Varienco Tyne

~ 22 Waning Light Moon, 1441 AL
~ 35 years old

You cast your gaze over the throne room - not nearly as grand as the one in Tiraven, but the interior seems lighter. Then you pause, a sharp inhale steals away your thoughts because there, stood by Empress Reyna’s side, is the knight who almost killed Alexandra.

“You!” As if on instinct, your hand falls to the hilt of your blade, fingers itching in anticipation to grab and pull, but behind that blinding rage a form of logical clarity rings through. So though your muscles protest, you stay your blade. For now.

The room is tense with your misstep. Guards all ready to draw their own weapons, should you feel the need to take it one step further. Reyna hides her disapproval behind a well placed mask.

The knight in question, the one you are so rudely glading daggers at, merely sighs. “And here I was hoping you wouldn’t remember me. Don’t worry, little Shield, so long as Her Majesty is engaged in peace talks, I will not point my lance at your queen. I have little intention of restarting the war, after all.”

Physical Description

Black hair trimmed short, fringe windswept and curling to the right side. A striking pair of blue eyes, clear as the sky on a day without clouds, holds a tactical intelligence.

A diamond facial shape with a strong, defined jawline. He has a few scars on his face; a long, pink slash across his left temple that runs halfway down his cheek and a smaller series of faded, white scratches to the right of his chin, though the latter is mostly covered by dark stubble over his chin and jaw.

His skin is midway between fair and tanned. Towering above most people at a height of 6ft 3in, he is slim and his muscles don’t really show beyond thin definition lines. This reflects his training, where swift movements were more important than overpowering strikes.

Personal History

As a young boy, Varienco was more than content to watch his parents work at the tavern, or attend the town’s public school for general lessons on a weekly basis. In the evenings, he would train with his father. A lance would become an all too familiar weapon for him, an extension of his own mind and body, even though his mother would object to such lessons. His father believed that he needed to know how to defend himself.

Those teachings served him well after his parents' deaths. He fled the town of Horracie on the eastern coast and made his way further inland. Eventually, a knight from the Valissan Royal Halls found him wandering the capital and was impressed by Varienco’s skills with a lance when he defended an elderly couple from some thieves. The knight - Pierre Gallows - was so impressed that he took a then 17 year old Varienco under his wing.

During this time, with Pierre acting as his mentor, he would find a place in the Valissan Royal Hall of Knights, even catching the eye of Empress Solaire’s daughter, Reyna Adonius. Though he would rise through the ranks to obtain the title of Commander, he would go no further whilst Empress Solaire sat on the Valissan throne. Only when she fell ill and Reyna became acting Empress would he reach new heights in his career. In the meantime, he would spend his days as more of a wandering knight, helping the people of Valissa wherever he could. They spread his name throughout the lands - the everyday hero Varienco - for all the good deeds he performed. From daring rescues to overpowering foes when vastly outnumbered. Perhaps that is why, upon his return to the capital, Empress Reyna offered him the title of Knight of the Silver Crown, the highest honour a Valissan knight could ever be given.

Ethnicity

Valissan

Currently Held Titles

• Knight of the Silver Crown

Eyes

Sky blue

Hair

Short black hair

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Lightly tanned skin

Height

6ft 3in

---

Secrets and Guides

Beware! The following content contains spoilers for this character.

Secrets - A Tale of Vengeance

As a young lad of 14, Varienco and his family found themselves in a lot of trouble. Having borrowed a fair sum of coin from the town baron in order to pay for repairs on their inn, they were deeply indebted to her. When she came to collect her dues a couple of months later Varienco’s family were unable to pay.

With that, she ordered guards on her payroll to rough up the Tynes, but the guards went too far. Varienco watched his mother and father be beaten to death. Flying into an uncontrollable rage at the sight, Varienco escaped his captors, grabbed his father’s lance, and slaughtered the guards who had killed his parents.

In the aftermath, the town baron sent more men after young Varienco. So he waited for them. Invited them into his bloodied home with a twisted grin and killed them, just as he had the other guards.

Fearful of Varienco, the town baron changed tactics. She ordered the guards to burn down his family home with Varienco inside. But Varienco had been warned of the plot by a neighbour and fled long before the guards arrived. Whilst they were distracted searching for him, he made his way to the town baron’s manor, piercing through guard after guard until he finally made it to the town baron herself. He made her death slow, a way to make her pay for all the pain he and his parents has felt, and when he was done he set the manor ablaze.