Long Story (So-Far) Short:
(Current Age: 18)
Second son of a mid-high class Ishgardian family. His father was a Knight of Ishgard, but when a wound forced him to retire from the military duty, he became a chocobo merchant and moved their house in Coerthas. This drastic change made the man obsessed with raising his sons to be high ranked knights in his stead, but Vincent's allergy to the birds' feathers, along with his hopeless gentleness and general ineptitude with weapons, made it clear to him that the Fury had no plan to have his second son serve her as a stalwart guardian of Ishgard.
Since then, Vincent was mostly put under the care of their mother, a strict but gentle scholar, who raised him to become a dignitary that would bring honor and pride to the Laucent's good name. Typically troubling himself for his incapacity to satisfy his father's expectations, Vincent always took his studies with the greatest seriousness and dedication, often putting aside every pleasure of his childhood to spend more time reading books and learning everything he could.
His inferiority complex in regards of his father was also not helped by his brother's attitude. Tatreaubient, nine years older than Vincent, has great skills and mind for spearmanship and battle, and is an outstanding chocobo rider. However, he always showed restraint and lack of interest in becoming the first head of the family, to the point of always dodging or escaping every attempt from both of his parents to get him properly engaged with several of the fair, high-classed ladies of Ishgard that offered their interest. Vincent has deep respect and admiration for his brother, loving him dearly, but he is also forced to constantly seeing him and their father argue because of Tatreaubient's resistance to the family decisions. Vincent's efforts to get the two to pacify always end poorly for him, with his father scolding him for not being able to keep up with his brother's progress as a fighter on a side, and Tatreaubient chiding of how Vincent never seems to manage to grow a spine and choose with his own head instead of blindly complying to everything their father demands.
The ultimate break up comes with the war. The Empire's strike in Eorzea came to its fullest, and every nation did its best to defend its people from their grasp; except Ishgard. When Garlemald finally begins its assaults in the lands of Coerthas, the gates of the Holy See remain closed and silent, as if Ishgard itself refused to face that reality, pretending the Garlean threat didn't exist. This seems to infuriate Tatreaubient, who finally makes good on his threats to abandon the family house and leaves to become an adventurer. This will be the last time Vincent sees his older brother.
The Calamity fell upon Eorzea, wiping out part of the Shroud, and covering Coerthas in perennial snow. The small town Vincent's family lived in was destroyed, and although most of the Laucent died on the impact with Bahamut's fury, Vincent and his parents managed to first escape and get refuged in one of the nearby bastions. Vincent's father is badly injured, and on his death bed he has a talk with his son, officially bestowing him with the title of head of the family.
After the loss of his father, Vincent's mother gets sick with mourn and psychological breakdown. She lives, but turns to become bedridden in a very short time. Vincent does his best to assist her and also help out the rest of the refugees, having many troubles initially, finding all his knowledge as a to-be politician pointless in the chaos that followed the Calamity.
His efforts to track down his brother in an attempt to heal his mother are for naught, and so Vincent travels to Gridania, seeking the help of the Seedseer. There, he get acquainted with the Conjurers of Stillglade Fane, and quickly accepts to become an adept. He takes control of conjury in a very short time, mostly thanks to restless study and tiring dedication rather than talent, and with it, he manages to help the refugees of Coerthas, eventually managing to bring his situation to a stable point and find a new home for his mother in Gridania.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's been almost six years since the Calamity now, and Vincent has grown into a premature, but prepared Conjurer of Stillglade Fane. While he still claim to not have given up on the possibilities to find his brother alive, inside something has begun to falter in his faith. He dedicates less time searching for signs of Tatreaubient's passage, and more on assisting the people in need, with particular care for the new adventurers that enter Gridania, often targeted by the townsfolk with distrust and suspicion. Vincent does his best to fulfill his father's last wish, that he'd do as his heart tells him to, but even so, taking decisions alone is still a struggle to him, and he prefers to let his hand be led by the wisdom of the Elementals.
Among the adventurers he meets Sigberta, an Highlander girl only slightly older than him, seeking information about her gone father from the Order of the Twin Adder. Unfortunately, it seems the Grand Company has dire news for her, as her father passed away in the war. This moves Vincent, and induces him into taking the girl under his wing. The two spend a good deal of time together, mostly with Vincent helping the girl defeat the general distrust of Gridanians, and offering comfort and advice whenever she'd need it. From time to time, he'd also open up to her, revealing bits about himself here and there.
