Marquis Argyle

Biodata

Background / History

Marquis Argyle inherited a house that had preserved its hereditary title by withdrawing from military and political affairs. In 1034, his predecessor Abner Argel publicly committed the family to commerce; its House of Lords seat subsequently remained unoccupied, and family members stopped entering military service. Investments in wine, mining, industry, and finance eventually made the family exceptionally wealthy 1 2.

By early 1347, Argyle was the only surviving member of his generation, with Kronos and Annie forming the next generation. He regarded the family’s earlier political crisis as long past and initially allowed Kronos to decide whether to accept work on the ironclad project 2 3.

His apparent security concealed continuing restrictions. Argyle believed the Royal Family trusted the house only while it avoided politics and military affairs and produced no demigods. The family had deliberately accepted teachings that impeded Beyonder advancement and avoided seeking Sequence 4 formulas to reassure the crown 35.

According to Gner’s later assessment, Argyle had once secretly vowed to overcome the family’s restrictive grimoire, become a demigod, and restore its glory. Twenty years passed without fulfilling that ambition: preserving his noble dignity and managing commerce competed with the risks and dedication required for advancement. At forty-seven, he remained a Sequence 6 Scroll Professor, with little prospect of reaching demigodhood 35 50.

Appearance

• Facial hair: He has a beard on his chin, which he strokes while discussing the Black Skull Gang with Kronos 23.

Personality

Argyle gives his children considerable independence without abandoning responsibility for their safety. He lets Kronos choose his career, recruit Gner, and test his own approach to leadership, treating these decisions as trials for his heir. His permission to sail, however, depends on Kronos advancing before May 2 3 11 14.

He is cautious and commercially pragmatic. Rather than openly opposing powerful factions, he uses business partnerships to preserve room for negotiation. His advice to Kronos emphasizes assessing recruits’ character, reassuring subordinates, and exercising restraint toward enemies with unknown backers 7 11 22 23.

His manner with Kronos is frequently teasing. Envious of his son’s naval uniform, he leaves him at Pritz Harbor with the excuse that more people should see it. That humor disappears immediately when Kronos reports a serious supernatural threat 11 12 34.

Family duties and the pressure of seeking change sometimes cause him to neglect home life. Nevertheless, he and his wife remain affectionate, and both treasure the family’s evening together before Kronos leaves for sea 36.

Abilities & Skills

Scroll Crafting

As a Sequence 6 Scroll Professor, Argyle personally prepares supernatural scrolls for Kronos’s voyage 6 37.

• His departure gift includes over a dozen scrolls containing skills from multiple pathways 37.
• The combat effectiveness of Warlocks and Scroll Professors depends partly on the supplies they carry, making the accompanying storage pouch particularly useful 37.

Beyonder Training and Supervision

Argyle guides Kronos through the family’s potion training and provides access to its accumulated knowledge 5 11 14.

• Ends Kronos’s five-year speech ban early so he can advance and handle negotiations 3 4.
• Opens the hidden passage to the underground chapel, where advancement is protected from the Hidden Sage’s interference 5.
• Recommends fighting Beyonders to digest the Melee Scholar potion; ancestral notes identify bloody, life-threatening battles as especially effective 11.
• Withholds combat-oriented Beyonder items until Kronos reaches Sequence 7, requiring him to rely on his fists during Melee Scholar training 23.
• Arranges a Nightmare’s test of Gner, demonstrating why physical skill alone is insufficient against mid-sequence abilities 23 24.

Business and Leadership

Argyle directs much of his business remotely, spending more than three hundred days a year in his study reading and issuing instructions 22.

• Uses partnerships across opposing political camps to avoid signaling exclusive allegiance 7 8.
• Employs professional inspectors before personally viewing Bowen’s fleet 12.
• Recognizes that uncertainty among subordinates can become fear and, eventually, betrayal 22.
• Provides Kronos with capital and experienced staff rather than requiring him to build a business organization from nothing 14.

Sign Language and Nonverbal Communication

• Communicates with Kronos through sign language during his speech-ban period 3 4.
• Members of the Argel Family also train to interpret thoughts and intentions from expressions 4.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Sun Ring — A family item made from a Sequence 7 Solar High Priest characteristic. Argyle uses its holy light to purify Kronos and check for wraith possession or lingering marks 34.
• Cane — Kept beside him during his conversation with Kronos at the naval base; he swings it at his son in exasperation. No supernatural properties are established for this cane 11.
• Family notebooks and Spell Grimoire — Supplies Kronos with ancestral Acting Method records and later the family’s comprehensive Warlock teachings. The grimoire’s deliberate restrictions also serve the house’s political survival strategy 14 15 35.

