Valentinoix Thibault
 Valentinoix "Val" Thibault
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| Gender | Male |
| Race | Elezen |
| Clan | Duskwight |
| Citizenship | Ul'Dah |
| Nameday | 19th Sun of the 3rd Umbral Moon |
| Age | 36 |
| Height | 6 fulms 7 ilms |
| Birthplace | West Shroud |
| Pronunciation | Val-ehn-tin-wah Tea-bowl |
| Gladiator name | The Blind Valentine |
Valentinoix originally hailed from the Western Black Shroud. His family had lived in relative darkness since the Elementals drove the residents of the Shroud underground His eyes never developed fully to see in the light, leaving him mostly blind. Val relies on other senses to fill in what he cannot see, leading many to believe he can see completely. His refined senses and skills in battle set him in the clan's hunting and gathering group. While out hunting and satiating his desire for exploration, Val became separated from his clan during the Calamity and presumes most, if not all, dead.
Val's mannerisms and speech patterns are often seen as archaic. He has an extreme sense of balance and necessity, using both to define and dictate his life and actions. He balances his profession as a veteran fighter in the Bloodsands under the pseudonym Blind Valentine with his more domestic hobbies of mining, fishing, and cooking.
Contents
Character
Val is rather awkward, best described by those around him as a literal brick wall. His understanding of people is often skewed, mostly when he attempts to understand situations of romance and affection. He tends to take a neutral stance to many things, though his stance against false imprisonment and torture is very strong. He has trouble understanding thick accents, though due to living in Ul'dah for so long, he understands the Ul'dahn accent best. Due to his seclusion from the outside world for most of his life, Val often fails to comprehend idioms and expressions, sometimes taking them literally instead of figuratively.
As he is a quiet person, Val often listens more than talks, though on the proper subject, he can be quite chatty. His voice is extremely deep with a rasp to it. The rasp originates from his false imprisonment at the hands of the Wailers, where they tortured and abused him, partially severing his vocal cords. For some time, he could not speak, which leaves him to silently communicate with others or hiss or growl at those who annoy him, and even after his voice was restored to him through alchemical means, he has tendency to fall back on those nonverbal habits. He is well aware much of the world around him can see, making nonverbal communication very easy.
Val is not completely blind. He can see in dimmer lights though not always clearly. In dim or even bright lighting, his vision is washed out and forms of people and things sometimes become lost in the light. Anything with sharp contrast or bright colors is easier to see.
Val often uses his hearing or simply touch or smell to navigate the world of the light. He is a talented chef, and he prefers mostly to make stews or simple foods, cooking by feeling the heat and smelling the spices. He often uses touch to feel what's around him, particularly surfaces, though his touching of other people is rare and only by means of necessity. When in combat, he closes his eyes, relying on all the other senses and claiming that sight only gets in the way.
While he can adapt to various battle situations, Val's curiosity can get the better of him sometimes, leaving him vulnerable to attack. His refusal for anyone to touch him has left scarring on his body, though recently he has permitted healers to repair his wounds. Touching outside of combat terrifies him, and if he must be touched, he must also place a hand on the other person, usually on their shoulder. Those he comes to know and trust he allows closer, but at times he is still hesitant to let other people touch him. He is currently working on overcoming this fear.
Val has many scars on his upper body, most he prefers to keep hidden. Aside from a select few, most show signs of abuse on his back and his wrists with a small one on his neck. The scar on his face are from being "branded".
Due to the damage to his throat, he speaks like he has an eternal cold, his voice scratchy and often gruff. His laugh is barely recognizable at times, sometimes sounding more like scratchy breaths or some sort of deep raspy snort. While deprived of his voice for just over a year, Val learned to communicate with grunts and growls as well as facial expressions and movements. As he is somewhat blind, sometimes the facial expressions and movements can be difficult to understand, as he cannot see them himself. When he feels threatened, he will often revert to that more primal form of communication and growl at people.
