Ephraïm Pasquier

Warden Mayor Ephraïm Pasquier (a.k.a. The Warden, Mayor)

Ephraïm Pasquier is the mayor of Salton and warden of Salton Prison.

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Ephraïm Pasquier is short, somewhat thin, and relatively weak. He has a large head relative to his body size, so he looks somewhat disproprtionate. As he has aged, he has gotten somewhat sickly, and suffers from aching joints, neck, and back, as well as frequent headaches. His physical condition contributes to his irascibility and irrational anger.

Apparel & Accessories

Pasquier wears the uniform of the Salton Prison guards most every day, with patches identifying him as the warden. Otherwise, his clothes are non-descript and utilitarian.

Specialized Equipment

He usually carries a guard truncheon and a high-quallity dagger that he stole from a prisoner sentenced to time in the prison.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Ephraïm Pasquier was born in Nalamoa, a relatively small town in the sparsely populated far south of Sudland. Being small in stature, weak, and unattractive, Pasquier was bullied incessantly when he was young. However, being quite intelligent, he often exacted revenge by devising schemes, tricks, and cruel pranks to cause his tormentors to be embarrassed, get in trouble with authorities, or even be injured. He often used his small stature to get pity from adults and authority figures. Most of those he interacted with disliked him intensely, and he hated most people in return, but he was conniving and ingratiating with authorities. Though totally insincere, he was able to convince a good number of higher level people, even some nobles, of his abilities. He used flattery, and even bribes, to obtain high level positions as an administrator and warden of jails throughout the Sudkoku duchy of Sudland ruled by Duke Valdemar Tachibana Larssen. Eventually, he was made warden of the city jail in Nalamoa, where his reputation for brutal efficiency in administering the jail won him some admirers and many enemies.
Very late one night after a drunken party with Duke Valdemar, one of Valdemar's many young call girls in Nalamoa was arrested by the city guard for public disorder and thrown into the city jail. She had broken several shop windows and yelled that she was going to marry the Duke soon, causing a ruckus in the town square. In the jail, she screamed and cried, claiming to be the lover of the Duke and vowing to have all of the guards killed. The guards panicked and called Pasquier to handle the situation. When Pasquier arrived at the jail, the girl taunted and threatened him. She ridiculed him for his small stature, mocked his manhood, and said that the Duke would kill him. Furious at being awakened in the middle of the night and her sneers, and not realizing who she was, Pasquier beat the girl with a guard's truncheon until she was unconscious and then molested her, leaving her battered and scarred, her beauty ruined and body broken permanently.
The next day, Duke Valdemar was informed of the incident, and what Pasquier had done to his call girl. His assistants told him that the townspeople were gossiping about him and saying that he was unworthy of his post. Furious and humiliated, Valdemar called for Pasquier to appear before him immediately.
Pasquier, having learned who the girl was, knew that he had made a potentially fatal mistake. So when he appeared before the Duke, he did what all good administrators do: blame his underlings.
The Duke was outraged, humiliated, and furious by the whole sordid incident and needed to take his rage out on someone, as well as to protect his reputation, so he promptly had the guards under Pasquier beaten to death and the call girl quietly strangled until she was dead and her body disposed of. But being shrewd and intelligent even as a young man, he understood the real truth of the matter. He had no proof to counter Pasquier's denials of any involvement, only the pleading and begging under duress of guards he had already executed. Pasquier was useful to him as an administrator, but could not remain in Nalamoa. So Ephraïm Pasquier was "promoted" to his current post as warden of Salton Prison, one of the most dangerous, dirty, hot, vicious places in all of Sudland - after being beaten black and blue by Valdemar's personal guards. He was told to never leave Salton under threat of death by torture. And so there he has remained for over 5 years.

Education

Pasquier is relatively well-educated. His family was well off and paid for tutors and schooling; however, his education was in Nalamoa, far away from the capital at Daskar, or even Southport, so the quality of his teachers, and thus his education, was not high.

Employment

Ephraïm Pasquier is the mayor of Salton and warden of Salton Prison. He has been in that position for over 5 years.

Mental Trauma

Pasquier suffers from constant feelings of inadequacy and shame from being bullied as a youth and from being short and physically rather weak. He compensates by being cold and brutal toward people over whom he has control, especially prisoners, whom he views with contempt, and even the guards and administrators that work for him. He has few friends, but is smart enough to maintain a core of people around him that owe him loyalty in one way or another, bribery and threats being his favored tactics to keep that loyalty.

Intellectual Characteristics

Pasquier is intelligent, but not overly so, shrewd, and efficient. He is a good administrator, but heartless, cold, and unforgiving. He sees laws, regulations, and rules as applying to others, but rationalizes away his own corruption and even straight-up thievery. He believes that he is owed compensation for all that he has suffered in life, but is incapable of empathizing with the suffering of anyone else.

Morality & Philosophy

Pasquier follows the precepts of Azazala, believing that all of the wrongs visited on him must be met with revenge, that his merciless anger and hatred are justified and right.

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

Ephraïm Pasquier is motivated by revenge, anger, and hatred. Since he cannot exact revenge from Duke Valdemar Tachibana Larssen, and his anger and hatred are integral to his personality from childhood, he makes others around him suffer, especially inmates of the prison, whom he views with contempt.

Vices & Personality flaws

Pasquier is known to drink heavily at times. When he does, he is even more vicious and cruel than usual.

Hygiene

Pasquier isn't especially fastidious about his personal hygiene. He often goes several days without bathing or shaving, and his clothes are often unkempt, if not actually dirty. He does have to look the part of a mayor and prison warden, so he does keep himself reasonably clean and neat.

Social

Social Aptitude

Pasquier is inept socially. He bullies those he can and is obsequious and cowardly toward those in authority over him. He has practically no actual friends and no family, having never married.

Hobbies & Pets

Pasquier keeps a stray cat as a sort-of pet. It pays little attention to him, and he pays little attention to it, other than to give it some scraps of food on occasion. It is the only sign that he has any empathy for another living being.

Speech

Pasquier speaks Sudkou with the heavy accent of southern Sudland. To more sophisticated ears, he sounds uncouth, and even dumb; though he is actually neither.

Wealth & Financial state

Ephraïm Pasquier is the wealthiest man in Salton, but that makes him, in actuality, not very wealthy. He supplements his meager income as warden of Salton Prison and mayor of Salton by confiscating goods from Salton's few shopkeepers. He could, in theory, make money by smuggling salt or metal ores, but if caught, he would face certain and horrific death, so he doesn't dare.

Current Location

Salton

Species

Human

Year of Birth

9104 56 Years old

Birthplace

Nalamoa

Current Residence

Salton

Sex

male

Gender

male

Presentation

male

Eyes

Gray, narrow

Hair

Gray, thin, balding

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Pale, rough, blotchy

Height

5'4" (162.5 cm)

Weight

154 lbs (70 kg)

Quotes & Catchphrases

"An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." "Welcome to Salton Prison. Enjoy your stay for as long as you can."

Belief/Deity

Ephraïm Pasquier follows the precepts of Azazala .

Known Languages

Pasquier is fluent in Sudkou, though he speaks with the accent of southern Sudland, so to the residents of Daskar, he sounds like a country bumpkin, even though he is not. He is able to read and write fairly well.

Ruled Locations

• Salton
• Salton Prison