Cornelius Grant

Personal Information

Appearance

Tall and broad shouldered, Cornelius carries himself with a purposeful confidence. Always the Daeva he dresses well in a trademark high collared waistcoat and is never seen without his personal dosier folder, the contents of which are known only to himself. His face while youthful, exudes a knowledgeable smile and discerning blue eyes behind stylish, black framed glasses.

Personality

Cornelius is an astute and awfully British businessman, CEO and owner of multinational conglomerate Grant Industries and prides himself on being a shrewd judge of character. He is ever charming and always accommodating, even cheeky in his flirtatious manner yet his smile hides a quick witted and competitive demeanor. He does not suffer foolishness. Cornelius is loyal to those loyal to him but with his penchant for inspiring honesty in others, he will turn quickly at the slightest hint of betrayal and will not hesitate to dismantle those who threaten him. He can be either a very close and loyal confidante or a brutally cold competitor with business-like efficiency.

Mortal World and The Embrace

Born in 1889 to manufacturing magnate Charles Solomon Grant and Emily Compton-Smith, heiress to the Compton Shipping empire, Cornelius knew nothing else but a life of luxury and business. Groomed from childhood to run his families twin empires, young Cornelius excelled at boarding school and graduated to an accounting position at his fathers weapons factory Bakersfield Armaments. In 1916 Cornelius traveled to France to oversee ammunition production for the war effort in one of the factories. He befriends his night-shift manager Francois de Gaulle. Following an explosion at the factory in 1917, Cornelius "rescues" de Gaulle only to learn he is an immortal. Cornelius, aware of his own mortality, begs his friend to embrace him. De Gaulle obliges only to reveal the explosion was an attempt on his unlife by unknown elements of French kindred. De Gaulle is given accommodation in secrecy at one of the family estates while Grant continues to manage the factory efforts. In 1924, upon the death of his father, a now 35 year old Cornelius (still looking all of 27) inherits full control of his father's estates and businesses. He moves quickly to consolidate the fractured empire under one name, Grant Industries, and pursues aggressive expansion into foreign markets with lucrative government contracts and shrewd investments. The move makes him extremely wealthy and in 1940 he acquires Kemp Pharmaceuticals and incorporates it into Grant Industries as MediGrant Labs giving him a sizable market dominance in commercial import/export, medical research and development and defense manufacturing. He quickly becomes one of the richest men in Europe. By 1950 Grant is forced to go into hiding due to his reclusive nature and youthful appearance. His manservant, Pierre Servante, is ghoul'ed and primed to run the empire as a caretaker pending an heir following Grant and de Gaulle's faked death. By 2009 the company is run by the son of Pierre, Mann, who is now ghoul'ed following the death of Pierre. Cornelius returns under an assumed identity as his own long lost grandson, also named Cornelius. A rushed court order and some bribed bureaucrats see Cornelius' claim to his "grandfathers" estate legitimized and Cornelius takes control once again of Grant Industries, now a global conglomerate of over 400 large and small companies. In 2012 a fire destroys the building where Grant and de Gaulle were staying and de Gaulle perishes. Cornelius, now without a sire seeks out others of his kind for the first time since his embrace and is led to the Brisbane kindred after following a Nosferatu and her young ghoul.

Life at Court with The Kindred

After arriving at Court and being introduced to Prince's Harpy, Marcel Du Champ, he is taken before Prince Tybalt. Failing to impress the Prince, Grant is made the responsibility of Marcel until such time as he is ready to be released. Marcel trains Cornelius in the day to day affairs of Court and introduces him to various kindred. With Marcel being called away to Canberra, his last act is to raise Cornelius' status before being released and to introduce him to the new Harpy, Lothar who sets Cornelius to work at various tasks. Following a successful Praxis challenge, the new Prince Lothar appoints Cornelius as Herald where he presently remains.

Timeline

• 1889 - Born
• 1917 - Embraced
• 2014 - Released

2014

• APR - Arrives at Court
• MAY - Is taken under tutelage of Marcel DuChamp
• JUN - Released with raised status
• JUL - Is put to work by Lothar
• AUG -
• SEP -
• OCT - Is named Herald