Aloisius Treadwell

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Aloisius Horatio Treadwell
Treadwell.jpg

Aloisius Treadwell
Information
Title(s) Lord Steward of Myrken Wood; Tubbius Regalis of the Church of Tubbius; Eleventh Chief Magistrate of Westenford, Amasynia
Archetype Gluttonous politician
Hair Colour Bald/white
Eye Colour Blue
Height 5' 4"
Build Immensely rotund
Notable Features Excessive girth and full beard
Born June 1, 145 AR
Westenford, Amasynia
Spouse(s) Alice Treadwell (Current); Blanche Sinclair Treadwell, Violet Treadwell, and Raylan Treadwell (Former)
Children Babette, Gideon, Nicholas, Arella, Egbert, Gwendolyn, Frederick, Gabriel, Gertrude, Harvell
Profession Lord Steward of Myrken Wood; Head of the Church of Tubbius; Toymaker and owner of Tready's Toys (Current); actor (Former)
Religion Tubbius Regalis of the Church of Tubbius

Description

Treadwell stands 5' 4", stooped with age, overly excessive weight, and an old injury to his left leg. He favors garish colors for his usual robes, hats, and scarves, only occasionally changing into darker, more somber garments for serious, official business. In addition, Aloisius can usually be found enjoying his pipe. He is normally warm and merry, although when crossed or when forced into political schemes, he can easily slip into the more sinister self-sufficiency of his youth. Treadwell's usual outward appearance is a simple image of an old man perhaps a little sillier than he ought to be, a contradiction to the deeper truth of the matter.

Background

Origins

Aloisius Horatio Treadwell, now aged seventy-two years, was the third child of Octavius and Marian Treadwell, born in 145 AR in Westenford, Amasynia. His youth was spent pursuing a potential career as a traveling actor, until a rehearsal for The Most Lamentable Tragedy of Alfred and Genevieve saw him crashing through rotten floorboards and breaking his left leg. After recuperating, he resumed the lead role of the play, achieving some measure of fame for his performance. That fame, though, had to be set aside on the death of his father from a heart attack in the field behind the Treadwell home. As Aloisius' elder brother Langley was away serving as a traveling circuit judge, this left the younger male Treadwell to take the father's seat on the Westenford Ruling Council. This move was both unprecedented and initially unwanted by those on the Council; however, during his first day on the Council, Aloisius had not only forced his way into its affairs but had also seen the Chief Magistrate ousted and taken the position for himself, a seat he would hold actively until his arrival in Myrken Wood at age fifty-eight, when he passed leadership as Acting Chief Magistrate to one Jonathan M. Lincoln while Treadwell took on an inactive status without permanently giving up his claim to the position.

The Broken Dagger

Treadwell's first adult appearance in Myrken Wood (having been there once as an infant) was on a clandestine, secretive, and drunken intrusion into an illegal pit-fighting ring attended by then-governor Gad Phuri. Phuri's shrewdness nearly saw an end to Treadwell that night; however, as fate would have it, Treadwell would survive the Governor, finding Gad and his wife Hebecka both deceased in their home. Rather than risk the damage to his own reputation and a likely jail sentence as a possible murderer, the aged actor managed something extraordinary. Having a suitably strong resemblance to the deceased Governor, he used his acting prowess to impersonate the dead man for some time, ruling Myrken Wood as Governor until discovered, outed, briefly jailed, and ultimately allowed to take a position on the Council as the town's tax collector, a position he has ultimately held despite elections in the following years. Since then, he has maintained his primary residence in town, with a mansion estate for his family, consisting of himself, his wife, his elder brother, nine of his ten children, and the house staff. His elder sister lived with the rest of the family until her passing, as well. At present, Treadwell keeps up payments on a room at the Broken Dagger (as well as has his own red, overstuffed couch in the main room), in case lodging there over night becomes necessary at any point.

The Present

Treadwell's life has seen a multitude of considerably unusual events. He has had various attempts made on his life, both by irate patrons of the Dagger and by a disgruntled former thief he had hired in years past. He was kidnapped for a year and secretly replaced by fairies from a nearby fairy kingdom, nearly having his reputation and life ruined as repayment for having eaten one of the fairy court officials. Treadwell successfully opened and has maintained a toy store in town for several years, giving him something to do with his spare time. He even moved briefly back into the Governor's seat as Acting Governor during the absence of Governor Glenn Burnie.

