Madeleine Torvus

(Last update: 1/7/96)

(this page written by Mark Shirley)

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Madeleine is a small woman who tends to have a large impact on those who meet her. She is unswerving in her devotion to the Order, being a member of the Traditionalist faction of House Guernicus, in a time that it is unfashionable to be so. She is precise, efficient, and cold-hearted. Unlike many of her House, she specializes in the Art of Rego, not Intellego; she forces the truth out of her subjects.

A recent incident with a group of bandits may elucidate her method. She used magic to ensure that one of the bandits did not escape, rooting him to the spot. She then made him unswervingly loyal to her with Mentem magics, then used her skill in Rego to force the truth out of him about why they attacked, and where their loot was. Madeleine then ordered the thug to kill himself. With a mind so bound up in magic, he had no choice but to comply.

She has already made herself unpopular at Malinbois after ordering at a Tribunal that Lunantha of Tytalus must lose her apprentice (and natural son) in punishment for scrying on another magus, which directly resulted in the death of the "scryee". Accusations of non-impartiality after it was found that Lunantha had bedded Madeleine's husband resulted in an investigation by fellow Quaesitor Francesca which exonerated her from abuse of the Quaesitorial privelages.

Her reputation in the turb is not very good, mainly due to tales told to them by Paul, her spouse. Madeleine's relationship with her husband is strained, to say the least.

Basic Stats

Name: Madeleine Torvus (married name: Belloc)
House: Guernicus
Parens: Theadore
Gender: Female
Current Year:1227 AD
Age: 38
Year Born: 1189 AD
Decrepitude: 0
Size: -1
Confidence: 3
Height: 4'11"
Weight: 100lbs

Appearance

Madeleine is a tiny women in her middle years. She has long, hazel coloured hair which is drawn back severely from her face and held with two ivory combs. Her petite face is dominated by her large blue eyes which have hidden depths - people have trouble meeting her gaze.
She wears elegant gowns of cream, brown and purple that are always immaculate - in fact she rarely appears with so much of a hair out of place.
She always has her talisman with her - a sceptre of ivory, decorated with silver, and surmounted with an amethyst and footed with four topaz. She has started to think that this item is a little ostentatious for her simple tastes though, and usually keeps it hidden.
Madeleine has an exceedingly fine singing voice (a legacy of being trained at Moonfield), although she never so much as utters a hum if she thinks that someone is listening.

Origins

Near Naples originally, has seen training in the Roman, Hibernian and Provencal Tribunals.

Characteristics

Personality Traits

Reputations

Virtues and Flaws

Abilities

Magical Stats

Twilight Points: 0
Longevity Potion: -6
Casting Speed: +3
Targeting: +5

Abilities

Wizard's Sigil

The sound of fingernails scraping on a blackboard.

Arts

Spells

Combat Stats

Soak: +10 (special)
Fatigue: +0
Dodge: +2
Load: 0
Encumbrance: 0
Body Levels: OK -1 -3 -5 I
Fatigue Levels: OK -1 -3 -5 I

Notes

Madeleine was the daughter of an Italian Count. At the age of five, her parents were burnt at the stake for being witches, an accusation that would have been more correctly directed at her, for it was she that caused the magical effects witnessed by the superstitious villagers. Fortunately she did not suffer the same fate as her parents, as she was rescued by the village priest and sent to a convent near Naples, where she spent 3 very unhappy years, being punished for her truculent manner. Relief came when the Archmagus Theadore discovered her, and took her away. The first 7 years of her apprenticeship were at Magvillus, Domus Magna of House Guernicus. Her master then took a sojourn to Hibernia, and naturally she went with him. Madeleine's apprenticeship was finished at Moonfield after the disappearence of Theadore in Ireland; by one of her pater's former apprentices, the famed Francesca.

Once her education was complete, she went wandering again for a year, before going to Malinbois. She had met a Greek magus who had told her about how humans can be made into familiars, and she sought long and hard for a suitable candidate. She was looking for a bodyguard, and intended to exploit a strong but stupid warrior to her own purposes. It was a long time before she finally found Paul Belloc, a frenchman, slumped over his cup in a pub near Toulouse. Her magic revealed that he had some small supernatual talent, and the huge man was easy to fool into coming with her. He was in a bad way - too many years of heavy drinking had taken their toll, and despite his excellent physical potential, he had let himself go to pot. With her usual unrelenting manner, Madeleine set to work. Judicious use of Rego magics cured his alcoholism, although dulled his wit further - all the better for the hard-hearted Maga. She wanted a bodyguard who was uncorruptable, not intellegent conversation. However, she had not counted on the power of the Familiar Bond. Upon completion of the final cord (the secret one taught to her by that Greek magus), she fell madly and deeply in love, and after only 3 days they were married - Paul had developed a lust for her during the weeks of hard work that she had put him through.

The two have been together ever since. The marriage is not a happy one - Paul is a compulsive liar, thief and womanizer. When Madeleine first turned up at Malinbois she was not with Paul - he was in prison for theft after she found out and turned him over to the authorities ("Lex Super Volutate", after all; she did get him clemancy from having his hands removed, but insisted to the Lord that he should suffer for his crime). They are completely devoted to each other though, and fiercly protective of the other.

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