Squire Pellegro

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Squire Trelawney Leviathan-Trismegistus Pellegro

Alias(es): Pellegro the Great; The Amazing Pellegrini; Master Trelawney, Escapist Extraordinaire

Real Name: Trelane Pelmann

Location: Olympia, Washington.

Apparant age: Mid-Thirties

Actual age: Late 60s

Seeming: Fairest

Kith: Bright One

Court: Autumn

Virtue: Fortitude

Vice: Pride

Concept: Rogue Illusionist

Physical description: A tall, well trimmed man with an air of elegance and self-assuredness, Squire Pellegro is elven even when his mien is hiden. His eyes, deep set and large, never miss a thing. His hands, long and willowy, are extraordinarily dextrous. Pellegro's voice is a booming baritone one moment, and a growly whisper the next. Squire Pellegro dresses in an elegant Victorian ensemble both on and off stage. When he is performing, the Squire also wears an intriguing silk turban, to add an air of mystery to his stage-devil appearance.

Relevant Mechanics: Autumn Mantle 3, Fame 1 (Stage Magicians), Striking Looks 4

The Life and Times of a Gentleman Prestidigitator

The details of the life of Squire Pellegro are well known. Born in an Eastern European village, the child of an American diplomat and a Soviet party member, it is said that Pellegro followed his father back to America, where he lived the life of a student until his mysterious encounter with a traveling magician brought him into contact with the path of the illusionist.

This magician, some stories call him Edward Nimble, while others refer to him solely as "The Magician", taught the young Pellegro a great many tricks within the space of a few hours. Then, with the wave of his hand, the Magician disappeared, leaving the boy Pellegro with a burning desire to learn the secrets of the craft.

In love with the stage from a young age, Pellegro fled his father's home, and ran to the streets of New York City's Chinatown, where he studied under another great magician, Maestro Chang-Li. It was here where an apprenticeship began, and for almost a decade, Pellegro stood behind the curtain, watching the great magician perform his acts of the mysterious East.

The official biography, published in 1997, states that one night, Maestro Chang-Li allowed the young Squire Pellegro the chance to perform for the first time in front of a great audience. Pellegro's signature trick, that of mindreading a young lady from the audience, brought the most beautiful woman he had ever seen to his stage. After a rousing performance and an enormous curtain call, Pellegro did not reappear for the encore.

The stories fade to black. Pellegro disappeared for thirty years. No definitive explanation has ever been offered, and when asked, Pellegro simply mentions a period of study under a "Great Lama of enormous skill and knowledge". Pellegro reemerged in 1995, a changed man, with a refined performing skill unheard of. Fans of magic the worldwide have been clamoring to be in one of his intimate shows, which he refuses to ever be larger than 30 audience members total.

In 1999, Pellegro moved to Olympia, Washington, and purchased a small theater in the city's trendy, yet humble, downtown district. It is here where Pellegro hones his craft. As the magicians of the world have come to learn from this master of the craft, he has built a tidy business of designing and selling tricks to the world's greatest magicians. His shows, always a hot ticket and a burgeoning part of Olympia's art scene, have attracted such luminaries as governors, movie stars, and in 2002, President George W. Bush and his family invited Squire Pellegro to the White House for a private performance. Pellegro declined the invitation, stating that he simply could not besmirch the hallowed halls of American truth and justice with a deliberate and obvious act of deceit as a magic act. The next day, a snotty letter of retort from Karl Rove arrived, and the insult was plastered on Fox News for over a week. Refusing greater monetary success (turning down a lucrative Las Vegas contract) cemented Pellegro's reputation as a magician of honor and civility, but keeping a subversive edge that shocks and amuses audiences nightly.

The public life of Squire Pellegro, a mysterious man with a mysterious past and skills unheard of in the field of public performance, has created a cult following and secured a place in magic history for himself. Where this eerie man goes next, whose calm demeanor and laughterless smile betray a youthfulness far outweighing his years, only time will tell. One thing is certain: once you've seen a performance of Squire Pellegro, chances are his face will haunt your finest dreams and your darkest nightmares for years to come.

The Changeling Behind the Curtain

Of course, the public know of Squire Pellegro's legend. They know of his birth behind the Soviet Bloc, and his mysterious journey to the East. They know of his insult to the President and his refusal to trade freedom for financial success. What they don't know, however, is the dark truth behind this tortured artist.