Provisions for Kronos’s Voyage

• Lucky One Cane — Made from Booze’s Beyonder characteristic after Argyle gave him a Sequence 7 potion and killed him to obtain material for Kronos’s weapon 33 37.
• Mystic Pouch — Supplied with spell materials, Argyle’s personally crafted scrolls, and a Scroll Professor potion for possible advancement 37.
• Azure Brooch — Made from the characteristic of the unstable Sailor Kronos had killed 37.
• Elf Charm — Included among the protective items in the departure gift 37.
• Personal letter — Explains the equipment and asks Kronos to act cautiously and remain safe 37.

Relationships

• Krono Nois Argyle / Kronos — Son and heir. Argyle supports his research, Beyonder development, and travels while using practical lessons to prepare him for independent leadership 2 14 22 37.
• Audrey Argel — Wife. She supports him despite occasional grievances over the demands his responsibilities place on family life 2 36.
• Annie Argel — Younger daughter. He permits Kronos to take her riding when business keeps him occupied 2 4.
• Gner — Kronos’s recruit. Argyle helps investigate his circumstances, supports his advancement, and arranges a test of his combat capabilities 11 13 22 24.
• Duke Negan — A powerful noble whose family’s maneuvering pressures the Argels into renewed public attention. Relations improve after negotiations, including the gift of a Southern Continent coffee plantation 3 8 11.
• Earl Hall — New Party commercial partner. Their agreement connects Argel coal and iron supplies to the Conston Coal and Steel Consortium and opens an opportunity to acquire a merchant fleet 7 11.
• Earl Levett — Grain-trade partner whose agreement helps balance the family’s dealings across political camps 8 11.
• Benjamin Bowen — Retained as manager after Argyle purchases ninety percent of Bowen Trading Company at market value, on the condition that it remain profitable 11.
• Church of Steam and Machinery — A source of protection, but not an unquestioned ally. Argyle describes the relationship as mutual exploitation and suspects the church killed ancestor Botu 5 36.
• Augustus Royal Family — The ruling house whose favor depends, in Argyle’s assessment, on his family remaining politically inactive and never producing another demigod 35.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Return to Public Attention

• Approves Kronos’s participation in Professor Portland’s ironclad research while leaving the final decision to his son 3.
• Investigates political reactions after the Negan family arranges Kronos’s naval appointment without advance notice 3.
• Sends Kronos to approach Earl Hall about surplus iron, keeping himself out of direct political negotiations 4.
• Initially plans grain cooperation with the Rieveldt family; the subsequently reported agreement is with Earl Levett. The paired partnerships signal that the Argels will not simply join Negan’s camp 7 8.

Commercial Expansion and Heir Training

• Acquires Bowen Trading Company and its seven merchant ships 11.
• Allows Kronos to join its voyage if he advances before May, while urging him to learn the routes and judge the captains and first mates himself 11 14.
• Commits two million pounds to a new company under Kronos’s sole control and allows him to recruit trusted aides and part of the secretarial team 14.

Black Skull Gang Crisis

• Provides intelligence on the gang and warns Kronos that it may have powerful backers 23.
• Uses the Nightmare’s sparring test to correct Kronos’s overconfidence in Gner’s ability to defeat higher-sequence opponents 24.
• After the attack reveals connections to dangerous organizations and powerful wraiths, purifies Kronos and orders him to remain at the manor until departure 34.

Revelation of the Family’s Constraints

• Explains that the grimoire’s limitations were accepted to reassure the Royal Family and warns Kronos to conceal attempts to surpass them 35.
• Reveals the grounds for suspecting the Church of Steam and Machinery in Botu’s death: the returned characteristic showed no trace of the pathway switch the church claimed had failed 36.
• Warns that the manor is watched, shields Kronos’s apparent withdrawal from interruption, and equips him for departure 35 36 37.

Notable Quotes

“Fear is a terrible force. It can give rise to many things more terrible still, such as betrayal.” 22

“We are only their most trusted family as long as we stay out of politics and military affairs and never produce a demigod.” 35

“You must understand that money means nothing to our family. Don't worry about saving face over something like this, and certainly don't let it saddle you with burdensome debts of gratitude.” 14