August Villemaire

## Traits

August is a timid but intellectual alchemist who is fairly clumsy but is determined to learn new things and incorporate them in any way to the benefit of others. Due to his inability to speak vocally, his way of communicating with others are through signs and written books, as well as simple gestures such as nodding. Despite this heavy handicap, he still wishes to be able to create stronger connections and bonds with others and be able to assist others with whatever he can do.

## Goals & Motivation

Short term: Be acquainted with the people around him.

Long term: Be able to find a more efficient way around his handicap.

## Physical strength

Due to the lack of combat-related training he received over the past years, he isn’t the most physically capable person in a fight.

## Speed & Agility

If absolutely necessary, he can travel far enough distances in order to flee from enemies, although it wouldn’t take long for them to catch up.

## Endurance and Stamina

Due to the lack of combat-related training he received over the years, he’s fairly fragile and can get tired pretty easily from any form of stamina-heavy activities.

## Charisma & Intelligence

He’s fairly intelligent, but often overthinks different problems and would take some time to figure out a solution to a problem. Despite that, he’s a fast learner and can adapt to most situations fairly quickly.
Due to his lack of ability to communicate through his own mouth, a lot of his interactions tend to get stale and therefore isn’t the most persuasive and charismatic person.

## Combat ability

Has little combat experience, therefore he isn’t the most skilled when it comes to combative situations.

## Skills

Excels in writing and, to a certain extent, alchemy. Is also fairly adaptable and can understand the situation at hand most of the time.

## Drawbacks/weaknesses

Aside from his poor physical capabilities, his lack of ability to communicate with others properly heavily hinders many interactions he has and has to resort to using books and signs as well as simple gestures in order to communicate with others.

## Early Life

#### “Birth of August”

August was born under the Villemaire name, a once prestigious family in their town. Misfortune struck their family, however, as August’s mother passed away just a few days after he was born. Because of this, his father took the habit of being in the tavern more often and as time went on, their family fortune began to dwindle more and more. To add on to the misfortune for August to bear at such a young age, his father has become more and more distant from August, staying at the tavern more and more often, leading to him having to fend for himself at these trying times.

In order to survive, he had to take up numerous different odd jobs at a very young age just to sustain himself. He would go around the street in ragged clothes asking for any kind of employment in different establishments. Sometimes he would be tasked to deliver different kinds of goods to customers, while others tend to risk his life for a rather meager payout. Nevertheless, he continues to work hard just to survive in this harsh environment.

#### “Withered Roots”

August had to make do with living in a nearby alleyway, as his own home had been taken away by the landlord after his father refused to pay for their already steep rent on numerous occassions. He wondered where his father went after all this time, as it’s been a few years since he started to drink more frequently at the tavern. August searched around the town for hours until he ran into a man who appeared to be a priest. The priest noticed the boy in ragged clothes and called for his attention.

“Are you lost, son?” The priest asks August, who seemed genuinely concerned about what was in his mind.

“O-oh uhm… Not really…” August shakily says in response. He didn’t expect the priest to suddenly go up to him and ask about what he’s been up to. Besides, he doubted that the priest would be able to help him find his father.

“Are you sure? You seem to have a lot in your mind.”

“N-no I’m fine! Really! Please, don’t-”

“Are you perhaps… looking for something? Or someone?”

“...”

August stood there in silence, not knowing what to say in response. He didn’t know if he should trust this priest he just met a few seconds ago. But he felt like this was his only chance to have other people help find his father, as nobody else had listened to his pleas for help.

“Well… I’m looking for someone…” August says in response

“Someone, huh? Who might that be?”

“It’s… my dad.”

“Your father, huh? Say, can you tell me your name, son?” The priest says as he pulls out a small notepad and a pencil. Presumably so that he could use it to ask the people around him to help August.

“My name… is August. August Villemaire.”

“August Villema- Wait, you’re his son?” The priest stopped writing and stood there waiting for August’s response.

