Dieudonne Savain
Full Name: Dieudonné SavainNickname: Don
Age: 23
Age apparent: Early Twenties
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Homosexual
Occupation: Animator
Languages: English, pretty well fluent in Creole, little bits of French and Haitian
Species: Human
Powers
Raising the Dead: Bringing a corpse back as a zombie, or putting it to rest. The more powerful the animator, the more times in a single night they can use their power, as well as the older the corpse can be. The raising always requires some sort of blood sacrifice the older the zombie, the larger the sacrifice. Involves drawing a circle of power, and invoking power.
Aura of Power: All animators have an Aura of Power, though not all can actively use it.
Partial Immunity to Rolling: All animators have at least partial ability to resist a vampires mind tricks. The more powerful the animator, the more s/he can resist both in terms of how far the vampire can/has to go to affect them, as well as the age of the vampire that can be ignored.
Sensing the Dead: Merely walking by or through a graveyard allows an animator to know if the graves are empty or not, and detect the presence of spirits or zombies. This is amazingly lacking in preciseness meaning you can get a feel for there being a zombie presence, but totally not know how many there are.
Calling the Lwa: By performing a ritual involving sacrifice (that varies depending on the spirit), one of the Loa (roughly equivalent to Saints in Catholicism) may be called to inhabit the body of a willing host (the horse). Through bargaining with the loa, the practitioner is able to achieve a multitude of effects they could not accomplish under their own power. It should be noted that often the more powerful loa prove troublesome, and refuse to leave their hosts.
Hoodoo: A folk magic derived from African traditions, which has since become merged with Catholicism and even Native American spiritualism, Hoodoo is centered around the combination of various herbs and other substances to create potent effects in the real world. A practical branch of magic, it deals mainly with protection, luck, money, love, revenge and other facets of daily life.
Overall Appearance
Dieudonne is a product of the melting pot of racial background that is New Orleans, with soft brown skin that has a vaguely olive undertone. His multiracial nature has blessed him with a flawlessly smooth complexion, and a combination of sharp cheekbones and strong jaw that would have ensured his success as a male model, had he chosen that career. The warm burnt umber of his gaze is naturally bright and open; that, along with the wide grin that so easily comes to his full lips means that he quickly puts clients at their ease, a welcome talent in his profession. Mostly because he can't be bothered with maintaining it, rather than out of any sense of fashion, Dieudonne has shaved his hair down to a fraction of an inch since he was in his late teens.
As one of those fortunate individuals that seems to acquire musculature without much effort, Dieudonne boasts a lean frame that is still built enough for it to be evident when he is clothed, which can make him seem rather formidable when combined with the six feet and two inches of his height. His voice is deep and resonant, the New Orleans accent sweet and slow, like molten syrup, though he tends to be softly spoken anyway; when one's words have power, you learn to be careful with them. Probably another holdover from his time in that city is his tendency to dress rather formally regardless of the occasion, he is very rarely seen outside his home in anything other than a shirt and waistcoat, his trousers firmly pressed and leather brogues shiny with polish.
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 184lbs
Eye Color: Darkest Amber
Hair color: Black
Hair Style: Neatly shaved
Complexion: Brown
Body shape: Athletic
Clothing: Waistcoats and shirtsleeves, most of the time. When conducting rituals he tends to just wear loose shorts.
Character Model: Nathan Owens
Basic Personality
Like many young men in their early twenties, Dieudonne finds himself wondering where it is that he might find his place in life. At times, he feels almost resentful of his animator powers, for they have pretty much set out a path that would be difficult to stray from; unlike some other animators, he feels restless and uneasy when he has gone a while without exercising his talents. Also setting him apart from most other animators is his raw emotional passion, in voodoo it is a strength, not a weakness, and his grandmother encouraged Dieudonne to explore his emotions and allow himself to feel them as fully as he was able. This has perhaps contributed to his natural empathy, he understands why it is that people do the things that they do, even if they don't quite understand their motivations themselves.
But on the other hand, there is a darker side to the passion that rules Dieudonne, a fiery rage ignited by the abuse his father inflicted on him, and stoked by all the small injustices he has had to face because of his race, sexuality and latterly, being somewhat poor. While he does his best to control this fury that simmers within him, he doesn't always quite manage, and sometimes overreacts to situations. He tends to have relatively few friends, which some might consider odd given his friendly demeanor. But with all the loss he has had to endure in his life, it is really not that surprising at all. This is also probably why he has never had a serious relationship that's lasted for any length of time.
Sexual Likes: Passionate lovers. People who are interested in him as more than a piece of meat, doesn't really do the one night stand thing anymore.
