Llyre es vel Volaerys

""Llyre es vel Volaerys, also known as the Lord of Salt, is the Commissioner of Kemria, as well as the former Prime Minister and Minister of Communications of the Autokratoria of Sirradra, 14th Archon of the Imperial Archonal Union, and the former Warden of the Almmori Freehold, a sovreignty of Kartek in Sparwood.

Appearance
Standing at upwards of 204cm (6'8") and muscular, Llyre almost always cuts a distinctive (and intimidating!) figure, especially when compared to most people around him.

While almost always wearing his notable wooden wolf's-head mask, beneath it Llyre lies on the plainer side of handsome, or would without his scars. He has short-cut dark hair with silver at the temples, as well as greyish-tinted skin with faded freckles, and unsettlingly pale silver 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 salt, like two white moons", and they reflect light like an animal's eyes in the dark. He is blind in his right eye, and has distinctive pupils in the shape of a diamond or four pointed star. The right side of his face is marred by a large and jagged burn scar, and the left carries two long lacerations held shut with staples that extend from his mouth (exposing some teeth) to his temple, and he has a large amount of other scars across his body, including a series of Lichtenberg figures across his chest and more burns down his back and shoulder. Llyre's ears are pointed, and shorter than a full-blooded elf, but longer than those of a half elf, with his left ear being notched and the right ear being severely damaged and burned like his face. Additionally his teeth are also pointed and inhumanly long. He rarely smiles, and when he does it looks like an animal snarling. In life he had tanned skin and golden eyes.

Llyre also possesses two large, feathered wings. In terms of appearance they are between those of a hawk or owl, adapted to passive soaring and diving, though capable of high energy flight. The plumage is tawny brown with white undersides, similar to that of a barn owl's, though there are mottled patches of black iridescent feathers like those of a corvid. His wingspan is close to 370cm (12') naturally, but due to the fact that his left wing has been pinioned, he keeps the remaining wing clipped and feathers trimmed extremely short on both wings, reducing his wingspan to around 190cm (6'3"). He is incapable of flight due to the pinioning (removal of the first joint of a bird's wings) and trimming of his wings.

His left leg from the mid-thigh, as well as his right arm from just above the elbow have been replaced with netherite prosthetics powered by redstone.

Clothing + Armour
In terms of clothing, Llyre dislikes unecessary extravagance, preferring simple and plain clothing which often does not befit his station. Colour palettes tend to be dark neutral colours in browns, greys, and dark blue or green, with some off-whites on occasion.

One of the always present elements of his outfits is his plain wooden mask, carved in the shape of a wolf's head. The eyes have dark stains following the patterns of tears from dried blood. Additionally, he usually is wearing netherite armbands and bracelets, as well as a garnet droplet earring on the left side, his wedding ring (gold and jade), and amulet bearing his family crest, usually hung from his belt. Also commonly worn is a thick wing binder made of canvas, leather, and boning, which is laced up from the front and used to bind his wings for the sake of practicality (often when in uniform or armour).

In correspondance with the common clothing of Kumaur, Llyre is often wearing a thick woolen sweater and trousers, as well as heavy overcoat, laced boots, and gloves. He does not wear them out of necessity or protection from elements, but to set an example for the residents of his city. When not in Kemria, he usually is dressed in a tight black tank top with grey hakama and tall leather boots. For formal events he often wears the Kemrian military dress uniform or a loose silk-linen shirt under a soft light blue coat with pink embroidery and copper piping, accompanied by tall boots and high-waisted pants. For colder formal occasions he will also wear a dark cloak with fur lining and leather gloves.

Due to his undead nature, protective armour is less necessary, and Llyre prefers to wear armour he can move more freely in, prioritising mobility over effectiveness. Because of this, he only wears light half-plate over gambeson, composed of a netherite chestplate, gorget, singular pauldron, bracers, couters, and gauntlets, as well as a smaller diamond spaulder. His gorget is embossed with the Kemrian sun sigil, while his pauldron bears the Sirradrii bull's head and laural wreath, but is otherwise unadorned and battle-worn. Recently he has added small wave motifs over his bracers, and the inner surface is marked with tallies counting his kills. There is a tiny tiger and an equally small fox scratched into the upper right side of his chestplate, as if drawn by by children, with the tiger seemingly older than the fox.

Personality
Ultimately, the easiest way to describe Llyre is complicated.

