Lord Bariat Vol Oster

Lord Bariat (né Barkhan) Vol Oster (né Vakvaransh) (a.k.a. Bariat Vol Oster, The Gentle Giant of Vekirai)

Physical Description

Body Features

Unlike all other Saravan, Lord Bariat is completely hairless. Most strikingly, he has plantigrade legs and large 4-toed feet rather than hooves. These deformity are the result of forbidden cosmetic magic which was used on him in his youth to make him more palatable to the Vekirati sensibilities. It is rumoured that he uses a complex mix of potions and ointments to maintain the effects of the spell.
His skin is a grey like stone. He has two large curve horns which spiral slightly. An earthling might compare his horns to those of a goat.

Facial Features

Like all Saravan, his face is quite flat and wide with a wide nose and large nostrils. He has large lips and a strong jaw with moderately large canine teeth and very large molars. 
His irises are deep yellow. He has no eyelashes or eyebrows. His ears, large and slightly pointed, stick out slightly from his head.

Apparel & Accessories

Lord Bariat is admired by the fashionable Vekirati for his trend-setting fashion choices. He is considered to have almost singlehandedly popularised the current fashion for long coats with large ornate buttons down the centre and intricately embroidered shoulders.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Lord Bariat was born amongst the Vakvaran tribe of Saravan in the central M'dian mountains. His family were primarily traders. They travelled between Cyiros in the north, the Haravi in the east and the Ga Samathen in the south-east mostly. They traded in metal from Cyiros, herbs and spices from the Haravi and textiles and sugar from the Ga Samathen. Lord Bariat was named Barkhan, meaning "pure spring" by his great grandmother who was an important mage of their tribe and who predicted that great wealth would spring forth before him as he grew older.
When Barkhan was little more than 2 years old, he lost his family amongst the crowds in Ifram Oleion, the great fortress capital of Cyiros. The tribe stayed in the city for more than a month to search for him but never found him. Barkhan's great grandmother remained in the city from that day until she died 10 years later. She never discovered what had happened to him.
In fact, the frightened, lost Barkhan had been captured by Espirion slavers from Vilsan who planned to sell him once they arrived in Bairek. He was taken in a cage by the trade caravan to Dabrait. At that time, Lord and Lady Gan Barian, wealthy nobles from Vekirai, were in Dabrait assessing recent fire damage to a mansion and estate they owned on the outskirts of the city. Lady Gan Barian had never seen a Saravan before and was quite taken by Barkhan when she saw him in the market. Although her husband protested (slavery is considered distasteful in Verkirati high society), Lady Gan Barian bought Barkhan from the traders at a much higher price than the slavers could have gotten in Bairek.
Lady Gan Barian, who found his birth name too hard to pronounce, renamed the boy Bariat (simply "belonging to the Barians") and brought him back to her luxurious home in Vekirai. Although he was a slave, Lady Gan Barian would describe him publicly as a paid servant (although he was never paid). He slept on the floor in a cupboard in the house. Lady Gan Barian would often display him at parties as a kind of interesting curiosity.
Although he was a slave, the Gan Barians' servants despised Bariat who was seen as getting special treatment. He was regularly derided as a monster or demon and was frequently beaten by the household staff.
As Bariat grew, many of Lady Gan Barian's guests found his presence increasingly distasteful. Lady Gan Barian considered throwing him out of the house on many occasions but worried that it might disgrace her name if such a spectacle as this creature were wandering the streets by her actions. In order to save face, she set about making him more palatable for Vekirati society.
She had him tutored in etiquette, poetry, estate management and history by an expensive tutor in secret. In the end, Bariat received an education almost as good as Lady Gan Barian's own children. Lady Gan Barian delighted in having him recite famous poetry or speak foreign languages to entertain her guests at the lavish parties she often threw. She delighted in dressing him in fine clothes and would even paint his horns.
Despite her efforts, there remained powerful people in Vekirai who considered him repulsive and demeaning to her name. Lady Gan Barian therefore set out to take more drastic measures.
The native Espirion of Vekirai have no body hair, their skin is mostly smooth with tough scales covering some of their body. Bariat on the other hand, much like any other Saravan, had thick hair on his head and down his back, under his arms and around his groin. He had large hooves which frequently damaged the floor and two curved horns atop his head. As Bariat turned 17 he stood 1.8m tall, even then much taller than Lady Gan Barian who reached only 1.4m high. The Vekirati elite associate hair with savages and slaves, and found his hooves repulsive.
Lady Gan Barian therefore set about finding ways to make her slave more suitable for polite society. First she commissioned a set of small, sharp blades to be made by one of the cities best blacksmiths. She had her servants carefully shave every inch of Bariats body. The spiteful servants very frequently cut Bariat during this time which he still remembers with resentment.
Next, she set the city's most skilled cobblers designing shoes that disguised his hooves. This was a mixed success in her mind. The new shoes caused him to walk awkwardly and his unguligrade legs were obviously different from her 'proper' legs.
When Bariat was 21, Lord Gan Barian died. Lady Gan Barian made a successful appeal before a tribunal of sages to be allowed to keep a large proportion of their estate in her husbands absence (the rest was inherited by her children). The Lady became more and more decadent and excessive in these later years of her life. She had little interest in managing her estate and a lot of interest in throwing lavish balls. She became increasingly obsessed with Bariat and less and less aware of the scorn she attracted for her obsession.
In the year 149, when Bariat was 24, Lady Gan Barian set about her most ambition project yet. She bribed one of the sages, Sage Ostram Lin Nasteron, to help her in her endeavours. In secret, Sage Ostram help Lady Barian perform a magic ritual on Bariat. The sage magically removed all his hair permanently and, in one of the greatest feats of transformation magic ever performed, transformed his legs entirely giving him plantigrade legs. It is rumoured that more than 10 servants were sacrificed as part of the ritual.
Although forbidden, the use of black magic for cosmetic purposes in Vekirai remains fairly common amongst the aristocracy. This was such a blatant misused of magic however that Sage Ostram was executed by order of the Archsage for his crime. Lady Gan Barian would likely have been executed also, but her son defended his disgraced mother claiming she had gone insane due to the loss of her husband. Lady Gan Barian was sentenced to permanent house arrest at the home of her son where she remained until her death in the year 155.
Bariat was due to be executed himself but was pardoned. At his trial, leveraging his unexpected education and eloquence, he presented a powerful defence. He explained that he was a slave (slave owners are liable for the crimes of their chattel in Vekirati law), that he had no choice in his mutilation and he retold the tale of his suffering with a poetic finesse that had many of noble ladies present in tears and even the sages of the tribunal struggling to keep their composure. Bariat was pardoned by the sages and warned against any further use of magic.
Now free, and a true celebrity, Bariat found himself quickly taken up into the complex social scene of Vekirai. Every noble wanted him at their party. Aged 24 Bariat was already 2.4m tall and muscular in a way that no Espirion man could be (although not compared to the true mountain-dwelling Saravan). If the rumours about how the noble ladies of Vekirai spent their time with Bariat were found to be true, the scandal would certainly destroy the ladies' social standing. Thankfully, Bariat, who grew up amongst the lavish parties of the Gan Barians has proven more than capable of discretion.
A number of noble ladies sponsored Bariat financially. Helping him to establish his own estate. Bariat bought a number of businesses, a mine and some farm land outside the city. He now owns a large home in Vekirai. He remains a star of the Vekirati social scene, and has become a very powerful man, not least by the secrets he holds about a number of noble ladies and, some claim, about a number of noble men or even sages.
On the 5th Bayeriot, 154 AU, Bariat successfully petitioned the Parliament of Vekirai to grant him the title Lord. He took the full legal name Lord Bariat Vol Oster. "Vol Oster" means "from beyond/elsewhere". His businesses are named variations on this name; Vol Oster Copper Mine, Vol Oster Farm, etc. Many in Vekirai call him "Oliano Daflinen" which means "gentle/tender giant", a somewhat tongue-in-cheek pseudonym given the innuendo associated with the word "daflinen" meaning "gentle" or "tender".

