Louis

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Louis XIV (Louis; 路易)
Alias(es)	Sun King; Duke of Colonna; Grand Duke of Gajola
Species/Race	Human / mortal with magical talent
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Kingdom of France; House Colonna; Gajola Island's Inner World
Occupation/Role	King of France; Duke of Colonna; Grand Duke of Gajola
Status	Deceased; his magical portrait awakened more than a century after his death 567
First Appearance	Chapter 4, Louis's Memories 4

Background / History

Louis was born at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Retaining memories of having once been an ordinary person, he initially struggled to understand his surroundings and only gradually realized that he was the king's son. As an infant, he even mistook himself for a girl because of his lace swaddling clothes and frilled cap. 4

Louis XIII died when Louis was five, making him King of France. His early reign was shaped by court rumors surrounding his father's death, Cardinal Mazarin's regency, and the revelation that werewolves, witches, and other supernatural beings were real. He also intervened in the upbringing of his younger brother Philip, refusing to let him be treated as a girl. 4

By age eleven, Louis was already asserting an independent conception of kingship. He ordered the French court to cease insulting the deposed Charles I of England, forbade dealings with Cromwell, and offered protection to Charles, Duke of Cornwall, on the grounds that royal sovereignty had to be defended regardless of religion or national rivalry. 12

After being gravely wounded and cursed at Dunkirk, Louis entered the Inner World under the identity of the Duke of Colonna. The Mancini family sought to bind him to their interests, but he recovered, manifested magic, and negotiated his own terms for returning to the Outer World. His Inner World marriage to Mali Mancini secured an alliance in which their child would inherit the Colonna title and Mancini power. 107 110 112 115

Following his return to France, Louis inherited Mazarin's wealth and political legacy, expanded his own intelligence apparatus, brought Wizards into royal service, and steadily pursued control over both France's hidden magical population and the Inner World. 117 126 135 176

Appearance

Louis grows into a notably imposing man: broad-shouldered, long-legged, and over five French feet five inches tall—about six feet. His youthful appearance remains striking over the years, with few visible wrinkles and thick, glossy hair. 227 339

• Full, rosy lower lip, associated by contemporary physiognomy with kindness and generosity. 176
• Retains a vigorous, youthful appearance long enough to fuel rumors that he is a Wizard. 339
• His presence is repeatedly described as blending physical beauty with overwhelming authority. 450
• In old age, his hands show his age even as his palm remains notably warm. 590

Personality

Louis is intensely conscious of power, responsibility, and the dangers inherent in monarchy. He regards kingship as both a personal burden and a necessary institution to preserve against rebels, rival states, and competing elites. His support for Charles II in exile reflects this conviction as much as family loyalty. 12 209

He is polite, composed, and often generous toward loyal subjects, but his benevolence is conditional. Louis rewards usefulness, protects those who serve him, and expects obedience in return; he can be ruthless toward rebels, hostile nobles, and supernatural factions that resist incorporation into his rule. 56 176 185

Louis is pragmatic rather than convention-bound. He accepts traditions only when they serve a purpose, rejects coercion in personal matters, and repeatedly chooses political advantage over romantic impulse. 78 142

His view of ordinary people evolves over time. After experiencing exile and unrest, he comes to reject aristocratic and clerical contempt for commoners, recognizing them as people with the same capacity for joy, anger, gratitude, and hatred as rulers. 585

Abilities & Skills

Statecraft and Political Strategy

Louis is a long-term planner who centralizes authority by balancing nobles, merchants, clergy, soldiers, spies, and supernatural factions.

• Divides Mazarin's inherited intelligence network among Philip, D'Artagnan, and Colbert, covering officials, criminal networks, and merchants respectively. 126
• Uses titles, marriages, land, and family obligations as tools of diplomacy, including his Inner World agreement with the Mancini family. 115
• Exploits the Duke of York's fear of Charles II and Leopold I to secure English colonial support. 541
• Places value on usefulness and benefit over pedigree, especially when dealing with Wizards and witches. 176

Magic and Inner World Knowledge

Although he remains fundamentally mortal, Louis possesses the talent to become a Wizard and learns to use magic after entering the Inner World.

• Breaks an arena barrier to save the werewolf Crelan. 112
• Uses the Blood Cup, fueled by Colonna blood, to temporarily slow the progress of his curse. 107
• Learns spellcasting through a vampire holy relic after nearly becoming a Wizard himself. 135
• Understands the political, economic, and social structure of the Inner World well enough to negotiate with its great families and establish his own influence there. 64 65 115

Languages and Learning

Louis pursues learning as a practical tool of rule.

