Arnould Lahaye

Arnould Lahaye was born in 1294 AD in the bustling city of Lyon, the son of a skilled hunter and furrier and a lowly servant girl. Though his birth placed him on the lower rungs of France’s social hierarchy, Arnould’s striking beauty and natural grace marked him as different from his peers. From an early age, his physique and poise drew admiration from villagers and nobility alike.

He trained alongside his father with bow and blade, becoming a skilled huntsman by his teenage years. His reputation spread beyond Lyon—not merely for his trophies in the field but for his conquests among the village maidens wherever he traveled.

Embrace and Rebirth

In 1313, at the height of his youth and vitality, Arnould drew the eye of Adeleisa “Moineau”, an enigmatic and ancient Malkavian who had long lingered in Bordeaux. To Adeleisa, Arnould’s mortal vibrance offered a distraction from the crushing ennui of centuries. She Embraced him, gifting him unlife at the peak of his physical beauty.

Under Adeleisa’s tutelage, Arnould was transformed from a rural huntsman into a creature of elegance. She instructed him in the refined arts: French courtly etiquette, reading and writing in Latin and French, music, and poetry. For decades, they shared Adeleisa’s chateau in Bordeaux, where Arnould became her favored companion and pupil, the bright flame to her languid shadow.

Betrayal and Diablerie

Centuries of unlife can rot even the closest bonds. By 1359, Arnould had grown restless. His Sire’s affectations, once intoxicating, became stifling. On a fateful winter night, he orchestrated an elaborate deception, turning Adeleisa’s trust against her. In a calculated betrayal, Arnould diablerized his Sire, consuming her ancient vitae and seizing her power.

Taking her most precious possessions—artifacts, manuscripts, and a collection of finely trained ghouls—he abandoned the Bordeaux chateau to chart his own course. The black veins of diablerie marked him for years, but Arnould took to the courts of Europe, wearing his sins beneath layers of charm and poise.

The Wandering Poet

In the decades that followed, Arnould roamed the salons and courts of central and eastern Europe. Wherever influence and decadence converged, Arnould thrived. He masqueraded as a Toreador Elder, hiding his Malkavian blood behind a facade of artistic devotion and social mastery.

Arnould cultivated patrons and pawns alike, leaving whispers of scandal, romance, and intrigue in his wake. His poetry—often sharp and melancholic—earned him notoriety among the Kindred and mortals alike, though few suspected the fractured mind behind the graceful visage.

Elder of Marseille

By the dawn of the Renaissance, Arnould had anchored himself in Marseille, where he built a formidable power base over centuries. While the Toreador of the region considered him one of their own, Arnould kept his true lineage secret, revealing his Malkavian heritage only to those he trusted—or those he sought to unnerve.

He commands a discreet but capable retinue of ghouls: hunters, artists, and enforcers who tend to his needs and enforce his will. Arnould spends his nights composing poetry, chronicling the changing tides of mortal and Kindred society, and hosting salons where art and politics intertwine.

Though he plays the role of the languid Toreador Elder, those who know the signs see flashes of his madness: moments of unsettling clarity, fits of dark humor, or cryptic verses that foretell tragedy.