Philippe

Philippe

• 

  
  CAPITAINE PHILIPPE DE COËTLOGON was a Frenchman of the worst sort; some mad, seafaring invalid who lived port-to-port; smelling of stale, floral-scented powders, the pungent sweat of the sea, and something very near to the olfactory array most frequently encountered in a modern-day nursing home. A frail thing, postured so rigidly that he was nearly to a backward lean; with twiggy legs bound in tights and flaking skin likened to the pale innards of a croissant-- caked heavily with the same mercurial powders that accounted for his ailment. He brandished a perpetual, crooked smile of such a delirious amount of self-satisfaction that it bordered on perversity, and revealed a frightful array yellowed, cracking teeth.

• Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

  Philippe Louis de Coëtlogon was born on December 8th, 1646 at Rennes in the rue St. Georges, as the seventh son of Louis de Coëtlogon, vicomte de Méjusseaume, counsellor to the King in the Parlement de Bretagne, and Louise Le Meneust de Bréquigny. The member of an old, illustrious family, he received an excellent education in Rennes and later went on to graduate from a military academy in 1668.
  
  Capitaine de Coëtlogon lived during the reign of Louis XIV, as a well-educated and distinguished superior officer in the French navy, ending his military career as a capitaine de vaisseau-- ship of the line captain. He served a great deal under the command of the esteemed Marshal de Tourville, participating in many wars waged under the French Bourbon monarch, le Roi Solei. His exemplary career witnessed participation in both the Franco-Dutch War and in the Nine Years War, beginning with the 1672 Battle of Solebay on Tourville's ship under the vice-admiral d'Estrées. By only 29 years of age, he was made captain of his own ship and went on to serve many campaigns until his final battle in 1690.
  
  Several months after his participation in the 1690 'Battle of Beachy Head' (or Bévéziers), under the command of Tourville, he was discharged from service as he became psychologically incapable of performing assigned duties.

• Detailed...

  Name: Philippe Louis de Coëtlogon
  
  Rank: Capitaine de Vaisseau (CV), or "cap' de veau" in naval slang
  
  Style of Address: Commandant, Capitaine de Coëtlogon
  
  Nicknames: Fou du Bleu (translating to 'Madman of the Blue'), Philippe le fou, more to come
  
  Crest: Gules tincture, three coats of ermine seated on the field. seen here
  
  Family: Born as the seventh son of Louis de Coëtlogon, vicomte de Méjusseaume, counsellor to the King in the Parlement de Bretagne, and his wife, Louise Le Meneust de Bréquigny.
  
  Species: Human
  
  Place of Origin: Rennes, France.
  
  Accent: French, Breton dialect
  
  Languages: French, English ("common"), Spanish. Tidbits of others acquired from a life at sea, yet formal knowledge of the aforementioned and written fluency in each.
  
  Sex: Male
  
  Age: Early 40's, though it is said he appears older for his ailments
  
  Birthdate: December 8th, 1646
  
  Sexual Orientation: Straight as an arrow, never known to veer. As with all French, his orientation might come into question for his foreign peculiarities, but it is no more than a grave misinterpretation.
  
  Height: 6ft by the mark, when not slouching or leaning too far back
  
  Hair: Dark brown, nearing on black.
  
  Skin: Once medium-fair, and browned at sea. Now flaking and ghostly pale-- thanking both his ailment and an extensive use of powdered cosmetics
  
  Eyes: An even clouded grey-blue alike to a weeping sky, rimmed by deep, ocean blue
  
  Scars: The tellings of cannon fire and the angry end of a rapier, across the entirety of his torso and arms.
  
  Marks: Extensive tattooing all across his arms and torso, thanking a life on the Pacific; many of which are classic, nautical images of anchors, sails, and women. However, some of these are representational of the battles and victories for which he partook
  
  Faith: Catholic
  
  Vices: There are seldom for which he will not indulge. He has the thirst of a proper drunkard and a mind to savour in all things.
  
  Intelligence: High, albeit diluted with madness. The man was once a military genius, and highly educated.
  
  Reputation: A laughing stock, now. Still, he was once known to be one of the most capable Frenchmen on the Blue, and some still know of his exploits and victories. A fallen war hero; by way of madness, not of death certificate.

• Further...

  Some fun facts, for the reader's enjoyment.
  
  • Philippe will likely not remember your character. Not for some time, anyway. He has periodical moments of lucidity where he is able to 'connect the dots', so to speak, but often he will recall very little about an individual unless he has spent a great deal of time with the person. Even then, it's spotty at best.
  
  • His memory is so poor, in fact, that he will often forget incidents and people the moment they have passed. This leads to a great deal of confusion, of course, and he constructs very imaginative explanations for, say, finding himself laying in a pool of his own vomit.
  
  • He is extremely prejudice against the English and the Dutch. He views both as a vile sort of 'breed', and does not trust them a bit. Additionally, this near-phobic mistrust and hatred of these sorts plays into his delusions. If something happens to him, they are to blame. Consider yourself warned.
  
  • Philippe does not acknowledge his condition. Directly, anyway. He might talk about the peeling of his skin in conversation but will never, under any circumstances, admit to having any knowledge of it when it is asked of him or pointed out.
  
  • He wears a scabbard, but no rapier or blade within it. He has threatened people with this blade of his, but it is nothing more than a figment of his imagination.
  
  • Very superstitious, especially in the way of luck and sea travel.