(LORE DUMP) Like Grandmother, like Granddaughter.

Meet Madeleine Moreau, Charlotte d'Lisle (later Desmarets)'s granddaughter.

Madeleine Moreau was born in 1850 in Paris after Charlotte's daughter had moved for business ventures and opportunity, having grown apathetic to Normandy's unchanging countryside.

Madeleine Moreau, 1870 - 3 months before the Battle of Wissembourg

Madeleine's childhood was rather normal and agonizingly average, especially given her mother was stood up attempting to marry into wealth. She lived with her parents as was common for an unmarried woman and worked as a poorly paid seamstress. Her two other older siblings were already grown up, working or married, so at the very least she didn't have to take time out of her day to babysit children. But some days she dreamt of simpler duties at home where she wouldn't have to listen to the same routine buzz of women's gossip. Her back ached constantly, her eyes strained, and fingers pricked after each excruciating 14 hour shift of dress-making for the higher class.

Fortunately, the Parisian evening made up for it when it came time to go home. When her body pleaded to rest, her outgoing friends said otherwise. They laughed, they gossiped, they talk about men, fashion, love, theatre, and politics. Though happy, she had been relegated by others to the "silent protector" behind the group that deterred unwanted men and straightened group drama. It was an unwanted role, but Madeleine's stature and sharp eyes forced a pre-conceived notion around her to her deepest yet suppressed disappointment. The way she understood it, her role worked and anything else would disrupt the unspoken group balance.

When she spoke up, attempted to joke, make plans, or tried to engage with the group beyond expectations it disrupted the balance. She was looked at oddly, taken too literally, and shot down consistently. There are times when her interference worked wonderfully, but it was always to bounce off another. She wanted to be like them. She wanted to be in control of who she was. She wanted to feel what it was like to be "normal". But she forbid herself from dwelling on such thoughts.

She was happy and that was enough.

But her grandmother thought otherwise.

Charlotte died in the 1840's. To ascend she was split in half, separating herself from her darkness incarnate, the feral Wolfdog of Napoleon's Empire, 'Gévua'. That other half that once haunted her was destined for damnation but she had no soul, she had no conscience, she had nothing for the wicked to manipulate or devour. Thus, she was ejected from the depths to a place between life and death, bound to the mighty axe that once carved the insides of her enemies. In limbo, she lay waking and asleep at once until something pulled her from her bindings, releasing her unto the world: Prince-President Louis Napoleon Bonaparte had crowned himself Emperor Napoleon III, beginning the reign of the Second French Empire in 1852.

Gévua's spirit drifted invisibly across France, seeking her own kin before laying eyes upon Madeleine.

She tied herself to Madeleine, stalking her from the shadows, her life, her friends, and her routine before making her first move. She nudged Madeleine's suppressed thoughts and frustrations to the forefront of her mind. She made her more honest with herself, more compulsive, more daring, more "in control". Finally, when Madeleine was at the height of her stress and her relationships had eroded, she revealed herself to her as her grandmother. She introduced herself not as Charlotte, nor as the given name 'Gévua' and insisted her sisters granddaughter refer to her as "Grandmother". Grandmother would guide her, show her "true" strengths, and reassure her when she felt lost and powerless. Madeleine grew dependent on her grandmother, to make her feel more in control of who she was and what she did. In truth, she destroyed everything around her while Gévua's grip tightened crushingly around her.

It was only then when tensions between France and the German states exploded in July of 1870 did Gévua successfully coerce Madeleine into binding her chest and enlisting as a man into the French Army. Gévua stood by in the lost Battle of Wissembourg, allowing Madeleine to encounter death numerous times. In that moment of sheer pain and desperation, she promised Madeleine she'd protect her and she wouldn't have to exert another ounce of her strength ever again. The offer was too irresistible. No more than a second later, Madeleine was gone.

All that remained was the vile wolfdog of the Emperor.

The drawing depicts Madeleine (possessed by Gévua) in a Sapper's uniform of the Imperial Guard after meeting with Napoleon III.

Gévua would have endless influence on the Emperor obsessed with his predecessor. She changed aspects of the Franco-Prussian War and became Napoleon III's closest advisor due to her supernatural knowledge regarding his infamous uncle, Napoleon I.