Baudouin d'Châtillon
A member of a cadet branch of a Knightly House piloting an Armiger in oath-bonded service to his brother Renaud, Baudouin became a Freeblade and joined the Damocles Crusade with his brother. He married the Gue'vesa Morphia and had four daughters; Melisende, Haalis, Hodierna and Ioveta. Driven into exile when he discovered the truth about Arnulf's deceptive cloning of his brother and challenging the T'au's domination of the Gue'vesa by his establishment of a powerbase, he and his wife were killed in a T'au attack. Thanks to the intervention of Hugh, his daughters were saved and went on to rule the realms of Outremer, Antak'ya and The Three Cities.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Baudouin d'Châtillon was born on Normandy, a Knight World of the Eastern Fringe, the third son of a cadet branch of a minor Knightly house. Family tradition dictated the patriarch fought from the Throne Mechanicum of a unique Questoris-chassis Knight called Arnat with his sons using Armiger-class Knights until the eldest of them inherited the patriarchy and the right to fight from Arnat. One by one, the sons of the patriarch Hervé reached the age of majority and donned the Helm Mechanicum of an Armiger Knight, being oath-bonded to their father and fighting alongside him.
Knights of all classes are ancient and willful war-machines, and the technomancy by which they are commanded and controlled is poorly-understood in these latter days. The Ritual of Becoming - even the donning of the Helm Mechanicum - is fraught with danger and many would-be Nobles do not come out of it unscathed. Such was the case for poor Baudouin - although he survived some flaw in the process - a missed prayer, an incomplete incensing, a sloppy anointing - burned his mind. Although he bonded with the Armiger, he was left unable to feel any physical sensation except that experienced when connected to his Armiger. Unable to feel pain, when he suffered injuries he often did not notice them until much later and so they festered and became infected, further damaging him. Nevertheless, he pressed on in his service to the Emperor, Normandy, the Knight House, and his family.
His father Hervé died in combat and it fell to his eldest son, Gautier, to sit in Arnat's Throne Mechanicum. If the donning of the Helm Mechanicum is dangerous, the Ritual of Becoming - the means by which a Noble imprints on a Knight - is even more so, and fully one-in-ten Nobles do not survive it. Tragically, such was the case for Gautier and when the Chamber of Echoes was opened in the morning his lifeless body was slumped in the Throne Mechanicum.
Unshaken by his sibling's death, the second brother Renaud, now the heir to the patriarchy, sat in the Throne and went through the Ritual of Becoming, being imprinted and imprinting on Arnat. His younger brothers were oath-bonded to him as the patriarch of the family and together they made war on the Imperium's enemies.
But the family's reputation suffered - previously always ferocious in combat but exhibiting the highest ideals of Knightly chivalry under the leadership of Renaud they became more brutal, giving no quarter to enemies, stoking rivalries, engaging in looting and the capture of booty, even engineering conflicts that would primarily profit the family rather than advance the cause of the Imperium. In addition to his cruelty and rapaciousness on the field, dark rumors of similar conduct in his court and chamber dogged Renaud - stories of consorting with xenos, of captives taken and women ruined, of brothers cut down in cold blood as they demanded a duel to avenge their sisters' honor.
Oath-bonded to Renaud as their patriarch, Baudouin and his brothers had no choice but to follow him - but the High King of the House watched with concern. Unwilling to formally censure the family - they had allies at court, many of whom felt a more-aggressive stance would bring the House glory, and their service on the field was without peer - he nevertheless wanted to rein them in. Through political machinations and careful assignments he undercut their power, making it clear to them their advancement was curtailed.
