shylarah — Roleplayer Guild

Rhiannon Heledd Cadfael of Wales

Rhiannon had actually arrived in Aciras a few days early, to spend time with her cousins before the main event started.  As a result she was settled in already and ready for the ball some time before it actually began, and consequently one of the first people in the doors when the Acirans opened them.  "I still think what I thought about that dress the first time I saw it," she whispered in Lea's ear as the two young ladies embraced, earning a laugh from her counterpart.  "But you make it look stunning.  Ta~"  There were comparatively few pleasantries to exchange at the ball, since the stiffly formal welcome ceremony was already over and done with, and soon she was out on the main floor.  She probably should have waited to arrive until after Prince Edwin's party, since he outranked her, but this was Lea's big deal event, and she had a good defense if anyone fussed about the matter.  She doubted they would.

Her outfit was not super showy, though still gorgeous: an off-the-shoulder dress that hugged her top snugly with a cross-wrapped design and then turned into a generous chiffon skirt in turquoise, yellow, cream, and half a dozen shades of green.  The ombre effect was lovely, and the skirt had a slit that ran up past her knee, perfect for moving or dancing or just showing off her legs.  She'd gone with actual jewelry instead of her usual eclectic mix of resin, beads, and metal: an emerald-and-diamond set, bracelet, stud earrings, and a necklace that drew the eye down her collarbones to her surprisingly modest cleavage.  Despite the low neckline, the dress was classy, and that meant it provided good coverage for what needed covering.  Her hair was tamed to a quiet roar, a tumble of ruddy curls pinned back from her face and brushing the tops of her bare shoulders.  She hadn't had the patience to do anything with it beyond that, even with the offers of help from her attendants.  She was not just there as Lea's cousin but also as the future queen of Wales.  It was public knowledge that she was unmarried, and an open secret that she was supposed to have something arranged soon.  Rumor suggested that she as much as her parents would decide her spouse -- and that was where Princess Lea's event came into play.  There were a few potential candidates among the guests, and while Wales had made no promises they'd dropped careful hints about her availability and the potential suitability of certain individuals.  It was expected that she'd be getting a better feel for as many of the potential suitors as possible over the course of the months to follow, where she would (hopefully) have a chance to determine who had a good personality as well as the required skills to be her fellow monarch.

For the moment she took up a position near the main entrance, where she had a good view of those arriving.  It was just the first day today -- a bit nervewracking, but nothing to worry about.  And while she would have to get down to business eventually, for the moment she was there to have fun.

Elais Valerian ~ Wind ~ Graduate ~ dreamer

Name: Lord Elais Arin Valerian, Earl of Vosnell and the Lord Felsen, also Lord Elais of Inglemarch
Year of Education: Graduate (3rd year of Institute)
Age: 20 (born in early fall - almost 21)
Gender: male
Element: Wind

I N - D E P T H   A P P E A R A N C EElais was born a small, sickly infant, and he still has an air of fragility about him.  This is in no small part because of his deformed legs and the splints supporting them.  He is always in a chair fitted with small wheels or else leaning heavily on a pair of crutches.  Standing at all is not comfortable, and if he pushes himself too far it can be extremely painful during and for a few days after.  He's had his legs just give out on him more than once when he pushed himself too hard.

He has always been small for his age, tending toward waifishly thin despite his mother's and then his stepmother's efforts to get him to put on a bit of weight.  He has his mother's fair skin, but instead of her glorious golden locks his own hair is simply pale.  Elais inherited a great deal of Megaran's delicate features as well, and as a child was often mistaken for a girl.  Maturity has granted the blessing of slightly more masculine features, but he still appears effeminate, and his attempts at growing a nice moustache or beard are best left unmentioned.