He believes in complete seperation of his work/political and personal lives, and it translates into violently different personalities interacting with his friends and family, work associates, and strangers. In both regards, he does not believe in making exceptions or compromising his morals for the comfort of others. There are no exceptions from neither the law nor his perception of 'justice', as harsh as it may be.

Llyre is, as a general rule, apathetic and detached, bordering on cold. Llyre rarely shows any sort of regard for the feelings of others, showing almost no empathy, though he is occasionally capable of compassion or sympathy. That being said, he is not particularly cruel or malicious, just struggles with connecting to the emotions of the living since being ressurected. Llyre is extremely serious, rarely smiling or laughing, and often turns to extreme measures for simple problems. He strongly dislikes frivolty and easily becomes annoyed/irritated when others do not respond to situations with, as he percieves, appropriate reactions.

Additionally, Llyre is highly adverse to social situations and rarely goes to any sort of events, meetings, or festivals unless obligated to, at which point he will do so begrudgingly and leave at the earliest convenience. Despite his general atitude, he is fairly soft-spoken and mild mannered, rarely raising his voice or losing control of his emotions, Every action he takes is deliberate, and while things may be slow, ultimately, even his most impulsive actions are likely carefully calculated. He despises distractions, disturbances, and following the orders he sees as "incompetent". He would rather tend to settle things peacefully, but sees the value in decisive actions— inconsistency, hesitation, and cowardice are the easiest ways to gain his ire, though his greatest peeve is immature, selfish leaders and people who make rash, reckless choices.

Inversely, in situations where he does not feel the pressure to perform as the Commissioner of Kemria, he is much more soft-spoken and gentle, expressing his fondness with gifts and physical affection. When his sons were children he often would make them stuffed toys by hand, or bring back gifts from his travels, and he regularly showers his partner Ryou Bakura with gifts (like incense, exotic animals, fine silk, etc) despite his intense distaste for opulence. This softer side of Llyre is rarely seen by people outside of his immediate circle, but it becomes clear that he cares deeply for his family despite his struggles to express it verbally.

EARLY LIFE
Born in late summer in the Year 106 in what would have been Libertalia, Llyre was raised by his mother, Kyōsunaga Yinxia, alongside his older sister Rhaelys. His father, Luceryn sen Volaerys, was a wealthy Hyakki merchant from Tovarisha and was not involved with either of his young children. However, after Yin's sudden death, both children were sent to Serafaint, where their father had just become head of his house, and they eventually met their half-brother Aerin.

In his childhood, Llyre, unlike his siblinds, closely resembled Yin, where Rhaelys took more after their father. This tended to turn much of Luceryn's anger towards his youngest son, despite his older children's attempts to protect their brother from the verbal and physical abuse. Despite this, he did on occasion praise Llyre for both his well-behaved personality (more serious than his brother, and more ambitious than his sister), appearance, and skill in playing multiple instruments, especially a guzheng and guqin imported from Aurlunor. Despite this, there was strong resentment between father and son, with Luceryn being unable to move past his inability to separate Llyre from his uncanny resemblance to his mother, and Llyre's anger at only being seen as marginally useful for being at least decent to look at and well-behaved.

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

Wanderer —
When Llyre was 17, he decided to leave home after a particularly furious fight with his father, and headed eastward, to the land of the Kartek Horde, where he learned to ride horses and hunt, as well as becoming essentially a travelling storyteller, using both his skills in music and upper-class education to influence the tales he told.

For some time, this lifestyle was good, but as the Caliphate began to collapse, Llyre decided it would be safer to go back to Tovarisha. During his trip towards the Southwestern Border, he was caught by a local lord and his men, and had his wing pinioned, preventing him from escaping properly, and his horse killed. The lord, who's name has been lost to the obscurity of time and Llyre's own flawed memory, as an avid hunter of exotic animals, and found Llyre, who, with both blood of the Eldhamite Hyakki Elves and the increasingly rare Cymrian Tenjii-Itsu, was the pinnacle of his hunting prowess. A creature with the intelligence and strength to fight back, and the lineage to make the trophy worth the work; this hunt would be his magnus opus.

Released into the woods after several days, with starvation and infection setting in, Llyre (unsurprisingly) did not survive the hunt. Despite successfully killing two of the hunter's hounds, he died after being shot in the chest with an arrow, resulting in his fall from a cliff that ultimately split his skull open. After collecting their prize, they retreated back to their camp to shelter from the coming blizzard, leaving the corpse strung up in the trees. That night, they drank and celebrated their finest hunt yet.

