gabriel slaine victore d'angelique

SECOND SON, SECOND SON, what use is a second son? they had wanted a daughter, someone they could marry off to a viscount for political prowess as soon as she was old enough, though the arrangement would probably be made from an age that preceded that. it was as though the birth of fine angelique hounds (for which the family was praised) was more important than the birth of a second son. oh, the first son had been more difficult, a more complicated pregnancy more wanted. everyone wants a first born son, but second sons are a little more tricky. what to do with a second son? the armor of the cloth. thirteen, he chose the armor.he grew up fast, in all ways, and his growth spurt brought forth an impressive height not seen amongst the men in generations, though a cousin would later follow, perhaps it was the change in the water, and his build lent itself to one pursuit, one militaristic notion: serving ishgard, as a dragoon. so there in he sunk his teeth and claw, convinced this would wrench freedom from his brother’s shadow at long last. when offered the opportunity to train as a dragoon he devoured with the voracious hunger of an insatiable beast. LET HIS NAME BE ON THE TONGUES OF MAN LIKE PRAYER–EVEN IF HE HAD TO FORCE IT DOWN THEIR THROATS.selaphiel, first born, eldest brother, more reserved and less prone to acts of society paved the pathway that he would walk: attending balls and galas, drinking in society like wine. he learned each thing, how to dance, how to walk, how to talk, WHO was WHO. so it was that to his glee gabriel became the social face of the house, known amongst rumor and gossip though not all were good–have you not heard what happened to the man’s patrol partner? the body was never found. they say it was heretics.–they were known, and his name was on their lips. it was all he had ever wanted.to the other end selaphiel’s involvement in the business, in the mines, in mercantile, in trade, left something out, something for which the family is known: ANGELIQUE HOUNDS, raised and bred since their ancestor lady gabriella the golden huntress refined the breed generations prior. to them, gabriel took as breathing. the finest of which fetched a small fortune amongst hunters and as vanity pets alike, a sign of wealth and status, each bred and reared by gabriel. it was another way for his name to be in their mouths. good.his armor was white. pure white. it was a contrast to the blackening, corroded soul that festered despite prayer, a self-absorbed man obsessed with his own ego and praise. but no one damned him for he prayed every sunday at the feet of halone and was willing to die in her name, like a proper ishgardian soldier.but all that he knew, all that he worked for was fit to crumble. the church was in shambles and those revered as heroes were splayed like isaac upon the stone BEFORE A VENGEFUL GOD. all they had worked for and the pillars that held everything up was dust around him and he struggled and fought to keep the old regime in place. oh, he opposed that bastard lord commander and the new ideas of ishgard.some still hung on to their armor. some still hung on to the old ways. gabriel professes himself a dragoon yet despite the disbandment of the unit; he professes himself a noble and goes about noble circles. he breeds still the hounds though now they are exported to hunters across eorzea. and his brother speaks on behalf of the old ways in the house of lords, because he was not offered a seat as a second son.
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