Prince Aerwan Valardin
"There are many virtues to which one may aspire. So often neglected among them is balance."
Description: In more than a cursory inspection, it would be obvious to most that Aerwan was not a career knight despite some degree of relative physical fitness. He bears neither the predatory grace nor the imposing stature that most seasoned warriors seem inclined to inherit, and his complexion lacks both the tanning or scarring common to one whose pursuits are most often made in the training yard. An almost perpetually unruly mop of raven black locks grows thick from his pate, a noisy framing of a rectangular visage comprised of squared jaw into a rounded chin, given breadth by wide lips and thick brows. Perhaps the most notable of his features would be vivid blue eyes, their exact hue seeming to shift depending on how light catches them.
Personality: For some it can be said that they might be a wolf in sheep's clothing. For Aerwan Valardin, the more appropriate turn of phrase may be a fox in dragon's scales. Oathlander values have been instilled in the man almost to the bone: stalwart discipline, courtesy and chivalry, a sometimes stark sense of right and wrong, and a reverence for the Pantheon, like an armor forged in the principles of his forebears. While many of his family wear these traits as heavy plate, Aerwan's ingots of ideals have been refined and hammered down into a flowing mantle of steelsilk, airy and relaxed in their donning like a comfortable cloak. Yet every so often his facets of individuality glint through to tint its shades: an inclination toward idealistic naivety, an almost youthful appreciation for mirth and mischief that is reined in tightly, and a keen inquisitiveness in much of the world around him that couldn't be entirely penned up if he tried.
Background: Born the only son of Bernh Valardin after years of attempted conception, to say that Aerwan was considered a blessing from the divine would be an understatement. A celebration was had on the day of his birth, offerings were made, praise was given, and a prince's get was watched over like circling hawks by the family staff as he grew up into a young boy, especially when try as they might over his formative years father and mother found themselves incapable of producing a spare to their heir. For the young Aerwan, life was an adventure, and there was no grander aspiration than to be a valorous knight upholding the honor of his family and bringing glory to the Pantheon - which his father was inclined to encourage - while escaping his minders at every opportunity to hare off and recreate such escapades with whomever he could wrangle into the process. There were no shortage of tutors and trainers to mold and refine the child into a young man capable of doing proud by his father, but that changed with the Tragedy.
They were off on holiday during the massacres, and it was a weight that settled heavily on a tender young heart. But where it was the sort of thing that sparked a flame in many to only drill them deeper toward the sword, for Aerwan it had the opposite effect - lost in the malaise of mourning kin, the youth began to question his path and his purpose. There were always going to be times and places where arms were the only option.. but this was their result. What other options were there?
It was while trying to find these answers that Aerwan began truly diving deeper into looking at the Pantheon as a broader picture to life instead of his younger zeal solely for Gloria, inquiring with priests of all of the divine, and in the process took his first steps on a different path, even if it wasn't what he would have hoped for. There was never any shortage of work to be done for the Faith, and so he spread whatever help he could advocate for with his family to the causes that called to him for action. There was still honor and glory to be found, but solace, too.
The canonizing of the Lost was a particularly special time for the young man, and in the years since he has come to ponder on and search for more of Aion in particular, but also investigating other beliefs with an open, critical eye while rooted in his own faith. His own wandering pursuits to find knowledge and provide relief have recently come to a halt, returning for the first time in many years to Arx at the call of the Dragons to deal with the Skal'dajans. For all that he may be incapable in warfare, he has experience providing a helping hand - and there may be no shortage of need for those.
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