“W-what about it…? All I know is that he’s been away from home a lot and I’ve been trying my best to find him. I just.. Really miss him ever since mom died…”

“Howard, you son of a bitch… How could you leave your kid like this..?” The priest mutters to himself.

“I-is there anything wrong, sir…?”

The priest let out a large sigh before facing August, who’s visibly confused and scared on what’s happening.

“Well, son… You really aren’t up to date with everything, huh?”

“W-what do you mean, sir..?”

“Well to start, your father and I were pretty good friends at the time. He used to fund the church for the convent, and was all-around a good man. Then, I heard the news about your mother.”

The priest paused for a second to give August more time to comprehend what he’s saying.

“Your mother… It was unfortunate, really. I’m very sorry that you had to experience such an event.”

“...”

“It was also then when your father started to act… strange. He stopped going to the convent and my associates always say that he’s over at the Angel’s Tavern more often. I tried to help him out myself, but there was no way my words were going through his drunken state. I felt like he had already become a lost cause. Sorry about that, kid.”

“...well what happened to him now..?”

“Well… Let’s just say that things haven’t gone well for that man ever since. He made dealings with different bandit organizations that… didn’t end too well. That’s about as much I know about him, sorry.”

“...I see. Thank you, sir.”

The two stood there in silence. It was a lot for August to take in, as he understood what the priest meant on what happened to his father. He was experiencing many different kinds of emotions all at once; he was angry, sad, confused, depressed, and overall bewildered as to what had happened. It came to the point where it was becoming too overwhelming for him, and that there was no point in going on when there’s nobody left around him. He only had his parents by his side and without them, there wasn’t anything much left for him.

The priest noticed how August reacted to what he said about his father. He pitied the kid, and knew he had to take some amount of responsibility for telling him the truth about what happened to his father. He took some time to think about his next course of action, before finally settling in on one decision that may change August’s life forever.

“Hey, son. It’s getting dark out here, how about you stay at the convent while I figure something out for you? I’m sure that’s what your father wanted for you.”

August stood there in silence, not sure on what to do. But his gut feeling told him that the priest seemed to be a good man, and isn’t someone malicious. Despite having nothing left for him, it’s the only opportunity he has left in order to rid himself of his current situation and live a much happier life.

“...Alright, sir…” August says quietly.

“Alright, son. Just follow me, the convent isn’t far from here. I’ll make sure to take care of you.”

“...Thank you, sir.”

“It’s nothing, son. Also, my name’s Lidel, so you can refer to me as that if you prefer.”

The two walked into the convent where August was welcomed with open arms. It was the first time August felt welcomed by other people and was able to experience something he hasn’t had the opportunity to experience in years.

“Welcome to Lucerna’s Light, son. Don’t worry, I’ll be the one to take care of you from now on.” Lidel says to August, lightly patting his head as they move forward in the convent.

## Recent life events

#### “A New Leaf”

It’s been years since August had arrived at the hands of Lucerna’s Light where, under Lidel’s guidance, was able to receive proper education, food on his table, and a roof above his head. Life was comfortable for him and he felt happy, unlike his past living in the streets scrounging for any sort of way to survive. As a way to thank Lidel, August made sure that he worked hard during his time studying and read through many different books to broaden his knowledge more. It was through this that he picked up a new hobby of his: writing poetry. Although Lidel said that being a poet isn’t the most economically viable, August still wanted to try it out as it piqued his interest. Even if his works are very amateur, he still felt proud of them and wanted to pursue more of it.

While looking for reference in the courtyard, he met someone who appeared to be a junior. August approached the boy, who seemed to be lost and confused, despite having similar uniforms.

“Hey there, do you need help?” August asks the boy, who seemed to be living in his own world.

"There's no pictures, how am I supposed to work here?" the disgruntled boy flips a scroll towards August, on it is scripture.

“Pictures? Oh, do you want me to find someone in the convent to help you out?”

“No no no, I don’t want to embarrass myself in front of my father. I just want to be able to understand whatever is written here.”

“Oh, so you just need help in reading? Well, you came to the right person. Here, follow me to the library.”

