Valen Stalhart

[edit] General Appearance Behavior Abilities/Skills Background Rumors Relationships Notable Events RP Hooks OOC Gallery  Valen Stalhart Error creating thumbnail: File missing The Crestfallen Magitek Knight Gender Male Race Hyur Clan Unknown Citizenship Garlean (Claims Coerthas) Age 37 Marital Status Single Occupation Relic Hunter/Airship Mechanic for Arcadeus Nameday 25th Sun of the 6th Umbral Moon Valen Stalhart was a Garlean soldier who served in the Empire's secretive Magitek Knight Battalion. Shortly before the Calamity, he defected from the Empire and tried starting a new life in Eorzea. While being sure to keep his past affiliations a secret, Stalhart was able to secure a position as an agent for the Maelstrom, but now works full time as the airship mechanic for the relic hunters of Arcadeus. Inventory Valen is known for his expertise with Magitek, and as such often can be seen wielding numerous sorts of Magitek. Often times, he'll be seen as donning a mask-like visor that he almost always keeps on his person, even if he's not wearing it. Whenever venturing into possible danger, he also takes his Magitek spear with him as well. On very rare, but extreme occasions, he may use his Magitek Reaper which he acquired from his Garlean days. Normally it sits in a remote cove in La Nosca, only being used when the circumstances call for it. Height: 6 fulms Weight: 185 ponz Complexion:  Caucasian Hair:  Black Eyes:  Blue. Though most would believe Valen to be somewhere in his early twenties due to his youthful features, he's actually quite older than he appears to be. Though he is unsure, he believes his graceful aging is due in part to the Magitek augmentations he was given during his time serving Garlemald. His body itself is quite thin, but beneath his somewhat scrawny appearance is nothing but muscle. However, to call it pure muscle wouldn't be entirely be true. His muscles have been laced with carbontwine fibers, granting him incredible strength while also allowing him to remain lithe and nimble. His bones have been reinforced with Magitek as well, allowing them to support a large amount of weight without shattering. Valen is a generally kind person, often putting others before himself. He can be a bit quiet sometimes, but is generally an easy person to get along with. When confronted, he'll normally he'll try to talk through the conflict, but isn't hesitant to use force if he feels diplomacy isn't an option. During his time in Garlemald, he was conditioned to find a sort of sick joy in combat, which is why he normally tries to keep himself as composed as possible when in the face of conflict. Even when fighting, he strains to withhold himself, and remain as calm and even-headed as possible. Flaws ■ ■ ■ Has a severe guilt complex Fears ■ Never seeing his parents again ■ Being controlled against his will ■ Having his former affiliation with Garlemald revealed Talents ■ Very skilled spearman ■ Expert on all things Magitek ■ Level-headed Preferences Hobbies ■ Fishing ■ Tinkering with Magitek ■ People Watching Likes ■ Solitude ■ The sound of the ocean ■ Snow ■ The heat of combat ■ Just being a helpful person Dislikes ■ ■ The Garlean Empire ■ Fighting for the sake of fighting Though Valen will try to avoid combat if at all possible, he is absolutely ruthless when it comes to fighting. His style is a blend between flurries of vicious brutality and precisely landed devastating blows. His Magitek augmentations have given him incredible strength and agility, also giving him an incredible amount of durability and stamina. Though he is by no means the mightiest of all spearmen, he is still a force to be reckoned with in combat. Weapons Valen exclusively uses a Magitek spear that was given to him during his service with the Magitek Knights, and has since been heavily modified. It's incredibly light, and incredibly dangerous. Pulses of energy are sent through its razor edged tip to create vibrations in the blade to allow for it to also saw through anything it pierces. Magic Valen has little to no magical capabilities. Before being augmented with a small aetherite crystal into the palm of his hand, he even lacked the capability to travel through teleportation. Though this crystal does allow for him to do such minor magicks as teleportation, its primary purpose is to power his Magitek augmentations. Since his Magitek has a relatively low ceruleum demand, with careful use, the aetherite crystal should be able to keep his Magitek powered for anywhere between 50-75 years before running dry and needing to be replaced. Early Life (0-10) Born