While only his closest friends are aware, Val suffers from terrible image issues. The verbal and physical abuse from the Wailers in an underground gaol influenced him into believing he was truly inferior to everyone else, that his gray skin was ugly and unnatural. When he first arrived in Ul'dah, Val covered up as much as possible, rarely showing his face outside. A coordinator in the Coliseum encouraged Val to show his skin and use his unusual appearance as appeal, yet even as Wall became accustomed to wearing less in the Bloodsands, he remained covered up until his rival-turned-friend forcefully encouraged him to show his face and ultimately more skin outside the ring. The Bloodsands and his best friend have helped him with his image issues, though at times, he still falls back into that ashamed state of mind, especially when someone addresses the scars covering his back and wrists.
Gladiator profile
Val's involvement in gladiatorial fights was mostly accidental, bribed into fighting by long-time friend Reginald Ozrik after Regi learned of Val's honed senses when hunting. Val was unable to speak at the time, due to an injury to his throat, often using Regi to communicate for him. Val was unable to fully say his name before his throat choked him up, so all Regi could hear was 'Valentine' and that became his gladiator name.
Val only fought underground for a short time, becoming known as a blindfolded, highly aggressive fighter. He primarily fought with a blade and sometimes daggers. His motivations were never coin or fame. He wanted to fight stronger people and things, to keep his battle skills sharp despite the severe injuries the Wailers had given him. He won a good number of his matches, and even those he lost, he left his opponents with injuries. After accusations of cheating began to fly and Regi simply disappeared, Val also left the underground arena nearly overnight, leaving that life behind.
Shortly thereafter, Val suddenly appeared on the public Ul'dahn circuit as a mysterious advanced fighter in the Bloodsands simply known as Valentine. Like in the underground rings, he arrived fully clothed in leathers and chainmaille and a matching turban covering his eyes. His first match was against beastkin which gave him quite a challenge, eventually knocking his sword from his hand and his turban from his head, which revealed he fought completely blind, giving him the nickname The Blind Valentine.
His first few matches were awkward, as he knew nothing of hamming up the crowd. He simply wished to put on a good show of skill, but as the fights went on, he learned how to appeal to the crowds, putting on an air of mystery and intrigue before offering a show of skill in blades and eventually shields. The less the crowd knew about him, the less they'd bother him, but in putting on such an air and show, it also made him strangely popular. Shortly into his career, a coordinator convinced Val to show more skin. He did, afraid of what people may think of a gray-skinned competitor. He found himself more favored by the crowd, and continued to wear clothing that exposed the arms or the legs in the ring only.
For the first half year, Val spoke to no one outside the ring. After encountering a medicinal alchemist who gave him a salve to heal his damaged throat, Val became slightly more vocal, slowly beginning to know some of his competitors yet still avidly avoiding the press and fans.
Val took a hiatus from the Bloodsands for several moons, pursuing other interests but found even while hunting and exploring, he missed the competitions. He returned to the ring with a new fighting style, now adding pugilism into his skillset. The style suited his skills and physical strengths much better than a sword and shield, increasing his wins and popularity.
Stats
- Gladiator name: the Blind Valentine
- Preferred weapons: sword and shield, daggers usually concealed beneath his tunic, recently hora and himantes
- Preferred clothing: sleeveless attire, usually leather or cloth. He always wraps his hands or wrists, especially now that he uses himantes as his choice weapon. He often wears shorts or something similarly short with armored boots. His trademark is a single white cloth that he uses as a blindfold.
- Preferred fights: gladiator vs beastkin
- Win percentages
- vs beastkin: 100%
- vs prisoners (Noxius): over 85%
- vs other gladiators: about 60%
Fighting style
Val fights very aggressively. Against beastkin, his preferred fights, Val will go for a kill. He is a trained hunter, able to understand the movements, build, and health of a creature simply by the sound. He has come close to being defeated a few times, but each time, he pulls through, his training as a hunter kicking in. Creatures with no legs, such as cloudkin and morbol, will give him the most trouble.
