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The last remaining heir of the dwindled clan of Bassingthwaighte, Lucien works primarily for the Rowntree Clan in the little ways he does. He holds the post of being master of the docks, and spends long months at sea to return with prizes. He is due for another stay on land.
Info
Full Name: Lucien Bassingthwaighte
Age: 43
Hair: Light brown, grey streaked
Eyes: Blue
Status: Alive
Occupation: Ship master, slavetrader
Origin: Dornie, Scotland
Allegiance: Rowntree Clan
First Seen:
Last Seen:
Description: Standing at 5'9", Lucien is of unremarkable height and size, sort of small and tidy. He keeps his hair cut short, and it has begun to grey in the last few years in streaks and smatters, shown also in his goatee that he likes to keep neat. His eyes are grey-blue, not quite as honest as a sky nor true as precious stone, but sort of ordinary. As for his dress, he likes to wear clothes that seem exotic.
Family:
- Henrietta Bassingthwaighte † - mother
- Hadrian Bassingthwaighte - father
Portrayed by: Aidan Gillen
History
The Bassingthwaighte family are known for one thing; the handed down knowledge and secrets of premier ship construction and mastery. Those that walk the earth today are not engineers, builders, and inventors, but they simply hold the knowledge in the form of books, notes, and sea charts that won them some prestige in Dornie. They were also not politicians, nor did they breed well, ceding easily to the families of Rowntree and Ross when it came to providing resource while enjoying some personal gain out of being what counts for upper middle class and generally respected. They've never been selfish with their resources, on account of the fact it could be taken by force otherwise.
Lucien was born to Hadrian and Henrietta, with his mother inheriting the family name. Hadrian did not actually have a family name himself, and adopted it as his own upon marriage. Henrietta was known to be a fierce woman who insisted on manning the old ships just as her father did, while Hadrian was quietly business-like and often felt ill whenever he was on a deck. Lucien was raised with the expectation that he would follow suit in this role, but as a child, he took after his father - he was quiet, but not meek, bookish, somewhat small for whatever his age was at any given time, and had a difficult time making and keeping friends. His status as a mage was always known, although his familiar was generally elusive and tended to be ignored by Lucien, especially in public; it took the shape of a spider, a moth, a stray cat, anything that was barely noticed.
But by the time he was nearing age ten, Henrietta insisted he come along on her voyages, and he hated it at first. He was expected to be a part of the crew, and no one was particularly forgiving if he was weak, or tired, or slow. But he learned out of necessity, and over a course of a few years, became quick and agile, and a smart worker. He would never be very strong or have a loud voice, but rather than be stymied by such obstacles, he grew into other niches.
It was during this time, too, that the core of his magical ability began to show itself, being something of a late bloomer. He could predict the weather, and over time, this was met with less caution and superstition, and was used to their benefit.
Henrietta suffered an injury out at sea when he was seventeen, and though it was not life threatening, infection took her before they could head back to Dornie, and her body was cast into the ocean. In the wake of her death, the docks were mastered by another man who remained loyal to her name, and otherwise managed things until Lucien was willing to take up the helm or name someone else. He was interested in doing neither of these things, and left Dornie quite abruptly; if he was unwilling to step aboard a ship, then he would go traveling on land. Hadrian was left alone, and did not interfere with the ships. He more or less retired to obscurity to a farm house belonging to family friends.
He did not go an excessive distance. He was not a horseman and the countryside tended to be just as cruel as the ocean, in new ways. But he did get far enough to be attacked by a small group of traveling bandits, stripped of his possessions and mount. The only way he got out of it was telling them of his prestige in Dornie, and the riches of Dornie when they had no idea what he was talking about, and persuaded them to ransom him rather than leave him dead on the foreshores of Scotland, where, he said, only the crabs and sand flies would eat well for weeks, quite unlike the savages standing over him.
It worked, and with that, he was unceremoniously distributed back to Dornie, upon the good grace of Marcus Rowntree. The bandits were slain, of course.
It was then that Lucien once again took up his post among the sailors and captains, but rather than simply defend the waters and protect fishing boats from krakens or sea-faring enemies, or exploring abandoned land for resources, he turned towards attacking and pillaging the coastal settlements all along Britain. Not only did they take whatever pittance of wealth these places had, they also took boats and crew, often returning to Dornie with hostages or slaves, whatever you wanted to call them. These voyages were not very frequent, but it marked a change that matched the ruthlessness of Dornie on land. It helped, in addition, that not only did he have a talent for telling his men what to do, he could also instruct the weather to do his bidding as well; including sinking ships and flooding fishing villages.
Lucien exists like this to this day, being a quiet and commanding personality rather than a shadow of his more boisterous mother. He is a Rowntree man, loyal for the fact they did not simply let him die at the hands of savages, but also because it's just the smart thing to be.
Personality
A ruthless, callous, and fiendishly detached personality is masked by a good poker face and good dress sense. Lucien prioritises himself above all else, and Dornie comes second, because what helps Dornie tends to help him for as long as he can profit from it and do what he likes. He tends to see people as tools rather than, you know, people, and it's of this reason he is quite single; the ladies at the Dovetail probably try to foist him off to each other despite the fact that he is quite wealthy and not entirely hideous, but there is something cold and matter of fact about his manner that suits business but not personal relationships.
He has a few chips on his shoulder. He looks back without fondness at his childhood and early teenage years, and does not find his story with the bandits to be particularly thrilling or character growing. Slights against him are taken personally, filed away, sometimes talked about with elaborate disdain and apathy, but ultimately act to sharpen the edge of an already razored personality.
Magic
He controls the fucking weather. And his familiar is called Cold-Front.