Sexual Dislikes: People just interested in his race. Anything overly violent or disrespectful. Overly built guys.
Sexual Strengths: Receptive to his partner's needs. Has stamina when it's required, or can switch to fast and furious.
Sexual Weaknesses: Fears accidentally raising something at climax, it happened once with a dead bird when he was younger. Doesn't like being extremely rough, for fear that he might hurt his partner.
Merits: Passionate and driven about everything that he does. Respectful of others views, tries to be measured and understanding as best he is able. Intelligent and adaptable, able to function in the face of challenges that would render other people frozen.
Flaws: Often heavily influence by emotion, unable to control his anger in the face of injustice, or those that would seek to harm him and his. Jealous of people that have had happy lives and easy relationship with their families. Often mistrustful of Christianity.
History
Born and raised in New Orleans to a family that had managed to rise above the poverty that plagues many of the folk that call that city home, Dieudonne had an early childhood that was remarkably idyllic, especially in comparison to what came along in his early teens. Gerard, his father, was a partner in a small law firm, though he had aspirations of something greater and began to work his way towards that goal. Unfortunately, he couldn't quite handle all the pressure that he had placed upon himself and began to drink quite heavily, often coming home in a drunken rage and taking his anger out on his wife, Evelyn. Though she had never been a strong woman, she did her best to protect her child from the worst of it. Until, finally, she was pushed over the edge and murdered her husband while he slept.
Though the jury was somewhat sympathetic, Gerard's father had been a legal professional himself, and managed to exert enough influence that Evelyn got far more of a hefty sentence than she deserved. Dieudonne was sent to live with his grandmother, Emeline, who made her living selling hoodoo tricks to New Orleans natives and tourists alike. Which was rather convenient, given that at his father's funeral, the swell of emotion at seeing the body of the man who had terrorized him for so long activated his latent necromantic powers. The body arose within moments of him setting foot inside the church, and was halfway across the room, most of the guests already having fled, before his grandmother was able to calm Dieudonne down and talk him through letting the spirit of his father go.
From then on Dieudonne was instructed by his grandmother in the art of hoodoo, while she sent him to train with several of her colleagues on a weekly basis, experts in New Orleans Voodoo, Haitian Vodou, Santeria and similar practices so that he might have the best chance of maintaining control over his gifts. For she made it very clear that that was what it was, to be able to give people one last chance to speak with their loved ones, and say the things that they might not have been given a chance to. Though he was intelligent enough, his grandmother was not particularly wealthy, and thus going to university was not really an option for Dieudonne. Instead, he worked alongside with his grandmother, starting to offer his services as an animator in tandem with hers.
He likely would have remained there, advancing in the voodoo community with his natural aptitude for the practice, were in not for the actions of a depraved individual. James Grayson, a bokor (sorcerer) who had great lust for power that he was not naturally gifted with, believed that with a ritual involving body parts of individuals skilled in the arcane arts he would be able to steal the power that they had had in life. Dieudonne returned home one evening to find the body of grandmother, missing her heart and right hand, and knew exactly what the perpetrator had being trying to achieve. Driven by raw emotion, he set called a loa of vengeance and allowed it free reign over his body, with the sole stipulation that it exacted revenge on whomever had murdered his grandmother.
The possessed Dieudonne found Grayson quickly, as loa are gifted with sight beyond that of what mere mortals are limited to. He was in the midst of his ritual, calling for the aid of spirits to grant him the power of Emeline. The loa within Dieudonne was outraged at the sacrilege of the body of a friend of the loa, as Emeline had been in life, and whispered to the spirits that Greyson was summoning that they should tear him apart from within. They did so, and the loa departed, leaving Dieudonne alone in the home of Grayson with the ruin of his body and his grandmother's hand and heart. After taking the pieces of Emeline home and arranging for her funeral, the young man fled as far as he could, for he knew what fate awaited those that had killed with magic.
Packing whatever he could fit from his home into a battered old car he bought with cash from a neighbor, Dieudonne took to the road, and simply drove for days and days. He had no idea of a destination, as he knew that settling anywhere he had family or connections would not be smart. It was only when he arrived in Las Vegas, that he felt an indescribable notion that this was the right place for him. Not one to ignore such messages, he settled down, and has lived in the city of sin for the past six months. Employed at a local animator business, and with a respectably sized apartment, outwardly it seems as though he has built a life for himself. Only Dieudonne doesn't quite feel tethered to this place yet, there is yet something he must obtain before Las Vegas will truly be his home.
Living or dead Family:
Gerard Savain - Father (Deceased)
Evelyn Savain - Mother (In prison)
Emeline Toussaint - Maternal Grandmother (Deceased)