Born during the years before World War II, Trelane Pellman was just another boy on the New Jersey shore. His fantasy life, full of stories of movie monsters and radio superheroes, fueled an imagination that helped him overcome his troubled childhood. His father, an alcoholic contractor, beat his mother on a nightly basis. Constantly on the verge of starvation, Trelane was sent to live with an uncle in New York, who was the landlord of a squalid tenement in Chinatown. It was here that Trelane learned his first magic trick, from the elderly Maestro Chang-Li, and it was here that he attracted the Fae into his life.

At the age of 17, Trelane was kidnapped into Faerie by an elven creature named Sycorax. Sycorax, who Shakespeare tells us was the mother of Caliban, sought a new heir to her throne that wasn't a grievous embarrassment like her true son. Trelane was gifted with a new life, and was given all that he ever dreamt of, raised to become a new Fae prince.

Of course, it's never so easy, and as Trelawney (his new name) grew into his role, he came to realize that his new "mother" was not quite as fair and beautiful as she seemed. A demon of the seas, Sycorax often rode on a great chariot drawn by twenty nyx to the center of a hurricane, where she directed the winds and controlled the storm. Trelawney was given the title of Leviathan-Trismegistus, meaning "Thrice Great Sea-Demon", and he was elevated in Sycorax's court to a powerful ruler. Spoiled and indolent, Prince Trelawney was transformed into a being of exquisite beauty, and his skills as a magician became renowned as the Fae sought to learn his simple secrets. Convinced that he was a true mortal hero, the Fae deferred to his decisions in all things. One night, while performing simple card tricks, it became obvious to the Fae (or did they know all along?) that it was simply a matter of legerdemain, and Sycorax flew into a rage.

Trelawney was cast down into the darkest dungeons of Sycorax's Arcadian palace, where he became a Bright One in response to the darkness. After surviving for years on nothing but rotting faery bread and slimy rock water, Trelawney discovered a ruse to allow him to leave. He waited for a great storm, when Sycorax was away, and he made a rope from his own clothing, and climbed to the top of the dungeon. Throwing a scrap to the guarddog, he was able to distract the watchers, and he fled for his life. He tore his way through the Hedge, hid in every Hollow he could find, and at last reemerged. He was in the real world, home again, home again, jiggity jig.

He discovered that his fetch had become a boring soul, and he had no desire whatsoever to intrude upon his fetch's life in New York, where it had become a landlord after inheriting his uncle's property. Maestro Chang-Li, long dead, had hidden some of his best tricks in a storage unit in Pennsylvania, and after a long road trip, they were Trelawney's. He christened himself "Squire Pellegro", and decided to build a legend for himself.

After traveling the country, performing his act in nightclubs and small affairs, he had saved up enough cash to purchase the small theater in Olympia where he performs. Self-promoting, self-aggrandizing, and full of grand talk, Pellegro has built a reputation by embarrassing the powerful and highlighting the weak. When the infamous Presidential engagement arrived... he couldn't resist. He had to insult the Man In Power. His shows have always held an undercurrent of fear and suspense, which he eagerly harvests Glamour from.

Tonight, Squire Pellegro is a leader in Olympia's Freehold. He is a representative of the Autumn Court, and a master of the Contracts of Dream and Smoke. He cultivates his aura of charm and mystery, which he uses to great advantage as a changeling. He is likely to be a key member of the Olympia Freehold for some time, and a legend in the world of magic indeed. Not seeking any greater temporal power than his own success, the Squire has become a source of calm in the center of many a great hurricane, the legacy of his Keeper. He hopes that his theater, his dream to pass magic and wonder to the world, is his Home.

Tortured, proud, sinister, subtle, kind, wise. These are the words that follow Squire Pellegro wherever he goes.

Inspirations

Eisenheim, The Illusionist

Carter, Carter Beats the Devil

The Man With the Thistle-Down Hair, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell

Harry Houdini

Anton LaVey

Rumors and Whispers

- It's said that Pellegro has a gentleman's agreement with Puck, the magician cum movie star. Some say that they have shared secrets, while others say both sold their souls to the Devil on the same Black Mass. Pellegro denies these rumors wholesale, and mutters something about "The old days of a man and his rabbit in his hat."

- There is nothing Pellegro can't escape from. With a flick of his wrist and a silent glide of his elbow, he is free of any and all bonds.