They did not know it would be their last.

Resurrected —
At the bottom of this small ravine though, not all things were so simple. In a deal made with the Faceless God, the Hallowed King Beneath the Shadow of the Moon, Llyre traded his humanity for life. Cold, delerious, and barely clinging on to his newfound second existence, the only thing he could hold onto was anger. Blood still oozing from his shattered skull and arrow wounds, Llyre turned the hunters into his prey, and reminded them the true Tenjii-Itsu had been hunted to near extinction. Man has not always been an apex predator.

There is a catharsis in watching the fear in someone's eyes as you take from them what they took from you, Llyre would later say. That there is a joy in consumption, in seeing the horror and panic when someone realises what is going to happen to them. After removing the man's hands, Llyre devoured him alive, feeding what remained of him and the party to their own hounds before releasing the dogs into the wild.

Before he left the camp, Llyre stitched up the wounds on his face, and took a ritual mask they had, a simple wooden wolf's head, and used it to hide the his ruined visage. Finally, he put the hunter's camp to the torch, and headed southward once more.

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

Homecoming and Time in Serafaint —
Lyre returned to Serafaint to find his father, Luceryn, in poor health. Despite being at death's door, he had little to say to his now-dead son, other than that he wished it had been Llyre, not Yin, who died all those years ago. They never reconciled, because those also happened to be his last words. Now suddenly and mysteriously head of the house, Aerin legitimised his siblings as part of the succession, and together he and Llyre started to rebuild their lives and the crumbling reputation of their family. Rhaelys began to travel the world on her pursuit of knowledge, and a distant relation, Noodle, joined the family as the fourth, and oldest, Volaerys sibling.

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 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 at a meeting 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, with Exarian denouncing the existence and legitimacy of House 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 quiet nation as it healed from the collapse of the Kartek Horde. Llyre, who had befriended a young Blake Almmore during his time as a wanderer, 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 Almmoria.

While initially continuing their brewing business, Noodle, and later Aerin and Llyre would expand into selling arms and other enchanted gear alongside alcohol, drugs, and magical artefacts, helping to fund both Almmore’s expansion and growth, alongside filling their own pockets. 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 for a time 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 later claimed that the constantcy of labour helped to distract himself from the deal he had brokered with the Lord of Many Names.

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 to some degree from his own traumatic death and subsequent resurrection, and had begun to look to the future, occasionally even entertaining the idea of building hat future with his friend, who he had started to develop feelings for.

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

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 anger 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 mercanry company 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 life he’d wanted with Jonathan, one 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 treason, 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 new Duke, Zeth Cogaidh, 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 Cogaidh 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.

Peace —
Following Almmore's independance, Llyre put a forefront to his political career, despite the nation's isolationist stance on world affairs. Much of his time and energy began to be put towards construction and terraforming the peninsula, while the rest was put into expanding the family business, The Cache.

During the temporary ceasefire, Llyre seemed to have also began to attempt to fix some of his relationships, sending a letter to Jonathan in an attempt to explain his side of the story and any questions the other had. It seemed as though he was in a better place mentally, but it was still unclear if his motivation were a true desire to reconcile or just an attempt to clear his name. He mostly seemed to want to move past the entire situation. Following the end of the ceasefire, Llyre's mental state seemed to take another turn for the worse, being killed and brought back several times, with each new attempt seemingly degrading his stability. While continuing with his business endeavours with his siblings, he spent a lot of time in the Nether or with bandits, often in Eisenland more than his own hometown.

As the war drew nearer, he travelled to Viodoxa City several times, both to scope out the city as well as see he historical sites, though on his last visit he was apprehended by the town guards under Hazel's orders, who attempted to behead him, though it did not work quite as well as they had intended.

Days before the Viodoxan War truly began, Mercrio abdicated the throne, and Elijah An Scha Faidh and Llyre were installed as the diarchs of Almmore in his stead, the Overseer and Warden respectively. For several days, this system worked, but it quickly devolved into threats of violence and screaming matches between the diarchs. Following a string of thefts by Blake Almmore and Elijah an Schá Faidh, the pair were exiled from the nation and Llyre took complete power, with no second Diarch, locking down the entire nation's borders and making the nation, which now included Refugio and Thalassii, a protectoate of the Kartek Empire.

