Jean Henri Bernadotte, on a night of fancy, laid with a high class prostitute, and the end result was Pip. The mother died giving birth, and the Madame thrust the newborn upon the father. His wife Marie Anne, who had finally gotten pregnant herself, refused to take the child in. So he was finally passed onto his grandparents, Jean and Marie.

While his half-brother, Jean-Baptiste, made his name through the military ranks, Pip was kept away from the army, lest the dreadful family secret be found out. However, his grandfather decided to teach him all he knew, having been a brigader in his prime. He also told him stories of battles, and of the young Irishmen who came to help during the Nine Years' War,. Known as the Wild Geese, some of them still stayed in France as the Irish Brigade, and he would listen to their own stories with rapture. The captain in particular was very kind, and taught him how to play a the guitar.

When he came of age, Pip forced himself into their ranks, soon becoming an unofficial lieutenant. But by the time he turned 22, the French Revolution was being whispered on the wind, and the Irish Brigade was intergrated into the French Army, losing their distinctive status. The transition was not smooth, and during one of several scuffles, the old captian was killed, and Pip lost his left eye. And with the execution of Louis XVI, it was the last straw. Pip decided to abandon the army, and those who were loyal to the old captain and old King eagerly followed him to fight with the resistnace against the government during the Reign of Terror.

The last few weeks however had been quiet, which in itself was almost disturbing. Pip had been relaxing in a tavern by himself when a cloaked figure approached him. Without a word, the stranger had handed him an envelope, then quickly retreated back out onto the streets. Suspicious, he carefully opened the package, only to find another envelope within. Inside that was the invitation to Albergio Chiaro. Puzzled, he looked at the seal on the first enveloped... and stared. It was the crest of the Bernadotte family - the royal seal.
 
Whatever they were trying to do, it was not going to make him change his mind, switch sides, or whatever the hell they wanted him to do... That wasn't to say he wasn't going to exploit this opportunity they had presented to him.