Gilles de Rais is taking things up a notch. He was the grand marshal of France near to the end of the Hundred Years War, meaning he had overall command of all of France's armies. He was comrade and battle-brother to Joan of Arc. It's said that he lost his mind when he watched the Holy Mother Church burn Joan at the stake for heresy in thanks for her helping to lead the defensive action against British invasion. Gilles was the wealthiest man in Europe, and was quoted as saying, "God can deny nothing to a de Rais, and should He ever, there is always the Devil."
Gilles fell into a frenzy of excess after the war, going from normal orgies to writing and staging elaborate plays that would cost a king's ransom, only to burn the scripts, set, and costumes after the performance so they could only be enjoyed once. All the while, he worked himself up to abducting children. He would take them, abuse them, cut messages to Joan into their flesh, and ritually murder them.
It's argued that he was trying to send Joan messages in Heaven because he believed children would end up in heaven. Others state that he was detailed in his confessions, in which case he and his cousins sacrificed children to Hell for worldly power. When he was finally caught by the Church, it was believed he had killled between 200-400 kids. He supposedly made a full confession, was granted the sacrement of Confession and Extreme Unction so he would be beheaded in a state of grace, allowing the monster's entrance into heaven.
He was an extremely well-trained tactician and leader who found himself outshone by Joan's zeal. He earned his knightwood the hard way despite his noble birthright. And he was hopelessly in love with Joan. When she burned, his love became a hatred that's hard to fathom. Dunno where things are going, but between Gilles (pronounced Jill Da Ray) and Joan D'arc both working for the Black King, shit's gonna get scary when they hook up.
