Argent and Cendre
Argent and Cendre
Also known respectively as Kuchen (Cake) and Gauner (Rascal). They have been reincarnated, as their spirits came to Valkaenar near Nibelheimhof in Midgard, then were collected and carried by him in the Dreamstate, where he then channeled them through Elara to be made flesh again with her life magic. They were her first intentional non-ceremonial creations, and retain their memories from their previous lives.
Argent / Kuchen
Name Meaning: Argent is “Silver,” in French, and Kuchen is "Cake" in German.
Appearance:
Argent is a massive, thick-coated wolf with pale silver-gray fur and white markings at the chest and muzzle. His eyes are glacial blue. When standing on all fours, he reaches the height of a man’s chest. His stance is always alert, almost sentinel-like.
Temperament:
He embodies Lucien’s discipline — quiet, steady, and rarely vocal unless danger is close. His growl carries a low, metallic scrape, like steel drawn across stone. To strangers he is fearsome; to Valkaénnar, he is unquestioning loyalty. Argent positions himself between his lord and threats without being commanded. He also is keen to steal food.
Role:
Argent represents the sword: the forward drive, the killing edge. In battle he moves like a silver phantom, brutal and efficient. Tales speak of a gleaming wolf tearing through armored lines beside Graf Nibelheim. His presence is an extension of Klaus’s intent, a living shadow of the blade.
Cendre / Gauner
Name Meaning: Cendre is“Ash” in French, Gauner is "Rascal" in German.
Appearance:
Cendre is leaner and swifter than Argent, with charcoal-dark fur streaked with pale gray, as though brushed with soot. Her eyes burn amber and catch every flicker of light.
Temperament:
Where Argent is stillness, Cendre is motion. She is quick to bark, yip, and circle prey as if taunting them. Her intelligence is razor-sharp; she senses danger early and often. She echoes Valkaenar’s darker instincts — the cunning edge, the unpredictable strike. She enjoys play and garnering attention by causing trouble.
Role:
Cendre represents the flame: the spark that disrupts and misleads. She harasses enemies, pushes them toward Argent’s jaws or Klaus’s sword, and turns the battlefield into a trap of her own making. In quiet moments, she stays closest to him, offering steadying warmth to a man who rarely allows himself to feel it.
Origins and Bond
Argent and Cendre were fae-born wolves native to the mountains and forests around Castle Brookhaven. In the Winter Court, legends described them as ancient spirits in wolf-shape: guardians of ridges, caves, and rivers whose lineage stretched back beyond Mab’s rise. They lived freely and had never allowed a fae lord to command them.
Valkaenar did not subdue them. He earned them.
After Charlemagne’s passing — a human and an animal Valkaenar had respected deeply — he wandered the frozen valleys near Brookhaven in grief. He encountered Argent and Cendre hunting together. Rather than threaten or flee, he simply followed them. For days he kept pace across snow and stone. Hunger and cold pushed him to the edge, but he endured.
When a Winter Court hunting party trespassed on the wolves’ territory and tried to drive them into snares, Valkaénnar acted. He fought the hunters blade-to-blade, shoulder-to-shoulder with the wolves as if they were already his pack. Argent tore through throats, Cendre outmaneuvered the hunters, and Valkaenar cut down the rest.
When the snow settled, all three stood together — bloodied, breathing, and unbroken. From that moment, the wolves followed him home. They were not domesticated; they chose him.
Why They Stayed
- Argent recognized in Valkaenar the same unyielding strength he himself carried.
- Cendre saw the quiet fire beneath his exterior — hunger, fury, control, and destruction held in tension.
- Together, they found not a master but kin.
To Valkaenar, who thought of his retainers as a makeshift family, Argent and Cendre became something different: siblings rather than servants, companions without politics, and guardians who never betrayed him with words or ambition.
Like Rynzel, Dren, and Thayne, Argent and Cendre needed to change their appearances once in awhile as to not draw suspicion.
As Lucien he allowed them at his side when he was at rest, usually only while he was at the Château de Brumenoir, where he kept a small pack. Though he did not include them directly in the Eternal Marquis’s legend, he did bring them to court when he wished to make an impression — and their presence certainly did that. It was widely known he kept wolves; few guessed these two shared his longevity.
As Klaus in Tyrol, he kept them with him almost everywhere except church. Many wolves lived on his lands, answering to him instinctively. To have two at his heels was proof enough of that bond.
Their Passing
Argent and Cendre lived nearly three thousand years. When Argent’s heart failed, his final howl echoed through the mountains around Brookhaven. Cendre, refusing to be parted from her brother, followed within a season.
Valkaenar buried them himself in the high passes where he first met them — a place of mist, deep snow, and ancient silence. No servant was allowed to touch the graves. That ground remained sacred to him, woven into Brookhaven’s story as tightly as stone and frost.
He never replaced them. When they found him again, he was overjoyed. The cycle began anew.
