Emeric

Emeric, Successor Argent - formerly Emeric, Lord Argent - is a former Lord Temporal of La Vieille, recently returned from self-imposed exile. He has the unique ability to create and control fire.

Characteristics
Emeric possesses the blue eyes, dark hair and sharp features characteristic of House Argent. The tips of his fingers are dark grey; when he sets fires or heats his hands, they turn orange, as do his eyes when he focuses his abilities. He wears a leather jacket for its fire-resistant properties; otherwise, his clothing resembles those worn by pirates and smugglers.

Emeric likes to appear carefree, and indeed, chaotic or frightening situations rarely bother him; but behind that facade, he cares deeply for people and tends towards nostalgia and sentimentality. He is compassionate, with a genuine desire to help and protect those in need. He is distrustful of institutions of power and those who support them, however, and anyone who attempts to use him or his position for their own gain will find that he has the capacity for manipulation, betrayal and underhanded tactics.

He relies on his fire abilities in combat, but also in the domestic sphere; he uses his fire to cook, keep his clothes freshly ironed, and to warm water for baths, among other things.

History


Elder brother to Ashe, Emeric's life has been chaotic since their father was killed by a mob when he was five. He spent his childhood on the move and under the care of various guardians, many of whom attempted to use his political position for their own gain. Emeric quickly became disillusioned with the political establishment, coming to believe that all political organization is doomed to fail or to fall into tyranny; at age 18, he met the pirate known as The Maldian, then the first mate of Captain Holden Crawford of the Fair Wind. Captain Crawford was infamous for his near-tyrannical rule among pirates, but popular among the nobility. Mal offered Emeric a deal: help him make Crawford's death look like an accident and he would smuggle the young noble out of the city. Excited at the prospect of a brief adventure, Emeric agreed, but as he snuck onto Crawford's boat to do the deed, he discovered a lesser noble named Magdalene below decks. Magdalene explained that Crawford was in the business of "disappearing" political dissidents and their families - a business frequented by the Lords Temporal in the city. When she suggested that Emeric was naive for not knowing, and that even his sister Ashe (then sixteen years old) knew, he killed her in a rage. He abandoned his position permanently and left the city to join the crew of the Fair Wind.

Emeric found acceptance and respect among the Fair Wind's crew that he'd never had as a noble, even after he revealed his identity to them. Serving as the Fair Wind's red artist, he helped Mal conduct several highly successful raids on nobles in coastal areas throughout Shield, making the ship infamous among nobles and popular among the common folk. He lived as a pirate for nearly two years, until the Fair Wind encountered a civilian Thalsoim vessel bound for La Vieille carrying the names and death warrants of the whole crew (Emeric excepted). Mal decided to sink the ship and kill everyone on board to delay the Thalsoim - including the civilians, some of them children. Emeric argued publicly with him to save the civilians, and their argument nearly came to blows; he eventually convinced him to maroon the civilians on a deserted island instead. Though Mal came to agree that this was the right choice, he could not allow Emeric to remain aboard having disobeyed him in such a way, and so he left him at the next port.

Emeric never returned to La Vieille for more than a day at a time, though he remained in occasional - and rather curt - contact with Ashe. He traveled to Hoehen soon after leaving the Fair Wind and, along with Grimassi, became tangentially involved with revolutionary movements there. For a time, he was also the consort of Belegardis Dufornet. Shortly before returning to La Vieille for the Eclipse festival, he ran into Mal, who offered him a position helping him establish a Pirate Court in Lamplight; Emeric agreed to meet him in Lamplight, though he has since put this plan on hold to help deal with the ongoing problems in the city.

For seven years after leaving his post, Emeric considered himself the former Lord Argent, but as he was never formally exiled or charged with a crime, he could have technically retaken the post. Recently, however, he signed a secret document acknowledging his sister Ashe as the rightful Lord Argent, and himself as her heir. Though he publicly still holds claim to the Lordship, according to this document he is styled as Emeric, Successor Argent.

In La Vieille
Once committed only to staying as far away from La Vieille as possible, Emeric has resolved to stay in the city and using his powers and position to change it for the better. More recently, he has also realized that this may involve radical action - possibly violence - and that he is willing to bear the emotional consequences of carrying that out.

Walking through the Night's Door changed Emeric inextricably. This shift is noticeable to anyone who knew him before: he is calmer, more pensive, and seems to carry a weight on his shoulders that he hasn't let anyone see since he left La Vieille as a teenager. He isn't sure yet whether to think of the marks it has left on him as scars, but he feels deeply that they were necessary. The weight has made him look a lot more like his sister; perhaps the family resemblance is clearer now than it was when he first returned.

At several points Emeric has come close to leaving La Vieille for his old flame, the Maldian, and they were finally reunited when he went through the Night's Door. Mal encouraged him to return to the city to finish what he'd started, but offered Emeric safe harbor in Lamplight whenever he should need it. There are other differences in him now beyond those the Night's Door precipitated: a quiet certainty, a certain confidence, a glimmer in the eye. Some older nobles might see Eiya in those looks, but Emeric's old friends know better: they see that he has taken after his old captain.

Relationships

 * Ashe: Emeric genuinely cares for Ashe, but finds it difficult to reconcile his affection for her and his distrust of the nobility. Though they get along well on a personal level, their political beliefs often come into conflict and create fundamental disconnects: Emeric can't fathom why Ashe would believe in the power of the political system after what they'd been through, while Ashe doesn't understand why Emeric left and why he would give up his position and power.
 * Junebug: Though Junebug is clearly irritated with him most of the time, Emeric doesn't seem to notice - and even if he does, he's just happy to have a friend more concerned with his weird antics than with his political position and the power it affords.
 * Grimassi: Emeric and Grimassi spent time together in Hoehen, where they contributed (rather illegally) to the deposition of a Lord Temporal there. Now, Emeric considers Grim a close trusted friend.
 * Oshwad: Emeric knew Oshwad before his family was deposed, but this doesn't exactly count in Oshwad's favor; rather, Emeric distrusts Osh and worries that he will try to manipulate Emeric for his position. He is even more distrustful of him after learning that Osh stole Jeha's sword.