People give him the most trouble in the arena. They are much smarter than beastkin and are capable of creating strategies that pray on his inability to see. Prisoners, also known as Noxius, give him the least trouble, as most often they are unskilled in competitive fighting. Fellow gladiators, however, are quite the challenge. His ability to win drops drastically the more skilled or smarter or simply purely stronger the competitor is. He does not often fight other gladiators, yet when he does, his success rate plummets. He has his share of wins and losses and scars to go with it, but as he enjoys putting on a good show and hamming up the crowd, he continues to remain relatively popular. When fighting another person, Val will choose to disable or possibly disarm his opponent first
Family
Much of the Thibault clan perished in the Calamity when Bahamut rained aether down on the realm. It solidified, crushing a good deal of the Western Shroud where the clan called home. Val had been out on a hunt when the aether rained down from the sky, as much of the hunter/gatherers had been. The status of the others is unknown. His youngest brother and only sister are currently the only known other survivors.
Before the Calamity, the clan lived within a network of caves, the remains of a branch of Gelmorra, somewhere between the west and south Shroud and are extremely xenophobic and reclusive. Most never see the outsides of the caves, though a select few with hunting and gathering skills ventured off to gather food and supplies. A good number are blind simply never requiring their eyesight to see outside the darkness.
Once a year or so, the families of the clan would gather together, each cooking a meal traditional to each family. During this gathering, fights strictly were prohibited over dinner. It was a place of balance and respite.
Personally, Val is the eldest of several siblings, most of which were completely blind. He has several brothers and only one sister. He adopted their youngest brother into the family when his parents were killed in a hunting incident.
Relationships
Family
- Celeste Thibault - the youngest sister. She is an upbeat person and hates fighting, but still comes to Val's Bloodsands matches to support him and his work.
- Faloraux Thibault - Lunelle's twin brother. Thought to have perished in the Calamity protecting Lunelle, Faloraux recently showed up. The Calamity and the subsequent destruction of their cavern home left him somewhat mangled and disabled, but he managed to live well after leaving the shroud, becoming a scholar and mage.
- Lunelle Thibault - Val's second youngest sister. Like Val, she was subject to many of the horrors of being a Duskwight in the Shroud. Yet unlike her brother, Lunelle has turned to anger and destruction. Val hopes to help her quell the anger and restore her inner balance.
- Minnoux Thibault - Val's little brother. Val brought him into the family when Minnoux's parents were killed in a hunting accident. Minnoux is much younger than Val, by 17 years, and clings to him constantly. Val does not mind at all and is very protective of him. Minnoux is excitable and cries a lot, but he tries to be strong. He is skilled in healing remedies and can use a bow.
Closest friends
- Berrod Armstrong - first met at the Celebration of the Destroyer. Val drew to him after hearing Berrod speak of overcoming fear and hesitations, something which has been plaguing Val since the Calamity. The two have talked since then, and Berrod has offered to help train Val and P'kohta in the way of the Monk. He speaks with a thick Ul'dahn accent, but not thick enough that Val does not understand him. Val has come to trust him as a mentor and friend.
- Worren Tigre - a relatively new monk who read the chakra scrolls since Val could not himself. While the two practice opposing sects, the two get along very well, sharing in an appreciation for their respective paths in training and a desire to understand each other. Worren is fascinated with Val's perception of the realm around him, and Val is fascinated with Worren's complex journey to who he presently is. Val considers Worren one of his closest friends.
Friends and acquaintances
- Chachanji Gegenji - a spry lalafell who can fight with a smithing hammer. He is a skilled smith with a bit of a confidence problem. He talks very strangely and at times Val cannot understand his accent.
- Jihn'a Gahre - "Talon". A strange Miqo'te who flirts hard with Val, even though he doesn't get it. Recently Jihn'a has attempted to court Val, leaving Val thoroughly confused about his feelings and why he cares about Jihn'a so much. They waver between fighting and being friendly, leaving some to dub them a disaster couple.
- Lothaire Lecavalier - a fellow duskwight, though he hails from Ishgard instead of Gridania.
- Ojene Suinuet - a fellow dusky and resident of Limsa. They met when Val was fishing for dinner. Ojene is very thoughtful, taking Val's blindness into consideration when planning events (such as creating an egg that was also a music box for him to find at hatching-tide).
- Reinhardt Beauregard - a dragoon training under Cerigo. Reinhardt seems to have terrible luck and was rather downtrodden before Cerigo and a lord took him in.
- Shinjo Dawnedge - reckless, but quite diligent fighter. Shinjo lead a hunting expedition to retrieve a manticore stinger and found himself quite banged up as a result.
