Llyre es vel Volaerys

Llyre es vel Volaerys (formerly known as Lirei-Nai of House Is, and more commonly known as The Traitor) is a Rathniri politican and businessman based in the city of Almorria in the Imperium of Almorre, a nation in Sparwood.

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Appearance
Llyre, the youngest member of House Volaerys, is rather unassuming in terms of his appearance, due to his habit of obscuring his entire body, including his face. With very rare exceptions, he wears a heavy wooden mask carved into the shape of a wolf's head, as well as a dark grey poncho that covers his entire torso, as well as simple brown trousers with leather boots. He dislikes wearing armour. When unmasked, he wears a somewhat opaque black veil covering his lower face. Since becoming Hand of the King, he also wears a golden brooch on his cloak, on the right side of his chest.

Beneath it all, he is a fairly lean and tall young man, with (somewhat unnaturally) pale skin, messy black hair, and distinctively pale grey eyes circled by long eyelashes and fading dark circles. His eyes are described as the colour of dirty ice, paler than stone and darker than milk, like two white moons. He has pointed ears shorter than those of a fullblooded elf, and wears many earrings in them, as well as a multitude of simple rings on all of his fingers.

Llyre's face bears a distinctive scar across the left side of his face, from his mouth to his ear, exposing some teeth. Despite its age, it does not appear to be healed, still raw-looking. The rest of his body is speckled with faded scars from his adventures in Rathnir.

A more visible trait of his are two large black wings on his back, the left of which is severely damaged, in the same state as his face, unhealed despite its age. Usually he hides them beneath his poncho, especially now that he cannot fly due to the injury of his left wing.

As of lately, beginning shortly before the onset of the Almmori War for Independance, Llyre's skin began to take on more of a sickly grey hue, and he refused to take off his mask in front of anyone, including his own family. In certain lights, his shadow almost looks as though it has ram's horns, and if you manage to catch a glimpse through the eyeholes of his mask, it almost seems as though there are more eyes than there should be....

What secrets are he hiding?

Biology
It's unclear what exactly is going on with Llyre, at least biologically speaking. While reaching milestones at the rate an Elf would, his aging has stopped almost entirely since turning 18, likely as a result of his botched ressurection. Outwardly, on first glance he does highly resemble an elf, with pointed ears and a rather tall, slim build. Due to his Celestial Elf blood through his paternal line, he has a slight resistance to higher temperatures, but not to the degree that a full-blooded Lhûren would.

His skin is colder than that of a regular living being, and he posesses no detectable heartbeat, likely also due to his ressurection

The first thing of note are the wings mentioned in the previous section. Unfolded, Llyre's wingspan is close to 10 feet (300 cm). These wings are somewhere between the appearance (in terms of shape) of a hawk or owl's wings, adaptable to passive soaring as well as more high-energy flight. The plumage seems to extend across his back between the wings as well, before trailing off. The natural colour of his wings are tawny brown with white undersides and speckling, but are dyed black for unknown reasons.

In terms of internal structure, he has a body optimised for flight and survival in high mountainous reigons and in the upper canopy of trees. In addition to the previously mentioned wings, he also posesses hollow bones, allowing him to theoretically lift off far easier. The downside to his more delicate bone structure is that blunt-force trauma can be particularly dangerous, thus he tends to avoid melee combat whenever possible.

Llyre's body is not particularly adapted to storing fat, and requires high amounts of proteins and calories to function. Beyond these things, his eyes posess a nictitating membrane that offer a degree of protection from debris and wind while flying, and he posesses pointed canines and some of his molars seem to have been converted to carnassials.

These traits have been proven to not be a result of his mother's (unknown) race, as his sister, Rhaelys, does not posessess many of them, and instead bears antlers and traits common to cervids, unlike her more avian brother.

Personality
A harsh contrast to his somber appearance, Llyre is a fairly lighthearted and charming young man. He takes an optimistic approach to foreign affairs, freely offering help and working hard to keep positive relations with nearby nations, though he doesn't seem particularly close to many people outside of House Volaerys itself.

However, some of his friendliness seems somewhat... artificial. It's quite hard to get a guage on his true intentions and motivations, as he rarely shares any information about himself beyond superficial facts. Like his literal mask, his personality seems to be somewhat hidden beneath his aggressively friendly mask.