The two quickly became friends as August tirelessly taught the boy on how to read and write. The boy introduced himself as Tharion Lighthammer, who’s last name August recognized as one of the great paladins, Luther Lighthammer. Tharion was a fast learner, and it didn’t take long for him to pick up the fundamentals August had taught him.

#### “Amateur Practices”

At age 17, he was given the opportunity to study in a much more prestigious school due to how he excelled in his education journey, where he met his teacher Yu Heng. There, Yu Heng taught him and the other students the fundamentals of alchemy. Many praised their talents and knowledge on the subject, but August was more intrigued on the topic itself, that being alchemy. He was hooked on the different topics and lessons in relation to alchemy and soon wanted to try it out himself. Although he had none of the required equipment and materials to properly perform alchemy, he wanted to at least be able to experience what it’s like to successfully perform alchemy.

After running a few errands and borrowing money from Lidel, August was able to purchase his own alchemy equipment that he can use in his room. But due to the steep price of professional alchemy equipment, he had to make do with the low-end, second-handed alchemy equipment that could do the bare minimum. Nevertheless, August really looked forward to being able to perform alchemy in his own room and be just like the teacher he looked up to.

August followed whatever he took note of from Yu Heng’s lectures and applied it onto his first alchemical project. He made sure to be very careful with the different materials he had, as any form of error may result in an undesirable event.

***\*BANG\****

Everyone in the convent was startled upon hearing the loud sound, and Lidel quickly made his way to August’s room, where smoke can be seen crawling under the door. He opened the door to see August on the floor with his right arm and chest bruised and burnt and the alchemy equipment that had been destroyed due to the accident.

“August! Are you alright?!” Lidel exclaimed, shaking August to make sure he’s still conscious.

August couldn’t respond, as his vision had become blurry and his ears started ringing due to the accident. Lidel quickly got other people to assist August into the infirmary and was hospitalized for 2 weeks.

August woke up a few days later on a clean bed with bandages all over his body and right arm. He tried to get up but was interrupted by Lidel who appeared to be concerned about August’s state.

“August! What happened, son? How did you end up like this?!” Lidel said, wanting answers from August after witnessing what had happened a few days prior.

“Oh, uhm… It was just a little accident- I’m alright though.”

“Alright?! Just look at yourself, son! Thank Lucerna that you’re still alive, otherwise I wouldn’t have known what to do!”

Lidel was right, August felt nothing but excruciating pain all over his body due to the burns he received from the failed project. He didn’t expect the accident to be as catastrophic as it was, but he made sure to be careful with his materials so as to not cause an accident. Perhaps it was due to the poor-quality alchemy equipment that caused the accident, or he had written down incorrect notes before performing the project. He had to answer those questions later though, as he had to focus on his health and be able to recover soon enough to inquire Yu Heng about his experiences.

Two weeks have passed, and August was finally let go from the infirmary. He went back to his room, which has been cleaned up since the accident, and took a look at his notes to see what he did wrong. There was nothing in the notes he wrote down that seemed wrong, but he wanted to make sure that he arrived at the correct conclusion so as to not repeat the same mistakes again. He went back to his school and looked for Yu Heng in order to question them on what he did wrong. He went around asking the different teachers who worked there on Yu Heng’s whereabouts.

“Yu Heng? Oh, *that* guy. Yeah you wouldn’t be finding them any time soon, unfortunately.” one of the teachers said.

“Why not? Is he on leave right now?”

“Well, let’s just say he’s been sent to the slammer for doing some questionable stuff. Not sure on the details myself, sorry kid.”

“Wait, he was arrested?!”

“Yeah, but like I said I don’t know the details about it myself, besides it causing a lot of commotion within the school premises.”

August couldn’t believe that the teacher he looked up to for their talents and knowledge had been arrested due to reasons that he couldn’t witness himself due to being hospitalized.

It didn’t take long for him to discover the truth of what had happened with Yu Heng, mainly about them performing “The Dark Arts” in front of their students. Upon learning this information, August decided to stop pursuing on asking Yu Heng about his failed project and simply guessed that it was the equipment that failed him and learned his lesson from then on.