- Therese Orycia - a dragoon from Ishgard who took Val in when he got lost in a snowstorm. She sometimes sits uncomfortably close to him.
- Virara Wakuwa - has been leading an expedition to find her missing master. She is sometimes reckless, but she is also quite a strong fighter.
The Rising Fists
- Maruud Alfayesh - a monk who also enjoys solo time.
- Mistalv Arroway - Gave val the linkpearl to welcome him into the order. A blind monk of the order.
Bloodsands
- Anton Borneheld - retired gladiator. He was known to lose matches but was still popular somehow. He helps run a bar and cooks excellent foods Val has never tasted before.
- Zachary Evans - "The Laxform Gladiator". one falsely imprisoned but won his freedom by fighting in the Bloodsands.
Trivial information
- Hobbies: Mining, Fishing, Hunting, Cooking, collecting Triple Triad cards
- Favorite foods: pretzels, fish, steamed yarzon legs, landtrap greens, sweet rolls
- Least favorite foods: none
- Favorite colors: anything bright he can see.
- Biggest strengths: combat, general balance within his life, curiosity
- Biggest setbacks: loud noises will blind him, obsession with balance, paranoia the wailers will seek him out, aversion to touching, curiosity, fear of losing his ability to fight, image issues
- Driving desires: Curiosity, thrill of battling unusual things, balance
Rumors
Rumors heard about Eorzea. Some are true, some are completely off.
Common
- "Sometimes I wonder if he's capable of talking. I've never heard him say anything." ~ adventurer
- "That elezen is more formal that the nobles at times, especially with that dramatic bow of his." ~ Ul'dahn merchant
- "The Blind Valentine? You know, until recently, everyone thought he was a phantom. Now? I'm pretty sure I've seen him at least twice a week. It's not hard to pick out a dark duskwight in the middle of Ul'dah." ~ Bloodsands fan
Uncommon
- "That Val guy is actually pretty personable. I've talked with him a few times and he seems like a good guy with a bit of bad luck. I just wish I knew how to pronounce his name." ~ Quicksand diner
- "That duskwight guy? I'm pretty sure that man is really that mysterious blind fighter from the Coliseum, though no one's ever really met that Valentine outside the Bloodsands before. I do wonder." ~ rich tradeswoman who attends Coliseum fights
Rare
- "I hear he's an exile from his homeland of Gridania." ~ Drunk at the Quicksand bar
- "I heard he tried to become a paladin but had no skill in magics." ~ swordsman
- "I heard he did something really secretive when he served with the Flames but no one knows what it is." ~ Immortal Flames sergeant
- "He's some sort of investigator. He broke a kidnapping ring and saved my life and almost lost his in the process." ~ Flames private
- "You know, I've seen him help with the refugees. But he does it so secretly and quietly, I'm not entirely sure if it's the same guy." ~ Ul'dahn resident
Player rumors
- "... He is quiet, cannot see well, and likes to fish... Sometimes he tilts his head. I do not know what it means." Virara Wakuwa
- "I dun always know what Mr. Val's sayin' when he talks, b-but he's nice 'n frandly 'n-n has a good heart!" Chachanji Gegenji
- "Definitely the most unique fella to ask about learnin' the ways, but I can already tell he's gonna do well." Berrod Armstrong
- "MY BROTHER IS THE BEST FIGHTER IN THE ENTIRE WORLD AND IF YOU DONT BELIEVE ME ILL FIGHT YOU MYSELF!" Lunelle Thibault, screaming loudly as she is dragged away
History
Valentinoix was first born into a small family in the Thibault clan living within the caves deep in the western section of the Black Shroud. The family had been there for generations, stemming from a family of elezen who lived within Gelmorra. Like most duskwight, Val's family was incredibly reclusive, living in the safety of the caves. Some members of the clan who could fight left to gather and hunt food. Val found himself among them, enjoying the challenge of fighting creatures, fishing, and growing food.
Val strayed away from the neighboring families, save during times of clan dinners, mostly keeping to himself and hunting on his own. Soon after that, his younger brother and sister were born. Fraternal twins, the two were practically attached at the hip to Val, looking up to him. Val had grown to be a rather formidable hunter, and they wanted to be just like him too, even though neither could properly see.