Given the difficulty that dressing can be, and the stains or damage that can come of his research, Elais prefers simplicity in his clothing.  He has a jacket with him on all but the very warmest of days, a habit instilled in him by his mother who believed even the slightest sniffle could kill him and would subsequently keep him from doing anything until she was sure he was well again.  He favors colors that bring out the stormy blue of his eyes and don't make him look sallow.   This means a wide range of blues, creams, ivories, with some darker grays and other subdued colors.  These are also less likely to attract a great deal of attention from others.  His clothing is always well-tailored -- a Valerian would wear nothing less -- but it is often on the older side, as going to the tailor is a hassle and often humiliating even if he does manage to stand as long as needed.

P E R S O N A L I T YElais is a quiet, thoughtful young man.  He is not particularly outgoing, preferring to linger on the edges of things and let others come to him.  He's not quite shy, but he does question his personal worth and is reluctant to expose himself to unwanted mockery.  Most people don't, of course -- the Valerian name is too prominent to risk so open an insult -- but that doesn't stop the whispers.  It's simpler to let other people do as they like, as he does not have the temperament nor the desire to engage in the subtly nuanced art of political maneuvering or conversational fencing.  His placid acceptance of insults has, instead of causing him to lose face, gained him a reputation as someone who is above such things, and now failed attempts to break his composure are more likely to make the his opponent look bad than anything else.

Perfect poise and unbreakable calm help cover the fact that he really isn't sure where he fits into things.  Elais is far happier with the company of a handful of close friends than a large group, and he dislikes crowded, noisy events and the inevitable jockying for position that comes with them.  His accomodating tendencies mean he does not always make his opinions known, but he does have them.  Just as surely, he knows they often do not matter much -- so why bother sharing them?  He has a fondness for questions of philosophy, and he often finds himself playing dark's advocate to anyone that cares to indulge him in a discussion.

He has a tendency to come across as distant or preoccupied at times, even disdainfully aloof if he's not careful.  He's a sweet, gentle man, painstakingly considerate and tries to avoid giving offense.  He is, however, a bit oblivious, and more trusting than he should be.  His uncertain status among the Valerians protects him to some degree, as do those who are genuine in their friendship, but there are plenty that would take advantage of him.  His apparent serenity helps shield him against some of the worst effects, but he's paid the emotional price for several different instances of misjudged character.

His thoughts are often complicated and he tries to choose his words with care, but the habit makes him appear to lack passion.  This could not be farther from the truth, though said passion emerges best when alone or in trusted company.  Elais is a visionary, and while he does not have the ability to understand the inner workings of things at a glance he has a knack for gadgetry.  He has a hundred ideas for things that might be made, and he finds great pleasure in improving a good design or fixing a flawed one.  Failure is far easier to accept than uncomfortable social dynamics -- at least a failure is still progress.  More than anything else he wants freedom -- freedom from his father's demeaning neglect, his stepmother's cautious oversight, the extended family that pities him but doesn't quite want to acknowledge him where anyone else can see, and above all, freedom from the limits of the body that causes him so much trouble.  Humanity did not reach where it is today by accepting its limits, and he dreams of pushing those limits until he may not just run, but fly.

F A M I L Y   L A N D S   A N D   H I S T O R YThe Valerian name is known throughout Eskora.  Countless generations past a lowborn commander was knighted for his service to one of the early Eskoran kings.  Following the loss of nearly all ranking nobility in the wake of a brutal raid on the Davenport crossing, Arne Vanya rallied the remaining soldiers and took charge, holding the bridge and keeping the river crossing from being overrun.  Of particular note, he personally saved the life of the king's second son.  He was awarded the lands he'd held, by way of marriage to the only child of the now-deceased duke, and given the name "Valerian" in honor of his valor.  Subsequent generations produced a number of men and several women noted for their tactical acumen and devotion to the crown.  Valerians have won the hand of a couple different princesses, though never the heir -- nor have they tried for that particular honor.  Combined with revenue from the flourishing Davenport and trade along and across the Ingleway, the family prospered.  They are now considered one of the greatest families in the kingdom, with close ties to the royal family.

