A Rise of Descent: 1760

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A Rise of Descent: 1760

A London night in the closing of Summer, 1760; where the wind was softly passing over the rooftops down to the empty streets below. Lanterns kept low and curious light in several homes; plotted here and there beside the streets and stores, where a loud and constant clamor was formed during the daylight. But a similar sound suddenly seemed to threaten the silence of the night, though it was far softer than the regular calamity of the populous for now.

The Juliarmus Mansion was built long before the birth of the King, though it was only more recently purchased by the family that lived behind its walls and windows. The stone slabs and wooden planks all newly replaced in betterment of their aging state, to make a more fitting home for a wealthy collector of the Crown's taxes. So few men in England could be trusted with the handling of so much money, not when the taxes rose as often as they did. It had been the agenda of some undesirable individuals to pocket a few coins now and again during their collection routes. Because of this, an honest and trustworthy servant to the monarchy could easily find himself with a fair and renovated estate at little cost to his earnings. This particular mansion provided no less than six bedrooms, three studies, four bathrooms, a central courtyard, a grand dining hall, a rooftop balcony, and a library. All of which was unlikely to have put much of a dent in the savings of its master and landlord.

Laurence Juliarmus was he, the keeper and the commander of every door and room in that mansion. A true commander he was as well, taking every step heavily and confidently, almost as if his power over the home flowed from the posture that he took. His spine arched slightly back whilst his shoulders stayed broad with rough-built muscle when he strode and swept his arms forth and back again. He'd kept his hair, that glimmerless black mane, fairly long and tied back out of his eyes. His height was no more than that of any other man walking the streets at the time, though his build was sufficiently greater than most in the city. He was born not far from the incredible house during his childhood, lucky to have always been well-off. Laurence made it his dream to learn and remember the value of a good day's pay, which left a lasting impression as a young man growing up in a poor section of the city. Families to the left and right of him tried as best they could to feed what kids they had, if the kids hadn't already died from a bad cold and severe frailty. It was memories of such things which imprinted upon his mind the true and proper path to a good life, where stomachs didn't growl and children lived to succeed their parents.

And after many a year working for the Bank of the Crown, Laurence achieved the vision that he'd always been able to see. He was able to leave the service of the bank and become one of the King's tax collectors, promising wealth and a right good marriage in his future. His money did deliver him to an estate worthy of his ambitions, and he found love within the year of his newly found employment; although only one of them would stand the test of time. In a sad and unfortunate twist of fate, his wife became delusional at a very young age. By the time that Opal Juliarmus, previously Opal Barnett, was thirty years old, she'd been riddled with mental illness. Every so often an episode would occur where she frantically danced about in a flailing way, without conscious recognition of doing so at all. These became a more common happening in the Juliarmus Mansion, ultimately leading to a heartbroken Laurence sending his wife away. After having spent just thirty-seven years on Earth, Opal was deemed too dangerous for her own family or its inherent value. She could easily have brought disgrace upon the Juliarmus name and the household in which it lived, at a time when fortune relied upon societal standing. All it would have taken was one accidental wrongdoing or badly-timed episode to make the public gossip about the mental state of Opal, followed by the questioning of Laurence's mental state for allowing her to still raise their child. She was given the chance to bid farewell to her husband and her son, then was brought by boat to a small island off the coast of London, which was host to nothing more than an asylum for the mentally ill. It was at this time that Laurence made his son, being no more than seven at the time, swear an oath on his very life. It consisted of two great promises which were to be upheld until the dying breath of his last day on Earth; the first of which being that Sebastian Juliarmus would never allow any force natural or otherwise bring harm upon his mother.