## Present life

#### “Negotiating with the King”

At age 20, August was given a job opportunity by Lidel to work within the convent of Lucerna’s Light. August hoped to be something that he was interested in, but was given the role as a cleric behind a desk as the convent didn’t have much job spaces outside of clerical work. Nevertheless, August gladly took the job. His time working was rather mundane as nothing of value occurred during his time working and he would usually spend the time writing poetry or reading through classical novels or alchemy texts.

One day, while August was reading a novel from behind his desk, he was suddenly approached by Lidel, who seemed to be in distress.

“Sir? What’s the matter?” August asked Lidel.

“I need you to join me. It’s a very important matter that was appointed to me by one of the paladins of Lucerna’s Light.” Lidel says in response.

August didn’t know what to make of what Lidel said, but he decided to join him on their way to the arranged meeting place where they are met by two other people and the paladin, Luther Lighthammer.

“Ah, Lidel! Thank you for coming all this way to gather a few members of the convent for this mission.” Luther heartily exclaims.

“It’s a pleasure, Sir Luther.” Lidel says in response

“What’s going on? Why is Sir Luther here?” August asks, still confused on the matter at hand.

“I see you’re still not well-informed, young one. It’s alright, I’ll brief all of you about the situation we’re currently facing.”

Luther began to explain the tensions between the Roan Empire and Lucerna’s Light have been rising to the point of possible conflicts occuring. Due to Lucerna’s Light leaving the Roan Empire behind due to their egregious acts, the Roan Empire have been trying to have Lucerna’s Light return but to no avail. It came to the point where they grew far more hostile towards Lucerna’s Light and its members. Luther was assigned on organizing a team that comprised of intellectual individuals in order to negotiate with the king of the Roan Empire in an attempt to quell any tensions both parties have and to prevent a war from breaking out.

“Also, allow me to introduce August to these two individuals who will be joining us in our little venture. August, this is Paris and Jean. They’ll be accompanying us to the Roan Empire.” Lidel says.

“Greetings, August. I’ve heard of you from Sir Lidel myself. My name is Paris, a scholar within the convent. I hope we’ll get acquainted nicely.” Paris introduces himself to August.

“I’m Jean, a senior knight under Sir Luther’s branch. I’ll be the one escorting all of you into the Roan Empire without much trouble. So don’t worry about it, kid.” Jean introduces himself to August.

“You sure this is going to be alright, sir?” August whispers to Lidel, feeling overwhelmed by having such people around him.

“It’s going to be alright, son. With these fellas, things should go smoothly especially with your help.”

“My help? I don’t understand, why did you pick me, sir? What is it that I have that would be beneficial in this situation?”

“Well not only are you one of the brightest minds in the convent, your tenacity and willpower will be of benefit for us when we meet with the king of the Roan Empire. Don’t worry, I trust that you’d do just fine there, son. Besides, Sir Luther himself knows what you can do and trusts your ability. After all, you did help his son out.”

“Is that so…” August felt a little more at ease knowing that Luther and Lidel trusted him this much. He hopes that he’d be able to be of value in their negotiation with the king.

Luther sends off the group of four into the Roan Empire, posing as messengers wishing to speak to the king of the Roan Empire The king, however, didn’t seem to be in a good mood and was known to be brutish and cruel. Despite this, he surprisingly responded to their request and arranged their meeting within the Roan Empire palace.

#### “Philosopher’s Treatment”

The group enters the arranged meeting area, in which the king, accompanied by several guards, has been waiting for their arrival. August felt intimidated by the intense atmosphere that filled the room. If the king chooses to, the four can easily perish within their walls with very little chance of escape.

"For servitors of a Deity you people seem to have no respect for the time of a higher being." The King says in an angry tone, but he quickly shakes his head, seemingly changing personality in an instant.

"But that is no matter, welcome to my throne room. Pretty, isn't it?"

