Veran Anireth
Appearance
In this time of misfortune for House Anireth, one of the few things that they still have moving in their favor is their genetics. Veran himself is the pinnacle of a dozen of the finest Anireth Kings of Vel Anir, the very picture of royalty, even at his young age.
Veran's hair and eyes appear most like that of King Calyx the Handsome, who in the time before the fall of their House, was said to have fathered a bastard on the most beautiful daughter of each of the seven Great Houses. His thick and curly hair extends down to his collarbone, shining a brilliant, almost unnatural gold, silky but strong to the touch. His eyes are a deep green, almost like the two finest emeralds in the world were cracked open, and their very color was poured into the eyes, and flecks of the brightest gold were scattered throughout.
Veran's facial features are said to come from King Farren the Bold, a dashing and strong King of Vel Anir who is known for being the one to subjugate the majority of the surrounding territories that pay tribute to the city, known for erecting many statues to himself in the town squares of these villages, depicting his powerful visage across the land. Veran's articulated cheekbones and strong jaw give him the appearance of a dashing young princeling-knight, but they carry an effeminate sculpt to them that only add to his look of royalty. Veran also has very feminine, pouty lips, resulting in a strong mix of effeminate royalty and dashing knight.
The princeling's physique seemingly originates from King Aden the Strong, supposedly the strongest human to have ever lived, built with a body crafted by Nykios himself, said to have moved massive boulders that would have blocked his armies for weeks in mere minutes, allowing him to conquer vast tracts of land previously thought unassailable by humans. His shoulders are strong and broad, but not xenos or barbarian-like, perfectly fit to carry a cape on. His body is the very definition of toned, carrying much muscle definition and shape, lean and sleek, without having a large amount of muscle.
His wardrobe, as befitting the royal heir, includes the finest clothing and accents, the rarest furs and leathers, the softest cloths, and many ornaments, jewelry, and embellishments, heavily featuring the Royal colors and coat of arms.
Skills and Abilities
Veran's most apparent skill is his intelligence, carrying the mind of a man twice his age. With an eidetic memory, Veran has no trouble learning or reading, even having read a book every day since the age of ten. Royal tutors often have no trouble quickly teaching Veran any skills his father (or more likely the patriarchs of the Great Houses) desire for him to learn, easily deciphering truth from lies, avoiding the indoctrination that the Vel Anir royalty are so often subject to.
As a result of this, Veran has easily picked up several skills and hobbies such as sword fighting. Able to easily defeat most squires his age, even able to hold his ground against older boys. When not reading, writing, brooding or pacing, he can be found sparring, as he finds it clears his mind.
His other most notable skill is his political tact, even at his young age, taking any opportunity to accompany or even substitute his father in any and all appearances he makes at council meetings or ceremonial events. Already, Veran maintains a small yet still existent network of child spies, and while the information that he obtains is of little consequence, it is only the start, and his network grows by the day.
Also bearing some notability, Veran has taken an extreme interest in the arcane arts, all sorts of magics and alchemies, with a vast increase of his reading of tomes and scrolls over the regular books he so normally preferred.
Personality
Veran is calculating, extremely intelligent, politically tact, violently ruthless, and dangerously ambitious. The driving goal in his life is the restoration of the true Monarchy in Vel Anir, and returning the House of Anireth to glory. Although he is a more seriously inclined and Machiavellian person, rarely smiling or finding happiness in anything, he possesses a surprising amount of charisma, using his looks to charm his peers into his pocket.
Above most things, Veran prefers knowledge and the company of ancient scrolls, books, and tomes to that of most people, although Royal tutors, advisors, blademasters and mages are often enough that Veran may spend vast amounts of time with them as well.
Biography & Lore
Born the first child and son of the King of Vel Anir and a daughter from a cadet branch of House Urahil, specifically a sister of Godfrey Urahil, Veran was wise beyond his years at a young age, quickly realizing that he was not destined to rule, and that he was nothing more than a puppet hostage to be used in the political scheming of the Great Houses.
Veran's tutors were nothing more than puppets of the Great Houses, who sought to ingrain him with their propaganda, with his false ceremonial duties, with his fancy titles and wardrobe, golden swords and garish sets of armor, as they did his father, and his before him. But Veran was not so easily fooled, and while easily adopting the appearance, that of another puppet princeling, Veran is far from it, and has planned from the very beginning his takeover of Vel Anir, although he lacks the means to do it.
He continues the status quo, learning from tutors, studying forbidden knowledge in secret, building his spy network, practicing alchemy, and more. He has learned the times that the guards change and switch out at night, giving him ample opportunity to sneak into the city in order to slowly build his network up. As his involvement in court politics grows, Veran has more and more opportunities for his ambitious to flourish, and for him to reclaim his birthright.