Post by Valentinian de Layne on Sept 29, 2011 11:37:34 GMT -5
Name: Valentinian de Layne
Age: 25
Race (Lineage Origin): d'Angeline
Gender: Male
Height: 5'8
Home Province/Country: Eisande/Terre d'Ange
Title: Duc de Valancourt
Appearance
Valentinian is built for speed, rather strength. He has the lithely muscular body of an acrobat, and his movements are marked by precision rather than grace. He is not inelegant, however, and there is something about him that suggests he might be a fine dancer – if he learned to move for pleasure rather than purpose.
His hair is an autumnal brown, occasionally offering glints of honey and russet when the light is particularly kind, but he wears it pulled severely back in the traditional Cassiline queue, which does not show it to any advantage and emphasises the austerity of his face. His features, as you might expect for one of his excellent lineage, are rather patrician, and he bears himself with a pride that stops just short of arrogance. He is practically a living testament to d'Angeline breeding: centuries of beauty and privilege rendered in cold stone.
But though his body is all Cassiline and his face reflects his forebears, his eyes are his own. A shade darker and richer than his hair, their warmth is both surprising and arresting, especially for a warrior. His mouth is usually set in a stern line, but this not does entirely counteract its more natural shape, which suggests a fleeting, repressed hint of whimsicality.
Personality
Unsurprisingly, having always lived his life as dictated by his position, Valentinian has a marked sense of duty, and seems to be primarily the bearer of a rather unglamorous set of virtues, like piety, integrity, and humility. His devotion, first to his family, then to the Cassiline Brotherhood has been unwavering. If he has ever struggled with the rigours of his training, or the restrictions placed upon him, he has taken solace in his faith.
Although he is considerably more than competent, he is also unremarkable: a fine and worthy Cassiline, but not an outstanding one. He has, however, earned the right to visit his family, an honour which has given him great pleasure. In general, he seems to appreciate the discipline of the order, and fights with dedication and focus.
In temperament, he is neither scholarly, like as his elder brother Constantine, nor extrovert like his younger, Arcadius. If anything, he tends toward shyness, and takes refuge in both his perceived aloofness, and that conferred by his status as a Cassiline. His instincts, however, are compassionate. He seems most at peace when going through the motions of his training forms, in moments of silent prayer or in the company of his brothers, who have always brought out the best in him.
History
Valentinian's history is less a collection of events and occurrences than an inevitable, and undeviating, path. As the second son of the Duc de Valancourt he was promised to the Cassiline Brotherhood at birth, and was sent for training – as expected – at the age of ten. The old Duc was a somewhat eccentric gentleman, with rigid, slightly archaic principles and an enduring obsession with the Tiberian Empire, hence the dedication of his middle son to Cassiel. Anxious not to shame his family, Valentinian worked hard and, although he missed his brothers greatly, he managed to accept his new life, even finding peace within its limitations, and the full acceptance of faith and service.
However, the events of the d'Angeline-Skaldic war have shattered Valentinian's life into meaningless pieces. Both brothers were killed during skirmishes with the Skaldi, leaving the family without an obvious heir. Rather than permit the fall and ruination of his line, a grieving Valentinian has been obliged to leave the Brotherhood, accepting the stigma of being declared anathema, to take up a position for which he is entirely unprepared.
For the first time in his life, he has begun to doubt the value of duty, devotion and self-sacrifice, and the choices he made without ever really choosing. The loss of his brothers has brought with it a cascade of other losses, all of them uniquely painful: the past, the future, his sense of purpose, his sense of self and, finally, most devastatingly and most completely, his faith.
Complicated Family Tree Stuff for Them As Care
I'm crap at this stuff but Niky tried to explain it to me... Valentinian's father, I think, was Marcel's father's elder brother, who gave some his land to Marcels' father. So that's the connection. Or something. Gah. I think that this makes this particular branch of the insanely complicated de Layne tree cousins to the other branch of the insanely complicated de Layne tree.
