Baldwin de Valois

Duke Baldwin de Valois is a swordsman ghoul of noble origin that is currently engaged with Aogiri Tree.

## Appearance

Baldwin is a man of immense proportions, being 2.63 meters tall and 223 kilos in weight. He has an athletic body shape, huge frame and extreme musculature. He is always seen wearing his steel plate armor and he also carries around an immense greatsword, two meters in length, 40 centimeters in width.

## Personality

Little has been revealed about Baldwin's personality, apart from the fact that he enjoys culture events and is also quite cocky, despite his generally kind nature. He also seems to dislike humans, but not overly so, as shown from his behaviour around Noko. Alternatively, he might just be more friendly towards children due to their innocence, a quality which Baldwin finds to be rare among people. The ghoul seems to consider himself to be quite sophisticated and takes pride in his intellect as well as his mastery of the sword. Additionally, he's been shown to have a powerful sense of honour that essentially guides his life. Baldwin has also shown that he cares deeply for his family and ideals, and that when he faces an opponent of skill equal to his own, the knight abandons his arrogant attitude and takes the fight seriously. Despite his obsession with dignity, the man is even ready to shrug off insults, something he greatly despises, granted that his opponent has shown sufficient skill to impress him.

## Background

Duke Baldwin was born into the prestigious House of Valois, a noble family of French origin, that were all secretly ghouls. Having engraved their name in the books of history, the Valois had become renowned as both nobles of high sophistication, and as warriors of immense capacity. A clan of giants, the noble family were outstanding soldiers even for ghoul standards, their immense bodies sporting an even greater amount of strength. Trained from young age, for centuries the Valois took pride in learning the crafts of smithing, art, music and all sorts of refined and delicate activities. The one craft possessing the greatest importance, however, was the art of the swordsmanship.

Trained from a very young age, the young Baldwin showed skill and eagerness of enviable levels, quickly surpassing most of his peers and even rivalling some of his masters. His pride, however, came to be his undoing - relishing in his overwhelming ability, the young knight grew drunk with his talent, failing to see that there was yet more to learn. Despite attaining the title of a master swordsman, the Valois could've certainly further honed his swordsmanship skills to truly reach his potential. Alas, by the time he realised that it was far too late. The French service of ghoul investigators had raided the mansion of the main family, and while their operation was ultimately a high-casualty failure where the vast majority of the Valois escaped largely unharmed, there was still some success to be found - Baldwin had been separated from the rest of his family. Searching tirelessly, the teenage ghoul found himself within various ghoul gangs, acting both as their heavy hitter and guiding light, teaching them about the glories of combat and life alike. In the end, however, despite the bonds he'd forged and the comrades he'd made, his true quest was to find his family, so eventually, about a decade later when Baldwin managed to encounter a friend of his clan, he took the first chance he could and left for the new haven of the Valois - Japan.

Upon arriving in Japan, the now matured Baldwin got in contact with some of the local friends of his influential family and soon began seeking his relatives in the huge megapolis that is Tokyo. Unfortunately, that was no easy task - while the Valois were proud people that would never relinquish their name, the circumstances warranted caution, and the elders be damned if they would allow any foolsihness to compromise the safety of the Valois legacy. For this reason, Baldwin's efforts proved largely unfruitful, no matter to whom he spoke or where he looked. And that is how Baldwin reached an important conclusion - he didn't need to find his family, he simply needed to make it so that it's easy for his family to find him. What better way to make a name for yourself than to earn your glory on the fields of battle, fighting for the greatest ghoul force within the country?

That is the story of how Duke Baldwin de Valois joined the ranks of Aogiri Tree, only to find his death in vicious combat against another august swordsman, one that managed to give him a proper warrior's death and redeem the human species in the eyes of the Valois.

## Relationships

 Izumi Okazaki | Despite interpreting Izumi's words and actions as disrespectful, Baldwin held the man in high regard due to his impressive skill, willing to forgive him his poor demeanour. Believing Izumi to be his equal, Baldwin showed him the ultimate sign of respect that he could by fighting with all of his strength.

## Powers and abilities

### General Attributes

* **Immense strength:** Sporting a towering frame and the strength to back it up, Baldwin's physical strength would second to none. Born a giant, the behemoth's already hugely powerful musculature was only further empowered by his ghoul abilities.

* **Immense durability:** His incredible body possesses a remarkable toughness, only further supplemented by his armour. Akin to a human tank, Baldwin is borderline unstoppable and it would take a series of vastly powerful strikes to knock him down.

* **High regeneration:** Even for a Rinkaku, the Valois' regeneration was highly capable, allowing him to become an avatar of indestructibility and making him the ultimate defensive combatant.

* **Master swordsman:** Having been trained in swordsmanship since birth, Baldwin showed an astounding aptitude for wielding the blade. Having elevate his skills to surpass many masters of the craft, Baldwin is a truly accomplished and advanced swordsman.

* **Low agility:** His immense size and frame make him an easy target, which means that he is virtually incapable of avoiding any attacks, only managing to avoid those that are poorly executed or targeted.

### Kagune

* **RC Cell pipe blockage:** Suffering from RC pipe blockage, Baldwin is unable to release his kagune, instead only benefitting from the improved strength and regeneration of a ghoul's body provided by the Kakuhou.

### Weapons

* **Greatsword**: Baldwin carries around a massive greatsword, two meters in length, 40 centimeters in width. His skill in wielding the weapon is only speculated about, however it is suggested that he is quite capable at utilising it.

* **Tsunagi**: After fighting Jon Voo, Baldwin managed to capture a Tsunagi sword. According to the man's own description, the sword is a "toothpick" and he has no use for it as he wouldn't be willing to wield a blade so unfittingly small.

## Trivia

* Baldwin suffers from genetic gigantism.