- Influence
- 220.00
Matisse Dubois
Image TBA
Skills
Image TBA
Skills
Total Points Available To Spend |
|---|
12 |
Physical | Mental | Social |
|---|---|---|
Hook Swords [Proficient] (3) | Spycraft [Seasoned] (4) | Manipulation [Trained] (2) |
Skill [Rank] (Points) | Alkamarian Politics and Culture [Proficient] (3) | Skill [Rank] (Points) |
Skill [Rank] (Points) | Skill [Rank] (Points) | Skill [Rank] (Points) |
Total Points in Category: 3 | Total Points in Category: 7 | Total Points in Category: 2 |
General Information
Age: Unknown, presumed 30’s-40’s
Species: Sable
Size: Average (avg. 5’8”)
Physical Description
His quick, calculating eyes are grey. The most perceptive of beasts might notice that Matisse often, if not always, stands or angles himself in such a way as to keep beasts he deems more of a threat on his right side. This is due to the vision in his left eye beginning to decline over the years. When he speaks it is with a strikingly neutral accent which seems to pin him to nowhere in particular. That is, at least, until he returns to the land of his birth where he will let a more regional dialect colour his voice to engender familiarity.
As far as attire goes Matisse dresses elegantly and in good quality clothing with everything designed for streamlined simplicity and a certain vagueness, almost exclusively in dark colours. When the role requires it, he can be seen dressed down (or up) much more considerably, though he greatly disparages those cheaper looks.
Weaponry is in fact the most unusual thing about him. Concealed about his person are two daggers for emergencies, but his default choice is a pair of deadly hook swords. These exotic blades, immaculately kept, tend to remain obscured by a coat or cloak until necessary. The weapons have been blued not only to preserve the metal but to dull its shine; similarly, the handles are wrapped in black cord. Memorable though they may be in combat, they are not designed to attract the eye.
The one concession the sable seems to make to fashion is a chunky golden bangle-like object about his right wrist. It is too tight to be slipped off and so is often covered by long sleeves when discretion requires. If one could get close enough to study it, the piece reveals no perceivable seam or clasp. Funny: were it not so expensive it might almost look like a manacle.
Inventory and Real Estate
- Two concealed daggers.
- Thick golden wrist-band.
- Variety of clothing and related accoutrement for working – armour, basic weapons, cloaks, uniforms, grubby shirts, badges, passes and papers (a majority of which has been generously provided by M.A.U.L).
- A series of unusual coding wheels, slips of birchbark, books and stamps for creating and deciphering messages in varying ciphers.
- A collection of alkamarian history books, uniforms and maps.
- No fixed abode; rents or lives where work dictates.
- He’s rarely without a few extra guilders for the odd bribe.
Personality
When he is not in the field but as spymaster, he’s strategic, calculating and ruthless, all about the acquisition and use of knowledge and unafraid to manipulate to get what he wants. He appears quiet, listening far more than he speaks, but presents for the most part composed and amiable. His humour is dry, and he absolutely prefers the finer things in life. Those he works with know that he is a fair enough beast and always follows through with payments, but failure is not tolerated.
There once was something of a dramatic flair about the sable, poured now into his field work, and an aptitude for history and cryptography hamstrung by his own obsession with vengeance. There’s a conflict to be seen between his righteous anger with Alkamar and the merciless line of work he has fallen into. Though he works for the Imperium, he is not blind to the same faults it holds and is generally ambivalent to the Empress: it is all simply a means to an end for him, and for now it suits him to remain loyal.
Strengths
Matisse is a natural charmer with an intuitive sense of other beasts, able to chameleon well into groups and win the trust of those around him. He’s played the game for long enough to learn to be wary of ambitious plays, which has often kept him alive. Little escapes his notice, and he has perfected the art of questioning. The sable would make a rather decent teacher, were he ever in the mood. A shame, then, that he never is.
In combat he relies on a balance of strength and sureness of paw, using his hook swords for a variety of functions to capitalise on openings, caught weapons or tripped opponents to deadly effect.
Weaknesses
Isolation is his greatest asset and his greatest weakness: he has no deep ties and so no beast would likely care to come to his aid for any other reason than his usefulness. For all of his insight into what makes others tick, he cannot connect with it himself, and this, deep down, grieves him.
The elephant in the room is Matisse’s vision. The sight in his left eye has been declining for years and even were there ways and means around it he would be too proud and stubborn to admit to needing the help. Physical failings, to him, are a weakness and he would need to be in a severe way to seek medical aid. Adapting to keep pace with the loss of vision and his combat abilities have, at times, proven difficult but he is improving. His combat style, also, relies on short burst encounters rather than drawn-out conflicts.
History
Matisse became enamoured with the local guard and joined the forces as soon as he was of age, showing an aptitude for close-quarters combat and loyalty to orders. Still green, he was enlisted along with more advanced guard to form part of an expeditionary crew – the purpose and destination of which he was not privy to. It doesn’t seem to have mattered, for the ship never reached its destination.
Nobeast really knows what happened: some say the ship was sunk in a freak storm, others that pirates boarded or a foreign navy attacked and pressganged the surviving crew into service or slavery. Rumours persist that Matisse’s four-year absence covered any manner of fantastical tales: a shipwreck survivor picked up and turned captain; an enslaved beast sold into showy combat as an arena warrior tasked to fight and kill for his freedom; some even say he enlisted in a foreign army, became favoured by a princess and was promoted to her personal guard until tragedy struck. The sable is in no rush to confirm or deny any tale. All that is known is that by the time he returned to Alkamar, he was the only survivor of the ill-fated journey and going simply by the name Doré.
To all intents and purposes he had been considered dead. His parents were nowhere to be found; his family’s business was gone and the Alkamarian guard had little interest in re-recruiting Doré at the time. Penniless and embittered after struggling to return to the land of his birth, he was immediately disenchanted – and it was at this point of desperation where a high-ranking spy took an interest in him. An educated beast with little purpose could be of use, after all. Doré ended up discovering an aptitude for spy work and enjoyed the sense of power and control it gave him. It provided a focus, and the more he immersed himself in Alkamar’s criminal underworld, the more his disenchantment began to warp into an obsessive hatred for Alkamar’s political corruption and perceived lack of loyalty to its own beasts during Miklarian conflicts.
Eventually he was posted an opportunity to visit the Vulpine Imperium due to his ability to mask his accent and took the job with some interest, changing his name once more, this time from Doré to Matisse.
Within the first two months in the Imperium, Matisse’s youthful ambition landed him in hot water when his status as a spy was uncovered and he was almost immediately killed. Only quick talking landed him an audience with the Ministry of Misanthropy, and faster talking yet avoided too painful an “interview” process whereby he was recruited as a spy within the city. Some work within the city gradually cemented his loyalty within the service, and as he climbed the lower ranks he began to catch the attention of M.A.U.L proper. Recruited into the spy service, his lack of love for Alkamar was noted and a proposition was made: return at the assigned time back to his homeland as a double agent.
Ever since his role has been serving as a double agent between the continents. He feeds intelligence from the Imperium to Alkamar – just true enough to keep Alkamar from suspicion, false enough to keep them on the back paw – and reports news from Alkamar to the Imperium in turn. Elevated to the role of a spymaster within M.A.U.L, Matisse divides his time between gathering intelligence from webs of similar agents, field work of his own and the occasional “consultancy” role for other Ministries who are seeking information. As little as he cares for the aims and goals of the Imperium, it has only treated him well so far, and serves his purpose: to see Alkamar’s finest brought down.