into a family of fisherman in the grasp of thed Garlean Empire, Valen was raised with a very humble upbringing. Not being a full-blooded Garlean, he spent most of his childhood living hand-to-mouth, but always managed to get by. He had no brothers nor sisters, but did share a very close relationship with his mother and father. However, the life of a fisherman wasn’t for him. Once he came of age, he traded in his gaff for a spear, and through vigorous training managed to join the ranks of the Garlean Empire’s Military. Service Under Garlemald For three years he served as a lancer for The Empire, scratching and clawing his way through the ranks. Despite his combat prowess, he never managed to become anything more than a lowly Legionarius in the Garlean Empire due to his superiors’ nepotism towards full-blooded Garleans. However, his skills did not go unnoticed. Realizing that his abilities could be utilized, Valen’s commanding officer had him inducted into Garlemald’s experimental battalion, the Magitek Knights. As a part of his induction, Valen was implanted with a Magitek chip directly into his brain, as well as various other Magitek augmentations throughout his body. The implants enhanced both his physical and mental capabilities, allowing him to emulate similar abilities to that of a Dragoon, all the while without needing to wield the soul of a dragon. Due to the relative secrecy of the Magitek Knights, Valen's duties mostly consisted of low-key assassinations, sabotage, or seek and destroy missions. During one such mission, he was sent to kill a lalafell merchant on a trade route through Thanalan. However, he was under the guard of the highly skilled archer, X'matoi Tia. Tia managed to keep Valen at bay while the merchant escaped, and even tried to dissuade Stalhart from continuing to fight for the Garlean Empire. While X'matoi was unable to convince Valen, his words did not fall unto deaf ears. Ultimately, Stalhart managed to close the distance between him and X'matoi, and stabbed him with his spear. He thought the Miqo'te to be dead, and left him to rot. However, X'matoi still yet lived, as Valen found out a few years later when he overheard tales of the archer's exploits while he was on assignment. After the battle with Tia, Stalhart considered the Miqo'te's seemingly genuine request for him to abandon Garlemald and come to the other side. It was this seed that planted skepticism in him, and ultimately helped him come to the realization that he had no true sense of free will. The chip in his brain had been forcing him to obey Garlemald's commands, and he had been made none the wiser to it until his confrontation with X'matoi. When he tried to resist his commands, the chip would send pulses throughout his entire body, leaving him in agony. This left him with no other choice but to follow through with the orders he was given, lest he wish to suffer at the Empire's hands. Defection, and Days Leading to the Calamity After eight grueling years of serving as a Magitek Knight, through either his own sheer will or faulty programming on the part of the implant, or perhaps both, Valen managed to overcome the chip’s grasp while on assignment, and fled shortly thereafter. Valen was declared a traitor to his nation and his people, and the Garlean Military was given the order to kill him on sight. However, due to the fall of Dalamud, the Garlean Empire was unable to spare the manpower to hunt him down. By the time the Empire had regained footing after The Calamity, the tracker built into Valen’s Magitek chip had long since shorted out after going so long without proper maintenance. With no trace of him to follow, Valen vanished from the Garlean Empire entirely, but to this day still remains an enemy to the nation. After the Calamity Valen spent the following years after the Calamity wandering Eorzia until he ultimately found his way to Limsa Lominsa. Looking for a place to stay, he stumbled upon Anelia Sadowyn’s residence, which also acted as a base of operations for her Free Company, Arcadeus. After a little convincing, he talked Anelia into letting him stay so long as he pulled his weight. However, when Anelia inquired about where he came from, he privately disclosed his former affiliation with Garlemald, only to learn that Anelia had just as much a vendetta against the Garlean Empire as he did. However, she insisted that Valen keep his origins a secret from the others living at the residence, as not to cause any unnecessary tension between them. Please feel free to add your own rumors under PC! Some of these rumors may be untrue or greatly exaggerated. Common Rumors (Easily overheard) ■ "That man is quite odd. He seems nice enough, but something about him just seems off. Maybe it's the visor?" ~Storm Soldier ■ "He really knows a lot about all that fancy, hi-tech stuff. I mean, have you seen that spear on his back? It has so many buttons and switches on it, I’d probably lose an eye just trying to hold the damn thing." ~Sailor in La Nosca ■ "I don't like him. No honest man always keeps his face hidden like he does.