Sylvain Boudreaux

Throw roses into the abyss and say: "here is my thanks to the monster who didn't succeed in swallowing me alive." β Friedrich Nietzsche
Profile

Name Sylvain Boudreaux
Age 400+ (appears to be in his 30's)
Race Voidsent β formerly Elezen
Sexuality/Gender bisexual male
Residency Ishgard & the 13th
Profession antiquarian, dealmaker, dollmaker
Specialties astral voidmagicks, aetheric vampirism, illusionary enchantments, swordplay & song
Traits 6β9β lithe build, lilac skintone & scarlet eyes
Appearance ghostlike hair, melodic lilting voice, white attire decorated in lace & jewels
A man of lithe build and pale lilac complexion glides across a gilded ballroom with such ease as to give the illusion of floating. He carries an effortless air of noble decadence, both desired and reviled by the guests present. Sylvain Boudreaux carries the title of Lord not from pedigree, but from his inheritance and oversight of the Disdier Demesne, an eclectic mercantile district erected on grounds once owned by a late lord of the same name. An occult antiquarian and once-dollmaker, Sylvain operates a storefront within this district as the proprietor of Ishgardβs finest collection of rare artifacts. The highest echelons of society frequent this shop not for curiosities, mind you, but for private dealings with the Lord Boudreaux himselfβknown in hushed tones as a granter of even the most diabolical wishes. Should desperation lead you past the raspy hisses of his companion vultures to the red, rose-laden parlor within this cluttered shop of curiosities, be on your guard, as his clients always receive exactly what they ask for.
βCold, yet beautiful hands clasped my own as I entered the shop, and a subtle scent of earthen floral decay did greet me in kind. When I was led to the Rosarium, as he called it in a melodious tone, a veil of intoxicating incense akin to opium arose from leathery, black resin raked across the embers of his hearth. Roses lay strewn atop the mantle, and the crackling of an old orchestrion filled the air. Resolved as I was then to beg of him the unspeakable, I now find myself haunted.β
a white rose Β· the trickster fox Β· circling vultures
History
A far cry from the decadent charm Sylvain is now known for, he was born an Elezen of no renown far beneath Ishgardβs resplendent spires, during an age when the wartorn city-state was yet young. His talents for repairing delicate mechanisms, dollmaking, and song went unsung in such times, and for all the love he could offer, he could not sustain his young wife and daughter. Desperation to provide for his family resulted in tragedy as he fell victim to the machinations of a voidsent noble in his naiveteβyet fate would deny Sylvain a true death alongside his beloved. A ritual mimicking sorcerous rites of eld trapped Sylvain's consciousness in the same body as his Lord, melting their shared consciousness into a new entity altogether. Inheriting his Lord's estates in both Ishgard and the Void, Sylvain now effortlessly preys on the idle whims of Ishgardian nobility to suit his vampiric needs. Even so, he does not forego mutually beneficial deals with allies as well as enemies, and befriends a bastard son of the heretical House Drauvaix in the Sixth Astral Era. This alliance would later result in two orphaned wards coming into his protectionβone of which would one day become the Warrior of Light.