Years later, while Val was out hunting the larger creatures of South Shroud, the red moon hanging low in the sky finally fell, streaking blinding fire across the sky. Val was forever separated from his clan, presuming them killed by the falling sky.
Post Calamity
Abductions
Without family or a home, Val took to wandering. He lived off the land, taking only what he alone needed. He developed a particular fondness for kedtrap leaves. He took to catching other game as the lands demanded it, however he never took more than necessary. That would throw off the natural balance.
Val found himself hunted like a wild animal shortly after the Calamity. Several times, the Wailers attempted to capture him in various means and each time, Val freed himself and slipped back into the shadows. He became a thorn in their sides. Eventually, the Wailers set up an inescapable trap, chasing him through the forest straight into a net where they bound him, taking him hostage and imprisoning him in a hidden, underground gaol. He had done nothing wrong, and he couldn't understand why they hated him as much as they did.
After being beaten and thrown into a cell, Val attempted escape and nearly did so until he encountered the head of the gaol, who had taken a fascination with him and his stubbornness, in the pathway to the exit. He had managed to disable most of the wailers standing guard, but this one wailer bested him easily. The head, Linoux, wished for some entertainment and used Val for it, beating him, jeering at him, breaking down his confidence and self image, and branding Val as his own personal toy. Many of the duskwight in the gaol were either beaten to death or sold on the black markets, but Val was too stubborn to submit. Linoux took sport in seeing just how long Val would last, beating him to near death then letting him rest then repeating the process until several moons later, Val simply could not go on any longer.
Val was left in a pile of bodies meant to be disposed of, to keep the underground gaols secret. He was believed dead, yet with the last of his strength, he pulled himself from the pile, travelling some distance before collapsing in a creek.
A new life
A pair of adventurers and a sellsword found Val collapsed in the creek when they saw blood in the river. They took mercy on him, healing him and eventually smuggling him out of the Wood under the veil of night. He stayed with them as they attempted to bring him back to health on their journey towards Ul'dah. The adventurers stopped every so often to offer their aid or do odd tasks to make gil.
A moon or so later, Val was beginning to regain his strength, though he had not yet regained his voice stolen from him by the Wailers. He had trouble with the Ul'dahn sun, and he never quite adjusted to it. When the group split ways, Val left with the sellsword, Regi, and set out on their own journey. The two eventually began fighting in underground rings. Val used Regi as a means to communicate with people as he still couldn't speak or even understand the local accents. And little known to Val, Regi and his friends using him to stack the odds into their favor and earn more money. Val used the tournaments as a means to keep his skills sharp and strengthen his relationship with his odd, aggressive friend. Val mostly stuck with Regi, straying from the rest of the crowds when not in battle. Val cared little of the fortune they amassed, silently handing half his winnings off to Regi.
After accusations of cheating began to fly, Regi had disappeared suddenly. Val felt lost without his only friend, and eventually left the underground scene himself, traveling to Ul'dah. There he trained in mining and joined the Bloodsands scene, fighting in the Coliseum there under the pseudonym the Blind Valentine, the same one he used underground in the offhand chance that Regi would find him. While he was rather successful in the Coliseum, he did suffer some losses, forcing him to take breaks. He felt he had amassed far too much coin in his successes, but he had no one to hand it off to anymore with Regi being gone. He heard of relief efforts for the Ala Mhigan refugees, and used his earnings to help.
Val eventually joined the Immortal Flames, placing himself into a position few expected a duskwight to be. The more bizarre his location, the smaller chance he had of being found by the Wailers. He eventually rose to an undisclosed position as an investigator due to his heightened senses and his strong curiosity. The position gave Val the freedom to explore and investigate as he desired. In his spare time, he still searched for signs of his lost friend Regi, each time coming up with nothing. He investigated a number of high profile cases, including kidnapping rings and underground trading, using his contacts from his time fighting underground as leads in investigations. He often worked solo, though he had a team which backed him up if the situation required it. One of his last investigations nearly cost him his life, when he attempted to break a slavery ring but fell victim to it, as the kidnappers wanted a valuable duskwight to sell. He served in the position for some time before the team was disbanded due to a mole within the Flames ranks, and Val eventually fell into the reserves.
