+- The First Age (https://thefirstage.org/forums)
+-- Forum: News & Discussion (https://thefirstage.org/forums/forum-3.html)
+--- Forum: Biographies & Backstory (https://thefirstage.org/forums/forum-10.html)
+--- Thread: Claude Saint-Clair (/thread-1724.html)
Claude Saint-Clair - Claude Saint-Clair - 01-05-2025
Claude Saint-Clair
Normandy, France
Age: 21
Psychological Description: Quiet and reserved. Extremely polite with gentlemanly ways and an aristocratic air. He harbors a hidden shame, that only his sister knows about.
Physical Description: 6’1” tall, dark eyes and hair, with a short beard.
Characters Powers and Supernatural Abilities: Channeler, Soul Bound to the Horn of Valere
Current Strength: 0 (Has Not Sparked)
Potential Strength: 20
Reborn God: Leonidas
Tattoo: A Medieval Styled Ouroboros with the words Jer 22:3 hidden within.
Biography
Claude Saint-Clair was born in 2025. In contrast to his robust older sister, Nora Saint-Clair, Claude was rather quiet and reserved. Where she would shirk her lessons to go exploring and have adventures, Claude was studious and attentive, learning his lessons and working to become an aristocratic gentleman.
Despite their differences, Claude looked up to his older sister and found her adventurous spirit intriguing. He would find himself outside after lessons, searching for unknown paths and unique places in the area surrounding their family home. Generally, brother and sister got along well, having the typical sibling squabbles that would be in any family, but they always meant well.
Raised in the Roman Catholic faith, Claude found a home there. He poured himself into scriptures, attended his catechism classes, and was confirmed into the faith at the typical age of seven. As a gift he received a rosary with amethyst gems for beads. It is his most cherished possession.
At the age of ten, Claude noticed a change happening in his home. Nora was going to have her thirteenth birthday party, and Claude was not invited to attend. The hustle around the house indicated that something important was happening, and Claude was sent elsewhere with servants to take care of him.
After the party, things began to change even more. Nora began to spend more time with Tanis Peregrym - who they usually called Grym - more and more. Nora had always looked up to the family servant, but now they were spending a lot more time together, and Claude felt the gap between him and his sister widening. Not because of how she treated him (in fact, she still made time to talk to him), but because he wasn’t seeing her as much. For the next few years, Claude would become more reserved. Any attempts at trying to find where his sister and her mentor went were met with reprimand. He became more reclusive after this and no longer adventured outside after his lessons. Instead, he poured himself more into scripture, turning to his faith for solace.
Claude’s drive into scripture would also cause confusion. As he entered adolescence, he would notice the other boys his age were finding an interest in girls. He played along, but felt nothing with regards to this, but he began to notice the interest they had in girls was the same as the interest he had in boys. As he read scripture, he saw this was wrong. He heard the priests at church and other church members say this was wrong. He kept those feelings buried deep, but they found a way to creep up at times - usually with an off-handed comment from a family member about him “finding a nice girl to marry.” When those occurred, he’d find a way to excuse himself and would go to his room to cry and pray that God would fix him.
As he approached his thirteenth birthday, Claude noticed the same hustle that had precluded Nora’s thirteenth birthday. The party, held at the ancestral Saint-Clair-sur-Epte, seemed little like a party - at least to a thirteen year old boy. He had not been invited to Nora’s party, but Nora had been present at his. At this party, he learned the legacy of the Saint-Clair family; He learned of Jean Saint-Clair and of his battle with the Loup Garou; he saw the Dagger of Benedictus; He learned of of his family’s connection to an ancient order: the Atharim.
Familiar with the liturgy and rituals of the Church, Claude saw this gathering for what it was - a ceremony that would bring him into the fold of the order. He respected the solemnity of it, and his pride in his family increased. He was glad to be a part of the fight against the darkness.
It was then he understood finally why Nora had been off with Grym so often. Unfortunately, shortly after he had been introduced to the Saint-Clair legacy, Nora was injured, and Grym was blamed and dismissed. An Atharim hunter named Phillipe took the young Claude under his wing and began to train him. Claude was a natural and picked up combat easily. Blades, firearms, martial arts, unarmed combat, and tactics came to him with an uncanny ease.
Still he had to study - but included in his study were myths and legends, that he now knew were true. Phillipe told him that the key to any victory in the hunt was understanding what you hunted, so he poured through texts of rougarou, draikana, dreykan, banniks, oni, and other monsters, learning all he could about them.
Recreation time was still granted, even if it didn’t feel like it was enough, and Claude began to make some friends. While studying and training, Claude was able to keep his homosexual feelings pressed down, but during these recreational times with friends, it was more difficult. At fourteen, Claude met Marcel, a boy his age, and they developed a close bond. As they began to spend more time together, Claude realized that his feelings were passing beyond friendship into something more. It started with hands accidentally touching as they walked, causing both to turn towards each other and smile; It then moved to hand holding, and interlacing fingers. It was with Marcel that Claude shared his first kiss, and it was with Marcel that his shame grew. He wanted this, but his faith told him he was in sin. After Marcel would leave, Claude would go to his room and pray once more for God to forgive, and more importantly fix him.
