Vetrana Aleki
The quiet and reserved Vetrana recently claimed the position of C2Co Master Champion. She is generally seen as remote, frigid, imposing, and even mysterious--not to mention unusually intimidating for someone so small and soft-looking. Though the public's opinions of her vary widely, she is the absolute darling of her government, and they are entirely certain she will best C1Co's Grandmaster at the impending Ascension Tournament.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
In physical terms, Vetrana is quite soft. She would not do very well if forced into extended physical activity, but she is quite strong. The only sort of exercise she enjoys is swimming, even in the frigid waters of C2Co.
She moves with precision and a certain economy both as a matter of control and to increase her appearance of grace, but she is not naturally coordinated.
Apparel & Accessories
Though she prefers soft, neutral colors, Vetrana defers to her handler's insistence on bold, bright fabrics when she is making public appearances. This sometimes results in her wearing her trademark red-and-gold embroidered coat over simple gray and black, if she has been brought out on short notice, or in her wearing a muted brown overcoat over her more ostentatious clothing when she gets home.
In either sphere, her clothing tends to more masculine styling and is, for the most part, strictly traditional and conservative.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Vetrana went from obscurity to celebrity literally overnight, at precisely 5:12 in the morning, when government agents knocked on their door and told the family that her oldest brother was needed for a tournament, as the slated player has "vanished." Her brother was, at the time, several cities away on a University assignment (plus her mother thought they might murder him), so they got her instead. She swept the tournament, and has risen in her country's esteem (and fallen in her brother's) ever since.
Gender Identity
Sexuality
Education
Vetrana completed one year of University before her Wing Cross prospects eclipsed any possibility of a life outside the game.
She first learned Cross from her grandfather, a mid-level player with extraordinary technical expertise but neither the ambition for greatness or the stomach for ruthless strategy on and off the board that their country requires. When her oldest brother was the presumed star of the family, she was his primary practice--and as her sole duty was to challenge him, the family didn't much notice as she eclipsed him in skill and subtle strategy.
Once she found herself in the spotlight, the Department for Intelligent Action provided her a variety of tutors to hone her ability, as well as to instruct her in statecraft and the other political and social necessities of championship.
Accomplishments & Achievements
A rising star, Vetrana has swept the local tournaments. In terms of how long she has been a champion-level player, she is still quite green--but her pristine record (and her ability to keep the government happy with her) made her the clear choice for selection as Master Champion and thereby her country's representative in the Ascension Tournament.
Intellectual Characteristics
After having spent the first part of her life desperately wishing that she were worthy of attention, Vetrana has now discovered that she detests it. She does not want anyone to look at her, talk about her, or ask her questions. The fact that constant attention is now a defining factor of her life has driven her to be more personally reserved and disconnected than ever--a concentrated ball of frustration and terror piloting a body she prefers not to acknowledge as her own. She reluctantly fulfills all of the duties of her role, but does not and will not discuss or display her emotional state, personal thoughts or opinions, and definitely no affection of any kind.
She is insightful and strategic in all the right ways to excel at Wing Cross in the style preferred by the DIA, and they consider her apparent lack of personal thoughts and opinions a marked bonus. What they probably haven't noticed is the degree to which she has learned their style of strategy and manipulation as well, and that she is fully willing to manipulate them (along with anyone and everyone else) to her own ends.
Taboos
- She hates to be touched.
- She is very concerned about how her food was prepared, and its ingredients.
- She will only sleep in a small, locked room with no more than one window.
- She will not use bedsheets that have been used by anyone else.
- She does not allow anyone to see her without a headscarf.
- She does not wear jewelry or any ornamentation, especially while playing.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Though celebrity has not been as enjoyable for her as she once imagined it would be, that has not dampened her ambition. She has a driving need to prove herself; to prove her ability over and over in the face of (primarily imagined) doubt, and to flaunt her success before everyone who may have doubted her.
Her oldest brother's lingering conviction that her career is rightfully his bothers her to no end, driving her to constantly best all expectations so that someday he may acknowledge that she is simply better and more worthy, despite her founding fortune at his expense.
Social
Contacts & Relations
Her usual handlers include two DIA agents, X and Y, as well as her mother and her oldest brother. In her duties as champion, she rubs elbows with all manner of government figures, prominent musicians and artists, and even the occasional (state-approved) intellectual. However, her truly social contacts are vanishingly few.
Through tournaments and the DIA, she has met most of the prominent Cross-players in C2Co and the surrounding areas. Notably, however, she has never met the former Grandmaster, Pre-C2, whose stunning failure at the last Ascension Tournament, accompanying fall from favor, and subsequent notoriety looms over her career.
Family Ties
She is a middle child from a family of 13 siblings. She does keep in touch with a handful of them, though certainly not all. Her father has a quiet government job, but it was her grandfather's career in the game that brought her brother, and ultimately her, to the DIA's notice.
Hobbies & Pets
She has always wanted a cat, but does not feel that her travel schedule would be conducive, or that she could trust it would not somehow be used against her. She sublimates some of this thwarted affection to the dragons, which are more-or-less overgrown, indestructible cats, and which she encounters routinely on state duties.
Speech
Vetrana speaks quietly but firmly, and detests being interrupted or spoken over. This fortunately happens only rarely, now, if at all--one benefit of being champion.
Wealth & Financial state
She is well-funded by the DIA, but not to the point of extravagance. An indulgent lifestyle would be frowned upon at best (and very possibly sanctioned), but Vetrana has some considerable savings tucked away from her tournament winnings and her government wages, even after funding most of her siblings' educations. Her one indulgence is fine tea, which she has quietly imported for her from across the world.
- Modern Imperial
- Imperial Traditional
- Old Ordan
- Sidanish (reading/writing, primarily)
- Nisidesian (roughly)
Prevailing Rumors
- Men have been assassinated for looking at her wrong (probably not true, but possible)
- She poisoned one or more other champions to clear her path (untrue, but possible that DIA did)
- She has been poisoned herself multiple times (untrue, but she is afraid it will happen)
- She was trained by the DIA in seclusion, from a young age (untrue)
- She has vestigial magic, allowing her to read and influence thoughts (definitely untrue)
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