The loss of this position left an imbalance in his life. He took a break from the Coliseum and his work with the Flames, leaving to train in pugilism and attempt to rebalance his life.
A second path
Even with his training, Val still found himself imbalanced. He turned back to competing in the Coliseum as well as seeking out the meaning of Chakras, a quest he and his hunting friend P'kohta started. His attendance to the Celebration of the Destroyer lead him to find a living monk, Berrod Armstrong, whom Val bravely approached.
There were several monks at the Celebration, though of all the speakers, Berrod's words struck him most strongly. Berrod spoke of casting aside doubts, fears, and hesitations, something which Val had internally struggled with since his abduction by the Wailers. Even only vaguely discussing what he wished to overcome, Berrod understood and accepted Val as his student.
Val began training under Berrod. He desired to learn both the spiritual and physical aspects of being a monk, to learn to overcome the fears that had been literally beat into him by the Wailers years prior. Val had not specifically said the origin of his fears and hesitations, just that something had caused them, but the origins seemed not as important as the path to overcome them.
The fight to open the first chakra was difficult. He had to fight for his life, to will himself to survive instead of being rescued. Val had incredible endurance, but each brush with death, he found himself rescued. This time, however, he desired to survive on his own will alone, opening the first chakra, the root. The chakra also gave him a remarkable ability to sense inanimate things on the ground, an ability which disoriented Val at first but he adjusted to it with more training. Training with Berrod some more, Val eventually learned to use the root chakra to make himself immovable and endure strong hits as well as survive in life-threatening situations. Val soon found himself accepted into an order of monks, meeting new friends that he never would have otherwise.
In a break from training, Val encountered a lost duskwight in Ul'dah, learning that he was Val's youngest brother, Minnoux, all grown up. Minnoux followed rumors of a duskwight living in Ul'dah through a wailer who had protected him named Linoux. Excited by the reunion, Minnoux brought Linoux to Val's house for a celebration dinner, unknowing that the Wailer had been using Minnoux to find Val, the only duskwight to ever escape the underground gaol.
Minnoux dismissed himself for dinner to find some herbs to make a salve to heal Val's injuries from a spar with Berrod, leaving Val and Linoux together. A fight for survival ensued, Val fighting for his life and to confront the source of his fears while Linoux attempted to subdue him. After several violent strikes to the face resulting in the fracturing of the bone around his right eye, Val lost in the struggle, falling victim to Linoux and being held prisoner in his own home. Linoux tortured Val, hoping to finally kill him and finish the job he started so many years ago, and Val would have easily died if it had not been for the root chakra keeping him alive. After submitting to Linoux's demands for submission, Val was partially freed and began to fight when Minnoux appeared on the scene. Both brothers were heavily damaged, but Val managed to kill Linoux with the last of his strength. Had fellow gladiator Jihn'a not been staying next door and heard the battle, the brothers likely would have not survived.
The attack left a lasting impression on both brothers, not only physically but emotionally. They stayed with Jihn'a for some time before Val used all his earnings he had set aside to purchase a new home where they all could stay. Their sister, Lunelle, soon joined them when Val encountered her in the Quicksand.
Val found plagued with the recent memories and horrors of the abduction, which brought up the horrors of the previous time. He confided in his mentor his worries, the advice in return was to rest and attempt to return to normal life. Val had intended to dote on his younger siblings, caring and providing for them, only to find that they were perfectly capable of handling both on their own. He soon returned to the Bloodsands, fighting in pugilism instead of with a sword and shield. He planned to provide for his siblings but quickly learned the could provide for themselves, leaving him with more free time to stew about recent troubles. He began involving himself with the circle of monks he'd befriended, speaking with them and at times sparring.
Val also joined two companies, the Carteneau Etheric Recherche Network, to assist with combat to protect the researchers as well as the Abyssal Exchange, a group tasked with finding unusual relics and other oddities about the realm. Both took him to many places across the realm, allowing him to travel and fight when not in the Bloodsands or sparring with fellow monks.