Age: 25
Race (Lineage Origin): d'Angeline
Gender: Male
Height: 5'8
Home Province/Country: Eisande/Terre d'Ange
Title: Duc de Valancourt
Appearance
Valentinian is built for speed, rather strength. He has the lithely muscular body of an acrobat, and his movements are marked by precision rather than grace. He is not inelegant, however, and there is something about him that suggests he might be a fine dancer – if he learned to move for pleasure rather than purpose.
His hair is an autumnal brown, occasionally offering glints of honey and russet when the light is particularly kind, but he wears it pulled severely back in the traditional Cassiline queue, which does not show it to any advantage and emphasises the austerity of his face. His features, as you might expect for one of his excellent lineage, are rather patrician, and he bears himself with a pride that stops just short of arrogance. He is practically a living testament to d'Angeline breeding: centuries of beauty and privilege rendered in cold stone.
But though his body is all Cassiline and his face reflects his forebears, his eyes are his own. A shade darker and richer than his hair, their warmth is both surprising and arresting, especially for a warrior. His mouth is usually set in a stern line, but this not does entirely counteract its more natural shape, which suggests a fleeting, repressed hint of whimsicality.
Personality
Unsurprisingly, having always lived his life as dictated by his position, Valentinian has a marked sense of duty, and seems to be primarily the bearer of a rather unglamorous set of virtues, like piety, integrity, and humility. His devotion, first to his family, then to the Cassiline Brotherhood has been unwavering. If he has ever struggled with the rigours of his training, or the restrictions placed upon him, he has taken solace in his faith.
Although he is considerably more than competent, he is also unremarkable: a fine and worthy Cassiline, but not an outstanding one. He has, however, earned the right to visit his family, an honour which has given him great pleasure. In general, he seems to appreciate the discipline of the order, and fights with dedication and focus.
In temperament, he is neither scholarly, like as his elder brother Constantine, nor extrovert like his younger, Arcadius. If anything, he tends toward shyness, and takes refuge in both his perceived aloofness, and that conferred by his status as a Cassiline. His instincts, however, are compassionate. He seems most at peace when going through the motions of his training forms, in moments of silent prayer or in the company of his brothers, who have always brought out the best in him.
History
Valentinian's history is less a collection of events and occurrences than an inevitable, and undeviating, path. As the second son of the Duc de Valancourt he was promised to the Cassiline Brotherhood at birth, and was sent for training – as expected – at the age of ten. The old Duc was a somewhat eccentric gentleman, with rigid, slightly archaic principles and an enduring obsession with the Tiberian Empire, hence the dedication of his middle son to Cassiel. Anxious not to shame his family, Valentinian worked hard and, although he missed his brothers greatly, he managed to accept his new life, even finding peace within its limitations, and the full acceptance of faith and service.
However, the events of the d'Angeline-Skaldic war have shattered Valentinian's life into meaningless pieces. Both brothers were killed during skirmishes with the Skaldi, leaving the family without an obvious heir. Rather than permit the fall and ruination of his line, a grieving Valentinian has been obliged to leave the Brotherhood, accepting the stigma of being declared anathema, to take up a position for which he is entirely unprepared.
For the first time in his life, he has begun to doubt the value of duty, devotion and self-sacrifice, and the choices he made without ever really choosing. The loss of his brothers has brought with it a cascade of other losses, all of them uniquely painful: the past, the future, his sense of purpose, his sense of self and, finally, most devastatingly and most completely, his faith.
Complicated Family Tree Stuff for Them As Care
I'm crap at this stuff but Niky tried to explain it to me... Valentinian's father, I think, was Marcel's father's elder brother, who gave some his land to Marcels' father. So that's the connection. Or something. Gah. I think that this makes this particular branch of the insanely complicated de Layne tree cousins to the other branch of the insanely complicated de Layne tree.