[HIDER=Bloodline Thangs][B]Name of Bloodline:[/B] The Delacour Bloodline
[B]Region:[/B] North America
[B]Crest:[/B]
 
[B]Industrial Focus:[/B] Fashion and textiles.
 
[B]History:[/B] The Delacour family traces its roots back to the old French aristocracy. A minor noble house, the Delacours had little interest in national politics and focused on more insular goals, particularly alchemy, which they practiced in secret away from the prying eyes of the public who might decry their powers as witchcraft. The Delacours have alchemy in their blood, or so it was said, as a powerful alchemist married into their bloodline and taught their descendants in its use, cementing the Delacours as a family with particular alchemical talent for generations to come. They were known as an unusual sort, generally disliked by the other noble families for their unusual hobbies and interest in the unnatural, but rarely hated except by the most God-fearing who suspected their quirks for something more. Despite this, alchemy was not exceptionally well practiced in the family. They knew only what they had taught themselves and so their knowledge of alchemy was shallow, and warnings of a mysterious organisation that hunted alchemists kept them from truly embracing alchemy, although there were usually at least two or three practicing alchemists in the family at any given time.

It wasn’t until 1733 that their alchemical knowledge and skill flourished. The details are scarcely known by any individuals other than the Patriarchs, but the Delacours, previously unaware of such a burgeoning underground community of other alchemists, was introduced to numerous families of alchemists, and even the organisation that they had previously supposed to have feared; A.M.R.O.. As the family grew more and more engrossed in the art of alchemy, even drawing in other alchemists not of their flesh and blood to join them and share in studies, they became less and less concerned with the affairs of the state. The Delacours became closely allied with A.M.R.O. unlike many bloodlines that showed resentment towards them, a loyalty to the organisation that seemed almost suspect. It earned them few friends amongst the bloodlines but established them as a powerful, stable family none the less. Becoming an A.M.R.O. Asylum was seen not as a punishment but as an honour, and many members of the Delacour bloodline have volunteered to become Asylums, only strengthening their relationship to A.M.R.O. and drawing them even further away from the politics of their homeland and leaving them more concerned with the alchemical community.

This finally culminated in the last few decades of the eighteenth century, briefly before the French revolution. Sensing the tension rising in Europe that would later culminate in the French Revolution the Delacour family left, renouncing their nobility and starting a new life in the flourishing city of New York in the recently formed United States. The Delacours expanded their endeavours into trading, using what contacts they had through Europe and with the bloodlines to import luxury goods into the United States, primarily silks and other textiles. Their tiny business would explode before they knew it, expanding into other luxury goods and, more importantly, fashion, which would dictate the Delacour’s economic focus for over a century and a half onwards.

Parts of the bloodline would spread outwards into the rest of North America, such as the west coast and Canada, but the heart of the Delacour bloodline has been based in New York ever since. They remain a modest family among the bloodlines, neither the strongest nor the frailest, although show surprising cunning when needed. They are known for their love of culture and history, and sometimes for preferring style over practicality. Among the bloodlines they are known for producing fine Asylums who embrace their roles as peacekeepers fully, even if their surprising faith in A.M.R.O. is somewhat questionable.
 
[B]Key Members:[/B]

[I]Edmund Mortimer Delacour[/I]: Patriarch of the Delacour bloodline, Edmund is a dour and stern individual, a great contrast to most of his bloodline. He cares deeply for his family and his bloodline although rarely shows it, instead keeping a formal, business-minded attitude that makes him seem cold and distant. Edmund is wise, if perhaps sometimes too harsh, and has managed to keep the bloodline stable under his guidance for nearly half a century. However, illness has left the man bedridden for years, and he is exceedingly aware of how limited his time is. While manageable it is incurable, and most day to day management of the Delacour bloodline has been left to his wife and son, and Edmund himself is rarely seen in public outside of the most important gatherings of the bloodlines.

[I]Alistair Florence Delacour Sr[/I]: The son of the Delacour’s patriarch, Alistair has taken most of the weight of running the bloodline in his father’s stead. Alistair could not be more different than his father; bright, cheerful, and eccentric, the man is rarely seen without a smile on his face. Despite his whimsical nature he approaches the affairs of the bloodline with the same seriousness that any patriarch should, and is primarily concerned with organising the businesses that provide the Delacours with their wealth.

[I]Delilah Lillian Delacour[/I]: Wife of Edmund, Delilah is the warmer and more comforting of the two, and despite their perceived differences they love each other deeply. Along with her son Alistair she is left in charge of most of the Bloodline, focusing on diplomacy and teamwork with the other bloodlines, and despite being in her early seventies she is still a remarkably spritely and refined woman.

[B]Related Members:[/B]
[I]Cassandra Ophelia Delacour[/I]: Prodigy of the Delacour bloodline, Cassandra dedicated herself to becoming an A.M.R.O. Asylum from a young age, and despite no longer being an official member of the bloodline, they are still proud of the surprising progress she has made in the organisation despite her young age. In her childhood she was a close friend of Alistair Jr despite their age difference, and treated each other more as siblings than cousins. She, along with her partner Asylum Margo, are usually first on call whenever there is cooperation between the Delacours and AMRO.

[I]Alistair Julius Delacour Jr[/I]: Needs no introduction.[/HIDER]