Gilles De Rais' Alchemy Ash Eater

Gilles De Rais was born sometime in September of 1405 under the name Gilles deMontmorency-Laval in a time when loving your children wasn't exactly the epitome of business.  In fact having them was more or less a means of population growth and having a successor to your throne-- that is, if you had a throne.  He was reared by his maternal grandfather before leaving to "join the army."  He eventually became a leader in the French army, becoming a knight and lord of Brittany.  He was a companion-in-arms of Joan of Arc and he gained the favor of the Duke of Brittany and was admitted in the French Court.  From the year 1427 to 1435, Gilles served as a commander of the Royal Army and fought alongside Joan of Arcagainst the English and their Burgundian allies in the Hundred Years War.  He was eventually appointed the Marshal of France.  In 1435 he retired himself from the military life.  He went on to completely deplete his wealth.  He did this in staging an extravagant theatrical spectacle