WE I L A N D
Name: Weiland Voss
Age: Appears to be in his early 30's, though is around 46 years of age in actuality.
Race: Branded (Raven Blood)
Gender: Male
Affiliated Nation: Begnion Empire
Class: Wyvern Rider
Inventory: + Iron Blade
+
Altena - The Wyvern that Weiland has bonded with, on a level that has, mockingly, been noted to almost surpass his loyalty to kin and country. Once having served as the mount of a bandit rider, and rather unpleasantly as well, Weiland spared her life after having unmounted the rider and cut him down. Altena followed him after that point, despite being technically free to return to the wild, and before long Weiland had acclimated to using his swordsmanship from the back of a Wyvern, and her ferocity and terror inducing potential when bearing down on unprepared ranks went well with the Blades that her rider prefers to use over more reasonably sized swords.
+ x2 Vulnerary
Personality: Weiland follows in a long line of family, in terms of sheer bloody minded
determination. Voss' have routinely been noted for being willing to dig their heels in, figuratively speaking and sometimes literally, and push forward in whatever task has gotten itself embedded into, in this case, his head. While some argue this is merely being stubborn and beligerant, Weiland understands that sometimes he needs to yield, short term, for a long term goal but will still see something out to its end, no matter what. This makes him quite the free lancer since, once he accepts coin, he will be damn certain to see things through once he decides for certain on his path.
If facing down an enslaved wyvern and its pissed off bandit rider on foot wasn't an indication, Weiland has no qualms staring down just about anything without fear. Without fear isn't accurate, he certainly knows fear and is afraid of things, but it won't stop him from doing whatever he needs to do. Indeed, a fear of heights should have prevented him from being a Wyvern Rider at all, but the bond he shared with Altena gave him reason to overcome said fear. Given a reason, determination and a refusal to let his fears control him means that, as far as other parties are concerned, he has no fear and acts like a
fearless freelancer, living from one job to the next.
There is certainly a grand deal more going on in his head, or even in his past, but good luck getting him to open up. Equal parts due to concern over prejudice over his Branded state and having learned to hide it, and the fact that he may end up opposed to former employers after a job was finished, means that getting actual truths out of Weiland is not easy. A lack of trust coupled with a necessary level of discretion due to being Branded has spiraled into an outright
secretive nature, to a fault. Situations where opening up a bit and asking for help have spiraled into far messier problems due to his refusal to even speak on the job he is doing. Even worse, he'll lie to someone's face if he has to talk about what he is doing, various small talk about one's self, or otherwise avoid giving away anything.
Background: Originally from the south western regions of Begnion, Weiland knew full well the stigmata his lineage carried with him from an early age, his father having fallen for a Laguz woman, though who she was remained a mystery to Weiland due to her passing in childbirth. True of all Branded, a brand was at the base of his neck, though it remains easily concealed as his father typically ensured his attire had suitable collars to not readily expose the brand. Learning how to use a sword from his father, Jericho Voss, in an effort to ensure Weiland could protect himself from those that would mean him harm should his secret lineage come to light, he would eventually employ this tendency to use Blades, much like his father does, in mercenary work. So he would depart from home, heading further into Begnion to find work selling his sword, rather than enlist in the army and risk inspection revealing his brand and forcing him to flee his home nation.
Weiland would find success, mostly in protecting traders and nobles from bandits, and even the odd job hunting down bandits to break up bands of them, though word reached him of a rather lucrative offer to deal with a wyvern riding bandit lord near the border of Daein. He found the, to his surprise, woman offering the contract and she directed him to deal with the man however he saw fit. Heading into the hills, he would end up ambushing the bandit and a few of his cohorts, though he nearly lost his life facing down an enraged wyvern rider with nothing but his iron blade. The incident cost him an eye, though in inflicting the loss, the bandit had left himself open to be pulled down from the wyvern, who retreated from the two once freed. Without the Wyvern, the bandit was made short work of, and after tending to his injuries, Weiland would return to be paid for his efforts.
To his surprise, the Wyvern followed him, and the woman who hired him informed him that Altena, the wyvern in question, used to serve her now deceased husband. The man had been murdered in his sleep, and the wyvern kidnapped, prompting the rather sudden and generous offer to see things turned to normal. She had not asked that the wyvern be spared, thinking her lost as a war mount to a bandit, and implored that Weiland at least let Altena accompany him, which he begrudgingly agreed to. This would be the start of a rather notable working relationship, Weiland seeming to have a natural talent in dealing with the Wyvern, seeming to communicate on an instinctive level with Altena, and they would continue to wander and sell their services, now as wyvern rider instead of an unmounted mercenary.
After initially agreeing to travel with Altena, when he was around 32 years old, it took him several months to even work up the gall to use her as a mount just for travels sake. After that, and after taking a 'vacation' to the mountains to overcome his fear of heights and to bond with Altena further, he would focus on training and getting himself used to fighting from Wyvern back. This would span several years, and also helped in Altena growing accustomed to a rider that was not a slaver. This period of training would end up extending into a several year span, living off the coin he had made after starting as a mercenary just after his 18th birthday up until he took this several year break to train and grow accustomed to both flying and mounted combat. Shortly after his 36th birthday, he returned to acting as a sellsword, this time as a mounted wyvern rider instead of simply a mercenary, putting into practice the training he had undergone over the several year period.
He continues to write his father routinely, and has successfully kept his Branded status hidden as a sellsword. Coupled with never sticking around for too long after a job, he has a steady supply of coin, though after his father passed on from natural causes, he had a place to call home. Yet just retiring and hiding out on the border of Begnion did not suit him, so he would return whenever he needed to rest, or lay low for a few weeks, before departing once more with Altena ever at his side.
After several close calls near the Daein border, Weiland's nature as a Branded was exposed to a group of vigilantes that tracked down those of impure blood and punished them as they saw fit. Normally, a handful of bandits would not be much of a concern to Weiland, but between the vigilantes being well organized, well equipped, and specifically gunning for him now, he needed to make himself scarce for some time. Rumors were that Hatari was a paradise and safe haven for any and all, Branded included, who could reach it. Pilgrimages were also known to make their way out there, so after giving false indications he was heading for Crimea, he made a hard march towards his home, to stock up on supplies, before starting to look for a proper pilgrimage out towards Hatari. The word left a bad taste in his mouth, but he knew a con when he saw it, so he was confident he could avoid any number of false attempts and find a proper one before his pursuers realized they'd been had and caught up with him.
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