~Storm Officer Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear) ■ "The man goes missing and turns up right after a Garlean base falls to rubble? It doesn't take a sage to put that puzzle together." ~Maelstrom Agent ■ "He's quite familiar with Magitek, I'd dare say he's an expert on it.." ~Engineer at the Ironworks Workshop ■ "The man has no history, no past… He’s like a phantom that just showed up from the aether. However, he gets results, and that makes him quite an asset to the Maelstrom." ~Merlwyb Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard) ■ "Stalhart is not a man, he is a weapon; a weapon that now wields a mind of its own." ~Vitus Mal Luro, the creator of the Magitek Knights ■ "He slew Mitus, and brought the base to ruin with the help of a lalafell and a miqo'te. The Magitek Knight however was able to escape and delivered combat data on Stalhart. This information will be sent to Garlemald for further study." ~Garlean Incident Report ■ "I got word that a squad of Garleans were patrolling through La Nosca, looking for a man with long hair and a Magitek spear… Sound like someone we know?" ~Eynzahr Slafyrsyn PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players) ■ "Despite our differences in the past, he has helped me greatly. He is someone you can rely on. I owe him a great debt, t'is the least I can do. Oh and he can't keep a secret, be aware of that too." ~Nanagi Nagi ■ "People can change... and... well, I never thought I'd trust him like I do. He's a very important friend to me." ~Rihxo Matoi ■ "Valen is a kind man, perhaps more than people give him credit for. You didn't hear that from me, though. Got it?" ~Adelaide Levenson 💑 In a Relationship    ♥ Romantic Interest    ♥ Sexual Desire    ♥ Platonic Love     ♥ Family     ● Good Standing     ● Neutral     ● Poor Standing     ☠ Deceased ●Rihxo Matoi: Despite everything that has happened, Rihxo holds no grudge against Valen, and is even quite kind to him. Stalhart sees her as a friend, and is happy to have her on his side. ●Nanagi Nagi: Though they've had their differences in the past, they have since moved past that, and now Valen seeks to help the lalafell in her search for her mother. ●Adelaide Levenson: A fellow defected Magitek Knight. He was weary of her at first, but has since come to accept her as both a helpful companion and a friend. Dates are included mostly for me so I can keep track of things. However, feel free to use them as references for character journals. Notable events are divided into arcs, so that you can easily find new info on each arc. Unbreakable Chains Friend or Foe? (Status: Complete) (Who was Involved: Rihxo Matoi, Gil vel'Jendahr, Singing Raptor, Caen Jabari) On the side he sometimes does freelance work for the Maelstrom. Typically it is little more than simple reconnaissance or patrolling. Though he does occasionally receive missions that are of higher importance, they are far and few between. Most recently they requested him to watch over the young Miqo'te, Rihxo Matoi. He wasn't told the reason why other than that someone paid the Maelstrom a substantial amount of gil to ensure that no harm came to her. Valen delved into research on the Miqo'te's family, scouring to find any reason someone would wish for Rihxo to be protected. He uncovered a substantial amount of information on her parents. Once he learned who her parents were, he recognized their names from his time serving for Garlemald. Her father was none other than X'matoi himself, the same X'matoi he had faced so many years prior in his youth. Though they were presumed dead, Valen believed the Garleans might have reason to wish to bring an end to the Matoi family line. With this information, he feared that the Garleans would send a Magitek Knight to kill her. While this did indeed prove to be the case, it was not in the way that Valen had imagined. After venturing to Northern Thanalan to investigate the Garlean base in the area, he blacked out, and awakened days later in the alley behind the Qucksand. Not knowing what to do, he called for Rihxo to help him. When she arrived, Valen was