Llyre is also painfully ambitious and proud to a fault. While it is hard to get under his skin, if/when he does feel insulted, the response is often nuclear, with days of planning leading up to his scorched earth tactics. Even until the last minute he will wear a cheery face, before the mask slips. His anger tends to be quite calculated and honed to the point that it seems deliberate more than anything, intentional rather than true anger.

He seems alarmingly willing to sacrifice the people around him for the betterment of House Volaerys and Almmore, as well to further his political ambitions of unification of the North Sea, and thus his sense of loyalty and justice are rather warped. His morals are rather fluid, fluctuating with his goals, and has few qualms against distasteful acts such as violence, treason, and other crimes, most often seeing these things as means to an end. If he must be ruthless and a monster, so be it. He is not above threatening opponents, often in conjuction with Noodle, playing a somewhat good cop/bad cop role.

Currently, he seems to be rather unstable.

Early Life —
Llyre's mother died when he was just a young child, leaving him and his older sister, Rhaelys, alone before they were sent to join their father, the then-Lord of House Volaerys, where he was renamed from Lirei-Nai to Llyre. He and Rhaelys were also granted the name “yu vel Volaerys”, one meant to denote an illegitimate bastard child.

There’s nothing left beyond snapshots and memories. He remembers his mother's laugh, soft, his siblings, a brief glimpse of the sea over a field of golden wheat. He knows that his childhood was happy, for a time, but much of it is tainted with a deep sense of misery.

The siblings were subject frequently to their father’s anger and disdain, though Rhaelys was saved from much of it when she came of age and left home in order to seek a higher education and to see the world.

Not much else remains. Years have long slipped away to nothing more than these fragments.

Wanderer —
By his fifteenth birthday, his father seemed to have grown weary of his youngest child, and following what could have been a harmless misunderstanding or an act of wilful malice, removed his son from the family tree, exiling him to the wilderness.

Much of his time as an adventurer is also shrouded in the same mystery as his youth, large gaps in his memory that he can’t seem to recall much of, if anything.

While travelling, Lyre kept a (now-lost) journal detailing his findings, including sketches and pressed specimens of plants, and detailed notes on a strange discovery he had made– the ruins of a city now wreathed in fire. It is thought that this city was Asahiri, but due to his journal’s whereabouts being unclear, this fact is unknown.

What is known, however, is that he died, alone and afraid, mangled by the blades and arrows of bandits when he had crossed into their land. Far from a warrior and unable to fly or do much more than lay down to wait for the blood loss to overcome him, the boy found a small cave and accepted his fate.

Resurrected —
When he woke up again, things were different. Someone, or something had brought him back from the darkness, the eternal void, but it had gone wrong. Cold, delirious, and barely clinging to his newly found second life, the young man found that despite his revival, some of his wounds would not heal, and his mind was infected with a quietly simmering anger, a desperation to see the world around him engulfed in flames like the strange city he had once seen. Quelling this desire, he slowly began to recuperate in the cave that he made his home until he was well enough to travel. On his journey home, he began to hide his disfigured face with his distinctive wooden mask, dying his wings black for a reason he could not explain.

After months of travel, he had finally made it home.

Homecoming and Time in Serafaint —
Lyre returned to Serafaint to find his father dead and his older half-brother, Aerin, now head of the house. His reunion with his siblings was short lived, but he set to rebuilding his own life, as well as the family name that had been so long slowly descending into obscurity. During this time, Noodle joined the family, initially as an employee, but soon revealed his true identity and purpose.

The rest of Llyre's time in Serafaint was marked with turmoil. While in Serafaint, the family had run a brewery from a large warehouse in the port district of the city near their home. While initially seemingly quite positive, relations with the Doge, Exarian Crimsone, rapidly declined after a perceived slight towards Aerin during a discussion in the brewer's guild. Due to the rising tensions, House Volaerys announced their departure from Serafaint and Tovarisha as a whole, which only drove the wedge further between the formerly friendly relations of House Crimsone and Volaerys. They left shortly after, with the tensions turning to outright hatred and distrust. Following this event, Noodle returned to complete his vengeance against House Crimsone, finally getting justice for his own past.

