VALÈRE D'ARRAS - SILVER CLAN, CLANSMAN

falling snow characterized his memories of his childhood. he remembered being forced into a small, dank room and forced to spend hour after hour without companionship; however, his father seemed to believe that solitary confinement would permanently alter his heir’s attitude toward violence and warfare. everyone wanted him to be the idealized heir. they could not accept him as the pacifist that he was, so under his father’s orders, they bullied and berated him until he showed signs of morphing into the proper heir. few bothered to feel remorse over their actions, foolishly believing that valère desired to become the next lord of the d’arras family. his ideals were tossed aside like mere trash, forgotten or disparaged by the masses. val did not have a voice, being a mere tool for his father’s and grandfather’s benefit.

and during his childhood, he believed that he was a simple tool—someone being molded into the ideal man. his lessons taught him the art of war and diplomacy, yet they neglected healing and herbs. no one expected him to become a world renowned healer though they wanted the d’arras family to be recognized throughout raduga. val submitted to his father’s authority until his cousin appeared, shattering his illusions and dragging him out of his personal hell. he never returned to the cramped room that had been designated as his prison. valère did not witness the brutality that stole his siblings away from him, and he merely heard rumors of his father’s demise. over the course of his seemingly endless existence, he would never return to the dungeon known as the d’arras household. his escape clipped the chains from around his limbs and allowed him to spread his wings, flying far away from the cruelty of his father and his responsibilities as the d’arras heir.

his flight led to his collision with the silver king, who respected his vast knowledge of herbs and interest in healing. his induction into the silver clan felt like a second chance to the broken male, and he reveled in the opportunity to prove himself without hiding behind a mask. he strived to be the perfect clansman, trying and often failing to be useful to his beloved king. arthur never begrudged him for his failure and helped rebuild his self-confidence. valère discovered the beauty of hope due to his king’s guidance and foolishly believed that the blissful peace would remain. and with the passage of time, he recognized his naïvety and would spend hours dreaming of methods to create a different outcome, a different future.

with the death of arthur lucienta, his world shattered, falling apart from the seams and leaving him with no direction. he merely wandered mindlessly through the wilds and slowly adapted to the changes that the world experienced. the blonde obtained knowledge regarding lurkers through first hand encounters while continuing to serve the poor and destitute as a masked healer, slinking in and out of history as he desired, and with the beginning of the new decade, val felt compelled to try searching for his king. in the beginning, he wasted years constantly looking for the beloved sister of his deceased king though he never managed to locate her, failing over and over again. his failures led him to becoming zaffre, an individual trapped within his own personal nightmares and willing to die for mere strangers.

TIMELINE

FOUR YRS OLD
» appointed as the heir to the d'arras family by his grandfather and father.
» they initiated his training immediately after announcing their decision to the aristocracy of raduga.

EIGHT YRS OLD
» after four years of intense training in war strategy and death, val started to rebel due to his inability to handle confrontations and pressure.
» instead of attending his lectures, he spent his days in the gardens or with the healers, learning about various herbs and healing techniques.

TEN YRS OLD
» witnessed the birth of his younger siblings.
» due to his father's ire, val was tossed into solitary confinement with the orders to correct his attitude regarding his impending transition from heir to lord of the d'arras house.

TWELVE YRS OLD
» after two years of solitary confinement, val managed to impress his father with his newfound dedication to his studies as the heir of the family.
» with his release, he was tossed into a rigorous training program that resulted in the acquisition of ragged scars and his severe phobias of unexpected physical contact and loud noises.

FIFTEEN YRS OLD
» during a lull in his training regiment, his visiting cousin slipped into his chambers, refusing to leave and insisting upon teaching val the joy of companionship.
» his cousin became his savior, helping him with injuries and allowing him to forget the present for brief snippets of time.

SIXTEEN YRS OLD
» one evening, his cousin snuck into his room, goading him into packing and then shepherding him out of the house.
» with distance between them and the house, his cousin informed him of the plot brewing between the upper echelons of the d'arras house and his grandfather, who wanted to kill val and name his younger brother as the heir.

EIGHTEEN YRS OLD
» on a winter evening, his cousin rushed into the inn, loudly proclaiming the massacre of the d'arras household.
» information revealed the destruction of the clan due to inner family strife.
» the death toll rose as the days passed, and when the week ended, val knew that he lost his siblings and mother in the brutal slaughter of his house.

NINETEEN YRS OLD
» with the death of his family weighing upon him, he separated from his cousin, who wanted to investigate the incident further.

TWENY YRS OLD
» despite constant contact via messenger birds, his cousin insisted upon meeting in a local tavern.
» the older male revealed the death of his father, who had survived the initial massacre of the d'arras family.
» val did not know how to feel regarding the information.

TWENTY-ONE YRS OLD
» due to a chance encounter, val stumbled upon arthur lucienta, the silver king.
» despite his uncertainty and arthur's hesitation, val joined the silver clan, becoming the first clansman outside of the lucienta family.

TWENTY-TWO YRS OLD
» with assistance from his cousin, val became a spy for his king, delving into the aristocracy of raduga and into the dredges of society.
» when requested by his king, he would drop his current plans and accompany the man, proving to be a loyal clansman and experienced healer.

TWENTY-FIVE YRS OLD
» during an excursion with his cousin, val obtained information regarding the dissent amongst the other kings.
» he wanted to deliver the information to his king, but he could not disobey the orders given to him.

TWENTY-SIX YRS OLD
» when whispers of the plan to assassinate the lucienta family reached his ears, val tried and failed to reach his king, wanting to warn the man of the impending danger.
» he arrived to see the house in flames, and with tears gathering in his eyes, he found his king, learning of the man's final actions and burying him once the cackling of the fire ceased.

AGE UNKNOWN
» without his king, val disappeared into the shadows of history, becoming a figment of lost history along with the silver clan.
» however, he continued to reappear at various instances as an unusual healer that lived and survived outside of the walled cities.
» with the turn of the decade, val stepped out of the shadows under the alias of zaffre, hoping to obtain information about his king and willing to risk his own life for the safety of others.