Vladimir Crespi was once a knight in Toussaint who later turned to wine making in his later years.
Biography[]
Many years ago, Vladimir was part of a knightly team (along with Milton de Peyrac-Peyran, Louis de la Croix, and Ramon du Lac) that escorted Sylvia Anna out of the kingdom, leaving her to die. When Syanna first attempted to escape from the group, he beat the former princess so hard with a horsewhip she lost conscious, while the rest just stood and watched.
He went on to win many tournament victories over the years and, as he got too old to keep traveling as a knight, took up wine making. However, he kept trying to get out of his knighthood duties, like having to attend court ceremonies, despite knowing that once one took the oath of knighthood, it was for life.
He later came to own Belgaard, a very large and successful vineyard in Toussaint. Despite being very successful in this endeavor, he proved no friend of other wine merchants: he was ruthless and thought to cheat many of them. In particular, he realized that if two of his rivals, Liam and Matilda, ever teamed up and combined their vineyards, he would be out of the wine industry. Therefore, he set about causing chaos for both Coronata and Vermentino vineyards, like having some of their valuable workers kidnapped and having archespore sprouts planted on their vineyards to cause trouble.
His plan almost succeeded but before he could cause one final push to bankrupt both his rivals, he was killed by the Beast of Beauclair, becoming its first victim. His body was then posed on his hands and knees and propped up against the town pillory as symbolism of the chivalric virtue that he never displayed: honor.
- "Count Crespi called himself a knight, but spat in the face of chivalry. That's why he should not die with a sword in his hand, but atone for his dishonor on the town pillory. He was a rogue and he should die a rogue's death."[1]