Thalassii —
After leaving Serafaint, Llyre and House Volaerys as a whole settled in Thalassii, establishing themselves in the promising young nation as it healed from the Kartek Wars. Llyre, who had befriended a young Blake Almmore during his travels, began alongside several others to develop the Thalassii peninsula into a small town, which Blake became the Duke of, founding what would later be known as Almmore.

While initially continuing their brewing business, Noodle, and later Aerin and Llyre would expand into selling arms and other enchanted gear alongside alcohols, helping to fund both Almmore’s expansion and growth. It was during this time that Llyre also became friends with the ruler of Thalassii, King Chorboi I, who encouraged his political career, first on the Almmori high council, before becoming Chancellor of Thalassii. He was wholeheartedly dedicated to unification and peace in Northern Sparwood as well as the development of a dedicated ice road network, eagerly throwing himself into the work along with his responsibilities as head of Thalassii Secret Police.

He would consider these times his happiest, the return of his sister to the family home and living a relatively carefree life spent fishing, writing, and befriending citizens of the neighbouring states, including Jonathan Lozharo of Lozaria. The two grew closer quickly, sharing a common interest in peace and prosperity for the North. Llyre felt as though he had finally recovered from his own traumatic death and subsequent resurrection, and had begun to look to the future, occasionally even entertaining the idea of building a future with his friend, who he had started to develop feelings for.

The Traitor —
However, it seemed that it was not to last.

One day while mining, Llyre found a mysterious altar, and upon touching the idol sat upon it, a figure carved of a black stone, he began to change.

What began as an idle thought and a happy dream soon festered into something darker. Something dangerous. The Unification of Northern Sparwood was all he wanted, all he could think about. Any means necessary, he told himself, as he began to feud with Chorboi over how Thalassii should proceed in terms of international politics. The once pleasant and cheerful young man grew paranoid, prone to fits of madness, the hunger and evil in his mind that he had so long repressed slowly unfurling itself within him.

It's unclear what drove him to this place, the gaps in his memory growing wider and deeper, eating away at his mind. An infection.

When Loic returned to Rathnir, promising conquest, this new creature that Llyre had become saw an opportunity that could not be missed, a chance for Sparwood under one ruler, the Uniter himself.

One day Noodle came to him with the news that his faction had allied themselves with Loic, he saw it as a natural reaction, as simple as breathing, as simple as flying had once been.

Perhaps this was how things always would have ended. It wasn't hatred for anyone, or a specific desire. He saw it as nothing more than a transaction, business, but in exchange for his loyalty, he would be paid in his dream coming to fruition.

The only price was his own honour and the future he’d wanted with Jonathan that had become more than just an idle thought.

In time, word of his betrayal reached his former friend, King Chorboi's ears. Furious and hurt, he exiled Llyre, as well as Noodle, the two stripped of their ranks and titles without trial, something that had been promised to them by their citizenship in Thalassii. Horrified by the betrayal, Jonathan cut all ties with Llyre.

By then, the madness had already taken root in his mind, and he resolved to see the Thalassii capital of Nova Thebanii conquered, swearing as he left that he would be back, and Chorboi would regret not seeing reason and allying with Loic when he had the chance.

Almmori Independence —
Following his banishment from Thalasii, he returned to his home in Almmore, where his old friend the Duke, Zeth Ritonidas, secretly sheltered him and offered sympathy for his situation. For the time being, he travelled to the city of Maxstadt, where he spent some time before receiving a letter from Zeth.

Almmore and Dubris, two of the provinces of Thalassii had declared independence, temporarily uniting together under the now-King Ritonidas of a united Almmore-Dubris. Thalassii refused to accept this independence, giving the deed to the Almmori peninsula to Rohel, who then granted it to Almmore several days later, officially establishing the state as independent of the Thalassii crown. Dubris and Almmore then seperated. Llyre, who had been heavily involved in the negotiations, was installed as Hand of the King, taking over diplomatic discussions with the neighbouring states.

