Reville Valmont

Reville Valmont
Title	Emperor of Orlais
Race	Human
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Orlais House Valmont
Family	Emperor Etienne I (father) Marquise Yvette (mother) Grand Duke Gratien (twin brother) Emperor Etienne II (son) Emperor Judicael I (son) Princess Leontine (daughter) Emperor Judicael II (grandson) Emperor Florian (grandson) Grand Duchess Melisande (granddaughter) Grand Duke Reynaud (grandson)
Appearances	Historical Dragon Age: The Masked Empire (mentioned) Dragon Age: Inquisition (mentioned)

Reville Valmont, also known as the "Mad Emperor" or "Reville the Mad", (born 7:99 Storm) was the Emperor of Orlais from 8:21 Blessed until his death in 8:51. He was a member of House Valmont.

Background

Reville was born in 7:99 Storm, only one hour before his twin brother Grand Duke Gratien. He ascended to the throne in 8:21 Blessed. In 8:24 he ordered the second invasion of Ferelden, which was completed in 8:44 with the fall of Denerim and ultimately saw the nation occupied for 58 years, until it broke free during the reign of Emperor Florian.

Due to his wildly successful invasion of Ferelden, Emperor Reville was initially celebrated as a military genius in Orlais. However, as his brother had predicted, Nevarra took advantage of the fact that most of the Orlesian army was still committed to a war in Ferelden to declare war on Orlais in 8:46 Blessed. The Pentaghasts had been biding their time since 7:97 Storm, when Emperor Etienne I, still childless, had set aside his wife, Princess Sotiria Pentaghast, and sent her to a cloister so that he might marry his mistress.

The Orlesian chevaliers met spectacular defeat against the Nevarrans, and though they managed to drive the Nevarrans out of Ghislain and Arlesans, Perendale was lost and never recovered. Reville went from reveling in the approval of his court to being the butt of jokes and the target of whispers. He was surrounded by courtiers who said his brother was behind this criticism, and there was open talk of placing Gratien on the throne. By all historical accounts Grand Duke Gratien only had his brother's best interests at heart, and was vastly relieved not to be burdened with the throne.

After the death of Marquise Yvette, Reville's mother and a calming influence, Reville snapped and ordered the assassination of Gratien and his entire family at their estate of Sablissent on the Feast of Ascension. Gratien, his wife, their three grown children and eight grandchildren - the youngest, Camille, being only eight months old - were all murdered and thrown into a mass grave, their bodies burned. There are rumors that one of Gratien's grandchildren, eleven-year-old Verene, escaped the massacre.

Reville became increasingly paranoid, fearing retribution for the assassination. His health began to decline, but he refused to allow physicians of any kind into the palace. He was said to douse himself in self-made tonics, and famously wore armor everywhere but the bedchamber. By 8:50 Blessed, Reville refused to leave his rooms at all. Only a single cook was allowed to prepare his food, and only under the supervision of ten chevaliers. He no longer ate anything but venison, and his health kept on declining. When he died in 8:51, his sons entered his rooms to find that he had boarded up the windows and surrounded his bed with rows upon rows of daggers.

Codex entries

Codex entry: Council of Heralds

Codex entry: Mad Emperor Reville

Codex entry: Miroir de la Mère, Reville's Folly

Codex entry: The Mystery and Meaning of Eight Silks

Codex entry: Superstitions of the Royal Family

Note texts

The Summer Home of Messere Glubs

The Valmont Emperors (Reville)

The Waiting Alcove

Notes

• Reville is mistakenly referred to as Remille in Dragon Age: The Masked Empire. Remille was the Orlesian First Enchanter of Kinloch Hold in Dragon Age: The Calling.

Trivia

• There is an Orlesian children's rhyme that references Reville's life: "In a ring of silver, who shall stay? One little child gets away." The ring of silver is the ring of daggers Reville placed around his bed to ward against threats, Verene is the little child who gets away.
• As children, Gratien and Reville were gifted an aquatic pet of unknown nature by the ambassador to Rivain, which they dubbed Messere Glubs. He was released to the sea after taking the hand of a page.
• During his reign, Mad Emperor Reville had restricted the theater to wordless pantomimes for fear plays were being used to foment rebellion.
• Bernard Huileux, chef to Emperor Reville, was known for his eccentricity regarding food preparation. For the Emperor's thirtieth birthday, he conceived a dish that he called "nesting roast"; it contained three birds: a quail, stuffed in a pheasant, stuffed in a swan. Reville apparently loved it. However, chef Huileux thought the dish was "too reasonable". For the Emperor's thirty-first birthday, he created a modified version of the dish that he dubbed his "gift of flesh": a whole wyvern, stuffed with a gurn, stuffed with a horse, stuffed with a halla, stuffed with a swan, stuffed with a duck, stuffed with a quail, stuffed with a bunting that choked on a gold piece that the chef had forced down its throat. Some guests refused to taste it.