"Apologies, King Claudius. The journey was rather rough, to say the least." Lidel says in response to the unamused king, feeling slightly anxious around his presence.

"We're here to discuss with you about the tensions between the Roan Empire and Lucerna's Light rising at an alarming rate. It's in our best interest that things won't escalate any further than how it is as of now." Paris adds.

"Very well, you should all sit down, get comfortable, we might be here for the rest of the day." The King says with a slight smirk, putting their attention on a group of small wooden chairs, uncomfortable and unpolished.

"Have you people considered that these tensions wouldn’t exist if you were to say... just return here?" The King says with an unamused, sarcastic tone.

"That... would be rather difficult to say, King Claudius. As you know, the high paladins wish that Lucerna's Light should not remain within the walls of the Roan Empire. Perhaps there would be other options we could talk about?" Lidel says.

"May we ask though, why do you want Lucerna's Light to return to the Roan Empire in the first place?" August adds, wanting to dig deeper in the King’s motivations.

The King stared at August with an unamused face, causing August’s spine to shiver upon locking eyes with the King.

"That is something I have to discuss with Luther, but apparently he likes sending inexperienced young boys and old decrepit men to do his job for him" The King says in a joking manner, he laughs and looks around the room, to which his knights follow his lead as they begin cackling.

"Sir Luther is... busy with other matters at the moment." Lidel says, now with a far less confident tone.

"How about we contact Sir Luther now and arrange a meeting for the two of you?" Paris says, hoping to keep the negotiations afloat.

The King paused, with a very dissatisfied look on his face. August takes notice and tries to get Lidel’s attention, but it seems he was just as terrified as he was as he was sweating bullets during the whole conversation.

"We have already arranged a meeting, this one, I was expecting him to show up, I won't be waiting seasons just to align with his schedule." The King sits up in his chair, replying with a cold, stern voice.

"Perhaps we can work something out, right? It's not too late for us to-" August says before getting abruptly cut off by the impatient king.

"No, I am tired of this... this dance. If you people do not want to return to where you belong, then you all do not belong anywhere!" The King stands up, his finger pointed at August.

Everyone stood up, terrified of what was about to happen. The guards quickly surrounded the group, cutting off their chance of leaving the room. Jean drew his sword against the guards, who have their swords and crossbows pointed at them.

“Shit… So this is how it would all end…” Lidel mutters to himself.

One of the guards swiftly snatched the right arm of August, dragging him away from the group. August screams in pain as the guard forces him away due to the scars he received in the past. He tried to free himself from his grip, but it was no use.

"What the- You son of a b-!"

Before Jean could assist August, his throat was struck by the butt of one of the guard’s crossbow, causing him to collapse on the ground gasping for air.

"JEAN!" Paris yells, but couldn't do anything as the guards continue to push both Paris and Lidel into a corner, separating them from Jean and August.

The guard drags August towards the table in front of the king, where he is immediately pinned down by his neck on the table.

"W-wait! What are you doing?! Please! Have mercy!!" August begs the king, terrified for his life as he is completely incapacitated and powerless.

The king laughs at the idea, his laughs growing more and more unhinged, as he stares at August with a wicked grin.

"Then so I shall have mercy. Guards! Make sure this one gets the Philosopher’s treatment! I want to see how they train their clerics to talk big.”

The guard pinning August down quickly draws out his dagger, as another guard forces August's mouth open and pulls his tongue out. Tears are constantly running down his eyes, as the guard slowly puts his dagger over his tongue. He desperately tries to free himself, but to no avail. He tried to scream, but it was of no use. All of his struggles only resulted in the King's disturbing amusement.

"AUGUST!!" Lidel yells from across the room, before getting pinned on the floor himself along with Paris.

“LET GO OF HIM, NOW! WE’LL TALK THIS THROUGH!!”

“Oh, you poor old man. Have you already forgotten? Or has your dementia caught up?” The King says in a very mocking tone in response to Lidel’s protests. The King goes up to Lidel, and crouches down right in front of him as Lidel continues to struggle.

