Antoan

Duke Antoan is a Seelie Sidhe Wilder of House Liam and Duke of Palmetto in the Kingdom of Willows.

Overview

Antoan was born in Charleston, South Carolina, soon after his parents immigrated from Vietnam in 1972. He grew up attending public school and working in the family's Chinese-Vietnamese restaurant after class. Brought up to work hard, to respect his elders, and to embrace traditional values, it took him until he was almost 18 before he underwent his Chrysalis.

Strangely, he was wrapped in Glamour that he would never have experienced had he not broken away enough from his family to skip work and go to a rock concert. A whole new world opened for him. Taken from the concert hall by Mischala, the Duchess of Palmetto, he became aware of his fae nature. Duchess Mischala was much older than Antoan, a grump of House Fiona whose patronage was instrumental in bringing the Spoleto Festival to Charleston while Antoan was still a child. The young sidhe discovered that he was a noble of House Liam, that his house was not regarded highly, and that Mischala believed the rest of the proud sidhe would have a fit when they learned that a sidhe had been born into a refugee family!

Mischala took Antoan (who told her he was under a geas never to reveal his fae name) under her wing, then into her bed. Antoan tried to keep up both lives for a time, but exhausted himself and tried his parents' patience. After a few months, he announced that he was moving out. Arguments and recriminations mixed with his mother's, brothers' and sisters' tears followed. In the end, though, his family gave its blessings.

Antoan opened himself to many new experiences, embracing all sorts of dance, music, theatre, and the visual arts. He even developed the ability to glean Glamour from gourmet cuisine. He and Mischala were inseparable. In mortal society, things were less pleasant. Charleston society demanded certain behavior from its elite. While Mischala came from an old, respected, and moneyed family, her choice to take up with an "Oriental boy" met with stony silence and snubs. Badly hurt by the attitude and the Banality attached to it, Mischala withdrew into herself. She stopped attending concerts and the theatre; she refused to even leave her freehold.

Antoan did what he could, even offering to leave so she could regain her standing. She refused, terrified of loosing him. Antoan didn't fully understand what was happening to Mischala until she entered the second stage of Bedlam. Realizing what her budding insanity was doing to the land and to her, Antoan took her captive and forced her to leave the freehold. He made her face Banality, then took her to an exclusive facility where she could receive treatment.

Rather than leave the land without a ruler, since he himself was of the level of nobility to claim such, he assumed the title of duke pro tem. Though he intended it to be temporary until Mischala regained her senses, he was immediately attacked by the other nobles of the Kingdom of Willows as a usurper. Criticism concerning his handling of the affair reached epic proportions, especially since Mischala was a grump, and it was possible he had robbed her forever of her faerie nature.

Within a few months, Mischala was well enough to return to Palmetto Court, but Antoan also rented a lovely house set back from the road and draped by live oaks covered with Spanish moss so she would not fall prey to Bedlam again. Though she now looked almost 40 and he a mere 20, they renewed their life together. Despite his attempt to return her title, Mischala refused it, saying she just wanted to enjoy herself. Gradually a few of the other nobles have accepted Antoan as Mischala's chosen heir, though Meilge has yet to ratify her choice. Most of Meilge's nobles choose to ignore Antoan, seeing him as a black sheep among them. Almost all of them whisper that blood will tell and, after all, he's from the untrustworthy oathbreakers of Liam.

The duke has had to be content with supporting the arts and preservation of the beauties of Charleston. Though he hosts a gala each year to which he invites all the nobles of Willows, few accept. He also finds himself faced with a hard choice: Mischala is fully a grump now, and is finding it harder to retain Glamour in the face of her own Banality. He can either allow her to spend more time in the freehold with the chance that she will slip into Bedlam again, or insist that she spend most of her time in the mundane world and watch her slip completely away from him into Banality.

Antoan has concentrated on the Arts of Primal and Soothsay, hoping to use them to help Mischala. Though he knows much of Sovereign, he rarely uses it. He is an excellent cook and has spent a good deal of time learning how to fight with sword and spear.

Image

Short and slender with dark-golden skin, straight black hair, and dark-brown slanted eyes, Antoan is quite handsome. He wears the colors of his house proudly when in Palmetto Court and at any faerie gatherings he attends. When not in court, he dresses appropriately for his surroundings: black tie at the opera, sports shirt and jeans for an informal shrimp cookout. He has a smile for anyone who doesn't treat him as an inferior.

Personal

Antoan holds a high position among the nobles of House Liam, though he is now under a geas never to reveal his true name to anyone not in Arcadia. He has loved Mischala ever since he first met her. He knows others suspect his motives; if they only knew the torture he is enduring as he thinks of losing her either to Banality or Bedlam, they wouldn't think so poorly of him. He tries to be a good duke and hopes the land is prosperous under his rule. He'd give it all up, though, if he could find the key to making Mischala young again.

References

1. CTD. Kingdom of Willows, pp. 111-112.