Arctus Valerian - The Unbound Knight
A towering, muscular man Arctus Valerian cuts a distinct, dashing figure to most and seeks to uphold the virtues of what it means to be a defender of Thanasis just as his father did.
Appearance
Arctus is considered, by most, to be a handsome man. His face is comprised of hard, straight lines. A firm, square jaw and a pair of prominent cheekbones cause his golden eyes to almost glow from beneath the shadow of his brow. His ashen hair is almost always tied back into a tight braid, one that he prepares every morning as part of his near-ritualistic training.
Below the neck Arctus is in his physical prime. Muscles aplenty speak to humanity in it's prime. Broad shoulders, so he says, fit to carry the burdens the people expect of him. A broad chest to carry a heart big enough to love his people. Strong arms so that he may bear a shield for the helpless and grasp a blade with which to fight back the foul and tainted. He also towers over most, standing over six feet tall by several inches and always maintains a firm, proud posture. Never slouching, never looking down or cowering, always with eyes set on what he desires to accomplish here and now.
Below the neck Arctus is in his physical prime. Muscles aplenty speak to humanity in it's prime. Broad shoulders, so he says, fit to carry the burdens the people expect of him. A broad chest to carry a heart big enough to love his people. Strong arms so that he may bear a shield for the helpless and grasp a blade with which to fight back the foul and tainted. He also towers over most, standing over six feet tall by several inches and always maintains a firm, proud posture. Never slouching, never looking down or cowering, always with eyes set on what he desires to accomplish here and now.
Skills and Abilities
To Uplift The Helpless
Hours upon relentless hours of honing his body, lifting steel again and again and again until the heft of tens of pounds, a hundred, became ingrained into every fiber of his body Arctus is, without reservation, equal to a prime athlete in the modern day when it comes to his longevity in battle and labor. Hefting heaps of metal, logs and other detritus over a hundred pounds is almost casual for him. All for the sole purpose that should evil strike he will be there, the helpless in his arms, to be delivered to safety.
Ubonded, Unbound, Unbroken.
Despite the near-scandalous lack of a dragon's choosing in his life Arctus maintains an unshakeable iron bastion of a will toward his goal to one day see himself part of the Thunder of Thanasis and to fulfill the legacy of his House in securing it's future as part of Thanasian nobility. A sheer stubbornness that sees him endure even the most vicious of mental strain in pursuit of his goals. The world will not stop it and only the most enticing of chains could bind him.
No Dragon To Rely On
For reasons unknown Arctus has never been chosen by a dragon of his own even upon his return from the Thanasian wilds. While this makes him a true amateur should he ever set himself in the saddle upon a dragon's back he is, on foot, a skilled swordsman and warrior. Despite his physical strength and stamina his movements are nearly as efficient and precise as a human's can be.
Hours upon relentless hours of honing his body, lifting steel again and again and again until the heft of tens of pounds, a hundred, became ingrained into every fiber of his body Arctus is, without reservation, equal to a prime athlete in the modern day when it comes to his longevity in battle and labor. Hefting heaps of metal, logs and other detritus over a hundred pounds is almost casual for him. All for the sole purpose that should evil strike he will be there, the helpless in his arms, to be delivered to safety.
Ubonded, Unbound, Unbroken.
Despite the near-scandalous lack of a dragon's choosing in his life Arctus maintains an unshakeable iron bastion of a will toward his goal to one day see himself part of the Thunder of Thanasis and to fulfill the legacy of his House in securing it's future as part of Thanasian nobility. A sheer stubbornness that sees him endure even the most vicious of mental strain in pursuit of his goals. The world will not stop it and only the most enticing of chains could bind him.
No Dragon To Rely On
For reasons unknown Arctus has never been chosen by a dragon of his own even upon his return from the Thanasian wilds. While this makes him a true amateur should he ever set himself in the saddle upon a dragon's back he is, on foot, a skilled swordsman and warrior. Despite his physical strength and stamina his movements are nearly as efficient and precise as a human's can be.
Personality
A man of many morals and even more ambitions Arctus is what many could consider to be a paragon of chivalry and justice in Thanasis. He devotes much of his time to the defense of Thanasis, even without a dragon, where he is allowed. But true to how he appears this outlook is not simply a mantle or charade put on for the masses. Arctus genuinely holds his beliefs in justice and righteousness to his very core and, though he is a man of few words and more action, he never hesitates to speak up for what he believes to be right. Even to his own detriment.