Relationships

 * Family
 * Rhaelys es vel Volaerys (welcometothehive) - Llyre's older sister, and his only full sibling. She's nice. He doesn't entirely approve of her engagement to Arch, but is warming up to the idea. She has taken a neutral stance on the war, which Llyre dislikes, but accepts for his beloved sister.
 * Aerin mo sen Volaerys (Cyme_) - Aeren is Llyre's older half-brother through their father, and the current lord of House Volaerys. The two are incredibly close, to a nearly concerning degree, often spending time together and sharing secrets. Among these secrets are the true goals of the house, as well as their numerous brewing recipes, and perhaps something even darker... He also has killed both of the family pets, Jimmy the Cow and Noodle's Horse, much to everyone else's annoyance and distress.
 * Phoenix es wir Volaerys (GoldenPheonix) - Phoenix is Llyre and Aeren's adopted brother. Llyre is quite fond of him, and the pair of them sometimes go fishing together.
 * Noodle es wir Volaerys (Noodle_Woodle) - Another adopted family member, the Lich of Osseus is Llyre's close political ally, the pair frequently teaming up together against rivals. Between the two of them, Noodle almost always plays bad cop, levaraging his own connections with Llyre's charm. Outside of work, they're fairly close, often involving eachother in their shenanigains and pestering Aerin.
 * Archturious Talinthus (ArchXngel) - Engaged to Rhaelys, Arch is Llyre's future brother in law. They have been at odds in the past, frequently butting heads in terms of politics and religion, however, the engagement has started to improve their relationship to a degree. Llyre's relationship with Arch's children is incredibly strained due to their alliance to Thalassii.
 * Friends
 * King Zeth "Mercrio" Ritonidas I (Mercrio) - An old friend and longtime ally, Mercrio became King of Almmore-Dubris after the Independance. They have long supported eachother, with Mercrio sheltering Llyre after his banishment from Nova Thebannii, and helped eachother rise to the High Council back when Almmore was nothing but a dream by Blake. Llyre now serves as Mercrio's Hand of the King as they join Loic's forces.
 * Enemies
 * Chorboi Etruscii (Chorboi) - A former friend, their relationship soured following Llyre's choice to follow Loic. Now, the two stand on opposite sides of a looming war, each with their own hatred and anger. Chorboi's refusal to grant Almmore-Dubris independance has permanently ruined any chance of reconcillation the pair could have had.


 * Other Relations
 * Jonathan Lozharo (NateThunder_) - In another lifetime things would have been different. Before Llyre's maddened obsession for Northern unification had consumed his mind, the two were friends. On Llyre's end at least, he had considered courting the king, but never made any moves towards his affections beyond writing some poems that he burned after Lozaria sided with Thalassii. Following his defection to Viodoxa, the two are no longer on speaking terms. Despite this, he still hopes to avoid bringing the war to Lozaria unless Jonathan forces his hand, implying he still cares somewhat about their old relationship.
 * Electross (Electross) - Llyre sees Electoss in a positive light, having visited his city Buktenbyen and briefly considering moving there once things in the north had settled down, and the two have equally positive diplomatic relations. While he does make Llyre somewhat nervous due to his status as a bandit, they have never expressed any negative emotions nor actions, and are on fairly friendly terms, and Llyre enjoys his company.

Trivia

 * He recently became the head of Cephalos, a mystery cult worshipping an unknown god, but previously showed little to no interest in religion.
 * The name he was given at birth, Lirei-Nai, is based on the the characters of 黎 (lí) meaning "black, dawn",  鈴 (rei) meaning "bell" or 霊 (rei) meaning “ghost” or “spirit”, and 賴 (nài) meaning "to depend on". Nai was a traditional suffix for House Is, and Llyre is a romanisation. Based on this, his name could be translated as "bell of the dawn", or "the black ghost". The coin has been tossed, but has yet to fall.
 * His former hobbies included fishing, writing poetry, painting, and exploring. Since the Independance, he no longer seems to find enjoyment in these activies, usually spending his minimal free time staring across the sea in the bay of Almmore or pacing around in the bottom floor of the family home, talking to someone that isn't there.
 * He is completely colorblind, seeing the world in shades of grey.
 * Llyre's favourite flowers are lily of the valley.
 * Out of character, he has frequently been likened to Assistant Mayor Bellwether from Zootopia, as both are initially friendly and unassuming characters who hide a much darker and more manipulative side that becomes more obvious as the story goes on.