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★ Character Information ★

Character Name: Varen Avegos
Character Age: 36
Character Species: Werewolf
Current Health: He's in good health.
Outfit: Basic leather armor with a long-sleeved linen shirt and pants underneath with leather boots.

Character Canon: Original
Link to History: Long ago it was said that fairies ruled over the lands with their magic. They found loyal allies in the wolves of the forest and using their magic, the fairies granted them humanoid forms in order to better communicate with them. These became the first werewolves and they passed their gift and ties to the rulers of Rhujia down with each generation.

With time, fairies found they could not reproduce as easily as they once had and to save their magic they began intermingling with humans. Sadly, this diluted their magic and as fairies slowly died out so too did the world they had once built with their power. However, it is said that the royal family of Rhujia still contains fairy blood and that perhaps they secretly use their magic to hold onto the throne. It's unknown if there are any full bloodied fairies left in the world, but it's unlikely. Now the dominate species is human and though werewolves are a minority, they are still widely known of and can easily reproduce among themselves.

As werewolves keep their minds during their shift and they can't turn humans into werewolves, they aren't hated or feared by the human population. In fact, they're respected for their loyalty and protective nature. No werewolf is required to become a soldier or some type of guard, but they are well suited for the work and each pack encourages roles that protect others. Varen's pack — the Rhujian Fangs — are the only pack allowed to personally guard the royal family themselves based on past actions and self-sacrifice.

Growing up, Varen had made few plans in life beyond serving the Athria family faithfully as a shield. He was happy to follow in the footsteps of his ancestors and trained hard to be chosen for guard duty. With his level-headedness and calm, quiet demeanor, he easily rose through the ranks at the royal palace until he was assigned the duty of guarding a princess of the House of Athria. Things were turned on his head when he found himself falling in love with the princess and she with him as he worked as her bodyguard. Though he knew the relationship was doomed to fail, he allowed her to envision a life together without obligation to the kingdom standing in their way. This secret relationship went on for nearly a year, but it couldn't last — a fact Varen was well aware of. Naturally, she was then promised to a foreign king and Varen was tasked with escorting her there. She begged him to run away with her, but because of his deep seated loyalty to the crown and knowing what could happen to the kingdom should they disappear, he held his love for her in check and handed her over to her husband-to-be. He then returned home to continue serving the family as he tried to heal from his broken heart.
Canon Point: A few weeks after returning to Rhujia after escorting the princess.
Canon Iteration: Original canon
Canon Iteration Explanation: N/A

★ Folkmore Roles & Attributes ★

Skills:
— Sword fighting
— Hand to hand combat
— Close quarters knife fighting
— Parkour
— Disarming opponents
— Horseback riding
— General social skills and manners used serving royalty
Canon Abilities:
— Can transform into a wolf at any time, but can't hold the form for more than an hour if it isn't a full moon; is also not at full wolf strength.
— During a full moon the change into wolf form is involuntary and lasts until sunrise.
— He keeps his own mind in wolf form.
— His wolf form is taller than his height and resembles a full wolf (like this) [ warning for flashing lights ] with powerful arms and enhanced strength, but he can also run on all fours at faster than his humanoid form's speed.
Role: Familiar
Role Qualities/Attributes: Mainly as a wolf (or his werewolf form if that's allowed), a hawk, a horse
Role Reasoning: While Varen is in general a "good" person, he reads as very neutral most of the time due to his behavior as a guard. He stays silent and stone faced in the shadows, ready to leap forward and smash someone's face in if they're a threat. He walks a middle line between protective and violent; it just depends what the trigger is. Because of this, I feel he works for now as a familiar since it feels much more like an observer's role and not as active as the others.

★ Personality ★

OPTION 2 QUESTIONS (PICK 4-5) 100-300 WORD LIMIT EACH:

What is the most important and defining relationship(s) in your character's life and why?
— His romantic relationship with the princess Celia is the most important. He allowed himself to be consumed by his feelings instead of locking them away. Werewolves are very emotional creatures and tend to feel things more deeply than a human does. They consider it a test to face these intense emotions and know when to bury them and when to let them out. They're certainly not as strict about it as a Vulcan from Star Trek would be, but for those who serve as bodyguards or soldiers, it's imperative to keep a clear head and not let emotions get in the way. In pursuing this relationship with Celia even though he knew it was forbidden and doomed to fail, Varen was unable to get his emotions under control. She was carefree, sweet, extremely naive, and looked to him for guidance all the time. He enjoyed filling that role and soaked up the attention she showered him with. Now that it's over and they're separated, he feels like clarity has returned and he's determined to learn from the heartbreak he feels. He wants to better understand when it's good to let his emotions out and when to suppress them. He also knows how close they were to being discovered numerous times and several of his pack suspected there was something going on, but he always claimed the princess was simply too free in her affections and he didn't reciprocate. Going behind people's backs and lying never sat right with him and he blames this on his heightened passion for her.

If you could give your character a Taylor Swift playlist, which songs would be on it and what would they represent about your character?
— Wildest Dreams would live in his head rent free, just genderswapped. It perfectly summarizes his relationship with the princess and even though he's trying to heal from the heartache and move on, she haunts him.

I said, "No one has to know what we do"
His hands are in my hair, his clothes are in my room
And his voice is a familiar sound
Nothing lasts forever but this is getting good now

— Out of the Woods but again genderswapped. This is his anthem for moving on. I know it's more about a breakup and reconciliation, but I'm interpreting it as him saying to himself that he'll be all right and checking to see if he's reached that point yet. Plus, I mean, the music video has wolves in it. I am all about the visual aesthetic.

We were built to fall apart
Then fall back together

— I Knew You Were Trouble works vaguely because the princess was definitely in love with him too, but it was never going to last, so the "shame on me" is Varen admonishing himself for not knowing better.

Once upon a time
A few mistakes ago
I was in your sights
You got me alone
You found me

— Safe and Sound more represents how protective of others Varen is than necessarily being about Celia. Obviously he had no power to stop her from being married off, but this song represents who he tries to be at his core: a protector.

Just close your eyes, the sun is going down
You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now
Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound

What does your character feel like they struggle with still? Where could they improve? This could be physically, mentally, emotionally, or otherwise.
— Varen needs to work on his emotional control. It's something that heavily defines werewolves and in particular those wolves that are in his line of work. Having good control is necessary to be a clear headed guard because danger could occur at any moment and threats need to be accessed and dealt with fast. It's really only time, experience, and careful practice that can improve upon this.

What is your character's safespace? When do they feel the most settled and comfortable? When do they feel confident and relaxed?
— In his "den." This is a communal area where his pack hangs out and it's where he's most relaxed and able to unwind. Werewolves are very supportive of each other and often help someone forget their worries or talk it out. Specifically within his pack, they all have stressful lives so the brief times when they aren't on duty are spent with their favorite comfort foods, games, and socializing.

★ Player Information ★

Player Name: Megan
Pronouns: she/her
Are you over 18?: yes
Contact(s): fairandbright
Who Invited You?: Mod invite here
Current Characters: N/A
Permissions: Here
Writing Samples: one; two