- ""What are you?” the Count gasped. “The sole charlatan among a parade of demigods,” Roland told the noble. “Smoke and mirrors, my good count. Or rather smoke, mirrors and a knife.”"
- ―Roland de Beaumarais
Roland de Beaumaris is a Proceran hero known as the Rogue Sorcerer. According to Masego, Roland is one of the two finest Proceran practitioners he had met.
Background[]
Olivier de Beaumarais was the first child to a family of wizards, living in the small town of Beaumarais on the outskirts of the principality of Bayeux. He was born without the Gift, and upon realizing this, his parents reluctantly tried to send him to learn other professions, to no avail. As his younger brother, Roland, was born with the Gift, his parents all but lost interest in him. He started memorizing his family's books, copying them for the town's scribe and earning some money. Olivier became a travelling scribe, becoming fairly wealthy. After a conflict between his family and the House of Light, which Olivier solved, he opened a shop for magic with his brother- which quickly became a safehouse for wizards from all around the continent. For a few years, Olivier managed the shop, building a tower near the village and growing more distant with his brother, as well as starting a relationship with Alisanne, a noble from Apenun. Eventually, Alisanne had to go back to Apenun, and convinced Olivier to come with her. On the night before they were supposed to leave, Roland and a Praesi mage called Morgaine had raised undead in a plot to "save" Alisanne, earning money from her mother and leaving Roland a hero- but as Roland learned that Olivier and Alisanne are leaving, he unleashed the undead on the town and took Alisanne to the wizards' tower. Olivier killed Morgaine and fought with Roland, coming into the Name of Rogue Sorcerer and Confiscating his brother's magic. Olivier then took Roland's face and name, spreading the story that a Praesi Warlock was the one who raised the dead, killed Olivier and that Roland pursued him away.
The tenth Crusade (Book 4)[]
Roland has fought in the Battle of the Camps as part of the Tenth Crusade. Later he was part of the heroes that helped Tariq after capturing the Black Knight and helped hiding his soul.
The Princes Graveyard (Book 5)[]
Roland was part of Catherine Foundling's band of five that marched into Twilight, and attended the Salian Peace Conference.
The Arsenal (Book 6)[]
Roland was the heroic main mage among the mages of the Arsenal, essentially herding cats while having to also somehow get cooperation from his villainous opposite Masego that had no interest whatsoever in running the practical side of things. Roland was recruited by Cat to help fight the Intercessor's plot in the Arsenal, as the person she could trust in her band of potential traitors.
The Hainaut Campaign (Book 6)[]
Roland was in the streets of Hainaut during the battle of the city, where he collapsed a portal before a number of undead could use it to enter the city behind the defense lines.
Appearance[]
Roland is a short and good-looking Alamans man, with brown eyes and brown curls. He often wears a long leather coat over a chainmail shirt, and carries with him many magical artefacts.[1]
When confiscating or using magic, Roland's pupils becomes rimmed with colour from the drawn magic.
Relationships[]
Roland gets along with almost everyone, be they Hero or Villain, although some Heroes trust him less because of his close ties with many Villains. He has worked closely with Adanna, the Blessed Artificer and Masego in the Arsenal, as well as a few other Named. He and Catherine Foundling are friends, often working together and exchanging banter.
One of the few people Roland does not get along well with is the Hunted Magician. The distaste between those two had been instant and instantly shared. [2]
Powers[]
Roland's powerset is centered around his two known Aspects: Confiscate and Use. He carries with him a great many magical artefacts, which provide him with layers upon layers of defenses and give him a huge arsenal of spells, attacks and other magic uses to choose from. He also uses Confiscate to steal the powers of his opponents, leaving them weakened and crippled. He is an extremely skilled mage, weaving complex and creative spells and working with other Named to create wonderous items.
Roland's Aspects are Confiscate and Use:
Confiscate: Allows Roland to take power from those who do not deserve it. This aspect gives Roland the ability to use magic even though he was born without the Gift, and lets him craft his powerful Artefacts.[3] He can study the sorcery he confiscates.[4]
Use: Allows Roland to utilize the power he takes- from using the Gift he took from his brother to the power he drained out of the fae Count of Green Orchards, this Aspect gives Roland his ability to cast spells from many different disciplines of magic. This is a unique feat, as the rules of different magical theories are so different and incompatible that most mages would go mad trying to use more than one.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Book 5 - Chapter 33: Concord
- ↑ https://practicalguidetoevil.wordpress.com/2020/02/25/interlude-terms/
- ↑ Extra Chapter - Charlatan IV
It was all, in that moment, clear as crystal. Every detail of the world around him, from Alisanne’s steady breath on the cot to the slight coating of dust on the bookshelves to the flush on his brother’s cheeks. And Olivier knew, with unearthly certainty, that it could be done. He’d spent all his life taking knowledge and putting it to use, and wasn’t the knowledge always the hard part? And so when he saw sorcery flare around his brother’s hands Olivier brushed his own against them, and took the magic. No, not took. He was not a wanton thief, stealing away whatever he wished. He had done this because the magic was being misused.
Confiscated, he thought. He had confiscated the power. - ↑ Book 7 - Interlude: End Times
“Confiscate.”
The magic invested in it was foul, handling it felt like licking pestilence, but even as the stone went inert Roland forced himself to study the sorcery. It had been meant, he decided, to release another swarm. It had been gathering power from ambient sorcery ever since unleashing the first.