your seneschal is always there for you.
a 2.6k cornplating post analyzing and breaking down abelards portrait.
argenta post. | cassia post.
abelard is the picture perfect representation of stability and balance. facing the player with his chest out, displaying brilliantly shined military honours and a symbol of the imperial navy on a surprisingly un-embellished chestplate, his hands balancing both a datapad and resting on a bolt pistol presents the image of someone whoâs ready to help with dynasty matters (the data pad) or more rough and tumble issues (the bolt pistol)Â
for the chestplate, itâs technically labelled as a Carapace in game, and abelard actually starts with a unique armour, Seneschalâs Trusty Carapace. so, mmm, it all connects very neatly, in a pleasing way, no?
he does not start with bolt weapon proficiency, so that pistol is probably meant to enforce his attachment to the imperium/as a son of the imperium, by giving him a direct symbol of the imperium + warhammer 40k in general, as bolt weapons/bolters are one of the most iconic symbols of both.
the bolt pistol itself is a bit fancy, with the swirl-y fancy leaf pattern you associate with nobles/nobility. it also has some gold embellishments on the top of it, which, yeah! itâs a fancy pistol, wielded by a man of nobility, but itâs not dripping in gold or anything, much like abelard himself. thereâs also a purity seal on the pistol, which, while purity seals are slapped onto everything in warhammer (much like skulls), they are primarily used to show that a person/weapon/whatever is free of corruption or defilement.
i have briefly talked about it before in an ages old analysis, but abelard looks quite similar to Commodore Teodor Naremmus, who is indeed from the rogue trader tabletop rpg.
jacket cape, boots, hair, sword, i mean... come on.
while this could just be a cheeky reference, it can also be a hint towards abelards previous rank in the navy, which we never receive explicit confirmation of what rank it was. he only ever refers to himself as an âofficerâ (for the love of the emperor, owlcat, give me confirmation):
"I used to be an officer in the Navis Imperialis," Abelard replies proudly. "No, 'used to be' is not quite right. It was not simply a job â it was my calling, the essence of my life. I was proud to serve Lord Captain Theodora, but in my heart and mind, I am still an officer of the Imperium."
while the imperial navy origin rt in game was a commodore, this could be a cute connection between a rogue trader and abelard, if he was a commodore. for reference, this is what the navy rt portraits look like:
either way, his medals represent military experience, and while he isnât explicitly wearing the symbol of the imperial navy, which is this, for reference:
the ship wheel on his right (our left) clearly hints at something naval, regardless, and has been used before, like in the image below.
alongside the commodore reference, abelards outfit also looks similar to what lord high admirals were depicted wearing in inquis exterminatus, a warhammer artbook published in 2000.
but, that is an extremely high rank, and while i do love abelard and believe he could rise to whatever rank he wants, lord high admirals would most likely not be allowed to go running around with a rogue trader, as that is an insanely high rank, so much so that there is only five of them at any given time!
adding onto the image of stability and assurance, abelard has a big, and solid silhouette. this is not always synonymous, as marazhai and heinrix both have bigger silhouettes, but they are intentionally drawing attention to their trim figures, or their cape is in motion, which lessens the effect, respectively.Â
part of this is due to his jacket, which is resting on his shoulders like one would wear a cape, and fluffs out his silhouette a decent bit! but, heâs also equally balanced like i stated above, he is not in motion or moving, or even having parts of his outfit blown by the wind. he is stalwart, standing firm against the universe in his background, ready for whatever the rogue trader or the universe throws at him. both of his feet are even standing firm and ready, no wobbling or being off the ground, which is used for a few other âunbalancedâ characters like kibellah, heinrix, and yrliet.
while primarily abelards portrait emphasises his background as a navy officer, it also has hints to his nobility. hints is the key word here, as while abelard does benefit from his lineage, he does not often (but not never) mention or enforce that part of him, unlike more noble characters like cassia, or even marazhai. he does have moments/touches of nobility, however, which can be hinted at with the three simple-ish rings on his fingers, as well as the gold trimmings, buttons on both his outer jacket, inner jacket, his armour rivets, chainsword, bolt pistol, and his belt buckle (and the little chain, but, well.)Â
his cape being his jacket also helps affirm the whole noble, but not extremely blue blooded. sort of image, as it presents a more... grounded, or realistic approach. he can shrug on the jacket and go do what needs to be done.