When it comes to Thanasian politics Arctus is both admired and somewhat outcast. Being near three decades with no dragon, especially in the wake of his father's noble sacrifice, has left what would otherwise be an envious amount of acclaim much more unsteady. Arctus, however, prevents the dealings and aspirations he possesses with remarkable bravery and shrewdness, if less intrigue than some of the more silver-tongued nobility prefer.
In all Arctus is a man bound by firm morals, exceptional capability and unfortunate circumstance. Many whisper that the failures and cruel twists of fate must have left some chink in his proverbial armor but, as of yet, none have grown close enough to the man to see them. All that is seen is the stalwart, rock-like solidity of a man with all the potential but missing only that one fated moment.
When it comes to Thanasian politics Arctus is both admired and somewhat outcast. Being near three decades with no dragon, especially in the wake of his father's noble sacrifice, has left what would otherwise be an envious amount of acclaim much more unsteady. Arctus, however, prevents the dealings and aspirations he possesses with remarkable bravery and shrewdness, if less intrigue than some of the more silver-tongued nobility prefer.
In all Arctus is a man bound by firm morals, exceptional capability and unfortunate circumstance. Many whisper that the failures and cruel twists of fate must have left some chink in his proverbial armor but, as of yet, none have grown close enough to the man to see them. All that is seen is the stalwart, rock-like solidity of a man with all the potential but missing only that one fated moment.
Biography & Lore
Born into the House Valerian not long nearly three decades ago Arctus Valerian was, upon his birth, a sickly child possessed of golden eyes and ashen hair. It was said he rarely ever cried, let alone made a sound, and for the longest time throughout his childhood Arctus Valerian was little more than a name on the tongues of concerned healers and midwives to his parents. Scant few appearances of him were made at court, or even in public at all, and a young Arctus busied himself with reading stories of heroism. His world confined to books and fairy tales good triumphing over evil. Of how Thanasis was a beacon of hope, civilization and prosperity amongst the harsh wilderness that surrounded it. When he speaks of his childhood now Arctus will remark with somber solemnity that though he still holds those ideals to be true they were sorely tested in making him the man he is today.
Only a half-decade hence a younger Arctus was traveling with his parents and house staff to observe the bonding of a cousin to a dragon of their own, an event Arctus remarks nowadays used to leave him imbittered, when the carriage they rode and procession that escorted it were beset upon by a large party of Jarlax. An ambush that Arctus does not recount in detail for it was the day his parents tragically perished. Arctus, still a frail young man at the time, fled into the wilderness, and was molded by unmitigated shame and the harsh lessons of Thanasis itself.
No longer was he a sickly boy locked in the family keep, stuck to opening the spins of books, as now he had to split the spines of the trees that made their paper. No longer was he to sleep on cotton down and feather fluff, for he made his mats and beds of furs and animals he hunted. Arctus speaks very little of this time and only that Thanasis herself has been as much a mother to him as the one that birthed him and taught him harsh lessons. For when he returned after five years alone he was a changed man. Muscled and rugged from years in the wilderness, carrying in tow countless Jarlax skulls as proof of his triumphs, and set about leading his House with a newfound stoic vigor he had only earned by wresting it from Thanasis's own bosom. A vigor that was still, after all these years, set on upholding those virtues that were the only surviving fragment of the boy he had been into the man he had become.
Only a half-decade hence a younger Arctus was traveling with his parents and house staff to observe the bonding of a cousin to a dragon of their own, an event Arctus remarks nowadays used to leave him imbittered, when the carriage they rode and procession that escorted it were beset upon by a large party of Jarlax. An ambush that Arctus does not recount in detail for it was the day his parents tragically perished. Arctus, still a frail young man at the time, fled into the wilderness, and was molded by unmitigated shame and the harsh lessons of Thanasis itself.
No longer was he a sickly boy locked in the family keep, stuck to opening the spins of books, as now he had to split the spines of the trees that made their paper. No longer was he to sleep on cotton down and feather fluff, for he made his mats and beds of furs and animals he hunted. Arctus speaks very little of this time and only that Thanasis herself has been as much a mother to him as the one that birthed him and taught him harsh lessons. For when he returned after five years alone he was a changed man. Muscled and rugged from years in the wilderness, carrying in tow countless Jarlax skulls as proof of his triumphs, and set about leading his House with a newfound stoic vigor he had only earned by wresting it from Thanasis's own bosom. A vigor that was still, after all these years, set on upholding those virtues that were the only surviving fragment of the boy he had been into the man he had become.
-
-
Created by on
-