Claudio BarimenIndex | Time Under Chaos | Player Characters | Claudio  A slight man sits before a sketch table; an artist's pencil is in his right hand, but the table is in side view so that you can't see what he's working on. His face is in three-quarter view, his head a little tilted as he seems to be looking back at you consideringly; grey eyes hold a gleam of amusement that goes with his impish half-smile, but they are also shadowed with old pain. His wavy light brown hair brushes the back of his collar. His left hand rests on the top of an elaborately carved cane in the shape of an ibis. He is apparently sitting on a balcony or terrace, because there is a decorative railing behind him, and beyond that the open sky. Claudio Barimen was a lively, inquisitive child who at an early age began to show signs of the artistic talent for which House Barimen was justly famed. Before he was even old enough to begin his formal education, however, he and his father Alfonso's ambitions for the advancement of his House intersected catastrophically. The demonic assassin lurking in the garden that day might have been sent for Alfonso or for his distinguished visitor; no one was ever sure. Little Claudio, playing hide-and-seek with a couple of the house demons, came upon it first and recognized it for what it was. Calling out a warning to his father, he tackled the assassin. The house demons sped to the rescue, but before they could finish off the interloper, its venomous claw left a gash in Claudio's leg. A more serious wound would probably have killed the boy. As it was, only the timely intervention of specialists from House Corrino saved Claudio's life and his sanity. Since the poison had been specifically formulated to block its target's Shapeshifting ability, Claudio's Shapeshifting was permanently impaired. The injured leg was deformed and stunted, and he walked with a pronounced limp ever afterward. Nothing daunted, Claudio turned his energies to intellectual and artistic pursuits. He proved to have an aptitude for Trump Artistry, which his parents encouraged. By the time he reached maturity he had already acquired a reputation sufficient to get him invited to the Imperial Court. Claudio was always intrigued by the tales of Dworkin Barimen, his creation of the Pattern, of Amber and its royal family. The fact that Claudio's elders unanimously deplored their relative's action only intensified his curiosity, and he found it oddly amusing that were he ever to meet these notorious people, he could quite legitimately introduce himself as their cousin (however many times removed). As he grew older and began to identify himself more and more as an artist, Claudio began to question his elders' disapproval of Dworkin and Amber. "What about creative freedom, then?" he'd challenge them, and none of the answers he got completely satisfied him. The majority of them tended to veer off into discussions of power or politics, which seemed to him irrelevant to the question, however absorbing they were to the people involved. He couldn't help wondering what sort of answers he'd get from the other side. Inevitably, Claudio had mixed feelings about the outcome of the Patternfall War, the reputed destruction of the Pattern and the occupation of Amber by the Chaosian forces headed by House Sawall. On the one hand it was like hearing that a bomb had hit St. Paul's Cathedral or that some vandal had taken a sledgehammer to Michelangelo's Pieta. But with Amber in Chaosian hands, the enticing possibility opened up that Claudio might actually be able to go there one day, if only to view the ruins. And at least some of those distant relatives of his were still alive. One of them even occupied Amber's throne... When Claudio was invited to the Ways of Corrino (by a relatively minor Court functionary, true, but it was a start), his father impressed upon him what an excellent opportunity this would be to advance the interests of his family, and how important it was that he not waste it. Claudio listened attentively, and forgot every word within half a cycle of leaving the Ways of Barimen. He was charmed by the elegance of his surroundings, the beauties to be found around every corner; the intricate social dance of etiquette was an endless source of stimulation and amusement. He had his work, of course; one commission led to another, both conventional portraiture and Trump, once his pieces were exhibited and began to draw notice. But his social life and his circle of acquaintance also grew. He hung out in late-night cafes discussing Art, Life, the Universe and Everything; he attended fashionable salons and engaged in witty repartee; he was invited to formal dinner parties and learned to flirt unexceptionably with debutantes. He enjoyed himself immensely, and in his own way fulfilled his father's hopes without even realizing it. He did not overwhelm; physically unthreatening, he was unsuited to cutting a dash and wise enough to know it. Everyone expected artists to be a trifle bohemian, and the style suited him. He had wit, a lively sense of humor, and his own sort of charm, but he could also listen. Claudio liked people and was genuinely interested in them, and was never too proud to learn from anybody. It was only a matter of time before Claudio's social round intersected with that of Irulan Corrino. They were introduced; they talked. They found they enjoyed each other's company and conversation. It didn't take long for Irulan to notice how perceptive Claudio was and how accurate his observations of -- and about -- people usually were. She also took note of how his Trump abilities were progressing, and was able to suggest lines of further development. When he eventually confided in her his dream of visiting Amber one day, she smiled and said, "We'll have to see what we can do about that"... In Amber, Claudio rents a studio apartment on the top floor of a building located on the Rue Jardin, in the Artists' Quarter in Blind Chapman. Claudio's Threads
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