Lysandre du Blanc

Lysandre du Blanc, the most famous or infamous lawyer in Iysgath depending on ones point of view

### Affiliation

The Peaceweaver Monestary, The Iysgarth Bar Council, du Blanc Chambers, Phelps Investigative Agency

## Physical description

### Eye color

Purple

Lysandre du Blanc is an Isygarthian lawyer, though as his fame (and infamy) have grown, he has found himself taking cases throughout the continent and indeed even further afield. He quickly built a reputation for taking on difficult cases concerning powerful, wealthy and well connected members of Iysgarthian society. Though his practice has earnt him few friends within the privileged elite of Iysgarth, his work in exposing the crimes of those who thought they could hide behind their positions has endeared him to the wider population of the city. And even within Iysgarthian high society he is tolerated, if only because they have yet to succeed in removing him from his position.

## Early Life

Little is publicly known of Lysandre's early life. It is something he keeps a closely guarded secret to maintain the carefully crafted image and character he assumes within the court room. What is known is he was born in the Dwarven city of Dol'Archaeon and left for Iysgarth to make his fortune. Through smooth talking and a careful application of alcoholic beverages, he earned himself a position apprenticing to a lawyer within the city. From there he utilised his innate psionic abilities to quickly ingratiate himself to the lawyer and progress from a mere apprentice to a fully qualified member of the Iysgarth Bar Council. From there he took on increasingly difficult cases, always centred on members of high society where there seemed to be clear evidence of a crime and yet no will to pursue the matter further.

## Legal Career

Throughout his time in Iysgarth, Lysandre found himself regularly aghast to the extent the elite members of the city could wantonly commit crimes, only to escape justice through their money or possessing the right connections. Evidence of crimes seemed to vanish into thin air. Few were interested in pursuing such matters for there was far greater money to be made in assisting such people the suppressing of evidence than in bringing it to light. Lysandre held a lofty ideal of justice in his heart, but it was readily apparent that whatever that ideal of equality before the law was far from reality. Where the wealthy could pay to cover up crimes as heinous as murder, the poor found themselves incarcerated for things as lowly as stealing a loaf of bread to feed their family. Seeing this, Lysandre made it his goal in life to level the playing field and teach those with wealth, power and privilege that it did not grant them carte blanche to commit crime in the belief the consequences would always escape them. Given their own disregard for the legal system, Lysandre saw little reason not to stretch it himself and though with great care in to maintain his possession of them a secret, utilised his innate psionic abilities to aid him in cases. Whilst it is a point of principle for him to rely on the merits of the case and his own oratory as much as possible, when the other side does not play fair (as is always the case) he has no compunctions about drawing on his powers to further the case and ensure the guilty party is rightly found to be such.

As his name has grown, Lysandre has expanded his chambers. Ever aware of the risk of condemning an innocent person through his powers, Lysandre employs a number private detectives to ensure the parties he seeks to prosecute are truly guilty. Unless he is absolutely certain of their guilt, he will not prosecute. But when the evidence is there, he devotes all waking hours to the ongoing case, determined to teach all in the city that no one, regardless of their standing in society, they are not above the law.

These actions have not been without danger. There have been a number of attempts on Lysandre's life after particularly high profile cases and he has made it a habit to leave the city after big cases to allow some time for the heat to die down. In Lysandre's eyes this is worth it to allow him to continue his work. Whilst he wanders the open streets of Iysgarth in relative safety with the knowledge that open and brazen attempt upon his life would be unpopular, in private he is deeply guarded and cautious knowing that away from the eyes of the common folk he is far greater danger. On some of these breaks he has found himself in other cities and taken the opportunity to take up cases there, although not on a similar scale to those he takes in Iysgarth. He has even journeyed to far off continents on the other side of the world from time to time, taking in the sights of the 'Forgotten Realms'.

When not prosecuting the rich and powerful, Lysandre takes pro-bono cases for those in society who would otherwise find themselves unable to access legal representation. Through his actions many of the common folk have found themselves free of what would otherwise have been certain jail time. In Lysandre's eyes this just another part in the dismantling the cogs that make up the grossly unfair legal system of the city. Between this and the more famous parts of practice, Lysandre has earnt a hearty respect with the common people of Iysgarth. And he is grateful for it, reminding him his early years in Dol'Archaeon.

