Valeriu Khorshid

Vali's story, ultimately, is a focus on elements of freedom, of sacrifices for a better life, of making decisions for freedom and autonomy that eventually come to bite you in the ass, about making one's sacrifices worth it in the end, about becoming what one hates the most. His story is one about slavery, freedom, triumph, defeat, love, hate, madness, and desperation.

Hes kind of a little shit. A bit of a bastard. Sardonic, evasive, paranoid, strong willed, a little grumpy at times, maybe a little unwittingly manipulative, maybe a little too desperate for the friendship of others. He is a polarizing person, hard to pin down. Good at making people feel heard or felt, and also very good at making people feel like they know him, when they don't actually know all that much at all. He's not a liar so much as he excludes important details. Call it a survival mechanism or a fatal flaw.

But the gist is basically hes wearing a mask, and that mask is cracking, and he's desperately trying to keep it on his face to avoid letting anyone see any weakness underneath. Growing up in a society that favors strength and reviles weakness so much will do that to a guy. At least underneath theres something worthwhile, where a more affectionate, genuine, open, more willing to be the curious weirdo he actually is.

I take inspiration from a variety of characters and sources to flesh out this character. Everything from my favorite video games to mythology.

Those familiar with the title might notice that I have taken a lot of inspiration from the video game Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, as inspiration for Vali's mental state and inner turmoil. These aspects were present before, but I was not sure how to properly, and accurately, impliment them until I came across this game. It gave him a ton of inspiration, and I got to thank the game for giving me the courage to finally tackle some more serious topics about my character.

Other inspirations of note include; Lord Summerisle from the folk horror movie 'The Wickerman' -- these two characters share the same sort of disconcerting charm about them. While he can be amicable, even welcoming and kind, there is always something ....'off' about this. The way he holds himself is often effortless and collected (at least until he is confronted with someone who can rile him up), and it just gives off the vibe he knows something most others don't, or that he has secret intentions that he is carefully hiding under that smooth charisma. Because he often does.

Another character inspiration is Fenris from the fantasy video game 'Dragon Age'. They share a similar conflict of being former slaves of cruel masters who ended to use them for their own profane purposes, now trying to find freedom and autonomy in a world that so often denies it to them. Both are living weapons, both are victims of a corrupt magocracy, and both fought for their freedom at great cost to themselves.

However, the paths they took are obviously very different ones. Fenris left the life and people that tried so desperately to contain him, creating a new family and purpose for himself outside of being simply a living weapon and magical battery. In contrast, Valeriu tries to become one of them, in the hopes that he might never suffer in the same way, and perhaps (and this shows Vali's lower wisdom stat, lol) do some good with his station.