Elphelt Lachance

— aesop lachance —

“life is a journey, and every journey eventually leads to home.”
- ᚖ -

An once exiled member of the Order of Knights Dragoon returned to his homeland after an appeal for citizenship with Ishgard's governmental reform. He works now as a hired lance in preparation to return to the Order, and writes wildlife journalism and commentary on the silencing of Ishgard's history under the pen name "Mourning Dove."

— stats —

race	▹	elezen
clan	▹	ishgardian (in-game: duskwight)
age	▹	29
nameday	▹	12th sun of the 2nd astral moon
patron	▹	halone, the fury
height	▹	7 fulms, 2 ilms

— ✖ —

— appearance —

general

Aesop is, for all intents and purposes, an average- though rather tall- elezen when referred to in the past tense. Obviously Duskwight before the involvement of Ishgardian blood, his skin is pale and sports an ashen red tone, nearly purple in the right lighting, eerily similar to a corpse. His blue-grey hair never reaches below his shoulder blades, being held up in braids or buns when it's at its longest and being cut to his collarbone at the shortest. After his unfortunate partial transformation while serving the Order, he became much more draconic. He now sports small dark horns that curl against the crown of his head and his already sharp teeth have grown to become fang-like and near carnivorous. Dark scales litter his skin like freckles, as well, and his pupils are thin slits in otherwise normal dark brown eyes. Every winter-to-spring, one might find his horns to have shed or be in the process of growing back, an annual occurrence that, as Aesop puts it, conveniently lines up with his schedule.

clothing

Preferring a very distinctly flexible style, Aesop tends to either wear form-fitting outfits or dancer-like compromises with protective armour while on the job. When his duties don't require his physical capabilities, he prefers comfortable clothing that covers his torso and arms- his legs tend not to be included in the need for coverage. He has a pointed enjoyment of heeled shoes and boots, taking pride in how they accentuate the effort he's put into his form. Aesop wears a generally warm colour palette, leaning more toward red-browns and beiges, sometimes indulging in pure blacks and whites and- if the occasion calls for it- showing a pop of colour through a single draping accessory, most frequently a scarf or wrap of some kind. He's a vocal fan of Thavnairian and Ivalician styles, though finds comfort in Ishgardian casual wear.

voice

Somewhat reserved and shy, the way he holds himself is reflected in his voice. Despite his time away from Halone's nation, Ishgardian speech never quite left the elezen. His speech is grandiose and sometimes overcomplicated, using three words where one would suffice and taking to explaining things similarly. His tone has a somewhat mournful quality to it, ghostly and haunting but calm all the same. If he were assigned a character's voice, it would be Thanatos as seen in Hades.

habits

As a pious man, Aesop carries quite a few rituals... and as a dragoon, carries even more. He carries quite a few superstitions with him and can be caught by close friends acting upon them or picking up their own. Beyond those, he's sometimes found in comfy, secluded spaces and only allows certain people to join him in these self-induced quarantines. He claims it to be for safety precautions, and if you're able to restrain him in battle, you're more than able to secure a way into his seclusion. Aesop cuts his hair to his collarbone every spring, if you hear him talk about "spring shearing," this is most likely what he means, a relic from a time before serving in the Order. He has a penchant for a certain perfume with notes of vanilla bourbon, cashmere, and campfire smoke- somewhat invoking the image of kind company at a winter campfire.

— ✖ —

— personality —

While extremely reclusive and softspoken, Aesop is a dedicated and loyal friend to those who prove themself worthy of his devotion. You'd be hard pressed to get him to speak of anything but what presently occupies his time, but he's an astounding listener- even if his advice is hard to parse. He tends to let others speak for him, but is more than able to speak for himself when someone puts more than the required words in his mouth. What he lacks in real-time diplomatic ventures, he makes up for in more physical means of confrontation, doing favours for others and offering his services for those in need. Privately, this is a means of repentance for what he knows was out of his control, but he tends to keep that side of himself deeply hidden.

♥

dravanian architecture	▹	There's just something special about what was created with the bond of dragon and man.
chocobos/chocobo husbandry	▹	living in bentbranch for quite some time, and having a loyal companion of his own, has let him indulge in his appreciation for the birds.
writing and reporting	▹	ever the studious soul, unlike some of his peers in the order, he dedicates himself to the chronicling of nature, history, and its making.

✖

halonic churches	▹	he's never been allowed in one since... nevermind.
the horde	▹	you'd think being corrupted would spare him mercy, but he's targeted all the same, even after the war's closing.
gridanian pacifism	▹	being of a nation with a war turned from succession to survival, the ideals of Gridania never settled on his tongue right.

etc

alignment	▹	neutral good
faults	▹	vague, overly private, judgemental, neurotic
favorite foods	▹	extremely selective: meat-centric, the less differing textures the better.
favorite color	▹	autumn red

— ✖ —

— history —

childhood

Raised as a daughter to a family of chocobo tamers in some distant past, hidden by fog and smoke and the screams of dragons, men, and birds. Barely age 8 when displaced from his family's camp and placed into a foster family in Ishgard proper, Aesop remembers naught of his past, yet carries the symptoms: A fascination for chocobos, a wanderlust left wild, and a silent grudge against the draconic figures of his nightmares- one that would grow into the song of war declarations. He became Aesop Lachance, the one martially-inclined son of a house of writers and artists... not that his family didn't influence him greatly.