“You’re all in enemy territory. Anything goes here, unfortunately. If anything, you all chose to die here, and nobody will come back for any of you.” The King says in an extremely cold tone, causing those who hear it to shiver down in terror.

The King looked back to August, who’s desperately struggling as his eyes are locked on the dagger that rests just over his tongue.

He nods at the guard, signalling him to do as he please.

August’s heart drops as the guard slowly lifts the knife from his tongue.

*“NO! NO NO NO NO NO WAIT WAIT WAIT!”* August thinks to himself in panic as the guard raises his dagger. He tried to let out a scream, but it was already too late.

***\*THUD\****

A terrifying shriek fills the room as the guard sheaths his dagger covered in blood. The King lets out a maniacal laugh as the guard grabs the dismembered tongue off of the table.

“AUGUST!! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO HIM?!?!” Lidel exclaims, horrified by the sight he had witnessed.

The guard tosses the dismembered tongue at the incapacitated group, who are all frozen in terror.

August, who was writhing and sobbing in pain, was tossed onto the floor in front of the group, with blood all over his mouth and tears running down his eyes.

“YOU BASTARDS! YOU ARE ALL DEAD MEN!”

“Hahahahaha! Please! For someone of your age, you sure do talk big! Perhaps you’d like to join our little August too in his special treatment, wouldn’t you agree?” The King says in a mocking tone. The room soon erupted in laughter as August continued to bleed in his mouth. His eyes red from tears and his breathing is getting harder and harder.

“I’d say it’s time to say goodbye to our dear little August. Lieutenant, you know what to do with the kid. Escort him to the front of the gate and make sure those fools heed the message we’re gonna send them.” The King says, before a guard grabs August by the arms and drags him out of the throne room.

“NO NO NO! AUGUST!! **AUGUST!!!!**” Lidel yells, before his voice can no longer be heard as August gets dragged further away from the throne room.

August couldn’t think straight, he was experiencing a lot of overwhelming feelings at once and couldn’t possibly comprehend all of them. He continued to sob in agonizing pain as the guard continued to drag his limp body all the way back to the front gate, where he was thrown onto the rough ground.

“Get up.” The guard says in a cold tone.

August responded by slowly getting on his feet, still completely shaken by what had happened to him back at the palace. He struggled at first, but managed to get on his feet after grabbing onto a nearby fence pole. August couldn’t bear to look at the man in his eyes, with his eyes locked onto the ground.

“We’ll give you a minute. Run back to where you came from, and don’t look back. Make sure to send them our highest regards, kid.”

“...”

“What are you waiting for? Move it, maggot!” The guard says, violently banging onto his shield, causing August to start desperately running away from him. His running was very staggered and tripped numerous times, before being able to reach the nearby forest.

August didn’t look back at all, his tears still running down his face and his mouth still bleeding as he ran for his life all the way back to the camp where they first met Luther. His vision began to blur as he continued running aimlessly in the forest. Each breath he took only got more and more painful as time went on.

After running for what felt like an eternity, August finally saw the camp where he had met Luther. He ran for as much as he could before collapsing from exhaustion and blood loss at the entrance. Luther noticed the boy at the entrance, and immediately made his way towards him.

“August?! What happened?! Where are the others?!” Luther says, confused as to why August had returned by himself and completely exhausted. Upon further inspection, Luther discovered an unsightly scene. He was completely shocked in horror by what had happened to August, and was at a loss of words. After further inspection, he discovers a note tucked within August’s breast pocket.

*“Come meet me at the palace, Sir Luther. We’ll be waiting for your return.”*

*- King Claudius*

## Fun Facts:

- August loves cats and always dreamed of being able to own one.

- August doesn't like participating in many conversations, especially when people like Tharion are there to lead the conversation.

- Despite having no combat abilities, he would often train with Tharion in order to participate in different events that may require more manpower.

- August loves reading all kinds of books, especially romance, drama, and mystery genres.

### Theme Song:

Frédéric Chopin - Nocturne in C Sharp Minor