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History[]
Augustin was born as the second child to Gaspard d’Evreux. Gaspard had risen from the rank of lowly soldier to Chevalier of Orlais due to his skill on the battlefield and unquestionable loyalty. There was therefore a great deal of pressure on Augustin to make something of himself. Even more so since Augustin's mother, Laura, died giving birth to him. Augustin’s older brother, Charles, was expected to inherit his father’s estates once he had been knighted to the service of the Marquis of Val Foret, like Gaspard had been. So Augustin had to find some other place for himself.
Augustin was 8 years old when he was made page to the chevalier Beirnard and since then, his destiny was that to become a knight of Orlais. Beirnard taught Augustin to always follow the ideals of a chevalier. Have the maker and your liege close to your heart, but never so much that you forget your service to those in need. The words “you are a chevalier responsible to all of Orlais, not just your lord’s fief” would always be close to Augustin’s heart.
Though Augustin was highly skilled in sword fighting and received words of praise from Ser Beirnard, his father concentrated on teaching his skills to Charles, whom Gaspard cared for deeply. It seemed as if Augustin’s father cared more for Charles than he did for Augustin, as if he never seemed to forget or forgive that Augustin had been the cause of Laura's death. There might possibly have been found a great deal of hatred against his brother in Augustin, if it wasn’t because his brother was so likeable. Whereas Augustin was shy and contempt with staying in the background, Charles was open, passionate and always searched for the spotlight. The two brothers cared much for each other and were the best of friends, but as they got older, Charles found himself pressed more and more into the social life of Val Foret, without his brother.
Augustin was made squire to Ser Beirnard at the age of 14 and proceeded to excel both on the training field and in the class room, but whenever it came to fighting, one on one, Augustin nearly always lost. Ser Beirnard told Augustin that if he ever expected to become a chevalier, he would have to concentrate on the fight instead of whatever thoughts that distracted him. It turned out to be a vicious circle; Gaspard would yell at the young man for losing every practice fight and Augustin would lose practice fights because he was too worried about pleasing his father.
Eventually this culminated at a small tournament held in the honor of the Marquis’ brother’s birthday. Augustin lost by tripping over his own feet, whilst looking for his father in the crowd. The young squire was so humiliated, that he stormed right home to his quarters in the castle without even looking for his brother.
Augustin awoke the next day, being pulled out his bed by Gaspard, who was furious with the young boy. Apparently, after the tournament was over, a couple of other squires had been mocking Augustin’s performance. Charles had confronted the boys and it had eventually ended with a brawl. A squire to one of the more influential persons at court had fallen down the stairs of the tribune and was now paralyzed from the waist down. The name of d’Evreux was dirtied and, as far as Gaspard could see, it was all Augustin’s fault, for losing that tournament in the first place. He had arranged for Augustin to continue his service as a squire with Ser Leonard Roux of Val Chevin, an old friend of Gaspard from his time on campaign.
That actually turned out to be exactly what Augustin needed. Leonard was a kind man and an excellent tutor, and Augustin improved his skills greatly underneath his watchful eye. The fact that Gaspard was nowhere around to point out every mistake he made, got Augustin to focus during his practice fights, and it wasn’t long before a now 18 year old Augustin was selected to follow Ser Roux out on patrols in the countryside. There, Augustin got his first taste of battle and fought many different foes, ranging from marauders to professional mercenaries. The young man showed excellent promise; so much, in fact, that Ser Roux presented Augustin in the court of Marquis Lavigne of Val Chevin, at only the age of 21. 3 years later, after numerous occasions of courage and skill, Augustin was knighted Chevalier of Orlais in service to Marquis Lavigne.
Augustin’s celebrations didn’t last long however, as word soon reached from Val Foret, that Gaspard had taken ill. The newly knighted chevalier got excuse to leave immediately, but arrived home the morning after his father’s death. The reunion between Charles and Augustin was also bittersweet, as Charles explained the family now faced some tough times.
Because meanwhile Gaspard had been seen as a man of reason and was a highly valued member of the Marquis’ court, the opinion on Charles and Augustin was remarkably lower. Augustin had never really been liked by his peers and superiors because he came off as quite a loner, and ever since that episode with the paralyzed squire, Charles had fallen from the spotlight of Val Foret and was looked down upon by the other noble families.
The Marquis’ also wasn’t as popular as he had been when Augustin left. Many thought that he had handled the whole situation with the d’Evreux family poorly, and there had been some trouble with the alienage in the city. The gifts of land for the elves in Ferelden, had led some of the elves in the Val Foret alienage to demand the same. A large part of the nobility opposed this, and some even went as far as to demand that some elves be put down as an example to discourage more claims in the future. The Marquis had fought to preserve the status quo, and this had led to some resentment against him from both nobles and commoners. Because of this, security was tight when the Marquis declared that he would attend the funeral pyre of Gaspard, partly because of the general mood of the city, but also because the Marquis did not trust the two brothers.
When an attempt on the Marquis’ life was carried out, in plain day near the d’Evreux estate, there was very little the two brothers could do to avoid the punishment coming their way. Even though there was no motive for Charles and Augustin to plan and carry out such an attack on the Marquis, internal matters demanded that someone be punished for this. The Marquis saw an opportunity here. Both to show his opponents hiding in the shadows that he was taking the whole thing seriously, and since there were no other heirs beyond the two brothers, the d’Evreux estate and their demesne would pass to the Marquis, to hand out to his supporters. Plus, there would be very few who were going to miss Augustin and Charles.
Charles broke down after a week of interrogation, he admitted to having planned the whole thing from the moment his father died. Only problem was, that Charles claimed that Augustin had no knowledge of the plot. Sensing that a quick show of force was needed, the Marquis sentenced Charles and Augustin to death for treason, without a trial. Charles was beheaded on a cool spring morning, and Augustin was to face the same fate once an acknowledgment came from the Marquis of Val Chevin, that one of her chevaliers had been found guilty in treason.
Augustin spent the next week in a dark and damp cell, not knowing when the courier would return with an acknowledgment from Marquis Lavigne. Augustin alternatively prayed and yelled at the Maker, cursing the fact that an attack would take place on that exact day. The meaning of his life had been thrown in the gutter. Charles was dead, and the hierarchical order he had sworn to defend had betrayed and killed him.
One night, as Augustin had just come to grips with his fate, he heard a rustling at the cell door. A hooded man unlocked the doors and snuck him out of the dungeons and through the quiet streets of Val Foret. The two arrived at a carriage destined for Val Royeaux and Augustin was handed a purse of coins and a pendant with the d’Evreux coat of arms on it. The man revealed himself to be Beirnard. He told Augustin that despite the events of the last few weeks, he should remember that there always will be good people, not willing to watch innocents get trod on, but ready to intervene. And if he should take anything with him out into the new open world, it should be that mindset.
Augustin had no words to describe his gratitude towards Beirnard, and the two just ended up shaking hands and parting way quietly as Augustin made his way towards the open road, in the back of a carriage.