Grand Duke Gaspard
I'm glad I fought against her, I only wish we'd won, I ain't asked any pardon, for anything I've done.
AKA:
Grand Duke of Rebelling
Ser Drill-Nose
Maybe Doesn't Have a Face
Grand Duke Gaspard de Chalons was the leader of the rebelling side of the Orlesian civil war. He was a chevalier with a keen mind for military strategy and a code of honor that is rarely seen in the Game. Cousin to Empress Celene, Gaspard was also the grandson of a previous Emperor, Judicael I, and as such, expected to rule the country himself, someday. Technically, he did have a claim to the throne that was stronger than Celene’s. Unfortunately for the Grand Duke, in Orlais all that matters is the Game, and how you play it. He was outmaneuvered by his cousin and ultimately lost his chance to ascend peacefully. So, he chose violence. After a string of uprisings by mages and elves hit Orlais, Gaspard became frustrated with Celene’s diplomatic approach. Believing that she was too soft in her solutions and that this weakness would lead to problems for their country down the line, Gaspard rallied his allies and started the War of the Lions around a year before the Conclave. Eventually the two leaders were convinced by their mutual relation, Grand Duchess Florianne, to halt the war and discuss peace at the Winter Palace in Halamshiral. Gaspard invited the Inquisition to the talks, which took place under the guise of a grand ball, to try and win us to his side and use our growing influence to help him in his attempted coup d’état. Unfortunately for the Grand Duke, this move proved to be a drastic miscalculation. We, and everyone else, really, discovered he was sneaking soldiers and mercenaries into the Winter Palace in order to take the throne by force, which kind of goes against his purported honor code, which annoyed me. Also, he’d started a war that killed lots of people because he thought he deserved to be Emperor, and repeatedly proved that he really didn’t care for elves all that much. So, those, and several other factors, led me to support Celene and her estranged lover, Briala, instead of Gaspard. The Grand Duke’s treason was revealed, his coup attempt failed, and he was executed for his crimes, bringing the War of the Lions to an official end.
