Renaud d'Châtillon
(a.k.a. Le Loup d'Outremer)
Renaud was a cadet member of a Knight Household from the planet of Normandy who forswore his allegiance and became a Freeblade, taking part in the Damocles Crusade with his brother Baudouin. He was the first ruler of Outremer and the uncle of the current queen, Melisende.
As part of Arnulf's efforts to retain power in Outremer, Renaud was cloned so the Patriarch could continue to use him as a messianic figurehead. One of these clones was installed as leader after Renaud was killed by the T'au; this clone was killed during Hugh and Melisende's coup. Melisende has since removed another clone from stasis, installing him as the pilot of the original Renaud's Knight, Arnat and presenting him as her son.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Early Life
Renaud was born on Normandy, a Knight World on the Eastern Fringe, the second 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. From an early age, Renaud was a cunning and calculating man - even as a boy, he was wily and manipulative and possessed of significant ambition and appetites. Handsome and silver tongued, he persuaded a number a maidens to surrender their honor in exchange for empty promises, but a conquest of virgin flesh could not slake his ambition. He knew leadership of the family - and with it the power and prestige of fighting from Arnat rather than a mere Armiger - would never fall to him while his elder brother Gautier lived, and if his brother were to sire an heir he would be further denied the glory he lusted after. Unlike the rapacious Renaud, Gautier was a noble man - chaste and pious, devoted to the God-Emperor and conscious of his duty to serve his people rather than merely rule over them. His decency acted like acid on Renaud's corrupted soul and he came to not merely see his brother as an obstacle to his corrupt ambitions, but to actively hate and revile him for his purity. When Gautier donned the Helm Mechanicum of an Armiger - the first of the brothers to do so - Renaud was filled with disgust at the pious and humble speech he gave to the family's serfs. Conspiring with the procurer of his fleshpots, he resolved to corrupt his brother and had lascivious beauties throw themselves at him - but Gautier would not sully himself with such slatterns and refused their advances, sending them on their way with stern reprimands and exhortations to chastity. This only angered Renaud all the more, and his rage turned to sullen resentment when their father learned of his second son's behavior. He did not divine his motive and merely thought him debased and lustful; his reaction was more pity at his son's weakness for sensual pleasures than anger - something which fanned the flames of Renaud's hatred all the more.The Oathbonding
His father hoped the bond between a Knight and its subordinate Armigers would moderate Renaud's predilections and help him overcome his base desires, and so he arranged for him to don the Helm Mechanicum immediately, before he had reached the age of maturity. Renaud knew that, if he were oath-bonded to his father, he would be filled with unwelcome loyalty and his ambition would be forever frustrated, but he could not gainsay the head of the family without censure and exile. The date of the donning was set for Sanguinalia next, a season away - he had some ninety days to resolve this issue. But Renaud's perfidy ran deeper than simple avarice and lust; his desires for luxuries had led him to consort with xenos. Unknown to the wider Imperium at this time but trading in secret with disaffected Imperial subjects on the Eastern Fringe, the T'au Empire was a source of heretekal technologies and forbidden knowledge. Renaud had been drawn into the criminal underworld as he sought new sensation, participating in the black market's xenophilia with delighted disgust - merely a diletante enjoying thumbing his nose at the pieties of Imperial society. But now he sought to leverage these connections, lavishly spending money and influence not for forbidden luxuries but xenos technology. Sanguinalia-eve brought him a dreadful gift; a complicated piece of T'au neuroengram technology which he hoped would prevent chains of obedience forming between him and his father, yet still allow him control over the deadly war machine. When dawn broke on Sanguinalia morn Renaud marched into the chamber with trepidation in his heart and the xenos device in his pocket, but showed no outward sign of either as the Helm Mechanicum was strapped to his head and the oathbonding began. The decayed ancient relics of Mankind's techno-savant past warred with the bright science of the T'au, and when the ritual was over Renaud's perfidy had borne fruit - the machine was slaved to his desires, but he was not slaved to his father's. Exulting interiorly he knelt before his father in feigned filial piety and sobbed crocodile tears of apology for his rebellion. His father, guileless and unable to conceive of such treachery, was fooled and embraced his son.The Fratricide
Pleased to have avoided slavery to the whims of the master of Arnat, Renaud would not be satisfied until he was the patriarch of the family. His father Hervé would die in combat sooner or later, and when he did his elder brother would inherit the Knight and the patriarchy of the family. This Renaud could not allow, but Gautier was a conservative and cautious man - not given to foolhardy adventures where he could be assassinated and beyond the temptations Renaud could offer. Hervé protected his son and heir on the field, keeping Gautier's Armiger behind the lines. To achieve his goal Renaud would have to be show great cunning. He formed a plan, but he would need to test it to ensure it would work. Fortunately, his younger brother Baudouin was approaching the age of maturity and would soon don the Helm Mechanicum of an Armiger. The night before the ritual Renaud snuck into the chamber and knitted pieces of T'au neuroengram technology to the Helm Mechanicum his brother would use. When the Helm was put on his brother's head it scoured his cerebellum, burning out the nerves for sensation and meaning he would never again feel anything unless connected to his Armiger. Critically noting the xenos tech had merely maimed and not killed, Renaud made adjustments to another wafer of T'au circuitry to enhance its effects and bided his time.The Harrying of the Marches
As Farsight prosecuted his war of reconquest around Dal'yth, however, the temptation to break the pact grew for Renaud. The T'au's rear flanks were lightly guarded and some of the Gue'vesa worlds were resource-rich. Goaded by Bishop Arnulf, who whispered to him the xenos T'au were not worthy of an oath, he resolved to raid Gue'vesa worlds and plunder them. In order to avoid openly breaking the pact, the raiding parties showed no sigils and did not include Astartes Templars. Instead the warriors were drawn from those dismissive of the peace Baudouin had brokered, rapacious men most after Renaud's black heart. Soon plunder - xenos technology, fuel and power cells, T'au trading tokens, even captives who were made into slaves - were brought back to Outremer, but the raiders Renaud had sent kept the choicest treasures for themselves, giving him only a tithe. Stymied by his inability to punish them without revealing his or the kingdom's role in the raids, Renaud chaffed for several weeks but only decided to lead the raids himself when a vid-capt of a Gue'vesaSocial
Family Ties
Clone of the original Renaud, who was brother to Baudouin d'Châtillon and uncle of his daughters Melisende, Haalis, Hodierna and Ioveta.
Relationships
Currently Boarded Vehicle
Birthplace
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Current Residence
Gender
Male
Aligned Organization
