René before the War
Who Am I
I am René, born in Havrincourt, a small village near Cambrai in the north of France, in 1892. I lived a mostly uneventful life helping my father building and repairing houses until the order for general mobilisation on August 2nd 1914. Every able man was ordered to join the army and defend the Republic against the German Empire.
The War
During The Great War, I was assigned to the 43rd infantry regiment. We fought against the initial attack of the Germans, and pushed them back, a bit. Then we were deep in the mud, stuck in the trenches for months on end. Artillery barrages were an almost daily occurence. From the valley of the Marne where we pushed back the Germans, we were then ordered to help defend Verdun. My regiment was decimated there. I myself managed to survive. But my luck ran short and my leg was hit by shrapnel.
I was taken to the backlines to heal. I lucked out and I managed to avoid amputation. But I will probably always have a limp in my right leg. I was not to join back my regiment, and was moved to logistics. For the rest of the war, I would then drive bikes, cars, trucks, tractors carrying postcards, supplies, shells, bodies, back and forth from the frontlines. I learned of my father’s death during this time. I hadn’t even realized I hadn’t seen him in two years.
René after the War
After the War
After the war, I made my way back with my family to my village. It was no longer there. Only ruins, craters, bodies, shells. The church was razed, the castle was bombed. I stayed there, helped rebuild the village as much as I could.
I stayed there for a year or so. We rebuilt the houses of the people and families that came back, the townshall, the school and the church. The pay was meager, but I had food and a bed. I took the time to try and recover from the horrors I have witnessed during the war. I realized how lucky I was to have survived relatively unscathed from the butchery that was that war. And how the dozens of comrades I’ve lived and fought with were not so lucky.
Once the village was mostly rebuilt, I left, and roamed around the northern parts of France, helping wherever I could. I’ve helped rebuild whole villages and some cities. But working and building cemeteries was the most peaceful experiences. There, I could lay the Fallen to rest. Help reunite families with their dead. Sometimes I felt like it should have been me in those tombs… But the sort decided I would have a longer future.
Studies
I was never much of a scholar. But as the reconstruction was progressing further and further, I found myself with more and more time for myself. Which I used to explore ruins, finding all sorts of oddities. I stumbled upon strange books and writings.
Parts of My Soul
- Kull: The strongest part of my soul
- 1 Natural
- 1 From my link to Valitri’s Character
- Setre: The awakening part of my soul
- 1 Natural
- 1 Obtained by committing my Furs and Feathers to Nyctodromy
- Wist: The lingering part of my soul
- 1 Natural
- Mettle
- 1 Obtained by committing my Inks of Containment to Horomachistry
- Shapt
- 1 Obtained by committing my Horns and Ivories to Skolekosophy
My Skills
My Past Life
Kull : I was a soldier. I took part in the Great War. It changed me irrevocably. My instincts drove me to death and ruin. I saw death. All I have left is a sixpence.
Wist : I tried to put my past away. Forget what I have seen, what I have felt. But the memories stayed. I earned a threepence.
Setre : I tried to explore my past, make amends. Some of it was kept, some of it was sold. None of it made me rich. I earned a sixpence.
My New Life
I am part of the Ethos Synod. We aspire to something greater.
My Connections
I am irrevocably linked to Valitri’s Character and Vonte’s Character. I can help Valitri’s Character through the Soul Mirror, and Vonte’s Character can help me through it too.