Pierre Chareut

Player name: Kels
Characters played: N/A
Character Name: Pierre Chareut
Age: 35
How long They've Been in the Deck: 35 years
Suit/Rank: 9♠

History:
Pierre’s mother was a high-ranking Diamond from a long line of influential women – an old Diamond family. His father was the trainer of the Spade King Sean’s next generation of assassins, and once he deemed Pierre old enough (at eight years old), he was absorbed into the program, which is when the rumors of just who the boy's father was (since Martine had never acknowledged paternity). From the very beginning of their actual relationship, during which Pierre learned of his lineage, Shea was brutal, careless and violent. He beat Pierre viciously and regularly in the name of his training.

When Pierre was nine, Rachel Caustello joined him in training under Shea. The beatings lessened for Pierre because his father's brutal attentions had to be split between two simultaneously rather than focused entirely on one or the other, but it still resulted in several occurrences of broken arms, legs and ribs during the years during which he pursued the training program (unofficially, of course, once David became the King of Spades), and there was not much in the vein of proper aftercare.

At ten, Pierre was abandoned. Rachel's friends, adoring and devoted as they were, pulled her away from Shea, and subsequently away from Pierre as well. That split, in addition to adding a beating that didn't compare at all to anything Pierre had experienced to that point (he was left unconscious for three days, and woke up with three broken ribs, four broken fingers, a black eye, and an array of bruises that he couldn’t quite remember getting), caused a fracture between Rachel and himself that has only recently begun to heal; the rest of their interaction consisted of Meaningful Eye Contact. Until this year, he hadn't even spoken her name since the incident.

At sixteen, he killed another human being for the first time, though he had been killing animals as part of his training since he was twelve years old. It was his first challenge, from which he rose to the rank of 4♣. The man who lay dead on the floor was Allenby Cross, killed in a knife-fighting challenge.

The year that Pierre challenged to Six, Edgar, newly King, died in a car accident caused by Pierre’s own hands, though that fact is unknown and will not ever be revealed. He deliberately cut Edgar’s brake lines; the matter wasn’t investigated. It was retribution for the suffering he'd endured as a child, for which he blamed Edgar most of all.

His challenge to Ten was a hugely defining moment in his life, both as a way to pay back his father for the brutality of his adolescence, and his way to claim the positions within the Suit that he wanted but couldn't have because they belonged to Shea. He challenged his own father – mentor and trainer – to combat with swords to fifth blood. They exchanged four painful blows apiece but the final strike was dealt by Pierre. The challenge was over. Pierre had claimed his father's rank to become the Ten of Clubs, while Shea was simply an Eight again. With his new rank, Pierre officially became the head of guard training. It was, for all intents and purposes, total victory.

But it wasn't enough, and both father and son knew it. Less than a week later, Pierre requested vacation time so that he and his father could spend some time bonding. Argine and Andrew approved the time, and the men left the Deck for a small country home in Ireland. Without a second thought, mere hours after reaching their destination, Pierre began torturing his father, until he dealt the death blow at dawn.

Upon his return, he informed his King and Queen that Shea had tragically passed during their vacation and had been cremated as was his will – not too far from the truth, after all. Neither monarch questioned or pursued the rather sudden death, as they both knew the truth; they'd both known the truth of Pierre's childhood (or at least, they knew of the brutality involved), and, while they would not ever trust him, they let the murder pass because it ended the tumult between father and son as well as absolving them of their own contribution to the terror and pain of his childhood.

Since that day almost three years ago, Pierre has seen and done more for his Suit than he could have ever anticipated, and he's never batted an eyelash in the face of duty. His path to Ten was brutal, even when it wasn't bloody, but he's found a way to embrace the sadistic side of himself without it destroying him or his Suit; instead, it's manifested in the assignments on which Elisha sends him for the security of the Suit, and in the iron-willed control he has within the confines of his relationship with Briony Williams. She embraces his sadism and he gives it to her in full, while he accepts her submission as the triumph and spoils of winning their battle of wills. She's his, and he can stand tall and unwavering because of that outlet.

However, things have changed in the Clubs Suit, as well as in Spades. It became unnatural to remain in the Clubs any longer, and he had to leave. With discussions and a challenge across to Spades, Pierre became the newest Seven of Spades. It was strange, being ranked so low after so long of being one of the highest Numbers in the Clubs -- so he amended it. He built the bridges that needed building, burned the ones that needed burning, and forged ahead with the friendships that needed to be improved upon.

That was nearly three months ago. Less than a week ago, on November first, he successfully challenged to Nine.


Personality:
Pierre's mother was distant with him for most of his childhood. Beyond giving him a place to live and food to eat, which she didn’t prepare herself, Martine largely ignored him, finding him a burden which she regretted bearing. She was highly social within her own Suit and amongst the higher ranks, and used that as a method to avoid taking care of him. When his father came to claim him, she was more than happy to be rid of him and to let Shea handle the responsibility and burden on his own, whatever his reasons. Martine neither loved nor comforted Pierre, and this created a rather deep break in his social capabilities (which would later be augmented by his father) that would make any kind of interpersonal relationship virtually impossible on any but the shallowest levels.

He eventually learned that the only person on whom he could fully depend was himself. He is incredibly private as a result, so that he fails to admit anything that he deems personal to anyone but himself, which includes virtually all of his past, save for that which is public knowledge, such as his challenges.

He is distant with people, and sometimes mildly aggressive, but not often unkind, simply indifferent and unemotional. He's heard himself described as soulless on occasion, which is something that he neither confirms nor denies by his own opinion. He expresses himself with the most careful politeness, but he tends to be crisp, concise and to the point, which can be off-putting. He has rather mastered the power of polite condescension (although certainly not to Victor Fox's level of mastery, but his inexperience with close relationships sometimes leads to difficulty communicating with others outside of a businesslike situation).

Appearance: Pierre is 5'11", 220 pounds, with dark brown hair, light skin, and piercing but empty blue eyes. He is of French origin, which is reflected in his angular features, and because of his career and childhood, he is in a state of high physical fitness. His posture is rigid and almost militaristic.

He is clean shaven, and he has no visible distinguishing features, aside from his eyes. He often wears close fitting attire which covers most of his body, though during the hotter months, it's not uncommon to find him in shorter sleeves. Beneath his clothes, however, lies another story. He is covered in scars, ranging from fairly neat ones from razor-sharp blades to ugly ones won from only he knows what implements (although more than a few are burn scars), largely from combat and training in his youth.

From the backs of his knees all the way up to his shoulders is a rather large and intricate tattoo. A pair of European adders start at his knees, and twist and turn their ways up his legs until they clash in the center of his back. With their fangs sinking into each other, these snakes form the words "Pain is God", but it is difficult to make out unless you’re looking for that meaning.

Across his shoulder blades is the Latin translation of "High Lord of Agony," which is his most recent addition to his work. This was added after the death of his father, as the title can only be held by one man at a time.


Character PB: Richard Armitage
Writing sample: one, two, three
How did you hear about us? A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...