## Notable Cases

### Gustav Cheriffe and Francois Fontaine

The first major case taken by Lysandre that would go on to define his later career. And a personal one. Francois Fontaine was the partner of wealthy socialite Gustav Cheriffe and a good friend to Lysandre. A clerk at the chambers Lysandre began in as an apprentice, he offered Lysandre free board with he and his family when he first arrived in Iysgarth. He came from a large family with many generations living together, pooling their income to help the family survive. Lysandre greatly valued Francois' kindness and the hospitality of his family. During his time as clerk, Francois met Gustav. Far above Francois' family in terms of class, to Francois is seemed to offer a way out of the difficult life he and his family lived. During their initial courtship the relationship seemed happy and Lysandre was deeply happy for his friend, as were the Fontaine family. Unfortunately it was not to last after Francois was found dead. The death was initially ruled as a suicide, but something did not sit right with Lysandre. Through chance, papers passed through the chambers he was apprenticed at and Lysandre discovered Gustav was due to be paid a sizeable life insurance payout as a result of Francois' death. He pulled at the thread and along with the help of a local private investigator, Benoit Phelps, he was able to uncover an agreement between a member of the largest insurance company in Iysgarth and Gustav. In exchange for a cut of the payout, the insurance investigator helped to wave through the claim, despite full knowledge that it had come about through murder rather than genuine misfortune. Further investigation revealed the insurance worker offered these services to a number of wealthy clients, who would often take partners from the lower classes of the city, eager to exploit their desire for comfort and security. Gustav was found guilty of Francois' murder and the member of the insurance company found guilty of multiple counts of fraud and accessory to murder. In an attempt to save his own hide, his testimony brought down several other socialites that had participated in his scheme, leading to multiple arrests. This was a defining moment in Lysandre's life and set him the path to stop others from attempting to exploit their position in society in the same manner. It also formed the start of a close working relationship between Phelps and du Blanc, who would become the principal investigator for Lysandre in all his future cases.

### The Iysgarth Social Housing Company

The first case that truly won the hearts and minds of the common folk of Iysgarth. The Iysgarth Social Housing Company was responsible for the construction of affordable housing within the city, part of an initiative to help reduce poverty in Iysgarth. The company was only 6 months old when awarded the contract and set swiftly to work. The initiative was widely celebrated and it was believed it would mark a huge step in improving the lot in life for those worst off in Iysgarth. However a few months after the first owners moved into the houses, a number of them collapsed, killing many of the residents. An 'official' investigation by the company yielded no obvious cause of the collapses and as a good faith gesture a pittance of compensation was paid to the surviving families to deter any further investigation. Again partnering with Phelps, Lysandre looked into further details surrounding the case. Utilising some connection within the council, he was able to uncover documentation about the tender of the contract and amount paid to the company for the work. A follow up with a 'willing' and very helpful member of the company got du Blanc and Phelps access to the accounts of the Iysgarth Social Housing Company. There was a gross discrepancy in what was paid to the company and what was spent on the construction. It seemed clear that the company had cut many a corner to embezzle much of the money. Lysandre went public with his findings and was able to sway the courts that the accounts had been obtained from a whistle-blower. The company was wound down and the executive board jailed, along with real compensation being paid out to the survivors and the families of the deceased. With the knowledge many other families could have perished were the company allowed to continue, Lysandre won much respect with the common folk at the conclusion of the case.

### Nalyvia Velari

Lysandre's first piece of defence work that went on to spur on his pro-bono efforts. Nalyvia was a tiefling employed by House Goldcolt, one of the oldest and most well regarded families in Iysgarth. She filled a number of positions within the house and was well liked by the family, but following the death of the first-born daughter of the Goldcolt's, was arrested on suspicion of her murder. The family alleged a romantic relationship between Nalyvia and their daughter and that when their daughter sought to end the relationship, Nalyvia killed her in response. From the moment of her arrest Nalyvia steadfastly maintained her innocence. The case caught the interest of du Blanc and set Phelps on the case to investigate further. He discovered the public story was at least truth adjacent, in that the daughter truly did have a romantic relationship with someone, but it was not Nalyvia, rather she was simply aware of it. In secret Lysandre took up a pro-bono position as Nalyvia's defence lawyer and spoke to her further to gain her side of the story. As she told it, the daughter was madly in love with an elf from the poorest part of Iysgarth and the family was deeply disapproving of this. She planned to run away with the elf and elope, leaving behind the city. She let this slip in confidence to another member of the serving staff who in turn reported it back to the family. Rather than allow their daughter to escape and bring damage to the Goldcolt name, they arranged for her murder and to blame it upon Nalyvia. Whilst Phelps gather further information in the background, a visit to the Goldcolt's making use the pretence that he would represent them was able to verify the story further with members of the family through the careful use of his psionic powers. Phelps gathered concrete evidence du Blanc could use court and du Blanc revealed himself as Nalyvia's defence attorney. The ensuing court case was explosive and ultimately brought down house Goldcolt in disgrace. Whilst this earned him great ire within the noble families of Iysgarth, the ensuing scandal was enough to avoid much in the way of open reprisal, though a private attempt on his life followed in the immediate aftermath.

