[hider=House Balaerys of Volantis] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/yU1OEoj.jpg[/img][/center] [center][h2][color=1b5468][b]H O U S E B A L A E R Y S[/b][/color][/h2][/center] [right][sub][i]Though House Balaerys follows the ancient Valyrian nobility in not having official heraldry, it is widely known that when necessary they use the image of Verrax and the words of their lady dragonriger who landed in Volantis after the Doom when asked how they survived.[/i][/sub][/right] [color=gray]House Balaerys was fortunate. Unlike House Targaryen, fellow nobility of the Freehold of Valyria, House Balaerys did not move away following the dreams of a dreamer. Instead, they survived the Doom simply because the grand sire and mother of the current generation of House Balaerys simply happened to be traveling on the dragon Terrax over the coast of Sothoryos at the time. They heard a sound that sounded like the world breaking and saw the ground tremble and seas frenzy. Though they attempted to guide Terrax back to the Freehold, the dragon would have none of it—he flew around where the Lands of Forever Summer had been, and landed in Volantis. The sights and sounds the couple saw from the back of Terrax during the trip removed any doubts in their hearts and minds that there would never be any going back to Valyria. When they arrived at Volantis, after seeing the couple safely to the ground, without warning, the dragon Terrax sounded his anguish and pain before launching into the sky, riderless. House Balaerys largely believes this was Terrax being lost in grief for the loss he understood on a level they simply did not, could not, until reports of what remained of Valyria began to slowly trickle into Volantis as the result of voyage after voyage of the Volantene either not coming back, or coming back and almost immediately dying of mysterious illness and wounds. So chaotic was Volantis after the Doom that House Balaerys removed itself from the city, stealing away to a remote, fortified, manse manned by household guards and slaves named Casmus Valelyx by dragonlords long before House Balaerys moved in. In time they released the slaves from bondage, though some would stay behind as free men and women and allowed the guards to share the residence as fellow Valyrian survivors instead of simply servants. Most of these men would perish in defense of the compound when it was attacked by a small, elite, force sent by wealthy Lyseni and Myrish merchants, believing House Balerys actively behind Volantene aggression in the chaos after the Doom. Those that survived, including the members of House Balaerys, survived only due to the timely return of the dragon Terrax. Terrax was home, and had grown even larger than before, returning to his old riders. Slowly, over a generation, House Balaerys would begin to reintegrate with Volantis. Though they largely married the sons and daughters of the original Valyrian house guard that survived the defense of Casmus Valelyx. Though the property is still a well defended property largely hidden in a shallow canyon holding an oasis, the current generation of House Balaerys primarily resides in Volantis. The death of the current generation’s parents still holds mystery in it, yet Volantis nobility has largely settled into the belief that their deaths were a tragic accident of higher mysteries gone wrong. Though very few of the original House guard descendants remain, politics have began necessitating House Balaerys begin at least entertaining the idea of marrying with other Valyrian pure blood nobility of Volantis. The current leader of their House is the eldest of four children, Vhandyr, a renowned warrior and poet. His heir is the second eldest of the current generation, Vaera, the two younger siblings, a girl and boy, not yet having reached adulthood and heavily taught and trained by a small army of priests, artisans, archivists, and more, secure in their Volantis home. [indent][color=1b5468][b]HOUSE BALAERYS[/b][/color][/indent] [indent][indent][color=darkgray]Dragonlord Vhandyr Balaerys[/color], [color=silver][sub]Head of House Balaerys, Elected Ruler of Volantis, rider of Terrax[/sub][/color][/indent][/indent] [indent][indent][indent][color=darkgray]Dragonlord Vaera Balaerys[/color], [color=silver][sub]his eldest sibling and heir, rider of Saeryx[/sub][/color][/indent][/indent][/indent] [indent][indent][indent][color=darkgray]Rhaxes[/color], [color=silver][sub]boy of two and ten, called the Elder[/sub][/color][/indent][/indent][/indent] [indent][indent][indent][color=darkgray]Aenara[/color], [color=silver][sub]girl of ten, called the Unseen[/sub][/color][/indent][/indent][/indent] [/color] [hider=Vhandyr] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/t3Xjwzr.jpg[/img][/center] [center][color=silver] [color=1b5468][b]⫷[/b][/color] [b]Six and Twenty Years Old[/b] ◾ [b]Rider of Terrax[/b] [b]◾[/b] [b]Elected Ruler of Volantis[/b] [color=1b5468][b]⫸[/b][/color][/color][/center] [color=gray] Vhandyr of Houes Balaerys was once often seen in Volantis. Dragonrider of the famed Terrax, Vhandyr was a quiet and shy child that grew into a quiet and determined, dutiful, young man known for Cyvasse and martial prowess. A large child became an immense man, widely known as a breathtakingly handsome man. Those that know him best say he is as gentle and bookish, known to be more impressive with his wit to those he is comfortable with. Though many thought of him as shy, there is never a known instance where Vhandyr the boy shrank from a moment, or held his tongue when something needed to be said. There was, to any with eyes, a