Remos de Villez

The most accurate way to describe Remos would be: A study in opposites and conflicts. As it is difficult to get to the bottom of the soul of this normally rather sympathetic, but often very obstinate and stubborn badger, nobody has really been able to find out the true nature of Remos. He remains an odd figure, friendly, although sometimes a bit unreliable. Most people like him, at a distance, but are also a bit afraid of him, despite his (often rather sparse) efforts at gaining their trust.

In his youth, Remos was a bright but impatient cub, always way ahead of his peers, but had nothing but contempt and scorn for the dimmer wits of his contemporary generation. His parents were proud of him, although because of his frequent outbursts of fury, they found him impossible to handle as he grew older. In discussions and arguments, he always had to have the last word, and from such a background he developed a very sharply profiled personality, and a philosophy that could be synopsized to: Remos is Right

Unfortunately, most of the time he was right.

At least he thought so.

It was a badger bristling with pride and self-importance who entered the Guild of Engineers, paid for by his parents. He had passed the tests with shining excellence, or to be more in synchronization with Remos's own view of it, yawning excellence. Remos quickly learned as he commenced his education that the utterly rigid and conservative schooling system of engineers and architects was rather incompatible with his own self-recognized vast expanse of genius. The other apprentices loathed him for his attitude, and the elders were unable to teach him the Right, established and documented ways of engineering. Remos figured out better ways that were in direct conflict with the principles and laws of How Things Work. This outright blasphemy had to be corrected, but bound by the tuition fee and their own code of ethics, they could not expel him on such grounds. In the end, they worked out an agreement which was satisfactory to noone, but nevertheless in the end was accepted in lack of better alternatives.

Remos became a honorary member of the Engineers' Guild, though legally still apprentice, as he left it two years later, without a degree but rather with broken pride. Despite the fact that he had been able to soak up every piece of knowledge that they had carefully fed him with, that his skills of accurate description and talent for details exceeded even some of the old masters, he was still shunned and scorned. This left him bitter and contemplative about his now seemingly rather gloomy chances of a future, and the badger buried himself in ancient books, seeking the luck and fortune of the great ones in the past. This didn't leave him without some peculiar characteristics, as this took place during a very impressionable stage of Remos's life.

To survive, Remos had to move to the city of Clarion, and there he set himself up as a carpenter, repairing and manufacturing tools for the chiefly lapine population there. He had rather dexterous paws, and with the training he had ingested during his education, he soon became quite adept at it. The work gave him a bit of money, and lots of time to think. During the night hours, he persued his favourite pastime: Science.

It would be a great mistake to say that Remos de Villez had the cold and clinical formality of a modern scientist. In these times, the very concept of scientific method was unheard of, and the few people who knew what Remos was actually doing made sure that they stayed away from him. Whenever the badger got started, telling about his theories, or as he described them: Scientific Facts, people decided that either he or they had to take a bit of fresh air. Remos eventually came into conflict with the disciples of S'allumer, who kept a very condemning attitude towards the badger and especially his work. Eventually, the situation approached outright unhealthy levels, and Remos found that this time it was he who needed a bit of fresh air.

Settling down in a house a few days of marching east of Clarion, Remos could finally dedicate himself to the only thing that had any substantial meaning to him anymore. He engrossed himself in the literature of the past, and spent a enormous amount of energy and efforts obtaining books and scriptures, and as the years passed, he built up a quite impressive library. However, the material he managed to lay his paws on was often of rather meagre scientific value, and more often than not, the only grain of clue to the real content lay deeply buried in myths and legends. Nevertheless, the badger strived on, searching the Truth of nature.

If he would have continued undisturbed, who knows if he wouldn't have finally achieved his goal at the end of his solitary life span. However, delayed by the frustrating lack of facts and that he had to still earn a living (naturally as a carpenter, since he had achieved some kind of proficiency in this line of labour), his real work progressed slowly. As the present time approached, he had almost cracked the secret (or so he thought) of the Perpetuum Mobile, which in the visions of the badger would be the beginning of a new era in which his work finally would be recognized.

Enter: Reality

Luck comes and luck departs, always treacherously at the worst possible moment. Those that the gods bless with visions and minds eventually are punished for their hybris. As an important book had just miraculously fallen into Remos's paws, an atavist wolf, probably driven by fear and superstition, broke into the badger's house, violently crashing the volatile substances that were precariously arranged in Remos's working quarters. The explosion that followed instantly killed the wolf, and a few moments later, the house went the same way, quickly consumed by the insatiable flames. Remos had to watch his life, his work, his dreams and visions vanish.

This left Remos a bit more than annoyed. Although...

If there is one characteristic that is true for all badgers of Calabria, it is the firm resolution never to give up. The end of his old life must imply the beginning of a new era, perpetuum mobile or not. Heartbroken, (hence his starting low will die) but slowly recovering, the badger joined forces with a rather diverse band of adventurers, in which he saw his chance to regain some his former goals. As his spirit returned, his odd humour and (lack of) manners did too, and his appetite for life once again matched his appetite for food, if this very substantial metaphor may be used.

Though he himself may not label himself as such, Remos is an inventor and a true forefather to the upcoming rennaisance of Calabria. Under normal circumstances, he's a most jovial fellow, who always has an anecdote or two that he either has dug up during his search for the Truth or made up himself in one of his weaker moments of fictionary rapture. He has a certain skill for verse, though he by no means would compare himself with such fickle minds as poets, of course.

At some stage in his youth, Remos picked up a comparatively uncharacteristic habit: Though he may not admit it openly, and though he loudly scorns anyone with the same flaw of character, the badger is trapped by compulsory superstition; not the kind that makes people kill out of fear, but rather the annoying habit of not walking under ladders, making sure that milk stays in the mug, et cetera. Remos himself rationalizes this away with more or less unsuccessful improvisations of explanations, and people tend to quickly learn not to comment on this subject.

Regardless of whether he will be able to change the world for the better or not, Remos has certainly made an impression on a large number of people, and doubtless there are many more who will have the questionable fortune of crossing his path. But the future is bright, and holds many promises. As the badger himself says: As long as there is Remos, there is hope.

And remember, he says, as he winks his bright eye at you:
For science, nothing is impossible!