Inglemarch is currently a duchy, though it contains almost all of the lands in the original march (now just called Oldmarch) -- some were lost to Zinlen during the revolution, but those are across the river.  It is a land of gentle hills, wide prairies, and countless steep cliffs and chasms.  The Ingling is a fast-running river that comes down from the mountains to the west, cutting deep into the rock and with a number of rapids.  The Galloway is a larger, steadier river that meanders south from central Eskora, making a spectacular waterfall where it drops from the higher northern latitudes to the lower valley that holds the Ingling another dozen miles south.  A bit of a lake has formed beneath the falls, and another spreads behind the dam that makes sure ships on the river don't go over the falls, and this is where the Valerians make their home, overlooking the steep road carved into the cliff rock that takes goods from the lake's shore to the docks along the upper lake.  Where the two rivers join into the Ingleway, the way widens and the current slows, and the Davenport crossing was at one time the first (or at least the first reliable) large crossing once out of the mountains.  The town is quite large now, handling trade that goes downriver and out to the Dragon Isles, as well as a large portion of what comes from Iavros and up into Eskora proper.

P E R S O N A L   H I S T O R YElais's mother Megaran contracted a serious disease while carrying him, and nearly died in childbirth.  He was a premature child, small, sickly, and not expected to live more than a few days.  Both survived, but his childhood was one of illness and restrictions.  From birth his legs were visibly twisted, and when he was permitted to make his first attempts at crawling it was immediately obvious that they would never work properly.  Unable to stand unaided, and allowed little contact with other children for fear of him catching something that would overwhelm his frail constitution, Elais found refuge in his studies.  When his father slighted him for his physical flaws -- a disgrace to the name that had sired countless proud knights -- books provided him escape.  When his mother refused to allow him to travel on account of the risk involved, art provided him with a glimpse into what he might see, were he permitted to go.

Elais' father Willard was a a proud man of conservative views, and he was severely disappointed by his eldest son's unfortunate condition.  Had it been an option, he would have had the pathetic child hidden away, where he could not cause damage to the Valerian name.  Inglemarch had never gone to anyone save the eldest male child -- and after Elais, his wife gave him a daughter, and then had two miscarriages before dying giving birth to a stillborn son.  He married again, this time a lady named Helene, and she gave him the son he wanted, but Raynar was considerably younger than Elais and has thus far been a flighty child unsuited to ruling, with a tendency to set things on fire by being careless.

Willard may not want to let his crippled son inherit, but for all that the boy is a cripple he is still a Valerian.  With the death of the mother who babied him far too much (Willard never could say no to Merga) and his father's remarriage, Elais found in Helene someone that understood him far better.  She was still more protective than he would like, but he tended to challenge the limits of his body, and she knew it.  The difficulty they had in persuading his father to let him attend the academy was more because of how visible the boy would be than any thought that he would do poorly.  Willard is quite aware of his eldest son's intellectual prowess, and has found grudging acceptance of the boy as an academic and encouraged these pursuits, though he's not fond of the obsession with strange contraptions and 

????

Elais' personal valet, Cenric, accompanied him to the academy.  Cenric is a younger son of a minor house under the Valerians, sent to the capital in hopes his service there will earn him some sort of position and secure his future.  He's a decade older than his charge, but the two are good friends, and with his help Elais has flourished at the academy.  Elais is always willing to help a student with difficulties, and his kind, patient nature makes him an excellent tutor.  He soon found himself in high demand for such things, and is known to hold informal study and practice sessions for those more comfortable pestering another student for help instead of the instructors.  It's also helped him network when the usual places for such activities are uncomfortable for him.  He has made the acquaintance of a large circle, as he's not entirely oblivious, but counts as his friends a considerably smaller number of people.  He's found a dubious popularity, especially now that he's in the institute, as his gentleness does a great deal to balance the stigma of being a cripple, and any number of academy students will overlook a lot to gain a skilled tutor.  Elais is happy at the school, and has plans to continue his research and projects once he graduates.

