Nadine Laveau's page

Nadine grew up in the town of Lake Bernard, the only daughter of the town healer. She was bright and had a quick mind, but schooling was not something her family could afford for a girl. She was a shy child and grew up uncertain of her direction in life even though she seemed to have tool to be talented. Fortunately, her older brothers and her parents always seemed to have a plan for Nadine, and she always dutifully followed their instructions. A few months after she turned 16, Nadine was introduced to Samuel Laveau, a young, wealthy landowner and owner of a profitable trade canal. Her family had arranged for Nadine to be married to Samuel. The marriage would greatly increase her family’s standing and Samuel needed a young wife to cement his reputation in society. A family was one of the last areas of his life Samuel needed to become a respectable player in politics and hopefully join the ranks of the minor nobility. While the marriage was arranged, Samuel was not a bad fit for Nadine. He was older than her, but still in his prime. He was affectionate and attentive to her and Samuel created a excellent home for Nadine, filled with comforts she had only dreamed of having before.

Soon, Samuel’s wishes became true, and Nadine bore a son, Robert. Finally, Nadine knew her place in the world and she poured her devotion into being a mother. Her love for Robert knew no boundaries, and Nadine herself seemed to blossom into a confident, intelligent, and influential Lady of the Laveau household. Samuel’s wishes also began to unfold. His business and reputation afforded him invitations to regional committees and he began a fledgling political career. In the middle of this blessed life is when disaster struck.

One day, when Robert was just shy of three years old, Nadine chose to take him to see the carnival which had just arrived in town. Samuel was out of town on business, so she decided it would just be the two of them. Nadine and Robert laughed at the fools and marveled at the acrobats. Robert spotted the pony rides and begged Nadine to take him. She agreed and soon Robert was seated on a pony with Nadine herself leading the animal. Suddenly a shout went up and a runaway lumber cart of lumber was barrelling down the hill toward them. Nadine froze at the sight of the cart and then too late tried to pull the pony out from the path, but the beast tugged in the other direction. The cart slammed into Nadine, the pony, and Robert, tossing the young mother to the ground where she broke her leg and lost her grip on the reins. The pony reared and tossed young Robert off, right into the collapsing pile of lumber and cart. When the crowd pulled the child free from the debris, his body was broken and his skull mostly crushed. On the ground helpless, Nadine crawled over to her son’s body, held it and wailed. She refused to move for hours until night began to fall.

After Robert’s death, Nadine was never the same. The confident young woman was gone, and she retreated into near seclusion. She grew thin and sickly, neglecting her appearance and health as she fell deeper into depression and grief. Samuel tried to help her, but he blamed her as much as he knew it wasn’t her fault. She had decided to go without any servant and she had been too slow to to react. Why couldn’t she had just grabbed Robert rather than pulling ineffectually on the beast? Samuel became distant, spending more time away from her and their home. One night after being away for three months, Samuel returned home to find her singing in a dark room. For an instant he believed she might have recovered until his eyes finally adjusted. Sitting there in the center of the room was Nadine singing and trying to play with the rotted, mangled corpse of their son. Stunned, Samuel only took a small step forward when Nadine jumped up and screamed, “No! You can’t take him away! I’ll never leave him again! You can’t make me!” She swung a carving knife at her husband, slicing his stomach open and then she calmly slit his throat.

When they found Samuel’s body, Nadine and Robert’s corpse were gone. They also found the bodies of two servants and then found 3 servants alive who had locked themselves into the larder for nearly a week. From their tales, a horrific picture emerged. Three weeks after Samuel had left, Nadine woke up the house screaming. She had had a dream about Robert which frightened her so much that she refused to sleep for two more days. She kept talking about Robert leaving her and that she couldn’t let it happen. For the next month and a half, they would find her speaking and laughing at nothing and often find her locked into random rooms in the house, reading. It was clear the young woman’s mind had snapped, but the servants thought her harmless and were protective of her, hoping to keep her health a secret until Samuel returned. A week before Samuel returned, they opened a trunk in her room and found body parts from half a dozen different corpses. At the same time they realized that all her reading were old anatomy texts of her father’s. Her secrets realized, she attacked the servants killing two. She screamed about Robert being born again and chased the other three until they finally found refuge in the larder. While locked in, they heard her talking to someone but it didn’t seem like Robert. She screamed about promises and keeping Robert with her. Her sobs almost made them emerge, but they still feared for their lives.

It took the Church of Mitra three weeks to track down Nadine. For a pampered lady, she knew the land and how the Church operated. In the end, they found her when she kidnapped a farmer’s daughter and tracked her to some ancient stone ruins. She had sacrificed the young girl in a complex and bloody ritual dedicated to Asmodeus. Nadine was found giddly and babbling with her son’s corpse. She kept saying ”He promised! He’s going to keep you here!” When the Church captured her, the paladins burned her son’s body to avoid any undeath. In response, she spit on them and vowed to take her vengeance on Mitra for taking her son away and then destroying his body. While she was guilty of grave-robbing and murder, it was for treating with the Dark Lord of Contracts that she was sentenced to Branderscar for the crime of Consorting with Dark Powers.

Nadine is a gaunt, dirty and wretched sight. She is a small woman, a mere 5’2” and now only weighs 95 pounds. Her hair is a tangled mass of grave dirt and unruly auburn hair. Her clothes are filthy and torn, but those looking closely find that they were once of quality make. In fact, Nadine is much like them. Before the Robert’s death, she was an attractive young woman with beautiful hair and enticing blue eyes. Now though, her eyes seem to have faded with her madness and her fingernails bleed where she chews them. Her appearance has none of the youthful markers of her age of 19.

Nadine is clearly a psychopath, but she’s also a very smart and high functioning one. Her mind has allowed her to integrate her grief and break with reality into her normal perception of the world. If someone isn’t attempting to interfere with her care for her son, Nadine can be a pleasant, highly rational, and even charming young woman. She is devoted, however, to her son’s spirit and the needs it conveys through the voices she hears. She made a deal with Asmodeus to keep the spirit from leaving this world, and she will do anything for Asmodeus in return. She also believes a world ruled by Asmodeus would allow her to continue finding a way to bring her son back, something Mitra clearly will not allow. For that, she has declared her vengeance on the Mitrians. Nadine also believes the voice when it says its Robert, and especially when it has the knowledge her son would have. It is possible, however, she could be wrong.