noticeable difference in Vhandyr after the loss of his parents. His connection with Terrax was immediate after the death of his parents, and it those who care to observe such things closely say the bond between Terrax and Vhandyr is deeper than nearly any rider of the dragon since the Doom, their shared grief of those lost a powerful connection between them. In his adulthood he has became as well known for his voice and skill with lute and harp than he is his skill in cyvasse or fighting. Unlike his sister, Vaera, Vhandyr preferred teaching himself at Casmus Valelyx, alone with no one but the children of the original House guard as company. And even they would tell you there would be weeks and months that Vhandyr would simply climb atop Terrax, and the pair would disappear off the face of creation. In his adulthood he has taken a more active role in leading the city of Volantis. Though there is a natural inclination for many of the Valyrian nobility to follow such a strong, striking, figure with a renowned dragon, there are quite a few who bristle under the idea of a single leader of the city. Yet that has not stopped the nobility from electing Vhandyr leader twice before. The third election seemed to be more of a debate, until the appearance of Prince Maegor of House Targaryen with Balerion the Black Dread. The idea that the two remaining dragonlords of pre-Doom dragons would unite was enough to make the third election of the Volantene nobility the most lopsided yet. Interestingly, second place in the vote was Lady Vaela, his sister. There is a distance and melancholy still to Vhandyr, and his long absence from the city fighting alongside Maegor would been more of a problem…had the pair not spent their time devastating Dothraki hoards. Few things please the Volantis nobility like dead Dothraki. It is enough of a boon in opinion to make news of Vhandyr planning a tour of Westeros at Maegor’s invitation pass with little in the way of dissent. Some believe Vhandyr a dreamer in the old Valyrian ways, and are glad to see him depart to Westeros.[/color] [/hider] [hider=Vaera] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/XnOEDeJ.jpg[/img][/center] [center][color=silver] [color=1b5468][b]⫷[/b][/color] [b]Four and Twenty Years Old[/b] ◾ [b]Rider of Saeryx[/b] [b]◾[/b] [b]Heir to House Balaerys[/b] [color=1b5468][b]⫸[/b][/color][/color][/center] [color=gray] Vaera of House Balaerys is often times viewed as the opposite of her older brother; outgoing where he is inward, charming where he is shy, and more prone to instinct and action than he. Whereas Vhandyr’s youth was filled with dutiful learning and service, Vaera would wander on the back of her young dragon for days, at times weeks. When pressed by tutors on her lack of discipline, Vaera would often simply response that she was born to fly. Indeed, before she was even a full grown woman she had seen more of Essos than most of those living in Volantis. She would be the first to admit, however, that it certainly helped having a dragon to grow up with. Not even the death of her parents changed her, much, at least on the surface. Those close to the family say it is perhaps Vaera that was even more affected than her older brother, Vhandyr; it just took longer for the shockwaves of what she felt deep inside to break upon the surface of her character. Years later Vaera would declare she was to learn what there was to learn, throwing herself into learning of every stripe and standard from one end of Essos to the other, traveling fast and free on the back of Saeryx, but doing it with a newfound purpose of learning. Be it from the artisans of Myr, to the merchants of Pentos, to the bankers of Lys, to the smiths of Qohor, and the warlocks of Qarth. Even from the sailors of Braavos (though the Sealord refused her entry on Saeryx). She has a long history of fighting pirates along the shores of Essos, Dothraki in the plains of the continent, and sellswords in the Disputed Lands. Not only does she claim to have seen more of Sothoryos than any other living soul in creation, she has sketched enough maps to back the claim up. As easy to smile and laugh as Vaera is, it is little wonder that she has made a great impression among the nobility of nearly every Free City she has visited, not the least of which includes her home city-state of Volantis. Though she is often a favorite of the war-minded party of Volantis, it seems easy enough for even those inbetween the two parties to find something to like in Vaera Balaerys. And unlike her brother, Vaera is well known to the nobility of Volantis. She is often hosted at numerous feasts and functions, and is known to be a true child of the fires of the Freehold; she has the glow and charm of fire, and the fury and anger of a dragon. Vaera is even known to have something of a history of lovers, the complete opposite of her older brother, though it’s hard to say whether Vaera favors men or women. Like her brother, she is dedicated to the upbringing of her younger siblings, though both seem keen on the idea that she join Vhandyr in a tour of Westeros, one of the few places Vaera has not seen extensively. She is quite fond of tales of the Vale, and the North, and Beyond the Wall, to say nothing of a strong desire to see the Lonely Light, to the point where she has sent letters to Houses Arryn, Stark, the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, Targaryen, Hightower, and Farwynd announcing her intent to visit with Saeryx. A fair warning given should a mysterious dragon appear over their skies, as, in her experience, a forewarning is usually best… [/color] [/hider] [/hider]