## Chambers and Crest

After winning suitable acclaim, du Blanc formed his own chambers. Due to the manner in which he seeks he sometimes has to win his cases, he does not take apprentices, although he does employ a team of clerks during major cases. Lysandre keeps his powers a closely guarded secret and their use within his cases, ever aware of the shaky legal ground they stand upon and determined not allow such things to interfere with his important work. Benoit Phelps also forms part of the chambers as its investigative arm, using it as a base of operations for his team in their efforts to discover the merits of every case presented to Lysandre. Whilst Benoit and his team take other cases themselves, they are more them to assist Lysandre with an important case.

The du Blanc family crest is displayed proudly outside and within the chambers. Many have discerned the meanings of the colours - purple for justice and amber for ambition. But it remains a much talked about mystery as to what exactly the 6 platypi represent. The family motto is "Aurum natus est ex lapis" or roughly "Gold born from a stone".

## The Peaceweavers

After leaving Dol'Archaeon, Lysandre did not keep in touch with his family and in his eyes did not truly feel he had any until he stumbled upon the Peaceweavers. Following the Goldcolt case, Lysandre fled the city with great haste. Seeking true respite from his career for a time he journeyed far across the world and away from Iysgarth and the surrounding islands. There he came up some Forgotten Realms. A different place to be sure, but exciting nonetheless for it was truly different to place from which he came. During his travels, outside a city known as Neverwinter, he stumbled across a monastery. This was the home of the Peaceweavers, a large adoptive family, run by two parents and their biological daughter Lia. Offering a home to those without a family to call their own, Lysandre took up residence there for a time. It was a peaceful and simple life, far removed from the stresses of life in Iysgarth. Before he left, he elected to join them and although he still practices law under the name Lysandre du Blanc, in his heart he considers himself a Peaceweaver following the hospitality and warmth they afforded him as a mere stranger. Whenever he needs a particularly restful escape from his daily life, he returns to the monastery, far from the troubles of Iysgarth and those there who would seek to do him harm.

## Personality

To the outside world, Lysandre is a grandiose and ostentatious man and may not at first appear dissimilar to those he prosecutes. At his heart though he is a kind soul with an ideal for justice and how it should apply. Whilst the law proclaims to purport all are equal, Lysandre is aware this far from the truth. As such, whilst he practices law happily, he is not above disregarding it in pursuit of justice and on occasion other interests. In an ideal world Lysandre would hold the law up for all to follow for it would contain flexibilities to allow for ones circumstances in life, but as it is applied in no such way, he has few compunctions about breaking it from time. He is aware others may view his efforts with disdain, but cares little for their opinions. In his eyes he was put away objectively evil people who have wantonly committed crimes in the knowledge their privilege would allow them to escape the consequences. If society will bend the law to save such people, he sees no reason he cannot bend to ensure they face the consequence, as those who do not have their power or privilege would be expected to do. As a result of these views, he cares less about smaller crimes, or those who commit crimes out of necessity. He views all such things as cogs in a bigger wheel that allow the most powerful in society to maintain their position, and breaking the wheel is a more valuable use of his time and talents than fixing individual cogs. Whilst those who know Lysandre personally suspect there is more to him beneath his carefully crafted surface, if there is he is extremely careful in who he allows to see it.

## Relationships

### Benoit Phelps

Phelps and du Blanc worked together on Lysandre's first major case. The pair had much in common, working in ruthless fields where ones name and reputation were everything. Attracted by the prospect of such a high profile case and with the knowledge that du Blanc was correct, his own name would be just as prominent, Phelps took the case for free, on the agreement that they would split any takings at the end of the case equally and both would endeavour to bring up the other in any following publicity. It proved a good deal and the two quickly made a name for themselves. Lysandre and Benoit are now firm friends and he works as the principal investigator for all of Lysandre's cases. Lysandre trusts Benoit with his life and is the only person in Iysgarth trusted with the secret of Lysandre's psionic abilities. Aware of the role they play in his prosecutions and the way they could easily send down an innocent soul, Benoit understands Lysandre's insistence on making sure there is clear evidence of guilt prior to beginning the real work. As such Phelps investigative firm now works out of du Blanc's chambers to allow for easy communication between the two on matters of great import away from prying ears that could use the information about Lysandre to destroy his reputation and undo all the good work he has done. Phelps has never let down du Blanc yet and the pair remain good friends outside of their working relationship.