First Siege of Viodoxa City —
During the first battle of the Second Purple Insurrection, Llyre remained in Maxstadt with several others, building up city defenses as the battle waged on in Viodoxa. He did not participate in any fighting during the first siege, instead spending the battle playing cards with Ryan von Dirkson, Egizzo, and Hamsterz von Technostatos. They enjoyed a fairly leisurely afternoon patrolling the walls, including an archery competition (in which Llyre nearly killed Hamsterz), and constructing barricades, as well as caving in the Eisenlandian metro lines to prevent any counter attack from that point of entrance.

As his first military placement, Llyre mentioned he didn't really understand the massive list of casualties until his brother, Noodle, returned from Viodoxa City with his own spoils from the battle. They returned home together to continue dealing arms. Around this time, Llyre found and adopted his first son, Seth.

Moyye's Maze —
(Dubiously Canon) During the maze event in mid January 2022, Llyre entered the maze with Hiiro dem Spheniscidae and CASELOAD, the trio aiming to get the artefact. They passed through the Stone section with comparative ease due to their cooperation, but ended up trapped within the second section of the Nether reigon.

Second Siege of Viodoxa City —
During the second battle, Llyre was placed in command of the small Defense Garrison, as Loic's military command had anticipated something similar to the first battle, with no counterattack expected from Hazel and the Archonate troops. Because of this, the city was only defended by a single platoon, leaving the troops wildly unprepared and spread out. Inside the command building, Llyre manned the radio, leaving him as the only point of contact with the rest of the army, already besieging the Viodoxan capitol.

Unfortunately for the under-equipped and under-prepared Defense Garrison, there was a counterattack by the Viodoxan allied troops from Uldarash. Quickly, radio communications within the unit collapsed as they were picked off by the Uldarashi attacking force, though the remaining survivors regrouped in the command building, trying to weed out some of the hostile forces with arrows and flares from the windows and roof. This was at least marginally successful until several explosive charges were detonated throughout the building, collapsing it. Almost all of the remaining defenders were killed in the destructing, either from the explosion or falling debris. Llyre, who had survived the initial collapse, was trapped beneath the rubble, later resulting in the loss of his left leg and right hand. A secondary explosion additionally left him with the distinctive, severe burns across his body. Shortly afterwards, Ulfaeng and the Unionist relief forces arrived under command of Only100Gamer and Jericho dem Spheniscidae, demolishing the rest of the Uldarashi troops.

Following his excavation from the ruins, he was later treated for his wounds, with the ruined limbs amputated, though he had yet to commission the netherite prosthetics that would later become his trademark. Despite the devastating casualties, well over 95%, as well as his severe injuries, he considered the battle a victory, due to the fact that the city was held.

He spent a significant amount of time in Eisenland following the battle, mostly recovering from his injuries and learning how to function with one less arm and leg. However he also wrote several speeches and sat in on meetings following the ceasefire and the Viodoxan surrender, as the scribe and secretary to Hiiro, and eventually was the person who wrote the international statement about the formation of the Archonal Union. He shortly afterwards left Almmore, stepping down as Warden quietly and travelling to Viodoxa City to help with administration.

During this time, he experienced multiple panic attacks, as well as falling into a deep depresion, which only became exasturbated at his crumbling relationships (both platonic, romantic, and familial) and increasing responsibility. The phantom pain resulting from his injuries and the slow recovery from his burns and other injuries made managing his own care, physical and mental, extremely difficult. During this time, his roommate, Jericho dem Spheniscidae, ended up being his main caretaker, helping Llyre with his various tasks. Quickly, the city became too much for Llyre to handle.

Heavenly Gardens —
With the help of Havi Asagrim, Llyre packed up the remains of his life and fled Viodoxa City, ending up in Havi's province of Silvay. Despite this, Miklagard, the provincial capitol, still had too many people, which made Llyre reject the idea of remaining in the relatively urban setting, instead heading farther west to the tiny, barely constructed town of Ryoujing, controlled by Ryou Bakura, one of the leaders of the Viodoxan Loyalists during the war.

Ryoujing's isolation proved good for Llyre as he began the constuction of his house, where he eventually was able to commission his prosthetic limbs, an expensive and elaborate feat of redstone engineering and netherite. Still though, his mental health was far from stable. This was an important factor in the beginning of his tempestuous relationship with Ryou Bakura/The Son of Heaven, which quickly devolved into emotional abuse, Stockholm syndrome, and their sudden, impulsive marriage.