R E S E A R C H   P R O J E C TElais has dreamed of flying since the start of his childhood spend in the windswept lands of Inglemarch.  He'd watch the eagles that made their eyries in the cliffs, and the gulls that floated above the sister lakes, even the occasional bat he managed to make out at night.  Ships were another interest, their sails catching the wind, and oars propelling them along.  He's tried various things to improve his independence, though none have worked as well as he'd like (and some of them his father has vetoed as beneath the dignity of a Valerian, not that being almost entirely dependent on another for his travels is particularly dignified).

He means to find a way to allow humans to fly like their feathered neighbors, though it is a project of many stages.  He started with a study of kites and sails, as well as the wings of various flying creatures.  He's working on a scale model for the moment, but consistently runs into difficulties.  Anything sturdy enough to support the weight of a human does not lend itself very well to staying aloft, and there is the issue of propulsion as well, though that is a later issue.  For the purposes of his final project, his goal is a simple glider, and he's noted that the first fliers will have to be wind mages, until a way can be found to strengthen such flying frames for multiple passengers.

O T H E R   I N F O R M A T I O N
Elais' title as Earl of Vosnell is a courtesy one, and often omitted since his father does not wish him to inherit.  However he is Lord Felsen in his own right and has been since his eighteenth birthday, though he does not yet have a great deal to do with the running of the small barony.  Regardless, he generally prefers to be called Lord Elais or, among close friends, simply Elais.

It should be noted that usually the heir to Inglemarch is styled Marquis Nehera or occasionally Marquis Oldmarch, and given the barony of Ilmara in his own right upon turning eighteen.

Elais actually graduated the Academy a year early, at 17, but given the nature of his research project he may spend a few extra years at the Institute.

Cenric Alymer

Cenric is a man of nearly thirty, and he has been Elais' constant companion since the boy was four.  A younger son of a minor noble, service to his liege lord was seen as a chance to secure his future.  As a life mage, he was perfect for the role of the child's caretaker, and he was one of the first to recognize the the boy's brightness and nurture it.  He enjoyed the chance to be the older brother for a change, and his quick if sometimes offbeat humor helped when he had to deal with a child who felt the sting of parents that didn't accept him for who he was.  Despite the difference in their ages, Elais and Cenric are fast friends, and they share a rapport that the younger man has not developed with any of the friends he made at the academy.

Cenric keeps an eye on his charge's health, but does what he can not to pen Elais in.  Likewise, he can be suspicious of others' motives, to balance out Elais' tendency to accept things at face value.  Appearance-wise, the two could not be farther apart: Cenric is dark of hair and eye with tanned skin, wide shoulders, and a tall, sturdy figure.  He's been known to have a sharp tongue, though his time with Elais has definitely blunted the worst of it.  He takes insults to his friend far more seriously than Elais himself, though he generally defers to the young man's wishes for actions taken against those who give it.

Despite an intimidating tendency of looming, Cenric is actually quite caring.  He laughs a great deal, smiles even more, and generally is pleasant to be around.  Some find his humor abrasive, but he believes nothing is so awful that one cannot find something to laugh about.  Furthermore, if you can't laugh at tragedy and hardship, then what's the point?  He also has a habit of taking in injured wildlife, and has even recruited Elais to help with looking after them.  He doesn't do it quite as much as he did in his teen years, but it is not uncommon to find the pair with a bird or hedgehog that has suffered injury and needs time to recover nestled in a box in the corner of their room.

father Willard Valerian, wind mage (His Grace the Duke of Inglemarch, though he generally goes by Duke Valerian)
mother Megaran, light mage, deceased
stepmother Helene, fire mage (Her Grace the Duchess of Inglemarch; Duchess Helene Valerian)
younger sister Lady Indra (19), wind
younger half-brother Lord Raynar (11), fire
younger half-sister Lady Cassia (7), light

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