“An apology from the Grand Duke of Orlais. Impressive...though not as impressive as one from the emperor.”
Remache de Lydes is an Orlesian nobleman of enormous influence. Initially a suitor for the hand of Empress Celene, he becomes the confederate of her opponent Grand Duke Gaspard de Chalons during the opening stages of the Orlesian Civil War.
Background[]
Duke Remache is the Duke of Lydes and as such commands the fealty of numerous lesser nobles in Orlais, his influence extending as far as Val Firmin. He has power enough in the empire to pursue marriage with the Empress and his suit is one to which Celene gives serious consideration. His importance is such that he is also able to publicly decry Grand Duke Gaspard de Chalons without fear of reprisal.[1] His support is critical for both Celene and Gaspard during their struggle for the throne of the Orlesian Empire. Remache is an adept player of the Grand Game and, as he is not a Chevalier, is also free of the order's code of honor when dealing with his enemies.
Involvement[]
Dragon Age: The Masked Empire[]
Duke Remache appears initially as a stalwart admirer of Empress Celene, mentioned first after the ball in the Palace. During the ball, Grand Duke Gaspard de Chalons antagonizes visiting Ferelden ambassador Teagan Guerrin with the sword once wielded by Queen Moira Theirin. To avert bloodshed and satisfy Teagan's honor, Celene adroitly has the men duel with yellow feathers, the symbol of a chevalier. The following morning Celene reveals to her elven lover and handmaid Briala that Remache publicly decried the actions of the Grand Duke and threatened him with the loss of hunting privileges in both Lydes and, should Celene accept his marriage proposal, Val Firmin. Remache is revealed to have great influence amongst the nobility and his word can bring the nobles to Celene's side, removing potential allies from Gaspard's reach. Celene sees the merit of accepting the proposal but fears losing Briala and after some discussion decides not to marry Remache.
Following the ball, Grand Duke Gaspard makes plans to usurp the throne of Orlais, seeing dire portents for Orlais' future in what he views to be Celene's accommodating behavior toward Ferelden, a country which he would prefer to reclaim, and her handling of the conflict between the mages and templars, among other reasons. With other compatriots he has gained, Gaspard plans to out-maneuver Celene, but not without making one last attempt at peaceful resolution by proposing marriage himself. To arrange a time to catch Celene alone, Gaspard has Celene's champion, Michel de Chevin, kidnapped prior to a hunt, in order to provide himself with useful information to use against Celene and also leaving her unattended. Gaspard catches Celene alone at the hunt and reveals that in fact after the ball Remache offered Gaspard his allegiance.[2] He proposes marriage to save the empire and is refused.
After Michel is freed from his capture with the aid of Briala and Felassan, her hahren, Gaspard and Remache, now completely in collusion, tour the destroyed warehouse where Michel was kept. Gaspard reveals that Remache's loyalty is due to his desire to have his daughter, Monette, marry Gaspard and become empress.[3] Gaspard learns of Celene's connections to Briala and Felassan and plans to use her sympathies for elves against her.
Gaspard's plans come to a head when Celene attends a performance at the Grande Royeaux Theater. The play is a satire depicting Celene as an Andraste who forgets her purpose through her passion for an elf, Shartan, and whose mistakes can only be rectified by Maferath, with Shartan and Maferath thinly veiled references to Briala and Gaspard, respectively. In her booth Celene speaks with Remache, who explains that he arranged for the changes to the script that would publicly humiliate Celene using threats and coercion and that no evidence of his involvement will be found.[4] Remache explains that his allegiance has shifted as he sees Celene's interest in himself and his lands as merely obligation. The play, and the implications amongst the nobles that Celene is too sympathetic to elves, forces Celene to violently crush a fomenting elven rebellion in Halamshiral in order to save face. Celene sends Briala ahead to assassinate the human noble who caused the outrage in an attempt to soothe the elves and avoid the bloodshed that will ensue, but the assassination is too late and Celene orders the elven slums burned and the elves slaughtered by her chevaliers.
Gaspard seizes the chaos of the rebellion to strike at Celene in Halamshiral, driving her from the city with only her champion Michel by her side. Gaspard, with Remache, seizes the city and takes captive Comte Pierre of Halamshiral. Gaspard questions the injured man about where Celene has fled and is disturbed when Remache suggests torture to gain the information. Gaspard orders the man healed by his apostate mage Lienne de Montsimmard and, through calculation and manipulation, ensures the allegiance of Comte Pierre. Remache acts as a confidante and counselor to Gaspard, encouraging Gaspard to ruthlessly strike at his enemies, and to spread word that Celene is dead to help secure his position as the heir to the throne. His advice increasingly concerns Gaspard as it often runs contrary to Gaspard's code of honor.
In Celene's flight from Halamshiral she and Michel encounter a group of her fled soldiers and use one as a scout to return to Val Royeaux. Gaspard and Remache later encounter the man and the scout asks to die in honorable combat with Gaspard, which Remache finds ridiculous as they could have gained information from the man with torture[5] as he was not a noble and Gaspard's code of honor would not have applied.
Later, as Gaspard, Remache, and their soldiers pursue Celene and Michel, now teamed with Briala and Felassan, deep into the Dales, the group encounter Sylvans, just as Celene's party did. During combat, Remache impresses Gaspard by behaving with honor in defending a fallen chevalier.[6] Remache also proves an able scout when the party discovers the slain elves of Clan Virnehn.[7] There the party encounters the sole survivor of the attack, Mihris, and she joins with them.
Gaspard and Remache tail Celene and her party through the Dales and then, once Celene has located the Eluvians, through them and into the network of passageways that connect them. A battle between Gaspard's and Celene's allies ensues in which Celene injures Remache. Of Gaspard's party, only himself, Remache, Mihris and Lienne survive the onslaught of corpses and they forge a temporary truce with Celene and her party in order to survive to activate the eluvians.
During the travel through the network of passages, Gaspard and Celene banter about their methods of claiming the throne. A masterful player of the Game, Celene says she would begin by sacking Lydes[8] in order to terrorize any who allied with Gaspard, forcing them to her side. Remache is furious.
In the final chamber of the network of eluvians, the group encounters a Varterral and during the battle, seizing advantage of the moment, Remache attacks Celene, seeking to slay her while the others are unable to aid her in order to protect Lydes. Celene is rescued by Gaspard who, with regret, slays Remache, his death justifiable by the chevalier code due to the dishonorable conduct of the man's actions. Briala later questions how Gaspard could have killed a noble within the restrictions of his code. Gaspard explains that Remache was his and breaking the truce to attack an ally made Remache's death acceptable. Gaspard laments the necessity of Remache's death as the man would have been an invaluable asset in court should Gaspard take the throne.[9]
Dragon Age: Inquisition[]
References[]
- ↑ Dragon Age: The Masked Empire, p. 46
- ↑ Dragon Age: The Masked Empire, p. 61
- ↑ Dragon Age: The Masked Empire, p. 92
- ↑ Dragon Age: The Masked Empire, pp. 110-111
- ↑ Dragon Age: The Masked Empire, p. 197
- ↑ Dragon Age: The Masked Empire, p. 272
- ↑ Dragon Age: The Masked Empire, p. 276
- ↑ Dragon Age: The Masked Empire, p. 313
- ↑ Dragon Age: The Masked Empire, p. 341