The One-Day Archon —
On the order of Loic dem Spheniscidae, Llyre was made Archon of the Imperial Archonal Union of Viodoxa and Tovarisha for the entirety of 24 hours after buying Loic a sandwhich when they went out for lunch together.. He spent most of his reign asleep, and breifly considered declaring war on Huitca for relatively vague reasons, one of which was "disliking [Huitca's] flag", and "everyone asked [him] to". He was ultimately one of the most relatively uncontroversial Archons and reasonably popular during his very short reign.

Winterstone —
One night, a letter arrived at his doorstep from Ryou, who had been away for some time, demanding his presence in Aurora in order to release him from Winterstone Prison. Initially, Llyre disregarded the contents as he felt as though it was both out of character and poorly written. However, following Ryou's continued absence, he began to become concerned, eventually writing a letter to Hazel Caicuria-McSpeigel, who Ryou claimed was holding him hostage. Following a short exchange, she confirmed that Ryou was indeed in her custody, leading to Llyre travelling west to retrieve his husband. He was extremely hesitant to do so, and upon arrival was immediately berated by the incubus for taking so long to arrive, triggering a series of increasingly severe anxiety attacks. Eventually, Llyre was forced to watch outside the cell as Hazel forced Ryou to drink Wither Rose Tea, resulting in a temporary separation from the malevolent spirit possessing his body for the first time in years. He was then released from the prison into Llyre's custody under the single condition that the pair would remain in Fornost for observation by the surgeon herself.

During this time, the balance of their relationsip warped itself, shifting for the first time in the ten years they had been married. Without the negative influence of the Son of Heaven, they were able to actually meet and know eachother, with Llyre slowly realising that things could be different.

Things would be different soon.

Lady of War —
During Segra's attack on the city, he sat at the window and watched, even as people were killed outside, even going so far as to refuse to help an Auroran soldier who was begging for help. He even eventually stabbed the soldier and leaving him to die, claiming "this is mercy".

Immediately after leaving Fornost, Llyre and Ryou returned to the Bakura family estate of Kalai Bali, meeting with Dausnd, Ryou's brother, their son Delta, and their newphew Cheng. During the entire meeting, Llyre was extremely bitter and agitated, refusing to take off his heavy netherite armour, and unable to sit still for long. He threatened several times to pull Dausnd's tongue out through his teeth, or to gouge Delta's eyes from his head for being a disappointment. He also continually paced around outside of the meeting room or gardens, with a bow. Several hours later he left with Ryou, returning home to Ryoujing.

Dark Days—
As time went on, Llyre began to distance himself from even his close friends and family, leaving for longer and longer wanderings across Rathnir. As the war in Sparwood between the Union and the Diarchy of Paradise loomed on the horizon and tensions grew, he became more and more irritable, often hiding it under a mask of unsettlingly intense calm. During this time, he continued to have visions, primarily of his goddess, the Ashen Mother, and strange dreams. He frequently mutilated animals, including killing his beloved pet fox Hulijing and several cats while in a fit of mania.

One afternoon he came home to Ryoujing, and in a moment of rage following a brief disagreement, smashed Ryou's skull open against the floor. He did not feel any sort of guilt, but did take care of Ryou out of obligation, cleaning up the mess and putting him to bed. It is unclear if Ryou remembered this incident, as it was never brought up again.

Eisenland's independance caused friction in Llyre's life to say the least. Ryou's sudden ascension to Archon and the fallout resulting from the Paradise war led to another nervous breakdown, Llyre going AWOL from the emergency government meeting that ensued, leaving his ministry in the hands of Wilhelm. He returned to Kumaur, lingering near the ruins of the fortress. For a moment, life felt normal again, the chaos and drive as morale shot through the roof in remaining provinces and within the goverment.

Several days later, while in Kumaur surveying the land, he stumbled upon his disgraced Eisenlandian son, Arturo Swanson, and the Tortugan captain Warwick Walterson in discussion over bottles of rum. After a heated discussion with Arturo, Llyre threatened him with a trident, telling him that if he saw Arturo on his land again, he wouldn't be leaving alive, as well as the fact that at least Llyre had fought for custody of Arturo, unlike the Kaiser, who had hardly cared. Despite his anger and resentful words, once Pixel left, Llyre confessed to Warwick that he did care about his son's safety and hoped that he would come back one day.

