PLAYED BY: Bryan Richmond
CHARACTER NAME: Vaels Watetash
GENDER: Male
PREFERRED PRONOUN(S): He/him
CLASS: Cleric
AGE: 50
RACE: Feral Syndar (city)
HAIR: grey
EYES: hazel
OCCUPATION: Courtier, Mercenary, Companion
KNOWN SKILLS: Armor Prof., Shield Prof, Trade: Companion, Resource: Political, Resource: Economic, Divine 1, Meditation, Mana Reserves(syndar), Mana Transfer(syndar)
BIRTHPLACE: The wilds of Marais-Enceinte
APPEARANCE: Portly and well-appointed, Vaels appears to attempt (successfully or not) to fuse panache with a rustic style. He is often prone to wearing jewelry and trinkets.
NOTABLE TRAITS: Always willing to share a story, but more importantly listen to one. All too willing to see symbolism and signs from the gods in, well, everything.
RELATIONSHIPS: Hopipash (beaver spirit totem), Dran Watetash (father, city feral syndar), Eloquin Watetash (Mother, feral syndar), Vexen Watetash (uncle, feral syndar), Amoury Watetash (cousin, feral syndar, deceased)
RUMORS: Vaels seems to have a story for any occasion, appropriate or not.
Whenever Clan Grimward is around, Vaels gets awfully tight-lipped. He must hate them for some reason.
Vaels asks far too many questions about magic when the subject comes up.
BIO / BACKGROUND HISTORY:
Originally hailing the wilds of Marais-Enceinte, Vaels was barely an adult when his tribe was nearly wiped out by undead. The survivors barely escaped by canoe, leaving their tribal home forever. Making the arduous trek by foot to Aldoria, and the choppy voyage to Mardrun left Vaels with a strong survival instinct and protectiveness for his remaining family. To this day that time is one of the few topics he will not tell stories about.
Alongside his mother, father, uncle, and cousin, he attempted many different jobs and trades, none truly fitting him. Working caravans, fieldcraft, city labor, they all came and went for Vaels, though he found he had some martial skill and a love of storytelling. Vaels and his family were working a caravan when Clan Grimward attacked Pyre Hills; Despite trying his best to protect her, his cousin Amoury was killed. Vaels blames himself for not protecting her. Due to the encounter Vaels is terrified of Clan Grimward warriors, though he tries his best to hide it.
Much preferring the urbane lifestyle of the city, Vaels has given up many (though not all) of the outward trappings of the feral Syndar people. He has also fallen in love with many of the trappings of nobility he has seen from afar, not so much for the luxury they afford but the greater social access and therefore better opportunities for more stories. After living in the city for some time, Vaels has found he has a way with people and etiquette; Along with a trove of stories he is always ready to share, he makes for a surprisingly pleasant warrior and mercenary.
Between his growing skill with the blade and his gusto for tales Vaels has begun building a reputation for being quite the entertaining bodyguard. This began while working the various caravans where his stories kept monotony at bay. He has slowly been expanding to working for those in the city, though any who appreciate the amiable and engaging Syndar and his tales will find his company appealing. While Vaels keeps aiming for those higher and higher up in the social ladder, his love for new stories means he rarely will pass up work, either as protection or for his companionship.
In the city feral Syndar ghetto within New Hope, Vaels tries to be a voice of reason and balance, all too aware of the cultural loss his people face in these changing times. Due to a split within his family, Vaels knows all too well the tension between staying true to the old ways and the making of new lives within the city walls. Vaels knows there can truly be a place for the feral Syndar in Mardrun, though what that may be only the gods know.
Vaels is a recent recruit to the Broken Blade Company, joining shortly after his mother left to find their remaining tribe and other feral syndar in the wilds of Mardrun. He hopes that his new alliance will afford him access to clients amongst the nobles and elites, though only time will tell. Deeply religious, Vaels entreats the pantheon of Syndar gods through his totem, the beaver Hopipash.