in terms of the positioning of the rings, he has a pinky ring, which can, duh, mean anything, but signet rings, which are rings engraved with a family crest/symbol, and were primarily used to seal wax with said family crest/symbol, were usually worn on the pinky on the non-dominant hand, which could be a bit of emphasis on his relation to his family/how important he treats his family. while everyone in the game is ambidextrous + swords primarily being worn on the non-dominant side so that the wielder can easily do a cross-body draw would hint towards abelards right hand (which features the ring) being his dominant hand, itâs something neat to think about.
the other two rings are on his middle fingers, which donât have much, if any, cultural or symbolic meaning. abelard is also not wearing his wedding ring, which⊠is quite sad. i suppose his ending with jocasta implies that heâs moving on from his wife, but considering that his cognitive decline in commorragh results in him hallucinating a happy memory with his wife, you could also read it as him being too torn up about her passing to wear the ring anymore. either way, it isnât here. :(
an interesting possibility is that clementia, his heir and granddaughter is wearing his wedding ring. if you examine her portrait, she is wearing a ruby red ring on her own ring finger, on the left hand. however, this could also be her own wedding ring, as she does have a daughter (astartia) but i donât think she ever mentions a partner, or the werserian coat of arms ring (a signet ring, presumably) which she is described as wearing:
"Your Lordship/Ladyship/Liege.." Clementia bows her head politely. For a chancellor to a Rogue Trader, she is dressed rather simply â a parade doublet, polished boots, and a comfortable cloak. She bears a sabre in a gilded scabbard â whether for show or protection, one could not say. Only her ring with the Werserian coat of arms indicates that she is of the highest social stratum. "The governor is waiting on the periphery of the palace. Please let me know when you would like to see him."
just a mindless thought, though. no confirmation.
the gold belt buckle also features a skull with a laurel. laurels are used very frequently in greek and roman imagery, which warhammer rips from quite liberally. the most common examples of these in warhammer are Imperial Laurels, which we primarily see on space marines. which, obviously, abelard is not.
laurels, out of the context of warhammer, are often seen as a symbol of triumph, or victory, or general recognition. these can be used for both artistic or martial triumphs, by greeks and romans respectively, but there is always overlap.
the belt buckle probably is just the usual warhammer Slap Skulls On Everything, Even Tits sort of decoration, but the use of the laurel helps enforce the idea of abelard being a recognized, older officer, with significant accomplishments.
onto his face, abelard is the most visually aged character in game, as while heâs not the oldest, he certainly acts like it. wrinkles, visible scars, thinnish hair, he gives off the energy and visual appearance of an old man. his facial hair is neatly trimmed, through, and his scar along his cheek is nicely healed, and appears to be older, so he does care enough about his appearance to appear presentable. it definitely helps with solidifying his control over situations and things if he looks respectable, doesnât it?
as for the eye implant, he actually mentions it in a bark:
"This ocular implant was a worthwhile investment!"
i suppose you could say he got the ocular implant to better assist/spot things, there is also a scar on his forehead that cuts through his eye, so perhaps he lost it in combat. itâs an interesting idea, at the least.
his expression is also one of grim seriousness, but not worry, really. heâs ready and waiting, a solid rock for you to lean on when you need something. heâs not going to mince his words, really, and heâs always going to voice his opinion, and yet, itâs not negative. heâs always going to be by your side, guiding and helping the rogue trader along. there might be a bit of disapproval, as every guardian feels when their charge goes running off to do something dangerous⊠but i primarily think itâs the moustache that makes his mouth a bit more severe than average.
onto the background, we donât get a really good look at the ship in the background, but itâs pretty big. letâs assume itâs a frigate, or cruiser ship. i donât really have a ton to say about this because itâs a pretty simple association. battleship = used by the navy = in the background of the navy character. itâs just that simple.
otherwise, for the background, most characters in game have either where you meet them in their background, or their ending/primary quest location/important to their quest location. abelards is on the voidship, which also again pushes the navy/sailing imagery onto him, but also helps to solidify that his position is on the ship/with the dynasty. his place is on a voidship, serving the lord captain.
(not claiming his new ways ending where he goes back to his family isnât canon, btw)
color wise, thereâs some interesting things going on here! while overwhelming blue and purple, there is also some hints of brown/red with his cape. itâs definitely a purple-y red/brown, and in game his jacket is brown, so, ermmm. iâm going to analyze it being a reddish-brown.
in the language of colors, blue is associated with many positive things like calmness, masculinity, knowledge, but also sadness. abelard does blow up often in anger/comes across as scathing, and admits this:
Abelard seems to crack slightly under your intense stare. "The Navis Imperialis is an ancient institution with its own mandates and muster lists. On occasion, in the heat of an official briefing or an informal discussion, I violated those rules, determined to press my point. It is challenging to choose the words to accurately express my opinion on a situation or the actions of others that do not sound overly scathing or confrontational. Many in command were inclined to view my manner of speaking as... unbefitting a person of my rank."
