¤ De Semblancy Family

The De Semblancy family is perhaps the most distinguished military clan in Bretonnia. For over 1000 years the soldiers of the family have served the Kings of Bretonnia well, winning dozens of great battles and covering themselves with glory. Several times they have married into the royal family, so that the current head of the family is also the King's second cousin (though only on the female side). They are a fiercely traditional and proud lot, who look down on virtually everyone else in the kingdom as inferiors and oppose almost any attempt at change or modernisation.

Perhaps the only exception to this attitude is in the military; the De Semblancy have pioneered developments in organisation, tactics and general standards of conduct, always striving to stay at the forefront of sophistication and efficiency so as to win the favour of the monarch by conquest. Their reputation for harsh discipline and mercilessness is so far unequalled; the peasants and soldiers of Lyonnais, which is dominated by the faction, go in open fear and awe of their masters. Many members of the De Semblancy family have been Marshals of Bretonnia (Commander-in-chief of the armed forces, second only to the King and entitled to wear a famous leopard skin sash and emblazon a leopard on their heraldry) and the current family head, François de Semblancy, is no exception; he has served as Marshal now for fourteen years after succeeding his father in the position (though his father was not always Marshal; for a generation the Capucinet family held that honour, largely thanks to a much talked-of affair between King Charles I l'Enorme and the wife of the Duc of Navarre) and in that time has won four substantial battles against the orcs in the name of the King. His lack of a place on the State Council, especially given his military credentials, is a source of enormous frustration and frequent tantrums; Francois still hankers after the Ministry of the Army and the Navy, but knows that with Cardinal Dumourieux in power and Louis Villeroi alive there is not much hope for him. The De Semblancy faction, however, is not without a presence on the Council, though the Secretary of State at Dispatches, Nicholas Fouquet, leaves a lot to be desired. The De Semblancy represent the largest single faction at the Oisillon Palace, numbering almost a hundred aristocrats and their retinues. The only group which comes even close to them in terms of size is the bloated and insecure faction that Cardinal Dumourieux has built up. The De Semblancy, however, have centuries of tradition and favour amongst their members to draw upon, and Francois uses his forceful personality to exert rigid control over his large collection of supporters. Cohesion, deference and loyalty - together with arrogance, prejudice and self-confidence - come naturally to the De Semblancy faction, and as they see ever more forces attempting to challenge their dominant position they become even more determined and entrenched in their age-old mannerisms. Francois is the fitting heir of his predecessors; he is a tall, strong and very well muscled man, known for his blind courage, raging temper and, in many cases, lack of forethought. On the battlefield, these characteristics combine with a strange ability to keep control over himself and his followers; some say he lives in a permanent state of such rage and exertion that battle presents no difference to him. He also has a great command of tactics and strategy, with an uncanny sense of timing that has been the death of countless enemy troops, political adversaries and duelling opponents. Behind closed doors, Francois pursues his love of extreme sensations in a sordid pursuit of pleasure, in all its most 'interesting' forms. Xavier Grouchy, an elderly and stonefaced priest of Morr, has apparently abandoned most of his calling's usual scruples and acts as a procurer for Francois and his companions in lusty delights, bringing all manner of peasants girls (and boys), animals and unusual substances and devices to the De Semblancy's greatest palace at Sept-Forges. Although word of what Francois gets up to does occasionally do the rounds at the Oisillon Palace, his forceful personality, violence and power prevent them from being anything more than quickly forgotten mutterings.

Four hundred years ago, after the De Semblancy crushed an invasion from the Empire, a grateful King Louis IX l'Aragne granted his victorious generals the title of Duc de Lyonnais, together with large territories in that rich region of Bretonnia. Since then it has been a stronghold of the conservative De Semblancy and their many clients, who are drawn only from the oldest families. These include several who still, overtly or covertly, worship Ulric and the Lady of the Lake, though after a memorable brawl at a soiree in the gardens of the Oisillon Palace four years ago, the Duc de Lyonnais has banned all discussion of religion amongst his clients. This has led to some tensions, with the predominantly orthodox, Myrmidian majority suspecting their fellows of deviant practices; they make subtle, devious efforts to find the truth about each other by going behind the Duc’s back, either to use the information for blackmail or simply to satisfy their own insatiable curiosity. A few of the De Semblancy's supporters are even more secretive and old fashioned, and when not vociferously defying their enemies at court spend most of their time within apparently darkened, heavily-barred rooms. Principally centring on those from the Tremaine estates - known as the site of vast megalithic monuments dating back to long before the founding of the kingdom - these nobles are too close to François de Semblancy for comfort, and though he does not espouse their mysterious activities, he does favour them because of the almost uncanny good fortune their members seem to enjoy. Their most prominent representative is Calixte Tremaine, Vicomte de Quenelles; a very old friend of François de Semblancy and his companion through fire, flood and countless depraved adventures. Tremaine's tastes are even more 'specialised' than those of Francois, running to torture, mutilation and animals; he enjoys the nickname of 'l'Extreme', although most believe this derives from his frequent overindulgence in drink.

Unconnected with these depraved goings on is Claude de Vendome, Cardinal of Myrmidia, based in Quenelles. Like so many other high-level clerics, he is of aristocratic stock, and has a tendency to get involved in politics. Claude is known as 'Le Gros' for his enormous size, which is a result of the celebrated pastry cuisine of Quenelles. Although most of his life is taken up with eating and reading (often at the same time), he is quietly astute and notices far more than he is given credit for. The Cardinal, however, is also very lazy and suspicious, greeting most happenings with a smile and a knowing grunt. As with almost all De Semblancy faction members, he finds it hard even to contemplate defecting. The current political climate at the Oisillon Palace is not to François de Semblancy's liking; there have been no wars now for several years, and, at least in his eyes, ever more ground is being lost to Dumourieux interlopers. Although his own supporters are actually the most numerous force at court, he sees the Cardinal and his faction as nothing more than weak-willed and obsequious priests and favour-seekers; incomparable with the martial glories of the De Semblancy and their supporters. Francois also maintains the ancestral hatred for the Capucinet family. Until recently, this consisted of little more than occasional jousts, jeers and duels, keeping the generally introverted Capucinet within their stronghold of Navarre. Now, however, with the advent of Arnaud Alphonse Capucinet at the Oisillon Palace, François de Semblancy has begun to boil with rage at yet another challenge to his own influence and power; he has personally offered Arnaud Alphonse a duel, and is prepared to use any means to get the hated Capucinet ejected from court.

One of the main braking influences on François de Semblancy, and perhaps the only force preventing open feuding between the Dumourieux and the De Semblancy, is Francois's wife, Annette, sister of Charles III. She is a beautiful courtesan, who is able to exert a certain level of control over her husband's violent temper; it is said that Annette is the only person he can bear to be in a room with when he is in a bad mood. However, she is not so clever as she thinks she is, and Francois secretly intercepts her letters to King Charles, using them to keep tabs on her activities and occasionally gaining vital information on the King's current thoughts and plans. There is very little trust or love between the two, but for the sake of tradition and appearances (which both of them value very highly) they maintain an air of contentment and wedded bliss.