Francis Valentine

Francis Valentine is a young vampire more faithful than a room full of priests.

## History

Son of a renowned demon hunting Bishop and Mother Superior, Francis grew up within the church and an especially rigid Irish hunter society in Kells, Ireland.

Francis learned at a tender age that supernatural beings were to be immediately eradicated to protect the flock and how to most effectively accomplish this task. He also learned of God's love and Christ's compassion. He learned both lessons extremely well, but unfortunately they did not mesh well. After too many incidents of mercy for the enemy, sermons of compassion for monsters, even preaching faith to the non-human, the final straw came when Francis fell in love with one of them.

Francis ended up breaking ties with the church and his family. Involuntarily. The official word is that he died in the service of the Lord. A friend found him before he actually kicked it. She had a very enticing offer, especially for a broken priest abandoned by his faith and family. Francis has obediently followed his master ever since.

## Personality

Francis presents himself in two ways- as a charming tavern keeper who keeps the drinks and music flowing, and a shy, lonely outsider prone to flirting and joking as much as outbursts of anger and crying.

Francis is slow to warm to strangers, unless they seem to be in need. He makes friends more easily while at the Bleeding Heart, especially with the supernatural. Francis can act aloof or aggressive on first meeting; his strict hunter upbringing has left him tough, but also shamefully short tempered. Despite this, Francis tends to look for the best in people, even when there's not much there. Easily impressed, he can be gullible, particularly while sloshed or underfed. Since getting stuck in Streitstadt, he has begun drinking far more. A drink or two can make Francis very affectionate...

A very young vampire, Francis isn't too familiar with his own kind from the perspective of not trying to murder them. He is used to being cared for and following his master's commands, and is struggling on his own. He tries to abstain from human blood, but doesn't have the willpower to always maintain his disgusting animal-blood starvation diet- he has been known to slip, but so far has managed not to kill anyone. He can also act a bit irrational when underfed.

Francis still does his best to 'live' by the book. He does not kill even his animal meals. Despite conventional wisdom, Francis believes he is still part of God's flock, can save those in need, and that he may still have a soul left to save. He has a fierce conviction that he is still 'good'. If you get him started on religion, organized or otherwise, he tends to get preachy and passionate, to the point of quoting scripture. This will harm him unless well fed.

### **Quirks**

Francis is afraid he will hurt someone without his Master's guidance, and has sustained himself on animals since arriving (with the occasional slip up). They all taste bad.

Sometimes hungover or simply drunk. He does not hold his alcohol well, but will certainly keep practicing. Usually prudish in his dress, tattoos can be glimpsed beneath his clothes. He speaks with a thick Irish accent, and can sometimes have trouble understanding subtleties of language.

### **Blood Preference**

When indulging in humans, Francis favors blood of the faithful, including priests. However, regardless of faith, meals willingly given, especially in the throes of passion is sweetest of all to Francis.

He dislikes drinking from the fearful or anxious, but starvation has left him not all that picky. Still, he will try to soothe a terrified meal for a better flavor... & because that's just kinder! Right...?

## **Physical Traits**

Underfed, often marked by feeding on non-human blood.

## Abilities

. Animal blood keeps him going, but leaves him . Even weakened, , but may also undermine his own certainty that he is not a monster.

**Strengths**

* Abnormal tolerance to Christian prayer and relics
* Unexpectedly powerful when well fed
* Strong emotions can bring glimpses of strong supernatural powers, even while starving
* Brave

### **Weaknesses**

* Reckless
* Gullible & naive
* Sickly and weak from abstinence of human blood and frequent binge drinking.
* Easily goes feral at the sight/smell/though of 'edible' blood
* Undead creatures, ghosts particularly, make him uneasy.

## Personal Items

* **The Bleeding Heart** - An inn that only appears on certain nights, at a different location. On nights it doesn't appear, Francis is essentially homeless.
* **A gramophone** - It fills the inn with music. Do not touch.
* **A Bible** - no one said he was good at being a vampire.
* **A golden flask** - Francis can get very nasty if others show too much interest in it.
* **Religious tattoos**- Acquired during his childhood and meant as a safeguard to protect kill hunter-priests from possession or if they ever turned. The tattoos include crucifixes and bible passages. Francis believes it is a SIGN FROM ABOVE that he survived the incredible damage from the holy words covering his freshly turned body. The ordeal permanently strengthened his defenses against the Christian faith, as well as his conviction that he is still part of God's flock. They may glow when Francis comes in contact with religion, both physically and mentally.

## Character Relationships

* Angel Santiago - Very nice, even if he's obviously a scary vampire lord.
* Claud Moray - A very nice human who should stay away from monsters, for Heaven's sake...
* Clark Ballard - ....Terrifying. Merciless. And he doesn't *listen*...
* Gladys Moray - A very nice lady who Francis enjoys spending time with! They mope together about their masters.
* Jonathan Hopkins - He and Francis lived at the same Monastery for years. Francis adores him like a father.
* Koby - It was an accident... Francis is so, so sorry...
* Rémi d'Aubigné - Nice but kind of scary but... nice.