Another adventurer Vincent shares some interest for is Blue, an amnesic Miqo'te arrived to Gridania while following a Hyur man, Blade Belisaire. The two actually both cause Vincent some curiosity, and worry to some degree. Blue has an extraordinary talent for conjury, especially given her absolute lack of any study in the arts prior knowing him. Could she be a fallen conjurer, cursed with woodsin and amnesia by the Elementals for betraying their will? And Blade: he seems to have known Vincent's brother, though Vincent himself didn't dare to inquire about it, perhaps afraid to hear for the worst.
About simultaneously to these events though, Vincent overhears of strange events taking place throughout Eorzea. Someone seems to be out to get Ishgardians who have left home for a reason or another. He decides to inquire on the subject, mostly fueled by the wish to finally hear of his brother more than anything, as Tatreaubient, more than Vincent himself, may have become one of the assassin's targets. His search around Gridania brings him to meet Kith Jakkya, and with her the other exiled of Ishgard. Vincent's life will never be the same after this encounter...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The long battle against the assassins hunting the Exiles has finally ended, leaving Vincent with more spiritual wounds than physical. Still waiting for the interrogation of the final prisoner among the Faces of Mercy, Vincent learns that a masked man who had saved him on the battlefield claims his brother's name. Driven with confusion and anger, he returns to Coerthas to hunt the man down, and is at last found by the very same individual. After a much confusing and violent exchange, the man at last removes his mask, showing himself to Vincent as the spitting image of his gone brother, but with little to no sign of aging. How is this possible?
Vincent accuses Tatreaubient, questioning his absence for all these years; the older attempts to explain, though he as well seems to bear little to no understanding of what transpired exactly during the Calamity. He says that he remembers nothing between Bahamut's strike and the moment he awakened in the frozen Coerthas, as though those six cycles hadn't existed for him. He claims to believe to have been given a second chance by the Twelve themselves, brought back to life to stop the threat of the Lambs of Dalamud before they bring forth yet another Calamity. Vincent tries to convince him that that is not the case, and that Tatreaubient needs to return home with him, to see their mother, and possibly let the conjurers tend to him and help him recover from his... unstable conditions. But his older brother refuses, and after asking him about their father's death, he disappears once again in the merciless blizzard of Whitebrim.
~Vincent Laucent~
(Current Age: 18)
Second son of a mid-high class Ishgardian family. His father was a Knight of Ishgard, but when a wound forced him to retire from the military duty, he became a chocobo merchant and moved their house in Coerthas. This drastic change made the man obsessed with raising his sons to be high ranked knights in his stead, but Vincent's allergy to the birds' feathers, along with his hopeless gentleness and general ineptitude with weapons, made it clear to him that the Fury had no plan to have his second son serve her as a stalwart guardian of Ishgard.
Since then, Vincent was mostly put under the care of their mother, a strict but gentle scholar, who raised him to become a dignitary that would bring honor and pride to the Laucent's good name. Typically troubling himself for his incapacity to satisfy his father's expectations, Vincent always took his studies with the greatest seriousness and dedication, often putting aside every pleasure of his childhood to spend more time reading books and learning everything he could.
His inferiority complex in regards of his father was also not helped by his brother's attitude. Tatreaubient, nine years older than Vincent, has great skills and mind for spearmanship and battle, and is an outstanding chocobo rider. However, he always showed restraint and lack of interest in becoming the first head of the family, to the point of always dodging or escaping every attempt from both of his parents to get him properly engaged with several of the fair, high-classed ladies of Ishgard that offered their interest. Vincent has deep respect and admiration for his brother, loving him dearly, but he is also forced to constantly seeing him and their father argue because of Tatreaubient's resistance to the family decisions. Vincent's efforts to get the two to pacify always end poorly for him, with his father scolding him for not being able to keep up with his brother's progress as a fighter on a side, and Tatreaubient chiding of how Vincent never seems to manage to grow a spine and choose with his own head instead of blindly complying to everything their father demands.
The ultimate break up comes with the war. The Empire's strike in Eorzea came to its fullest, and every nation did its best to defend its people from their grasp; except Ishgard. When Garlemald finally begins its assaults in the lands of Coerthas, the gates of the Holy See remain closed and silent, as if Ishgard itself refused to face that reality, pretending the Garlean threat didn't exist. This seems to infuriate Tatreaubient, who finally makes good on his threats to abandon the family house and leaves to become an adventurer. This will be the last time Vincent sees his older brother.
The Calamity fell upon Eorzea, wiping out part of the Shroud, and covering Coerthas in perennial snow. The small town Vincent's family lived in was destroyed, and although most of the Laucent died on the impact with Bahamut's fury, Vincent and his parents managed to first escape and get refuged in one of the nearby bastions. Vincent's father is badly injured, and on his death bed he has a talk with his son, officially bestowing him with the title of head of the family.