delirious. He believed himself to be having another headache, as they had been growing more and more prominent. However, when he felt the familiar marionette strings gripping into his mind, he realized that the Garleans were retaking control over him, and that they were ordering him to kill Rihxo. Though he tried his best to resist, his mind gave way, and allowed for Garlemald to take control once again. Fortunately, Rihxo's boyfriend, Gil vel'Jendahr, and his friends Caen Jabari, and Singing Raptor arrived just before Valen lost control. The last words Stalhart uttered before losing control of himself was "Rihxo, run." After that, he engaged in combat with Gil, Caen, and Raptor. After a brief fight, Valen realized that his target had escaped, and that to continue fighting was pointless, so he teleported away to Mor Dhona to consider his next move, leaving no decisive winner. Seeking Help" (Status: Complete) (Who was Involved: Rihxo Matoi, Nanagi Nagi) One of the first things he did upon gaining a semblance of control over himself was to write a letter to Seldi, the only person in his Free Company who knew the extent of what his implants could do. Though it was a long-shot, he couldn't think of anyone else to turn to. After a brief time, though, Nanagi Nagi reached out to Valen, claiming that she might have a way to help free him from the shackles of his implants. Interested to see both how she learned of his implants, as well as how she could possibly help him, he met up with her in Thanalan to hear her out. Ultimately, while thankful for her attempt to help, Valen was unimpressed. Nanagi had merely learned the name of someone who might be able to help him, and nothing more than that. However, Valen did take notice that Rihxo was listening in on the conversation. Valen took this moment to draw his spear on her, but did not act upon it. Forcing control upon himself, he told both of them it was unwise for Rihxo to be near him. A few days later, Valen found himself wandering through Thanalan, approaching Ul'Dah for reasons he couldn't quite understand at the time. However, upon seeing a familiar face from his Free Company, and Au Ra named Tatsumi, he snapped back into reality. Their conversation was brief, but through it he did come to learn that Seldi had left to Coerthas and wouldn't be back for some time. After Tatsumi left, Valen noticed a familiar Lalafell attempting to inconspicuously listen in on his conversation. When he approached Nanagi, she asked him what he was doing there. To that, Valen told her he wasn't quite sure. After some rather simple deduction, he came to conclude that he must've been trying to find Rihxo, since she could always be found in the grand city of Ul'Dah. Nanagi requested that Valen leave, to which he complied. Unfortunately, Valen returned to Ul'Dah that night, this time completely under Garlean control. Losing Control (Status: Complete) (Who was Involved: Nanagi Nagi, Rihxo Matoi, Gil vel'Jendahr) Growing tired of Nanagi's interference, Garlemald ordered for Valen to kill her as well. Unable to fight for control of himself, Valen went to Ul'Dah and tracked down Rihxo, Gil, and Nanagi, but remained a distance away. He knew that after a while, Gil and Rihxo would flee elsewhere, but Nanagi would try to persue him, which would place the Lalafell right into his trap. Everything went just as Valen had planned, and Nanagi followed Valen into Central Thanalan, where he cornered her in the Sil'Dih Excavation Site. He then boarded his Magitek Reaper and began attacking her. He told her that he had no other choice in the matter, and he could not resist the orders he was given. Mustering all the willpower he could, Valen told Nanagi to use her Manaward to survive the blast, that way Garlemald would presume her dead and then they could relieve the order. Instead, the injured Nanagi chose to run. Valen chased her down until Gil came to Nanagi's aid. Weakened, Nanagi used all of the power she had left to use a massive blast of aether. However, he dazed state only allowed for the attack to graze Valen's Reaper. After pleading with her one final time to use her Manaward, Valen opened fire with his Reaper onto Nanagi just as she was finally able to cast the protective spell. After Nanagi fell, he told Gil to not follow him. He then returned to Mor Dhona and delivered a message to Rihxo over his linkpearl. He told her that while he was thankful for what Nanagi tried to do for him, it only placed her in danger, and that he has come to believe that there is no escaping from Garlemald this time. He said the only way he