of the order

Aesop hadn't hit his elezen growth spurt when he joined the Temple Knights. He hadn't been allowed into the Order of Knights Dragoon until age 19, when the height finally hit him and he killed his first true dragon. It became the basis of which his drachen mail was created and lance was forged. The celebration of the promotion was grand- at least in the eyes of the smaller houses of Ishgard- but Aesop wasn't found among the party. Instead, he was in his room writing about the ecological changes he saw during his trial and what it could mean for the migration of the Horde. The celebration meant for Aesop was small and private, right after the passing of his trial, meant to refuel his strength and sanity after the amount of time it took for him to complete it in solitude. Then... he was gone from the home.

He was among the many outwardly faceless soldiers in the Order, his already reclusive nature not exactly helping him gather a clique within the ranks. He managed to find a couple companions, however, and a peace with the elder members. Friends, however, didn't help when the voice of a dragon hit his ears and told him exactly what he refused to hear. A creature of past mistakes was all he was, and he'd be better off giving in now to spare himself the misery. He grew horns as he stabbed the dragon's throat, claws broke through gauntlets as he mangled their eyes, his skin ached with the growth of scales as he bathed in the assault. He was immediately detained by his comrades and sedated, held in private as they debated what to do with him.

Ever understanding of the fight to contain the dragon that threatens all dragoons, his comrades were kind, even as Aesop learned of his condition and begged for death for the heresy. They told him it was out of his control, and that if he was still lucid enough to ask for death, he could be spared- hells, even rehabilitated. Not in Ishgard, however... and the Archbishop would have to do something about it before the Inquisitors did. So they have him tell the story of an assault by heretics and the strength to hold on after intaking dragon's blood, and he's given the mercy of simply being exiled rather than death for giving himself up.

present

After living in Bentbranch for most of his exile, he had grown to be more of an errand-boy than lancer, though the favours he acted upon were almost always along the lines of tracking and hunting something. Left with only his drachen mail, his chocobo- Opal- and a small portion of what was once his savings, he started a new life in Gridania through an unlikely warm welcome from the other Ishgardian in Bentbranch. Growing up in a nation of war only to move to one seemingly empty of such consistent fighting kept him looking for strife- and found it in the excuses made to lend little aid to certain parties. He made it- in his time living there- his duty to lessen the pain of those parties, even if it meant bringing the ire of whatever elementals were there.

With the turn of Ishgard's governmental structure, and the end of the Dragonsong War, Aesop expected to be politely turned away when he tied up loose ends in Gridania and returned home. He, however, was welcomed as a veteran despite his want to move on with the rest of those who once were his peers into a new age of dragoon. He now works within Ishgard's peaks to return to those who protected him, so he can take the next step in healing alongside them.

— ✖ —

— rumors —

common knowledge ▿

"Poor man just stands outside the churches and watches. Wonder how long it'll take to see him go in one." — Worn-out Temple Knight

"You'd never imagine him to have slain dragons, what with the way simply approaching him strangely spooks him like a wild chocobo. Worst he ever does too is tell us to get back to our studies!" — Trouble-making Teen

gossip ▿

"A kind man at heart, I'm sure, but you could make him pay for anything. Poor man's going to get raked over the coals someday." — Jeweled Crozier Butcher

"Back before the war ended, the boy was usually in the Brume on his off-time, finding ways to help out. Not sure what he's up to, now, but they seem to miss him too." — Quiet Elder

under wraps ▿

"I've seen what happens if you get on the wrong side of his lance, I don't know how they let him back in." — Conspiratorial Noble

"He's been dabbling in certain unsavory arts- you know it, the vigilante 'justice' type. If I were him, I'd just stick to my lane. His existence is strange enough..." — Unassuming Knight

"Poor lad's holding on by a thread, no wonder the birds dote over him. I barely see him anymore, but I hope life's being gentler wherever he may be." — Bentbranch Stablehand

interviewed ▿

"cute quote from a cute friend" — Name Name

— ✖ —

— relationships —

♥ romantic love ♡ platonic love ▲ positive ■ neutral ▼ negative

♡

Jet Artorious

"allow me to be kindling for your bonfire."

▿

though only recently becoming close, jet is an inspirational figure to aesop, both in the art of the dark knight and in learning how to exist as himself. he has a lot of complex emotions about the man that he's working to untangle.

▲

Qestra Rysto

"should you open your doors, I will gladly fill the empty space."

▿

a fast friendship after a chance encounter at a... lounge, per se. sharing a dedication for the preservation of knowledge, qestra has been a large help in aesop's self-enlightenment, and he's decided to add her to his dedications in his thesis on the unsung mistakes of the holy see.

— ✖ —

— ooc —

ingame

▹ primal, ultros, est

links

▹ rp carrd

— ✖ —

character template	Bancroft Gairn
layout	Misik'a Rahsi
art	Aesop Lachance