Joachim

To the outside world, Joachim Rmy Alexandre Giroux appears as a well-to-do young man. A classical air about him, very colorful in his words and very poetic in his nature, and whose sense of smell is legendary amongst the perfuming industry. That is what the outside world would know. The hidden world of the Enlightened would know something a tad different, but still attest to Joachim's infallible and almost supernatural sense of smell.

Joachim was born into the Hermetic Order-and one destined for greatness; or so his parents, both Hermetics of some talent and renown. His mother is a doctor of Classics and History (mostly focusing on early Egyptian and Roman civilization) and his father is a talented composer of the Julliard Academy. Joachim was born into a world of both the arcane and of the disciplined. Already born with a keen intelligence that touched the genius-level, both his parents decided to home school him instead of having him attend public school--feeling that they would be better suited to challenge his already ravenous and sharp mind.

It wasn't until Joachim began taking an interest in alchemy (having found several volumes in his mother's office library) at a young age, that his parents decided to put away the regular academic text books and incorporate his home-schooling schedules to have a more metaphysical focus. While Joachim was sharp minded, there were times he found it challenging to wrap around many more convoluted principles at the age of 12.

To idle his time, Joachim worked in his private nursery, which was something his parents gave to him to continue to educate him in non-traditional ways. When they did not know they gave him his first laboratory and his first nudge towards Enlightenment. He was a becoming a budding perfumist in his laboratory of roses, lavenders and vanilla plants and herbs. At first it was light combinations, mixing flower extracts to create small vials of homemade perfume for his mother on birthdays and Christmas presents. What made these perfumes so memorable is that her son was able to capture the right amount of scent and make it memorable--like some fond happiness turned into scent. Joachim's mother believed that there was a young sorcerer in her son and at age 15, she worked with her connections in New York and soon, he was admitted into the Straussen Academy to further nurture the hedge wizard within him.

After several years of teaching and incorporating Hermetic teaching, history, lore, and practices, Joachim Awakened while working on a new alchemical formulae. His mind had always pushed pass the need for measurements and other such precisions, but attending the Straussen Academy forced him to understand the need for rote and procedures, measurements and the other sorts of things that Joachim was not use to and would need to early on.

His Practicus stage was one that caused much problems with one of the wings of the academy dormitory-having created a perfume that, when released into the air, caused everyone to feel the calming euphoria that he had created. His mentor through his early Hermetic years was a member of House Solificati-which was the House that Joachim joined. His word became Notes and alongside his Questing Avatar, defined him and his work-both magickal and mundane.

Days grew into months and months grew into years and Joachim has studied much of the Solificati history, from their grand heights of the Dark Ages to the descent of the Great Betrayal and their restoration into the Hermetic Order. Having a keen sense of smell and being a talented alchemist, has paved the high society roads of Joachim--as a renown perfumer, who had been studying both his perfuming and his magickal Arts in the Perfume Capital--Grasse, France.

While in Grasse, he was introduced to a harmful spirit, Ariella St. Just. This woman had died years and years ago, and while roaming the Shadowland streets, sensed something drawing from Joachim. Posessing a small ability to enter the realm of the Living, was enamoured by his scents and sought to keep him company. While not love, the need to be with Joachim was more of a need for companionship between poetic people. She followed him wherever he went, and while not posessing the ability to manipulate the Spirit Realm sough her presence more frustrating than intruiging. "What do the dead smell like--empty, hollow, nothing," he once said to a Dreamspeaker. He traveled back to America and she too followed.

Joachim keeps his magickal life well blended with his mortal and mundane life. He has worked for several cosmetic corporations as their Nose--mixing scents that will sell millions. He strives to find a way to truly emulate the ideals of the Solificati and Hermetic Order.