38. Fabineau Quo Soranus
An End to Atrocities (5, 25)
Age: 37
Birthplace: Mannatheihwo, Landis
A centurion of the IVth Legion's mage contingent, Fabineau was the commanding officer of Llofii pyr Potitus prior to her defection, the trigger for which was his cruel experiments on the monoceros.
While appearing to be cultured, in the name of his research, there is no depth of savagery to which he will not stoop. Utterly devoid of empathy, he considers the lives of men and beasts alike to be worthless, and delights in tormenting those around him without the slightest twinge upon his conscience. Results are everything to this monster who speaks like a gentleman, and all else is but a means to an end. Egotistical in the extreme, he holds himself in the highest regard and unerringly believes himself right.
Yet self-absorbed as he is, there is one individual who is capable of breaking through that shell to rankle him: Sicinius mal Vellutus. A native of Garlemald, Sicinius is an academic elite who served as a researcher under Aulus mal Asina at the Resonatorium. When Ala Mhigo fell to the rebels, he was given the choice to return to his homeland, but opted instead to transfer to the IVth Legion, where he won the favor of the legatus and was made senior engineer. With his peerless talents and thirst for discovery, he ushered in numerous advances in magitek, his successes cementing his authority in the IVth such that none dared to challenge his use of men as test subjects in contravention to the legion's creed.
Though Fabineau's pride will not allow him to admit it, deep down he regards Sicinius as his foremost rival. And it is his desire not to be outdone by the latter that pushed him to immerse himself ever more in his magical research. This led him to conduct tests on arcane entities and beasts such as the monoceros with ever-escalating barbarity.
When questioned on his methods, he is noted to have responded thus: “The lives of men are precious, and unlike certain individuals, I can rightly say I've not endangered even one. Yet if we truly desire to end this war and secure lasting peace, we must have power. And to have that power, we cannot balk at the sacrifice of a few dumb beasts.”
It bears mentioning that Fabineau is no relation of Sartauvoir, who shares the same surname─one commonly used in Mannatheihwo.