could see this ending was if either he kills Rihxo, or she kills him. He told the Miqo'te to be the warrior her parents would be proud to see her become, and then maybe this nightmare could finally come to an end. Afterwards, Valen crushed the linkpearl. Confronted (Status: Complete) (Who was Involved: Nanagi Nagi, Rhixo Matoi, Singing Raptor) About a week after the incident, Nanagi had recovered from her wounds for the most part and was venturing through Mor Dhona when she by chance came across Valen on his Magitek Reaper, heading towards the Garlean base. Despite her better judgement, she followed him into the base while remaining hidden. Unaware of her presence, Valen continued about his duties at the base before being contacted by his superiors in Garlemald. They informed him that Gil was the only thing that stood between him and Rihxo, so he needed to be eliminated, or at the very least subdued. He was also informed that Rihxo's siblings were to be eliminated as well. Despite his protests, Garlemald would not withdraw the command. Afterwards, Nanagi hijacked a Reaper to escape the base. Valen of course took notice and chased her down on his already damaged Reaper from their previous encounter. Due to the previous damages, Valen's Reaper was rendered immobile, but that did not stop him from continuing to chase down the lalafell. He followed her all the way to Revenant's Toll, where he was surrounded by Nanagi, Rihxo, and Singing Raptor. Stalhart readied himself for combat, but withdrew his weapon when he noticed how many bystanders had gathered. Having no desire to allow for innocent blood to be shed in the crossfire, he told them that if they truly wanted to finish this, then he would be waiting at Rathefrost. The three followed him, but not to fight. Instead, they tried to get through to him. The efforts proved futile, however. Despite this, Valen did tell Rihxo about Gil and her siblings becoming targets, and also assured her that out of respect for Rihxo's parents, he would give her the chance at a fair fight against him when the time came for him to kill her. That time though was drawing near, and he couldn't delay his duty for much longer. So he told her that she needed to become stronger, and soon if she had any hope to beat him. Before heading back to the base, Raptor asked Valen what he considered home. To that, he answered Arcadeus, the Free Company that took him in despite his past affiliations. Afterwards, Stalhart left, and ventured to the snowy mountains of Coerthas, where he studied Rihxo from afar. While in Coerthas, he resided in Behemoth's Dominion, awaiting the great beast to reveal himself so Stalhart could challenge him. Calm Before The Storm (Status: Complete) (Who was Involved: Gil vel'Jendahr, Nanagi Nagi) While waiting, he contacted Gil through a letter, requesting for the Dragoon to meet him in Behemoth's Dominion. Once there, he made it clear that he had no intention of fighting Gil, and told Gil that as long as the elezen did not interfere with his and Rihxo's battle, then he would not be a target, and Valen would spare him. Much to Stalhart's surprise, Gil told him that he had already promised Rihxo that he would not interfere with their battle when the time came. While Valen wanted to believe this, he made a few attempts to taunt the Dragoon to ensure that Gil's word was true. Had the elezen drawn his spear from simple goading, then Valen would've been certain that Gil would have lacked the discipline needed to stay out of the fight. However, the Dragoon remained vigilant and did not attack. Pleased with Gil's self control, Valen dismissed him and returned to awaiting for Behemoth. It wasn't long after that when the legendary beast showed its face. Stalhart faced Behemoth and managed to break one of his horns. While it was little more than a superficial wound to the creature, it was a still a testament to Valen's skill. Once the beast returned to its slumber, Valen left Coerthas after using the horn from Behemoth to construct a mighty Thundercloud spear. After leaving Coerthas, he ventured back to Thanalan, where Rihxo had partaken in the Grindstone. Much to his surprise, Nanagi was there as well. After meeting her in Mor Dhona, the lalafell had all but fallen off of the earth, as she had become hard for him to track since then. After the tournament was over, Valen confronted her while she was alone, and told her the same thing he told Gil, requesting that she not interfere with his and Rihxo's battle. As he expected, the lalafell refused, but did eventually come around when Valen pointed out that