The Damocles Crusade
When Cardinal Esau Gurney called for the Damocles Crusade, it was his homeworld of Brimlock that provided the core of the forces but the Knight Houses of Normandy were eager to take up the Aquila and crusade against the T'au. Inspired by Renaud's ambition and arrogance the High King openly rebuffed and mocked him at court, refusing him the right to join the crusade and impugning his manhood and chivalry as unworthy of fighting beneath the Aquila. He instead gave the honor of joining the Crusade to a rival Knight, Gui de Lusignan, and his vassals. Goaded just as the High King desired Renaud raged in court, spitting oaths and defying his liege. The High King's face was as ceramite but inwardly he smiled as Renaud forswore his and his family's allegiance to the House and declared they would join the Crusade as Freeblades. With no choice but to follow his brother, Baudouin crossed the Gulf and fought in the Damocles Marches to establish the realm of Outremer. When the Crusade stalled and the order to withdraw came from Brimlock, Baudouin remained at his brother's side.The Farsight Expedition
Outremer had been established in T'au space and the Ethereals would not permit such a thing to exist. The war-hero O'Shovah, better known as Farsight, moved to reconquer planets lost to the Damocles Crusade and came into conflict with Outremer. A more pragmatic and less brutal man than Renaud might have been able to sue for peace - Farsight seemed more concerned with the threat of the Orks than independent human colonies in the Damocles Marches, and might have been persuaded to leave them unmolested. But Renaud continued to attack T'au forces, taking captives and visiting indignities on their bodies. Farsight would not tolerate that - Renaud was captured and executed personally by Farsight. Through his oath-bond, Baudouin was aware of his brother's death - but was shocked to find his brother hale and hearty, fighting from Arnat and ruling Outremer. He quickly realized this Renaud was a clone, a puppet-leader managed by Arnulf. Gathering his allies, hoping to be able to convince others of the value of suing for peace between Outremer and Farsight, he moved against the clone-Renaud and Arnulf, but was outmaneuvered in the Haute Cour and his forces were defeated on the battlefield. He personally faced his cloned brother in Knight-to-Knight combat, but Arnat was much more powerful than his Armiger. Cruelly, Renaud did not kill him cleanly but instead shattered his warmachine and left him on the field for a day and a night, the circuits of his crippled Armiger sending shocks of agony through his otherwise-numbed body. "You felt that, didn't you?" Renaud taunted. Finally, tiring of his sport and deciding his brother needed to suffer further indignity, Renaud had him taken from his Armiger and exiled from Outremer. The wreckage of his Armiger was displayed on the prow of the Kerak as a warning to others who would challenge Renaud.Ka'dheshe'a
Baudouin and his supporters settled on the Gue'vesa world of Ka'dheshe'a where they were able to establish a small settlement. Because of the unique situation in the Damocles Marches as a result of the Crusade and Farsight's withdrawal to face the Orks, the Gue'vesa enjoyed a degree of independence from the T'au Empire and were happy to trade with Baudouin's group, even marrying to cement alliances and declarations of peace. Baudouin himself married a Gue'vesa woman called Morphia who bore him four daughters; Melisende, Haalis, Hodierna and Ioveta. A schism within the Black Templars defending Outremer saw the Castellany's Seneschal Hugh exiled by the Castellan Fulk. Hugh had learned of the death and cloning of Renaud and transferred his loyalty to Baudouin as Renaud had no legitimate issue. Over the years Baudouin's settlement grew and became more powerful as Gue'vesa joined it. With the T'au Empire's weak influence in the Damocles Marches Gue'vesa cities traded with it and even began to ally with it in preference to the T'au Empire. The T'au could not endure such a thing and even though Farsight was prosecuting his war against the Orks, a Fire-Warrior force fell on the settlement and - despite a valiant defense by its militia - fell. Baudouin and Morphia were killed in the fighting and their daughters were only saved by the personal intervention of Hugh, who spirited them away and pledged allegiance to them (especially Melisende) as the rightful rulers of Outremer.Mental Trauma
Suffered neurological damage when first donning the Helm Mechanicum which rendered him incapable of feeling any physical sensation except feedback when in his Armiger. This inability to feel pain meant he was unaware when he injured himself and so wounds went untreated and festered, leading to scars and disfigurement.
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Gender
Male
Aligned Organization
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