But Marcel was hard to resist, and Claude found the same thing happening over and over. It wasn’t until Nora had found them, that it actually ended. It had been the same as every other day but when they had finished, Claude saw the figure of Nora walking away, and it was clear to him that she had seen him.
”I can’t do this,” Claude told Marcel and walked away.
Claude didn’t go straight back to the house. He didn’t want to see Nora right now, but he couldn’t stay out too long, so he eventually headed back and locked himself in his room for his customary prayer. When supper was called, he declined, feigning illness. Claude pulled out his rosary and began the ritual prayers, flinching at every sound in the hallway. Finally he gave up, pulled out his wallet and sent Nora a message. He had to talk to her.
”Please come talk to me.”
A knock came at his a few minutes later, and Claude muttered, tears falling from his eyes. ”Come in.”
The door opened, and Nora entered, took a seat next to him and said, ”What’s going on?”
Claude took a moment to compose himself, ”I know you saw…I…I…” he stuttered, trying to form the right words. ”I’ve tried…I’ve tried to like girls…Nora, I know I’m gay. I’m so confused. They keep telling me this is wrong. God doesn’t hear my prayers and won’t fix it. I’m scared. I’m proud to be a Saint-Clair, but scared that they’re all going to be ashamed of me like I am.”
She put an arm around his shoulder. "I'm sorry that I saw, but i'm also glad I saw. Because now we can talk about this together." She turned his face toward her with a tip of his chin, a reassuring smile on her face. "I don't know if being gay is a sin or not, but what I do know is that God created you exactly the way you are. With your fuzzy hair, your big ears, and your cute little nose. If you are this perfect on the outside, you are perfect on the inside. And if you're scared, we won't tell anyone. Not until you're ready."
”You really think so?” Claude asked, feeling a little better at her words.
"Of course. You're MY brother. And we both know that I'm completely perfect, which means you are too." She squeezed his shoulders, knowing that he would probably take her quip as a joke.
Claude laughed at her joke, and wiped his eyes, wrapping his sister in a hug. ”Thanks, Nora - for now - don’t tell anyone, please.”
Nora got serious for a moment. "Of course not. Do you want to tell me about this crush? When I was 14, I made out with this guy from school in our gazebo. He was the first boy I ever kissed. Funny thing was, I didn't even like him. I had this huge crush on another boy, but he never seemed interested in me at all even though he flirted with me so much. So I asked his best friend out, we just went for a walk on the grounds, and when we got back, we kissed. That got the first one's attention." She smiled wickedly.
Claude laughed and thanked Nora again. Telling her he was feeling better, he went down to get some food. First he sent Marcel a message, apologizing for what happened. They would see each other again until Marcel eventually moved away. Confiding in Nora did not remove the shame he felt at being a homosexual, but he had significantly more peace with it.
Her talk made him want to question some of his beliefs. The core was still there, but could they be interpreting scripture wrong. That night as he was reading his bible, he came across a verse that resonated with him differently now.
“Thus says the Lord: Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place.” - Jeremiah 22:3
Learning about the Atharim there had always been one thing that had bothered him. They would kill reborn gods, wolfkin, and others for being a potential threat. To Claude, that didn’t seem like justice and it felt like shedding innocent blood. He kept these thoughts to himself. They were dangerous.
The years passed and his training continued. Nora found a relic that had attracted even the attention of the Regus himself. She had found a weapon - possibly one that could kill a God. Claude kept his inner conflict on killing those who committed no crime other than existing to himself, but paid attention nonetheless.
At eighteen, Claude took his final vows at the Vatican, cementing his allegiance to the Atharim cause. He continued hunting in the area while Nora tried to find postings elsewhere. He always made himself available for her to vent should she want to; at the very least he could tell she was frustrated.
Nora then left, but few knew her true reason. She informed him of the rumors of Grym in the Carpathian Mountains and meant to find her, and later he received a communication that Grym was going to Moscow and she was following. The Conclave was underway, and war was brewing.
In the aftermath following the fire at the Atharim HQ in Moscow, the Saint-Clair Family heard nothing from Nora. Months had passed and they received not a word. Claude was summoned by his father and instructed to go to Moscow to find her. Claude hadn’t needed the instruction. He had been uneasy in France since Nora had left, and her silence had just solidified that. He would have gone anyway. Being told to do it, just made it an easier choice.
Past Lives:
Third Age: King Aemon of Manetheran
Seventh Age: King Leonidas of Sparta
((OoC: Nora dialogue by Nora))