[COLOR=#add8e6][B]Appearance:[/B][/COLOR] [hider=appearance][IMG]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/5c/3a/ce/5c3aceff2142026f41dcace98fa51b0a.jpg[/IMG][img]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/f1/f9/07/f1f9070bac8819f58839afa334a07829.jpg[/img][/hider] Vallen is tall with dark hair, a short neat beard, a well trained smile and piercing green eyes. He has the firm lean form of an acrobat and the sharp mind and tongue of a haggler. Standing in at 6'2", Vallen is quite tall. Once used to a lavish life his skin is soft and clothes clean and proper, if not a little eccentric and elegant. [COLOR=#add8e6][B]Name:[/B][/COLOR] Vallen Coridarr [B][COLOR=#add8e6]Age:[/COLOR][/B] 17 [B][COLOR=#add8e6]Personality:[/COLOR][/B] Vallen enjoys the simple pleasantries of life. He has strong social skills but hides his true self behind a figurative mask and therefore never truly gets close to anybody. He prefers to be independent and won't allow himself to rely or depend on anyone or thing. Despite his casual carefree demeanour he can be quite stubborn at times. He is passionate about only a few things, but will fight fearlessly to the end for such rare things. He dislikes to see others upset, he holds onto feelings of responsibility for those younger or more misfortunate then himself. A trait grown from being a relied upon sibling. Otherwise has grown to care little of others opinions, unless he needs it to earn favour. Number one priority is himself. [B][COLOR=#add8e6]Backstory:[/COLOR][/B] [hider=long story]To truly know and understand Vallen's story one must first know of his fathers. Lief Coridarr, Born a simple peasant to humble yet struggling parents his childhood was a constant endurement of unfair and unjust conditions. Unhappy with the life he was dealt he forged a new one. Although fate threw everything within its power to oppose him Lief found his calling. From the dirt he rose, forging his new path from behind the forge, creating unrivalled masterworks from the rarest materials the earth could offer. Although there were many who opposed him and wished to tear him down, Lief eventually rose to the ranks of a Royal Smith. His weapons an jewellery beyond mere mundane craftsmanship. Or so these are the tales Vallen was told. It is not the man Vallen remembers. Somewhere amongst the highest of heights when his father was overwhelmed by his reputation and glory he fell prey to the devils playthings. Drinking, Gambling, Whores, Drugs. His addictions crippled his time, then his mind, then his body and lastly his fortune. In a small time he destroyed everything he had built for himself. With shaky hands and an inability to focus or concentrate there was no going back for him. Everyone slowly shun the man as he slipped back to the gravel he once came from. His once favoured women dumping his children on him as his fortune dwindled. Vallen was one of those children, one of seven. Stuck somewhere in the middle. A burden, unwanted, rejected, inconvenient. He learnt to fend for himself on the streets, hide from others and his father and how to overplay a beating to end it sooner. Little did he know these were the base skills that would see him through life, had it not been for the development of his magic. By the time he understood his limited ability and could use it to help provide for his siblings he had already lost four of them. The eldest ran away, two died and one sister just vanished. Things got better for a little while, Vallen's magic helped him hide, distract others and came in useful in all sorts of ways. Young and naive he didn't take the precautions to hide his gift that hindsight now teaches. A traveling trope of entertainers and jongleurs passed his town, curious and inquisitive Vallen was caught stealing from them. They gave Vallen with some mixed news. Vallen would never see his family again, his father could not pay (or would not pay) for Vallen's crimes so instead the troupe paid a handsome fee and bought young Vallen. Paying enough money so his family would be alright for quite some time. How was Vallen to know they were lying, he was not overly gullible but how he wanted it to be true, free from the burden of his abusive father and reliant siblings and swept into a world of excitement and travel. But truthfully he was kidnaped, taken for his magic, trying to work off an imaginary debt, only a few ever knowing or questioning the truth. Vallen was put to hard work, but from where he came he did not mind it. His abilities grew at their demand. He aided stage shows, adding glitz and glam, replacing expensive alchemical ingredients. After he scrub the floors hard and tended the performers every whim. Not all of them were bad, Vallen learnt many skills. Juggling, knife throwing, music, dance, acrobatics and acting. He also learnt of love and betrayal, first through story and then experience. To cut a long story short, one night after a string of failing shows, when frustrations and tempers were high and the cheap watery wine of a dingy tavern flowed freely, truths were exposed. It's safe to say Vallen left them that night never to return, taking with him only three parting gifts. The clothes on his back, a broken heart and the one friend he could trust Iju. It had been years since Vallen was surrounded by the familiar sights of his home town, but shortly after his escape there he stood. Things were the same but different, as to was he. He walked the streets and looked at things through