, with several of his own men having been selected to join the band in their first iteration.

Treville operates as a stern and no-nonsense military officer, but is not without empathy and care for his charges, seeing those under him as more than just his trainees, providing them with the father figure that some of them may have never known.

### **Athos**

Athos serves as a musketeer and second-in-command under Treville.

Athos is a quiet and observant sort, a man who will never speak of his talents but let his actions speak for themselves. A truly renowned and formidable swordsman, even among a cohort such as the musketeers, many are in equal awe and fear of his prowess with a blade.

Seemingly distant at first, Athos will become a warm and kind-hearted confidante to those he opens up to, once they break down the hardened barriers that are in place thanks to the many hardships that life has dealt him.

### **Porthos**

Porthos serves as an elite musketeer alongside Athos and Aramis.

While fearsome in his initial demeanor, tall, broad and hardy in stature, Porthos would prove to be one of the most jovial and light-hearted companions a man could ever wish for. Porthos's skill with a blade is rivalled, or perhaps even surpassed by that of his capacity to consume alcohol, to which he can often be seen down a tavern demonstrating, usually to much applause and encouragement.

Porthos's friendly character is built from a childhood of hardship, being born from a destitute and sickly prostitute housed within Paris's infamous Court of Miracles, where life would be hard for anyone, let alone a young boy left largely to fend for himself. As such and despite his towering and somewhat menacing physique , he displays a level of compassion that others may not expect from him, able to share his experiences and empathise with other who have faced difficulties in life.

### **Aramis**

Aramis serves as one of the elite musketeers alongside Athos and Porthos.

Originally trained as a priest, Aramis was brought into the musketeers when bandits attacked and ransacked the monastery in which he resided. As one of the only survivors, he contemplated in how God had not prevented the atrocity, and perhaps it was the duty of men to punish wrongdoers and protect the weak.

Since then, Aramis has risen through the ranks with a mixture of skill, charm and good luck on his side, still fiercely devoted to his faith, but seeing himself now as an instrument to which protect the people.

For a devout man of God, Aramis has a far better sense of humour than one would assume, and is happy to partake in similar amounts of drinking and occasional brawls that his brothers-in-arms are.

### **d'Artagnan**

d'Artagnan is one of the newest additions to the musketeers, but already a rising star in their ranks.

Having joined the musketeers after several requests and eventually being allowed to accompany them to apprehend the criminals who killed his family, d'Artagnan shows much promise, with even Treville and Athos praising the young man for his skill and dedication.

A man of less arrogance and more quiet confidence, d'Artgnan displays a natural ability in swordsmanship, as well as in other areas such as horse-riding and leadership skills. There are whispers among the musketeers and even the royal court that he will one day rise to the position of captain if he continues on his current trajectory.

Despite his natural ability, d'Artagnan is polite, friendly and unassuming, always willing to go above and beyond to help those in need.

## Cours de Miracles

### **The Ace of Knaves**

The self-proclaimed 'King' of the Court of Miracles.

Presiding over the Court, the Ace is responsible for transforming the domain from a shanty town of the sick and homeless, to a refuge for the downtrodden of Paris, as well as a den of thieves and bandits.

Though appearing as a mad harlequin with an unpredictable personality, the Ace is both devilishly intelligent and ruthless, presiding over the court with an iron first, while being equally likely to reward or punish his subordinates for any action they take.

### **Jean-Luc LeBeau**

Jean-Luc LeBeau works as a master thief within the Court of Miracles.

The adoptive father of d'Leoncourt LeBeau, having taken him in as a babe, he taught him all he knew in the ways of thievery and the life of a rogue up until Leon's adulthood.

Though a thief and vagrant, he has shown on many occasions a caring side to him, as with his adopted son. He is however, an unrelenting taskmaster, and expects naught but perfection from his charges, viewing failure as a non-option.