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Born the third son of a rather forgettable baron, Pasquale was never meant to rule. Born with a chronic, nagging sickness of the lungs, he'd never be riding into battle. Born with a sharp mind and decided hunger for knowledge, his family was eager for him to join the Faith, but he never much wanted that. No, Pasquale grew up bedridden and passed the days reading books of war, and history, and politics. He wanted to lead armies, not save souls. And after pushing hard enough, his father granted him command of a unit, called The Knights of the Chalice. The Knights of the Chalice sounds important and meaningful, but it's anything but. To the north of the barony, in wine country, a small unit of soldiers was assigned to guard the place. There never was anything to guard against, and mostly the soldiers lazed about, got drunk, and harassed the farmers and vinters. Pasquale was undeterred. Hard work, determination, and a mind for leadership paid off, and this unit slowly became one of the best trained units in the barony, and all were fiercely loyal to their commander. When scouting reports came in with news of the Gyre's scouting fleet approaching, the barony's army was mobilized. Pasquale begged to move his unit south, where a band of the enemy was set to land, but his father and brothers ordered him to stay put. He obeyed orders, until news reached him that the defenses of the family estate had been breached. Pasquale rushed south and managed to ambush the Gyre's substantial forces. With a well-trained unit, a vast knowledge of warfare, and no small amount of Lycene trickery, Pasquale crushed the Gyre's force. Sadly, The Knight the Chalice arrived too late to save the baron and his wife. Pasquale's older brother also fell. His middle brother was left to inherit the throne, and in an underhanded effort to restore the family reputation, he blamed the deaths on Pasquale. It was a bitter, frustrated, pariah of a man that Marquessa Lianne found, when touring the damage to her holdings. Pasquale is no liar and not prone to exaggeration, and she believed the man, and promptly offered to adopt him into the newly made Malespero family, as her general. It was finally the chance he felt he was entitled to, and he grabbed hold with both hands. Now, Pasquale wants nothing more than to make Nilanza's forces into something truly feared. His mind is on training his men, researching military tactics, and pursuing some of these rumors of ancient, mystical weaponry. He's come to Arx to meet with his Marquessa, to meet the rest of the leaders of Velenosa, and just recently joined the Scholars.

Dressed in the dark silks fitting his station, Pasquale looks rather regal and even a bit imposing. Pale flesh (unusual for his end of the Arvum) contrasts with dark hair and dark green eyes. High cheekbones, a straight nose, and sharp chin allow for proper upturning of said nose. Of course, this visage is carefully crafted to hide the reality that the man is incredibly lean - gaunt, even. One might guess, seeing him out of his regal uniforms of dark fabrics, that he's sickly and maybe even a touch frail. Such a guess would only suit the man. That look in his eyes, that thoughtful intensity, it speaks of someone who knows what he wants and takes it, and underestimating him would be just fine.

Too sick to train to be a knight, too sick to captains ship, born too late in the family line to rule, Pasquale was raised in constant disappointment: his own, his parents', his brothers'. Realism became his guiding force and a force of will stronger than steel propelled him forward. When his family was almost entirely wiped out by the Gyre, grief and frustration entered his heart, replacing much of the hope that had been living there. He knows that he'll need to fight for what he wants, and as his weak constitution has always limited him, he'll need to use a cunning intellect in this fight. Even if his bitterness gets the best of him some days, he is all too aware that respect and kindness go further in this world than the opposite, so he tends to save the worst of his foul mood for behind closed doors.