but heâs still quite solid, and decently calm. sorta. maybe? responsible might be the more accurate term.
masculinity is accurate, abelard is very masculine, specifically in a father-ly and patriarchal way. his whole questline is about his role as both an officer, but also as the patriarch of his family. heâs also extremely respectful of younger ladies, as evidenced by his relationship with cassia, but also kibellah, and his relationship with both characters he seeks to protect and sort of watch over continue to re-inforce that father-ly energy he gives off.
knowledge, again, yes. while abelard is not as book smart as cassia, as well versed in xenos like heinrix, or experienced in tech-ministry like pasqal is, abelard is well educated in his own fields. heâs usually got something to say, or advice to give about any sort of situation, especially about matters relating to being a rogue trader, or navy related manners. abelard is the first character you meet in the tutorial for a reason, heâs one of four âtutorialâ type characters in game (abelard, heinrix, cassia, yrliet/marazhai), despite, not, you know, being extremely formally educated!
sadness is probably something you have to dig for a bit, but⊠he does miss his wife, yâknow?
Abelard narrows his eyes and levels you with a long look before saying quietly, "I used to give Janusian lilies to the girl I liked, but the species is long since extinct... Now it lives only in my memory. Ask someone else, Your Lordship/Ladyship/Liege. I am too old to remember how to charm young ladies." Frowning, the Seneschal looks away.
in terms of other associations, blue is associated with the sea, and the sky as well. both fit abelard! i mean, navy = water, duh, heâs a voidsman in the sea of souls. the word ânavyâ even comes from old french navie (âfleet of shipsâ). but the sky makes sense as well, as heâs technically not sailing the actual sea, but the stars in the sky, yeah?
in game, abelards blue is also associated with duty, and anger.
Seneschal Werserian is among the few whose colours are a pleasure to look at." Cassia's stern gaze grows a little warmer. "Whenever the Seneschal speaks, heavenly crystal clarity spreads around him. And whenever he is angered, dark-blue clouds condense over him. And in his rare moments of joy, a pure gleam of sunset pink caresses the souls of those near him. Out of your entire retinue, Lord Captain, he is the only one I would trust with my life."
i do think blue fits abelard well, then, donât you?
i go into purple as a color a bit more with cassia and jae, and to avoid repeating myself too much, purple is associated with nobility, which helps reinforce the idea of abelard having hints or touches of nobility in him, as the purple is lightly dusted over his body and armour, but very visible in the background with the universe.
copy pasting directly from a previous post about jae and cassias portraits.
but also purple. purple is a color, again, associated with royalty. originally, purple was a notoriously difficult dye to source. the most famous example of this is tyrian purple dye (ÏÎżÏÏÏÏα porphĂșra) which was secreted by several sea snails belonging to the muricidae family. it required tens of thousands of sea snails to produce, and was thus very, very, very highly sought after by nobles. to wear purple was a flex, so to say.
copy paste ends.
it is still part of his portrait, regardless, just like how his nobility is part of him no matter what. but it is not the primary color, i would say, the blueness is. the purple also draws another connection to the navy rt, as they have on purple capes.
the jacket has epaulets on it, the little bits of twisted fabric/rope/string on the shoulders. this is primarily seen in military uniforms as an indication of rank, which, again, gives abelard the imagery of being a decently well ranked officer in the military, or the hierarchy of the ship, and having a bit of authority to throw around. it is also another trait he shares (non exclusively) with the imperial navy origin rt + the astra militarium + commissar rts, which, again, all high ranking military positions with authority to throw around.
the reddish-brown coloring⊠while red is associated with anger, itâs not as intense as some reds we see on characters (heinrix) so i donât think itâs meant to particularly draw or capture the attention of the viewer, but moreso is used for the increasing/solidifying of his silhouette via being a dark, solid colour.Â
the symbol on the lower corner/edge of the inner and outer jackets look similar to an aquila, and itâs probably the lack of detail/blurriness of the image when zoomed that far in just makes it not immediately clock-able as the standard aquila. it is an aquila, heâs just a bit crunched up. it similar-ish (not really) to a design of the aquila shown off in the Warhammer 40,000 Vehicle Manual, published in 1992.
but⊠itâs probably just a bit crunched up, and is the standard aquila used in M42.
overall, abelards portrait is just... excellent. perfect, really at displaying and hinting at what type of character he is, and several details of his background. the colours, his stance, everything about it is lovely. i do so adore it, and him!
