Alfred Quinque (KWIN-kway) is the cavalier primary to the First Saint to Serve the King Undying, Augustine the First, and part of the original sixteen disciples to serve the Emperor at Canaan House after the Resurrection.
Biography[]
Pre-Resurrection[]
Prior to the Resurrection, the scientist John Gaius worked with a crew of enigmatically named friends. Given that their initials align with the names of those who later became his Saints, the similarly gendered pronoun, and the fact that the one known as A— had a brother, it appears likely that Alfred was the one referred to in his recounted story as “A— Junior“.
A— Junior was a hedge fund manager, affectionately referred to by Gaius as “useless, but a darling.” He likened the FTL project to money, as “one big shared hallucination, but I’m not sure they could have hallucinated this much, none of this is even in [cryptocurrency].”
A— Junior was shot twice in the gunfight that helped lead to The Resurrection, apparently in an attempt to mediate peace between the respective parties.
Post-Resurrection[]
Alfred Quinque and his necromancer, Augustine, were among the first disciples to serve the Emperor at Canaan House following The Resurrection. The circumstances of their invitation to join the Emperor are lost to history. There, Alfred was instrumental to the founding of the role of cavalier and, along with Cristabel Oct, coined the vow "one flesh, one end."[1]
Together, Augustine and Alfred founded the Fifth House, known as the Heart of the Emperor and the Watchers over the River, as well as the Koniortos Court.
Though the precise circumstances of Augustine's ascension to Lyctor are unknown, his speaking of "what happened" as Cristabel "leading [Alfred] astray"[2] and becoming a Lyctor "under scrambling pressure"[3] implies that the two cavaliers may have formed a suicide pact and forced their respective necromancers to ascend against their will.
Appearance and Personality[]
Little is known about Alfred's physical appearance save his eyes, which Harrowhark describes as "granite-colored,"[4] "concrete,"[5] and "insubstantial."[5] Augustine claims he was five foot ten.
Augustine describes his brother's personality as "a man who regretted that he wasn't [a fanatic and an idiot],"[2] as well as "best of men and cavaliers."[5] John believes that Alfred was very similar to Cristabel, though Augustine denies this.
Relationships[]
Augustine the First[]
"He was my other half—get that down too, for the human-interest aspect. [...] He was my brother."[6]
Augustine does not speak much on his brother except to say that he has "built an entire myriad on the idea that [he] could've made him come around, given five minutes."[2] It is clear that the brothers were incredibly close—so much so that Alfred was willing to sacrifice himself for his brother's immortality.
Cristabel Oct[]
"...someone stop cris and alfred before the sex toy phrase catches on, thanks"[1]
To the displeasure of both of their necromancers, Cristabel and Alfred were close. Co-creators of much of the concept of cavaliers, the two clearly spent a lot of time working together. Though Augustine considers her to be a bad influence, the Emperor believes that Alfred could not have been forced into anything he didn't want.
Trivia[]
The Quinque brothers are a rarity in the Nine Houses, in that they both share an arithmonym (last name). Even twins do not usually share an arithmonym, unless it is a "unit name". Sharing an arithmonyn carries specific implications in the Nine Houses, however the Quinque brothers were named so early on in the era of the Nine Houses that those implications are lessened, though not entirely removed.[7]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Gideon the Ninth," A Sermon on Cavaliers and Necromancers
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Harrow the Ninth," Act III, Ch. 30
- ↑ "Harrow the Ninth," Act V, Ch. 51
- ↑ "Harrow the Ninth," Act III, Ch. 25
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Harrow the Ninth," Act III, Ch. 29
- ↑ "Harrow the Ninth," Act II, Ch. 16
- ↑ "Harrow the Ninth", Appendices, Pronunciation Guide