Sexuality

Although there are only rumours, it is widely accepted that Lord Bariat takes many lovers. There are even rumours that he has taken male lovers but the Temple forbids this and the rumours may be slanderous.
Many of Vekirai's aristocrats attribute the stability of Lord Bariat's power to the scandalous secrets with which he leverages.

Education

Lord Bariat was educated by an expensive private tutor when he was the favoured slave of the late Lady Gan Barian. He studied the history of Nangkap, poetry, law, etiquette and finance. He speaks a number of foreign languages including the 'Tsng'e the language of Bi'tsng'ot, Baireki and the Cyirosi (although not the Saravan language). He is considered highly learned by his peers.

Employment

Lord Bariat owns a number of business including a copper mine, a merchant ship, a large amount of farmland and three shops, two which sell food and one which sells tools. He does not directly manage any of his enterprises instead enforcing a hierarchy of employees in a manner considered very progressive by many of the wealthy of Vekirai.

Mental Trauma

Lord Bariat frequently tells epic tales of his struggle from slave to wealthy aristocrat, but his stories frequently change and many suspect he has never truly revealed how he feels.
Although he maintains the appearance of kindness to his servants, it is rumoured that he is prone to taking out his anger on them extremely cruelly. Many suspect this is an echo of the treatment he faced from the Gan Barians' servants growing up.
Lord Bariat has no memory of his real family and has never admitted to trying to contact them.
Bariat has expressed sadness on occasion that he will likely never have children of his own given the total absence of Saravan in Vekirai besides him.

Social

Religious Views

As with almost everyone in Vekirai, Lord Bariat is a Pentarchist with a particular penchant for the Silent God, somewhat unusually for a wealthy Vekirati. It is, however, widely known that Lord Bariat is very promiscuous and is unmarried even though the Sorrowful God calls the faithful to marry. It is not well established in temple law whether inter-species marriages are permissible.
Lord Bariat makes offerings to the Silent God at the same time each week.

Current Location

Vekirai

Species

Saravan

Honorary & Occupational Titles

Lord, Peer of the Parliament of Vekirai

Date of Birth

34th of Koudelon

Year of Birth

125 AU 45 Years old

Birthplace

Great Central Mountains, M'dia

Current Residence

Vekirai

Gender

male

Eyes

Golden / Orange

Hair

none

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

grey

Height

2.6m

Weight

123kg