all she had ever done was fight Rihxo's battles for her, and that if she had the least bit of respect for her Miqo'te friend, then she would let Rihxo fight him alone. While she did agree to this, Nanagi made it clear that if Rihxo didn't kill him, then she had every intention to finish him off. Valen was ultimately unimpressed, but said that if she felt that strongly about killing him, then she was free to have that battle with him, but it was only to be settled between the two of them. With that, he left and vanished into the city streets. Decisive Battle (Status: Complete) (Who was Involved: Rihxo Matoi, Nanagi Nagi, Singing Raptor, Gil vel'Jendahr) After watching over her extensively, Valen finally felt Rihxo was ready to face him. To get the message across, he ransacked her home and threatened Rihxo's siblings, telling her to relay the message for her to meet him in the Lower Paths of the South Shroud. When Rihxo arrived with Gil and Raptor, Valen was wielding Thundercloud, and readied himself for battle. Rihxo demonstrated her skill, managing to hit Valen with an arrow laced with a very powerful toxin of some kind, but Valen's implants helped him resist the pain. The fight began to trigger memories of Valen's fight with X'Matoi Tia, Rihxo's father, but his severely damaged perception of reality caused him to believe he was reliving that very fight. When Stalhart spotted Nanagi hiding among the trees, this only further pushed him over the edge, believing her to be the lalafell merchant he was sent to kill. Nanagi defended herself, which left Valen even more confused and uncertain of his surroundings. This mixed with the commands being relayed through the chip in his brain and only further tore his mind asunder. Once he had regained a faint sense of what was going on around, he continued his battle with Rihxo, but not before Nanagi struck him with a thunderbolt. Even so, he managed to overpower Rihxo, and forced her to step back and fire another one of her toxin-laced arrows. Due to the electricity surging through him, he couldn't dodge out of the way in time. With both his body and mind weakened, Stalhart collapsed to his knees. Rihxo attempted to restrain him and get through to him, which seemed to trigger a violent reaction within Valen's body. Desperately fighting back the urge to simply grab the Miqo'te and snap her neck with his bare hands, the chip began to send pulses of pain through his body, causing his muscles to spasm out of control. In a fit of both madness and agony, Valen pushed her off of him and began to swing his spear wildly, tearing through trees and cutting down anything and everything he could reach. Fortunately, nobody was hurt by him. After his mental break, Valen threw Thundercloud into a tree, and then fell to the ground. Rihxo tried to console him and use a Magitek device to disable the chip, only to be calmly told by Valen that it would have no effect, because the chip in his brain had already been destroyed. He explained that he could feel the chip short out during his mental break after he fought so hard to resist his orders. After so much resistance, the old and weathered chip could no longer continue sending pulses through his body, and just broke completely. Though he was finally free from Garlean control completely, Stalhart didn't appear the least bit thrilled by his newfound freedom. After pulling himself back onto his feet, he blankly told Rihxo and the others that he intended to go to the Garlean base and kill every single Garlean that did this to him, and that they had nothing to fear from him anymore. The Miqo'te asked if she could go with him, to which Valen said she could make her own decisions, and that was her choice to make, not his. Nanagi said that she would go with him as well, should Rihxo go with him. Yet he heard no answer from Gil or Raptor. After boarding his Magitek Reaper, and leaving behind Thundercloud for Rihxo to keep as a trophy, Valen wished them all a farewell, saying that if he didn't see them at the Praetorium, then this would likely be the last time he ever saw any of them again. Freedom (Status: Complete) (Who was Involved: Rihxo Matoi, Nanagi Nagi) A few days later, Rihxo met up with Valen in Mor Dhona, and was surprised to be met with a much kinder demeanor from Stalhart. Without the chip, he was like a different person. He even engaged in idle chit-chat with the Miqo'te. The next day, he, Rihxo, and Nanagi infiltrated the Garlean base and brought it to ruins, even defeating another Magitek Knight and killing Valen's former commanding officer, Mitus Quo Nal. With