After the loss of his father, Vincent's mother gets sick with mourn and psychological breakdown. She lives, but turns to become bedridden in a very short time. Vincent does his best to assist her and also help out the rest of the refugees, having many troubles initially, finding all his knowledge as a to-be politician pointless in the chaos that followed the Calamity.
His efforts to track down his brother in an attempt to heal his mother are for naught, and so Vincent travels to Gridania, seeking the help of the Seedseer. There, he get acquainted with the Conjurers of Stillglade Fane, and quickly accepts to become an adept. He takes control of conjury in a very short time, mostly thanks to restless study and tiring dedication rather than talent, and with it, he manages to help the refugees of Coerthas, eventually managing to bring his situation to a stable point and find a new home for his mother in Gridania.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's been almost six years since the Calamity now, and Vincent has grown into a premature, but prepared Conjurer of Stillglade Fane. While he still claim to not have given up on the possibilities to find his brother alive, inside something has begun to falter in his faith. He dedicates less time searching for signs of Tatreaubient's passage, and more on assisting the people in need, with particular care for the new adventurers that enter Gridania, often targeted by the townsfolk with distrust and suspicion. Vincent does his best to fulfill his father's last wish, that he'd do as his heart tells him to, but even so, taking decisions alone is still a struggle to him, and he prefers to let his hand be led by the wisdom of the Elementals.
Among the adventurers he meets Sigberta, an Highlander girl only slightly older than him, seeking information about her gone father from the Order of the Twin Adder. Unfortunately, it seems the Grand Company has dire news for her, as her father passed away in the war. This moves Vincent, and induces him into taking the girl under his wing. The two spend a good deal of time together, mostly with Vincent helping the girl defeat the general distrust of Gridanians, and offering comfort and advice whenever she'd need it. From time to time, he'd also open up to her, revealing bits about himself here and there.
Another adventurer Vincent shares some interest for is Blue, an amnesic Miqo'te arrived to Gridania while following a Hyur man, Blade Belisaire. The two actually both cause Vincent some curiosity, and worry to some degree. Blue has an extraordinary talent for conjury, especially given her absolute lack of any study in the arts prior knowing him. Could she be a fallen conjurer, cursed with woodsin and amnesia by the Elementals for betraying their will? And Blade: he seems to have known Vincent's brother, though Vincent himself didn't dare to inquire about it, perhaps afraid to hear for the worst.
About simultaneously to these events though, Vincent overhears of strange events taking place throughout Eorzea. Someone seems to be out to get Ishgardians who have left home for a reason or another. He decides to inquire on the subject, mostly fueled by the wish to finally hear of his brother more than anything, as Tatreaubient, more than Vincent himself, may have become one of the assassin's targets. His search around Gridania brings him to meet Kith Jakkya, and with her the other exiled of Ishgard. Vincent's life will never be the same after this encounter...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The long battle against the assassins hunting the Exiles has finally ended, leaving Vincent with more spiritual wounds than physical. Still waiting for the interrogation of the final prisoner among the Faces of Mercy, Vincent learns that a masked man who had saved him on the battlefield claims his brother's name. Driven with confusion and anger, he returns to Coerthas to hunt the man down, and is at last found by the very same individual. After a much confusing and violent exchange, the man at last removes his mask, showing himself to Vincent as the spitting image of his gone brother, but with little to no sign of aging. How is this possible?
Vincent accuses Tatreaubient, questioning his absence for all these years; the older attempts to explain, though he as well seems to bear little to no understanding of what transpired exactly during the Calamity. He says that he remembers nothing between Bahamut's strike and the moment he awakened in the frozen Coerthas, as though those six cycles hadn't existed for him. He claims to believe to have been given a second chance by the Twelve themselves, brought back to life to stop the threat of the Lambs of Dalamud before they bring forth yet another Calamity. Vincent tries to convince him that that is not the case, and that Tatreaubient needs to return home with him, to see their mother, and possibly let the conjurers tend to him and help him recover from his... unstable conditions. But his older brother refuses, and after asking him about their father's death, he disappears once again in the merciless blizzard of Whitebrim.
To be an interesting, intriguing, well-written character, there needs to be something to allow the audience to relate to them. That is what the problem is with who wants their character to be "perfect". Perfect characters will never be strong, and strong characters will never be perfect, because WE (those who read, who watch, who RP) are not perfect.
"What makes a strong character is how they deal with their flaws, their fears, their turmoils, their troubles that get in the way. That's what makes them relatable." -- N.C.
"What makes a strong character is how they deal with their flaws, their fears, their turmoils, their troubles that get in the way. That's what makes them relatable." -- N.C.