Easily the most unusual occurrence in Treadwell's life is his taking the leadership of the Church of Tubbius, a faith devoted to gluttony and natural growth that is spread across Amasynia and Myrken Wood. The acceptance of this position led Treadwell to the revelation that there is much more to himself than he first thought: the old man is, in truth, the incarnation of their deity, Tubbius, a harvest god and one of the forms of a divine being known simply as The Glutton. Very few close friends or family are the only ones outside the faith accept this with any seriousness; to that effect, nearly all of Myrken Wood simply view Treadwell's devotion to the Church as one more of his odd, quirky pursuits. Even Treadwell's wife, Alice, is hesitant to believe the possibility of such. Therefore, Treadwell makes no efforts to display any divine power or magic, and he never discusses it outside of his meetings at the Church. It is better he be thought a little senile or unusual, after all, than to face more serious concerns brought about by professing such to the masses.

In a more mundane existence, Treadwell balances his time on the Council with his ownership of Tready's Toys, which is his toyshop in the center of the market square near the town gallows platform. Before the Tubbians left town at his request to avoid their potential persecution by Crown believers of the One True Faith, he paid weekly attention to the Church as its unquestioned, titular head. Now that they have returned, he has resumed this responsibility.

Extended and detailed information about his family lineage, including many of his ancestors and his children, can be found here: Treadwells (Family).

Plots

Since his arrival, Treadwell has seemingly always been loosely involved with many events but never directly the cause or the solution. He tends to stay on the outskirts of affairs, keeping largely to himself and his own desires. It is fairly common knowledge in character that nothing really seems to affect him--that he always seems to come out reasonably well despite the gravest of situations. However, of particular note in his most recent time in Myrken Wood is his reacquisition of the Governor's seat; during The Red and Gold Summer, Aloisius was one of the few town leaders still in a proper leadership role, since some had been captured, others had been brainwashed, and others were simply inactive. Therefore, with the help of Agnieszka Kaczmarek, he helped oversee the efforts to retake control of the town. After the so-called "Black Hour" and the restoration of Glenn Burnie to power, he humbly stepped out of the Acting Governor's role and back into his Council seat. Treadwell has taken the leadership of the province again, this time as its Lord Steward of its interim, transition government due to royal dictate.

As of the end of 216, Treadwell is apparently running afoul of what he has deemed "False Tubbians." A dead newborn was killed and left by unknown parties in his front yard's bird bath on December 25, and on the night of the 30th, a group of portly, middle-aged men singing praises to Tubbius in front of the Broken Dagger. Although Treadwell swears no affiliation with these men or with the downpour of fat and meat onto the Dagger's front lawn that their devotions brought on, he currently has no clues as to their identities or purposes.

Season of Dreams

Under normal circumstances, Aloisius Treadwell would not dream, instead slipping into nightly awareness of The Glutton and his activities. However, due to reasons not explained, as of the Season of Dreams plotline, Treadwell has found himself occasionally entering this world of Myrken the Golden. His role in this dream world is that of Lord Consul and Regent of Myrken Wood, having been appointed to this post--a promotion from that of Lord Steward--for having been at least partially responsible for the Golden state of the city as it is. He carries a silver-shafted, emerald-tipped mace of office and can usually be seen wearing a highly recognizable purple silk robe. The Lord Consul is also actively accompanied by his butler and servant, Gregory, and by four guardsmen, who will invariably take up the four corners around him as duty demands.

In this dream state, Treadwell is significantly older and feebler. As of late February A.R. 215, he has served as Lord Consul for a month shy of three years, and he has during this time become increasingly dependent on a gold-inlaid, steel-framed, cushioned wheelchair that was a gift from Chedwry on his promotion to his current office. To this end, the Aloisius of the Golden City has also seen a side door and ramp up to it built into the Broken Dagger, as well as somewhat spacious gardens behind the Meetinghouse for what is largely his personal enjoyment. This Treadwell also faces a concern of "slipping" mentally and verbally, as his wife, Alice, has described to his physician, Doctor Bill Jacobson.

Other subtle differences from the waking Treadwell include the hiring of two apprentices to his toy shop--Arthur, aged 19, whose work Treadwell does not trust; and Harold, aged 35, who reminds the Lord Consul of his missing daughter, Babette.