the base destroyed, Valen felt it was finally time to close this chapter on his life and take a step towards atoning for everything he had done. Before he can challenge Garlemald with spear in hand though, he feels he must first find the friends, family members, and loved ones of those he's killed for Garlemald and apologize for what he has done. Though he doesn't expect to be forgiven, he does hope to give them some sort of closure. Prisoner of The Void A Fellow Knight (Status: Complete) (Who was Involved: Adelaide Levenson, Nanagi Nagi, Rihxo Matoi) Shortly after bringing down the Garlean base, Rihxo was approached by a mysterious woman who told her she wished to meet with Valen. Rihxo arranged the meeting, and the Magitek Knight met with her in Gridania. She introduced herself as Adelaide Levenson, and claimed to be of a newer generation of Magitek Knights, but like him, she managed to escape from Garlemald. At first he was weary of her, but eventually came to understand that she truly meant him no ill will. Nanagi didn't take too kindly to her, but in the end, it appeared as though Adelaide would be nothing but harmless. The Investigation (Status: Complete) (Who was Involved: Nanagi Nagi) Much to Valen's surprise, Nanagi requested to meet with him. She told him that while she was still unsure of him on a personal level, she was certain that he was more than capable at finding information. Because of this, she requested that he help her find out what happened to her mother, who was supposedly abducted by Amalj'aa some four years prior. He accepted her request, and began investigating. After a few weeks of investigating, he was able to learn that Nagi's parents were likely not attacked by Amalj'aa, but instead the target of an attack from a rival merchant in Ul'Dah. However, the merchant who likely was involved was already dead, and this still didn't answer what happened to Nanagi's mother. After further investigation, Valen found a lead that took him to one of the large Amalj'aa. After meeting with the elder, an old Amalj'aa named Ra'takka, he told Valen to contact Nanagi and bring her to the camp, because he knew what happened to her mother. The Forbidden Art (Status: Complete) (Who was Involved: Nanagi Nagi, Kirkirik Tirtirik) Nanagi came to the camp with a conjurer named Kirkirik Tirtirik to seek what the old Amalj'aa had to say. Ra'takka told her that the only way he could tell her what happened would be if she could prove herself by extinguishing a flame lit by Ifrit, that could only be put out through the aether of Hydaelyn itself. Hesitant, she accepted the task, and summoned the aether around her to extinguish the flame, much to her conjurer friend's dismay. Seeing that she had proven herself worth, Ra'takka explained what happened to her mother. A splinter Amalj'aa tribe that worshiped the gods of the Void were paid by the merchant to get rid of the bodies of Nanagi's parents. However, they expected both her mother and father to be alive so they could be used as offerings to the Void. With only her mother alive, the gods of the Void were displeased and wiped the tribe, but took Nanagi's mother as payment. Nanagi was incredibly distraught by this, but Ra'takka told her that he could teach her the ways of the Black Mages, and allow her to open a portal to the Void so that she could rescue her mother, or what was left of her, from the Void. Nagi said she needed time to think about it, so Ra'takka told her to go and think about it, and to take Valen with her, who had long overstayed his welcome. Preperations (Status: Complete) (Who was Involved: Adelaide Levenson, Nanagi Nagi) Realizing that his companion would be venturing into The Void to attempt to rescue their long lost mother, Valen quickly went to work to assist her in any way he could. His first priority was figuring out a way to enter the Void with Nanagi and not be tempered by its influence. He had an idea, though it was a risky one, and fairly convoluted. After contacting Adelaide, he requested for her to help him repair the Magitek chip in his skull that had been damaged in his battle with Rihxo, and transfer authority of it over it to Adelaide, in a similar manner to how the chip's authority used to belong to the Garlean Empire. He believed that if another person on the outside could control him through his Magitek chip, then even if The Void's influence were to reach him, it wouldn't matter since he wouldn't even have control over his own body, and therefore The Void wouldn't be able to affect him since Adelaide would already be controlling him to an extent. It