• Reads Greek and Latin books in the Inner World. 110
• Speaks Maya while negotiating with Indigenous leaders from the New World. 545
• Uses history, religion, and political examples to educate his children about authority and responsibility. 276 585

Military Leadership

Louis treats warfare as an extension of governance and state-building rather than an isolated pursuit.

• Establishes a Royal Special Guard Company after surviving Bosch's assassination attempt. 201
• Employs Wizards as craftsmen for Dunkirk's shipyards, cutting costs and accelerating construction. 135 136
• Personally arranges the trap that kills Hieronymus Bosch at Waterloo. 201
• Continually seeks stronger military institutions rather than relying solely on Wizardry. 280

Relationships

• Louis XIII — Father. Louis remembers him as kind, plain in private habits, and affectionate toward Louis's caretakers. Louis XIII's death makes Louis king at age five. 4
• Queen Mother Anne — Mother and early regent. Her desire to prevent conflict between the royal brothers contributes to Philip's unusual upbringing. 4
• Philip, Duke of Orléans — Younger brother, confidant, and trusted political partner. Louis is fiercely protective of Philip and entrusts him with regency, intelligence work, and provincial responsibilities. 4 117 126 143
• Cardinal Mazarin — Regent, mentor, and political guardian. Despite their difficult history, Louis mourns Mazarin deeply and inherits his fortune and properties after his death. 117
• Mali Mancini — Inner World wife and mother of Louis's eldest son, Luciano. Their relationship begins with mutual affection but becomes entangled in the ambitions of the Mancini family and the obligations of their marriage pact. 78 115 140
• Queen Teresa — Queen of France and mother of Crown Prince Little Louis. Louis treats her with respect, while both recognize the political realities of their marriage. 122 251
• Luciano, Duke of Colonna — Louis's eldest son with Mali. Louis gives him titles, wealth, and a future centered on Italy rather than France. 251 339 521
• Crown Prince Little Louis — Legitimate heir to France. Louis deliberately separates his inheritance from Luciano's to prevent conflict between the brothers. 251 252 330
• Milady — Spy chief and Inner World operative. Louis trusts her more than many Wizards because her identity as a royal spy takes precedence over her magical identity. 147 174
• Theoderic, Prince of Ventrue — Vampire prince who helps preserve Louis's freedom during the Dunkirk crisis and later serves as a trusted Inner World adviser. 107 401
• Valo Vesalius — Wizard and later royal physician. Louis initially marks him as unreliable after his passivity during the Inner World crisis, but later restores him to service because of his expertise. 110 141 143
• Crelan — Werewolf Louis saves from the Inner World's arena. Crelan later recognizes Louis's ability to survive and triumph in hostile circumstances. 112 145

Story Role / Major Arcs

Arc	Chapters	Louis's role
Early reign and royal authority	4 12 18 22	Comes to terms with being king, protects Philip, and publicly defends Charles, Duke of Cornwall, as a fellow monarch.
Dunkirk and the Inner World	106 107 108 112 115 116	Survives a curse and attempted magical coercion, enters the Inner World as Duke of Colonna, discovers magic, and secures his return through marriage and negotiation.
Consolidation of France	117 126 135 136 141	Inherits Mazarin's legacy, reorganizes intelligence, establishes the Gold Louis, uses Wizards in royal projects, and incorporates Lorraine into his political designs.
Control of the supernatural world	147 174 176 201	Uses Milady to shape Gajola Island, moves to subjugate French Wizards, defeats hostile witches, and establishes a Royal Special Guard Company.
Dynastic and imperial expansion	339 404 444 521	Strengthens Luciano's Italian position, suppresses Brittany, plans colonial governance, and grants Luciano the title Duke of Anjou to reinforce his Neapolitan claim.
Late-rule political philosophy	545 560 585	Extends French power into the New World while arguing for cultural accommodation, responsible government, education, and limits on merchant political influence.

Notable Quotes

“The sun alone is unquestionably the strongest. When it blazes fiercely, people fear it. When it is warm, people yearn for it. When it leaves, people miss it.” 143

“Though it is not what I wish for, there is only one way to defeat an enemy.”
“To make oneself stronger—stronger forever.” 280

“They were people, just like us.” 585

Trivia

• Louis initially believed he might be a girl because he was dressed in lace and a frilled cap as an infant. 4
• In the Inner World, he is publicly known as the Duke of Colonna, a title tied to the Colonna family and shared with another Louis. 110
• He commissions the Gold Louis, a twenty-livre coin bearing his portrait on one side and a crowned cross with fleur-de-lis on the other. 126
• His magical portrait does not awaken immediately after his death; it awakens over a century later because he never fully chose to become a Wizard. 567