Character Sketch: Genevieve Duquesne – Heir & Stranger

So far, we ‘ve met Ithirian Blackbird and L’rea.

Up next is Genevieve Duquesne (pronounced like ‘jon-vee-ev du-cain’ – basically, the French way), who sort of exists at the midpoint between Ithirian and L’rea in terms of how much of a character I already have for her. She has another name I’ve used for Baldur’s Gate, with at least a basic concept of the character in mind.

Incidentally, the Twice-Crowned Empire of Karolai is basically a union of Fantasy-France and Fantasy-Germany inspired by both Charlemagne’s empire (it’s very much on purpose that ‘Karolai’ evokes the Latin ‘Carolus’) and the later Holy Roman Empire.

Hence, why a guy with a French name is ruling a city with a German(ish) name – ultimately based on the German name of Slovenia’s second-biggest city.

‘Twice-Crowned’ is supposed to indicate that the Emperor is ruling two unified kingdoms.

I didn’t actually specific this, but Genevieve is supposed to be a Half-Elf – in Dungeons & Dragons terms, she’d have a Human father and an Elf mother and she’d herself be a Half-Elf Bard. But I didn’t use the word “Elf” because I want a more unique name than “Elf” and that wasn’t really important at this point.

Also, I didn’t specify what exactly the crest on the Duquesne signet ring is, because I couldn’t find any good image of signet rings and I didn’t want the header image to flagrantly contradict the description.

I don’t think I articulated the backstory I have in my head for her. At its most simple, Genevieve has been told she’s the illegitimate daughter of a nobleman and has no real reason (behind anxiety and self-doubt) not to believe it. Ultimately, though, I’m not really interested in deciding whether she actually is one way or the other and prefer the story being how Genevieve and her possible father react to it despite the ambiguity once they finally meet.

And they’re going to at some point, but it may not be over the course of this October writing exercise.

Genevieve Duquesne – Heir & Stranger

All her life, Genevieve Duquesne has been surrounded by stories and songs – not least of all the story of herself.

To hear her mother tell the tale, the charms of a beautiful travelling dancer won the heart of a nobleman of the Twice-Crowned Empire of Karolai. Their love was doomed, but their passion burned brief but bright. And nine months after their parting, Genevieve was born.

Born among a travelling troupe of actors, dancers, and magicians, Genevieve has never met the father whose name she bears. And because of that, there has always been that small, whispering part of herself that gnaws on the corners of her mind with doubt.

Can she ever be certain she really is the daughter of Adelard Duquesne? But if not him, then who? Her mother has never spoken of any other man who could be her father.

She trusts her mother’s word. Or, at least, she thinks she does.

After all, her mother gave Genevieve his name, and she gave her the signet ring bearing the crest of the House of Duquesne that she says was his token of his love. She has shown the ring to Old Ubbe, the troupe’s venerable elder, who Genevieve is sure knows everything.

He has assured her the ring truly bears the crest of the Duquesnes, won by an ancestor of the family for his valour in a long-ago battle Genevieve has never been able to remember.

But, still, those doubts gnaw at her.

When Genevieve learned that Adelard Duquesne has been appointed by the Emperor as the Margrave of Mariburg, she decided that she will go to Mariburg and present herself to him.

Somehow…

A vagabond songstress can hardly expect to get past the Margrave’s guards. Even if she showed them the Duquesne ring, she’d likely end up jailed as a thief, or dragged out of the city as a lunatic.

So, she has decided to make a name for herself and earn the right to stand before Adelard Duquesne. She can do that best as a member of the Adventurers’ Guild ­– and find inspiration for a few more songs of her own in the meantime.

She shed more than a few tears, leaving the troupe – her truest family, whoever her father may be – and striking out on her own with the ring of the Duquesnes on her wrist. But the others in the troupe have told her she was everything she’ll need to become famous in Mariburg and come to Adelard Duquesne’s attention. She learned music and song from her mother. She learned a library’s worth of lore from Old Ubbe. Others taught her how to handle a sword, throw a knife, and write a few clever Signs – the trick, she’s learned, for all three of them is in the wrist.

Genevieve cannot say how long it will be before she has won the right to stand before Adelard Duquesne. At least long enough, she hopes, that she will have enough time to finally decide what she will tell him.

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I’ll be sharing at least a few days of my October writing days with these characters for free here, on Patreon, and on my Substack — but the bulk of them will be exclusive to my paid Patreon subscribers, at least initially.

I am planning on making all of my Patreon-exclusive stuff available to the general public eventually, so stay tuned for news on that.

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