wasn't a perfect plan, but one Valen believed would suffice until someone could properly exorcise the Void's influence from him. Adelaide agreed to the plan. Though reluctant at first, over time she seemed to change her opinion on the matter, even encouraging Valen to go through with it when he started having second thoughts about the plan. Nanagi wasn't pleased when Adelaide disclosed the plan with her, but Stalhart dismissed her objections. Another Weapon (Status: Complete) (Who was Involved: Adelaide Levenson) While on assignment in Sharlayan for Arcadeus, Valen came across a tome speaking of a weapon hidden away in the Black Shroud that absorbed the aether around it. Curious, he sought out to find this weapon, locating it in a long forgotten tomb near Ampador Keep. Just as the tome said, the rune crested spear began to absorb the aether from the world around it the moment Valen took hold of it. It even began to drain the aetherite crystal in his palm, though the amount was rather meager. After showing this weapon to Adelaide, he proposed to her the idea of figuring out how to reverse the flow of the spear so that way instead of sucking in aether, it would expel it. With centuries worth of aether, he had no doubts that if something like that were to disperse in The Void, it could provide the smoke cloud Nanagi would need to travel through it with relative safety so she could find her mother. Adelaide was intrigued by the plan and assisted Valen in deciphering the runes on it. After days of working with the runes, they finally came to a consensus on how to release the aether inside the spear. However, due to the fact that they'd only get one chance at it, they had to withhold from testing it to see if their method would work. With his chip repaired, and a new weapon that might aid them, Valen readied himself for the nearing day that Nanagi would finally enter The Void to rescue her mother. (Credit is due to Endel Blanche for the idea to add in this tab!) Due to Valen's stoic nature, he can be a little bit hard to approach, but if you need a little help, here's some subjects to consider. He is wanted by Garlemald for treason for defecting right before the Calamity, More recently, he led an attack on a Garlean base, which resulted in its destruction. Bounty hunters, Garleand soldiers or sympathizers, or even just people who keep up with current events may know this about him. During his service with Garlemald, he was augmented with Magitek, and served in a secretive batallion known as the Magitek Knights. Though little is known about them, those who are familiar with Magitek may have heard rumors about them, or at least know that Valen exhibits qualities associated with them. If there's any sort of trouble that you need help with, Valen is more often than not always willing to help, so long as he knows its for a good cause. He's not a hitman, but he may be willing to help protect a caravan through dangerous territory. He's associated with the Free Company Arcadeus. If you know of them, or know someone from there, then you may have heard of Valen. What I am looking for/interested in: I'm just looking for some good old fashioned, story driven, action filled RP. Combat is fun, but I prefer it done with a narrative style with the winner already predetermined between the participants before hand, as opposed to RNG dice rolling. For this reason, you'll likely never see me compete in the Grindstone. IC romance isn't something I'm against, per say. It's just I don't really have any interest in it (and honestly, it's the last thing on Valen's mind at the moment). That said, it could happen, but it's not something he's looking for. What I will NOT RP: Character death. My general rule in D&D is that a dead character isn't a very interesting one, and this holds true here too. That said, having Valen beaten to near death, maimed, or taken out of comission for a long period of time isn't something I'm against. ERP. I've got nothing against it, and it's cool if that's your thing. But it ain't mine. Links: Any links you feel are important for people to see, like journals, can be linked in this section. Tropes: Optional section. Remove if you don't want. You can link Tropes about your character here. About the Player: I do raid content as well, so sometimes I'm not always available for RP, but if I'm not raiding or doing dungeons, then I'm pretty much always open for RP. Annotations: This template created by Rihxo Matoi with the help of Nanagi Nagi and has pieces from the templates of Unnamed Mercenary, Roen Deneith, Cyrus Wolfe, and Coatleque Crofte.