Armand Piers

BLURB

## **Biography**

### **Sample**

**1060:** Armand Piers is born, progeny of Ewann and Amara Piers. (15th of Herald’s Moon)
**1066:** Lyrissa Piers is born to Ewann and Amara Piers (12th of New Moon)
**1070:** Brecilidian Rebellion begins. Ewann Piers dies during. (15th of Last Moon)
**1073:** Brecilidian Rebellion ends.
**1074:** Amara Piers commits suicide due to PTSD, age 44. (18th of Drake’s Moon)

**1075:** Necromantic Assault on Caybourne and Red Death. Darcy Piers assigned as Court Sorcerer.
**1086:** Darcy Piers dies of old age, age 118. (5th of Soldier's Moon)

Ewann and Amara were married in 1058 against the wishes of Darcy Piers - although Richard Holdenhome clearly had druidic abilities, Darcy felt his magic line was weak and spotty and didn't expect any magic to show up in his daughter Amara.

Very early, Armand would have been exposed to Darcy's talk of divorce and finding Ewann a 'better' wife before eventually Ewann grew a pair and shut down that topic around the time Lyrissa was born. Darcy had been widowed in 1052 and after this shut-down from Ewann, he took up the task of looking for another wife, but none met his ideal type or weren't down to fuck with a dude nearly 100 years old.

From as soon as Armand could learn to read and write, Darcy was upon him with extra lessons in magic. Armand showed some promise, but nothing like what Darcy wanted out of one of his heirs. Darcy went as far as pushing Lyrissa to read and write at the raw age of 3 just so he could start trying to nail in some more magic lessons, but she displayed even less magical potential than her brother.

When Armand was 10 years old and his sister Lyrissa only 4, the Brecilidian Rebellion began. Their father went to fight, but died in the first year. Amara, stricken with grief, left the children with Darcy and chose to go fight the war her husband had died in. During the three years the war raged, Armand's efforts to train his grandchildren increased, as did his prolific attempts to land himself a new mage lady. In 1073, Amara came back but was barely a shell of the woman she used to be. She tried to take her children to visit her twin Agnes, but Darcy insisted their magic lessons had to continue. Instead of arguing, she left for a few months without them. In 1074, on the 4th eve of her husband's death, she committed suicide.

Armand and Lyrissa grieved their mother. But 14-year-old Armand realized rather quickly that Darcy was already planning out their futures as their full legal guardian. Although arranged marriages and especially underage marriages had been criminalized, Darcy still plotted to find Armand a match of "good breeding". When it turned out Darcy couldn't craft such a match via illegal methods, he began coaching Armand in how to woo a woman in the hopes he could train the young man to catch his own magically-inclined wife through charm. Armand suffered this tutorage until again his world abruptly changed.

In 1075, the Necromantic Assault on Caybourne occurred, as did the Red Death where the Monarch died. Countless died from both events, some of which were kin to Armand. Darcy was made Court Sorcerer to the new monarch, Gordon Blackthorne. Armand was left to comfort his little sister and although they were both still obsessively tutored by their grandfather Darcy, there was very little in the way of emotional support.

However, by 1077, something had clicked for Armand. His visiting second-cousin, Alexi Morvala, had befriended him. For the first time in years, Armand had someone who genuinely cared about his well-being and he realized his little sister needed the opportunity to find someone like that.

Armand made a stand against his grandfather when he overheard Darcy telling 10-year-old Lyrissa she would need a match of good magical breeding. Armand told the 107-year-old wizard in no uncertain terms that he would go to his maternal grandmother with evidence of Darcy's meddling should he not back the fuck off immediately. Darcy was not one to be cowed, but refrained from discussing the subject with or near Lyrissa from that point on.

In reality, Alexi went behind Armand's back and threatened Darcy with the law. He had recognized the 'grooming' behavior Darcy used towards his grandchildren, having witnessed something similar with his own sister and her tutor.

Darcy would still nag on at Armand about his magic lessons and how he needed that oh-so-powerful mage wife to give him little mageling babies. But with the additional duties of the Court Sorcerer, Darcy had stopped in his own matchmaking endeavors. By the time Armand was age 17 in 1077, Darcy had assigned Lyrissa her own tutor and Armand's schooling came to a close. Armand chose to take University classes in Business and Finance, expanding upon what his grandfather had taught him from his own prolific business dealings.

Alexi was the one to introduce Armand to the party scene in 1078. What Armand found there, he liked - perhaps even a bit too much. He fell into the sleepless nights with ease, cramming study in the creases of time where he wasn't bedding a new girl, snorting muze, smoking orc-fist, or getting into wild nights of gambling. He quickly learned to take up learning a form of self-defense and realized that hand-to-hand and swordsmanship were far more fun than magic studies. He also learned to shoot.

He shared a carnal encounter with Dwyn Cliff, and the two would meet up whenever she was in Bastion City.

Armand graduated in 1079. He continued learning swordsmanship and shooting, practicing as often as he could.

Over the years since 1075, Armand came to the realization that Darcy's obsession with making a strong magical line had ruined the family. Ewann had never been allowed to freely love his wife for all she was, constantly being forced to recognize what she was not. Amara hadn't been allowed to take her children away when she might have needed them most - and perhaps, just maybe, she might have survived had they been with her. Maybe she wouldn't have taken her life if they were there. If Darcy hadn't kept them behind. Darcy also snatched up power the instant it was available to him in the position of Court Sorcerer. Upon further reflection, Armand realized he hadn't seen his grandfather even grieve Ewann. And news of Amara's death had been almost an inconvenience for him.