Tristan Beauclair

Antoine Beauclair, Lucien Beauclair (brothers/vampiric broodmates)

Helena Beauclair (sister/vampiric broodmate)

Faust (vampiric sire)

Tristan Beauclair is an ancient vampire of Clan Malcador, originating from tenth century France. A scion of Faust, Tristan is a member of the infamous and powerful Beauclair family, and is the most impulsive and violent of the bunch. Despite his violent tendencies and known indulgences, Tristan is still recognized as a skilled warrior and possesses the regal bearing required by the clan, and as such, he is still respected, if greatly feared, by many fellow Malcador. This is especially the case within the United States, where he is one of the oldest and most powerful of not only the Malcador, but Cainites in general.

## Biography

### Early Life

Tristan was born in West Frankia in 983 AD, during the years where it was transitioning into the Kingdom of France. He was the third son of his father, Baron Jaspar Beauclair and his wife Baroness Vivina, having two older brothers, Antoine and Lucien, and one younger sister, Helena. As the son of a noble, even if a minor one, he grew up far more comfortable than most people in his era, learning to read and write, as well as receiving an education in the arts of war. Tristan proved to be the most skilled combatant out of his brothers, and took great pleasure in defeating them in practice duels. Unlike his pious older brother Antoine, and the shrewd, calculating Lucien, Tristan was a noted womanizer, and by his teenage years was well known to the brothel houses in the villages on his father's land, having dallied with whores, tavern wenches, inkeeper's wives and blacksmith's daughters. That said, Tristan treated his lovers quite well, charming them with his chivalry and skill as a singer, and never once abused them. In fact, he took an extremely dim view of those who did mistreat women.

#### Castrating the Cook and Family Trouble

An incident of note that occurred when he was fifteen involved him and a few of his father's guards savagely beating the castle cook, who had ended up raping Margret, the serving girl who took Tristan's virginity. After having the castle guards help beat the man bloody, Tristan gelded him with a kitchen knife. Though his father understood his actions, Tristan was sent to a nearby church for three days to pray as penance. The next year, Margret gave birth to a daughter named Gelila. Gelila grew up in the castle kitchens with her mother Margret, but Tristan spent a great deal of time visiting her, to the distaste of his brother Lucien. Antoine and Helena, however, were also greatly fond of their niece, bastard though she was. Tristan's mother attempted to send Margret and Gelila away to a nunnery, but fortunately, Lucien, who had initially helped with the plan, relented, and informed their father, who put a stop to it immediately. Tristan was outraged by what his mother had attempted, and would have struck her but for being restrained by his brothers. Their relationship never fully recovered after that.

#### Subsequent Bastards

Tristan fathered two more children during his teenage years. One, a boy named Odo, was born a few months after Gelila to a whore named Imma. Another girl was born two years later, the daughter of an inkeeper who Tristan visited in the stable by the inn she lived in. That second daughter was named Adelhaid. Both of the mothers were provided money by the young lordling, who was indulged by his good hearted father. Both Odo and Adelhaid received constant visits from their father whenever he was able.

#### Defending Honor

During his late teens, Tristan became aware of Helena's interest in one of their household guards, a young man by the name of Welf. Tristan, who liked Welf, arranged for them to meet in secret, and took a vow of silence on the matter. Sometime later, when a few surrounding families arrived at Baron Jaspar's court to discuss marriage with one of the Beauclair siblings, one of the lords, a man by the name of Bernardus, caught Helena kissing with Welf in one of the hallways. He then openly mocked her in front of the entire court, declaring her a slattern who had yielded her maidenhood to a common guardsman. Outraged, Tristan challenged Baron Bernardus to a duel to defend his sister's honor after she ran crying and humiliated from the hall. The duel, which was meant to be only to first blood, ended with Tristan knocking the baron's helmet off and driving his sword through his eye, killing him. This resulted in a brief, small scale war between the Beauclairs and the son of Baron Bernardus, until their liege lord forced them to end the conflict, where Tristan's father was forced to yield a large portion of their lands and pay a hefty sum for Bernardus's death.

### Embrace

#### Prelude

During the winter of Tristan's nineteenth year, a terrible sickness came upon one of the villages near his father's castle. The disease was vastly worsened by the fact that much of that year's crop had failed, resulting in a massive food shortage in the region. Lord Jaspar could easily have seen to it that his household was isolated from the plague and well fed, as his son Lucien and his wife Vivina advised, but that was not his way. The baron commanded that their food stores be opened, and had his son Antoine lead their men in distributing their supplies to their people. As this occurred, word reached Tristan that his son, Odo had fallen ill, along with many of the whores at the brothel where he and his mother resided. Religious fervor Tristan had never took hold of him then, and he spent every moment by Odo's bedside, praying for him, as Antoine and Helena spent most of there's in the church, doing the same. For three days, it seemed that God might have heard his pleas, but on the third night, little Odo's heart stopped beating. He was only three years old. Tristan was devastated, returning to the castle utterly despondent, but before he could properly mourn the loss, he learned that his daughter Adelhaid had left, taken by her mother and grandfather, who had sold their inn and quietly fled the village and the sickness. Grabbing a horse and a bit of coin, Tristan rushed out into the countryside in search of them. Eventually, he came upon their camp, where he found their bodies with their throats torn open, along with those of several other men, torn to pieces as if by a monstrous beast. The only living thing he found was a man, marked by animal claws and teeth, grievously wounded and unconscious. Shortly as he did so, Antoine and Lucien, who had come out looking for him, arrived. They took the wounded stranger back to their castle, arriving just before dawn.

