Tristan Maréchal

Tristan is a character appearing in the Gilded Wolves trilogy by Roshani Chokshi. He is Séverin’s young brother in soul if not in blood, a sweet kid and a genius botanist/naturalist with a pet tarantula that terrorises the rest of the team.

## The Gilded Wolves Trilogy

### The Gilded Wolves

While Laila ensures that the courier of House Kore recieves an important invitation, Zofia arrives, only to steal some cookie dough and leave again. Laila then finds Tristan, the youngest of the group with powerful Forging abilities like Zofia. When Séverin and Enrique return, all five of them work together to figure out the puzzle in the compass. It reveals the symbol for a legendary artifact known as the Eye of Horus, rumored to show the legendary Babel Fragment to any who look for it. Unfortunately, a few weeks later, Séverin receives a letter from Hypnos who knows he stole the compass.

After Séverin meets Hypnos, Hypnos asks Séverin to help him obtain the Horus Eye from House Kore and, in return, Hypnos will readminister the inheritance test on Séverin, as the previous test’s results had been fabricated to keep Séverin from becoming the Patriarch of House Vanth as a child. Séverin reluctantly agrees and returns to the group. They all promise to help him and use a party at an opera house called the Palais de Reves to interrogate House Kore’s courier to learn where the Hours Eye is.

At the House Kore estate, everyone splits into their roles and begins working toward stealing the Horus Eye. Enrique goes with Tristan into the greenhouse to try and set a trap that will keep anyone else from following them. However, Tristan accidentally gets poisoned and, after feeding him an antidote, they are forced to hide in guard uniforms.

After finding the real Horus Eye and dispelling Ammit, the group splits from Hypnos. However, when they reenter the greenhouse, they find that Tristan has been tortured by an item called the Phobus Helmet which makes one's' nightmares feel real. A man named Roux-Joubert, who both Séverin and Zofia met unknowingly throughout the night, takes the Horus Eye and tells them they have three days to give him Hypnos’ Babel Ring before leaving with Tristan.

After the crew learns of The Fallen House and break into the Exposition Universelle, Zofia learns that there is a secret entrance in the exhibit and works with a silver cloth that Séverin stole to create a barrier that will stop anyone from stepping through it. Séverin and Laila go to the catacombs as the others leave for the Exposition. They find Tristan on a stage behind a red curtain, but both are captured. Tristan holds Laila at knife point, clearly traumatized (as they have kept the Phobus Helmet on him for at least three days) while Séverin is tortured by Roux-Joubert.

It is revealed that the Fallen House’s blood is actually golden, and it gives them the power to control men’s souls. Roux-Joubert wants to use the Babel Rings to awaken the Babel Fragment and proclaims that the doctor will allow him to ascend to godhood. He activates the fragment as Zofia, Hypnos, and Enrique manage to get into the catacombs from the other side. Zofia’s invention keeps the other House Fallen members from entering the catacombs until Roux-Joubert kills his companion and breaks open the doorway. A man in a bug mask, who Roux-Joubert calls the doctor, enters. They figure out that the Horus Eye needs to be placed in the center of a spiral pattern on the floor and, with Hypnos distracting the doctor, Laila is able to do it. This stops the fragment from rising as order guards, known as Sphinxes, arrive and record everything. The doctor and the surviving House Fallen members run while Roux-Joubert is left injured and furious. Hypnos promises that he will put in a good word for Séverin and the group celebrates their victory.

A week goes by and the entire group prepares for a full moon party.

At the party, Séverin sees Laila take the stage as her dancer persona before reading a letter Tristan gave him earlier in the night. He realizes that Roux-Joubert has escaped, but is unable to stop the man as he charges into the party and throws the bladed hat. Séverin tackles Laila, not realizing that Tristan was the target. A week later, Hypnos and the matriarch of House Kore say they will give Séverin the inheritance test, but he refuses, determined to take down The Fallen House for killing Tristan.

## Forging Affinity

Tristan had a forging affinity for liquid matter, more specifically the liquid present in plants. He has no need to pursue study at a school or a tutor because he has no need of it. He makes unique landscape artistry that looks like "the fever dream of a nature spirit," and is unsettling and beautiful. The waiting list to commission him stretches into hundreds, and he is more popular than ever. He uses his forging talent to make weapons and thoughtful presents for the group.

## Personality

Tristan is curious, shy, full of laughter and full of love for all of the group especially for Séverin. He also deeply hates the Order of Babel and Hypnos, refusing to speak to him, but gradually trusts him more as they progress. He is the most terrified person of the group, always concerned that they were on the brink of death, always looking for a way out of it.

## Appearance

Tristan is a 16 year old who is the youngest in the group but looks younger in the dark. He has wide piercing gray eyes, fair blond hair and a round face with round cheeks which is bright with color and always propped up in a grin. He is described by Séverin as having "a honest face," the kind that "demands trust." He often has dirt smudged on his clothes, a tarantula hid away in his pocket and flowers around him.

## Trivia

* One of Tristan's masterpieces is his Seven Sins Gardens of L'Eden.
* Tristan's favorite drink is hot chocolate, so Laila makes it often for him.
* He has a cramped and slanted handwriting but, strangely enough, is good at faking people's handwriting. However, he hates this practice.