new eyes. There was a smile glued to his face as he filleted through the good memories and the bad. Until something vastly different interrupted his journey. His home was no more, a simple pile or rubble and ash with a few crumbled walls and a collapsed roof. Vallen never planed to return, but he always thought he could. Seeing it like this hurt. Guilt and sorrow wrenched around his stomach from deep within, his lungs failed him as tears filled his eyes. He spent that long cold lonely night in that rubble. Crying, pointlessly sorting through ash, clearing what he imagined was once his sleeping quarters, digging in the spots his father used to rest. Luckily he found no bones, he saw that as a good sign, even more luckily was his findings of his fathers greatest treasure. Despite the mans greatest flaws and many lows he held on to a treasure of great wealth. It's only value to him was sentimental purposes, perhaps the last link to who he used to be. In it held his signet ring, all his old titles and letters from dukes and duchesses. There were even some other notes from anonymous lady's speaking of such vulgar sexual things Vallen couldn't even imagine it coming from the sleaziest of the troupes drunken soirée's. He understood why they remained anonymous. It was about to create a lack of sympathy for his missing father until he stumbled upon the daggers. Four masterworks of art, two of decreasing craftsmanship and lastly three clumps of ore. Beneath them was a note, it held the names of all Vallen's brothers and sisters along with their individual mothers. There were four women, that made Vallen feel strange. He had known they were not all from the same mother but never really considered it until now. Then it made him sad as he longed for his siblings he hadn't seen in so long. He understood the purpose of these knives. They were crafted for each child, in a time where he still had skill and fame. The materials hard to come by, must have been skimmed from larger orders. Presumably once intended to be gifts when they reached adult hood, this was Lief's legacy that he wanted to hand to his children as they became adults. There should be seven splendid daggers not four. It only made Vallen cry harder. He held the box tight that night and has kept all it's contents close ever since, even the poor daggers and small clumps of rare ore. [/hider] [COLOR=#add8e6][B]Skills and Abilities:[/B][/COLOR][list] [*][COLOR=#add8e6][B]Professional illusionist- [/B][/COLOR] As an entertainer his magic was directed towards entertaining, dazzling and misdirecting. There are skills he learnt from a time prior and skills inherited from his father (imbuing) that he has began relearning. [*][COLOR=#add8e6][B]Journeyman theif- [/B][/COLOR] the skills he relied upon as a child have once again become important, while a little rusty he has new experiences that aid in the art of stealth, pick pocketing and sleight of hand. [*][COLOR=#add8e6][B]Journeyman small blades- [/B][/COLOR] throwing knives especially. It was an encouraged hobby and past-time, a fun game and method of self entertainment. [*][COLOR=#add8e6][B]Novice Alchemist- [/B][/COLOR]The groups alchemist was a wise old man who was kind to Vallen. Vallen took his lessons as a way to hide from other chores, and learnt some things along the way. [*][COLOR=#add8e6][B]Novice dancer- [/B][/COLOR]There were many festivities during Vallen's travelling life, even if he spent most his time working while others partied, he was still drawn in enough to learn the basics of a few dances. [*][COLOR=#add8e6][B]Journeyman acrobat - [/B][/COLOR] While not as enjoyable as his knife games, acrobatics was a must. Vallen was not to travel around crowds normally but do so with cartwheels and summersaults. Also on various occasions when the stage did not permit a hiding location, he was expected to perform his magic from less then ideal or safe hiding positions. [*][COLOR=#add8e6][B] Journeyman lute playing - [/B][/COLOR] Taught by one of the few true friends he had so he could impress the girl who would later destroy his heart. [/list] [B][COLOR=#add8e6]Equipment:[/COLOR][/B] [list] [*][COLOR=#add8e6]Performers Lute, Worn.[/COLOR] - An old lute that Vallen managed to trade for. He worked and bartered desperately to gain it even though playing only brings back memories that lead to heart ache. [*][COLOR=#add8e6] Lief's masterwork Throwing daggers.[/COLOR] - These 6 daggers are of unrivalled quality. Reaching the extremes of mundane creation. Hilt-less it has a heavy black Adamantium core. The pink sheen of Orichalcum lines the razor sharp blades while bands of Mithral run around the handle and stretch down the flat of the blade like a silver serpent. Their balance is perfect and they look amazing when admired but even more spectacular when thrown. [*][COLOR=#add8e6]Regular old throwing knives.[/COLOR] - Picked up cheaply, will do the job. [*][COLOR=#add8e6]Entertainers concealed leather knife holster.[/COLOR] - Part of a knife throwers charm and display was the unexpected way he could pull a knife from seemingly no where. Vallen was familiar with the tricks and methods of concealing the versatile blades and has adopted it into his own leather holsters. [*][COLOR=#add8e6]Iju, Pet ferret.[/COLOR] - Vallen's stolen pet ferret. (Best and only friend) [list][*]Backpack contents: A waterskin of wine, a small pouch with money, a tinderbox, a hunting knife, a few days worth of dry provisions, a warm blanket [/list][/list]