The stranger slept all through the day. He gave no signs of life, and they thought him dead, but for the fact that his wounds were healing as the day went on. Lucien advised that they kill the man, fearing what sort of creature he might be, but Lord Jaspar refused to allow it. In any case, trouble abounded, as the sickness had entered the castle, and the first struck by it was Tristan's mother, Lady Vivina. Lucien hardened his heart, advising that their mother be quarantined for the good of the castle's residents, which Vivina herself agreed with. Lord Jaspar would not hear of it, and he, Antoine and Helena remained at their mother's side. Only Tristan followed Lucien's advice, thinking of his daughter Gelila. Two days after their mother fell ill, he and Lucien were given a brief distraction from the sickness that had begun to spread out of their household, when the stranger awoke. He revealed his name to be Faust, and explained that he had been attacked by shapechanging monsters. Before they could question him more, their father arrived, telling them that their mother was dying, and that she wished to say goodbye. Leaving Lord Jaspar with the stranger, Lucien finally relented, and went off to see her, but Tristan found himself unable to face her, and hid himself in the castle larder, unable to cope with his mother's death. He resolved himself to give her his forgiveness and apologize for the rift between them. However, in the ten minutes he had been wracked by indecision, she had drawn her final breath, without the chance to say goodbye, and hear that he had forgiven her.

#### Final Days

Soon, the disease spread throughout the castle, and the servants began to flee. Every one of Tristan's family fell sick. His father, his brothers, and little sister. And of course, he himself. Before the last of the servants deserted them, it was said that God was striking down the Beauclair family for their misdeeds, that even his kind and noble father was to be smote by the Almighty. Jaspar spent all his time locked away with Faust, as one by one, his children were struck down. Antoine, the last to succumb, sent Margret and Gelila away, urging them both to flee to the church, to seek the protection of the Lord, while Tristan was too sick and delirious to even remember what was going on. Unbeknown to the pious Antoine, God's protection would not be forthcoming to the sick who ventured into His house. But the protection of another sort came upon Tristan and his siblings. Death came for them, but death was not the end.

#### Post Embrace Tragedy

Tristan had been given the ancient blood of Faust first of his siblings, and as such, was the first to claw his way out of the earth while the rest of his siblings lay beneath it with their sire. Frantic and disoriented, he made his way from the field where he had risen back towards the castle and the village. Coming across the church, he stumbled blindly into it, hoping to beg for some aid. When he entered, he found it full of the sick and dying. Full of the bleeding. Yet Margret and Gelila were as yet untouched by sickness, it seemed, and they rushed elatedly to greet him. As they did, however, Tristan was finding a terrible hunger beginning to grip him. Frantically, he shouted for them to get back, stumbling away and falling to his knees. As he fell, he landed beside a sick man, who coughed a spurt of blood right into his face. A few drops made their way past his lips, and in his newborn state, Tristan's hunger took over, and the whole world went red.

When sense returned to him, he was holding his daughter in his arms. Bodies were all around him, and his girl's blood was on his lips, her throat open and bleeding. Her tiny hand was on his cheek, her eyes upon his. As the light faded from them, she whispered her final word. "Papa....."

In over a thousand years, Tristan has *never* recovered from what he did that night.

### Arrival in New Orleans

Tristan and his family came to New Orleans in the year 1719.

## Physical Appearance

Tristan appears as a young man of twenty years, with lustrous dark brown hair and a lithe, athletic physique. The most handsome of the Beauclair brothers, Tristan is possessed of gorgeous features, pale blue eyes, and an infamously devilish smile.

## Personality

Tristan is a vain, arrogant, and hedonistic being. Confident and self assured, he is impulsive and strong willed, and when he wants something, he usually takes the most direct and violent path to get it. He rarely plans for the future or considers the consequences of his actions, relying on his skill with words, quick wits, and raw vampiric power to get him out of bad situations.

Possessed of considerable charisma, Tristan is very charming when he puts his mind to it. Typically, he utilizes his social skills when engaging in acts of seduction. Additionally, he is possessed of a sharp wit, which is often employed in battling with verbal barbs.

Tristan is also cruel and sadistic. Though he can be quite charming, he enjoys making mock of other individuals and relishes inciting violence at the slightest provocation. He delights in inciting up close, personal terror in mortals. Whilst he does appear outwardly to relish being a vampire, deep down, Tristan misses his human life, especially the ability to consume normal food, and more importantly, go out in the sun.

## Skills

Tristan, as was custom for nobles in his era, was educated in the arts of war from a young age, and was trained in horsemanship and swordplay. He is a skilled rider and a master with the blade, though he has little use for most mortal weapons when his vampiric powers are available. He is a skilled hand to hand combatant, although for the most part, he relies on his overwhelming power to grant him victory over foes. Tristan is also a very gifted artist, being skilled in drawing and painting, which he pursues as a hobby, as well as being an excellent singer.

## Stats

**Name:** Tristan Beauclair

**Race:** Vampire

**Date of Birth:** 983 AD

**Date of Embrace:** 1003 AD

**Sire:** Faust

**Clan:** Malcador (Faustine Bloodline)

**Generation:** 3rd

**Blood Potency:** 8

**Power Class:** Ancient Blood

**Blood Gifts:**

**Ardor****:** 7

**Augury****:** 5

**Glamour****:** 7

**Legerity****:** 6

**Mesmer****:** 5

**Permutation****:** 1

**Virtus****:** 5

## Department File

**Name:** Tristan Beauclair

**Status:** Active

**Threat Code:** Black

**Known Aliases:**

**Species:** Vampire