Spouse(s)

 * Ryou Bakura (RyouBakura1789) - [DIVORCED] To say their relationship was complicated is an understatement. Llyre was usually extremely affectionate and gentle with his first husband, often proclaiming his adoration with pet names, attention, and gifts. However, behind everything, he resented the Son of Heaven following the Winterstone Incident, and saw the Ryou he dealt with now as a poor substitute of what he could have instead. Ryou and Llyre are (despite the divorce) incredibly sappy and romantic, while Llyre's behaviour with the demonic entity that also shares that body can most succinctly be summarised as violent. Despite the fact that it shares the same body as his lover, he seems to have no qualms against resonding to the Son of Heaven's psychological torment with force.

Children

 * Arturo Swanson-Volaerys (JDBPixel) - Llyre's only biological child and the oldest of his three children. They are rather estranged, but Llyre is putting effort in as of late to try and reconnect with his son.
 * Seth es wir Volaerys-Bakura - Adopted by Llyre as a baby shortly before the end of the Viodoxan Civil War. Following his marriage to Ryou Bakura, he gained the family name as well and was raised in Ryoujing by his fathers. Some months after his 11th birthday he fell into the ocean and drowned, leaving Llyre devastated. Llyre occasionally hallucinates Seth, mostly as a manifestation of his guilt and paranoia.
 * Kichirō yu vel Volaerys (Dommic) - Initially finding him as a fox rooting through the slums of Ryoujing for trash to eat, he eventually revealed himself to be a Kumiho. Llyre adopted the child as his own and taught him to speak, read, and write, as well as granting him the name Kichirō, meaning 'lucky son'. As his only remaining child, Llyre is extremely protective of Kichiro, and often treats him as if he was made of porcelain, not flesh.

Family

 * Rhaelys es vel Volaerys (welcometothehive) - Llyre's only full sibling, Rhaelys' death following the birth of her twin children pushed Llyre farther from the public eye, and eventually led to his retirement from all political aspects of Sirradra. He feels intensely guilty for not seeing her more often when she was alive, and is unsure how to face either her death, his grieving brother-in-law, or her still-living children. Llyre and her were close as children and he still thinks of her very fondly.
 * Aerin mo sen Volaerys (Cyme_) - The middle of the Volaerys siblings, Aerin is Llyre's older half-brother, through their father. They were once extremely close, but in the years since his sudden disappearance, Llyre struggles to remember the person he once cared so much about. Despite this, he refuses to accept that Aerin is likely dead.
 * Noodle es wir Volaerys (Noodle_Woodle) - Adopted by the Volaerys family, Noodle and Llyre are often political allies, beginning in Thalassii and through the March. For some time they proceeded in business ventures together, but Llyre's reclusive nature has strained that close relationship.

Friends

 * Jericho dem Spheniscidae (JerichoZ) - Llyre's "best friend", their relationship is tense due to Llyre's refusal to allow Jericho into Kumaur, as well his increasingly erratic behavious. Jericho resides in Llyre's house in Ryoujing.
 * Maximal ad Alendir (_Max_imal_)- Originally, Llyre and Maximal did not get along well, but time has dulled Llyre's attitude and sharp tongue, and now that they are both older, they get along quite well. There is, to a degree, a sort of comiseration in being middle-aged.
 * Fawkes ad Alendir - Unlike his father Maximal, Llyre and Fawkes seem to have always gotten along, with both of them being rather emotionally disconnected from the world. At Maximal's behest they were briefly engaged, but Llyre broke it off after expressing his disinterest in pursuing a relationship with anyone other than Ryou-- for better or for worse. Still, he considers the man his friend.
 * Zhetian es en Chen - The lighthouse keeper in Kumaur, Llyre and Zhetian are close, but in the recent years, Zhetian's erratic, unstable behaviour has made Llyre increasingly uncomfortable and frustrated, and Zhetian has turned into more of a chore than a friend in his eyes. Despite this, he does care to a degree about his friend's well being.
 * Ryan vom Dirkson (decoratedmean60) - Ryan and Llyre initially met during the war but did not become close until several years later. They quickly became very good friends, travelling across Rathnir together several times. He also became friends and political allies with Ryou, which further improved Llyre's opinion of him as his husband's approval made him feel much better about associating with Ryan. Following the failed reunification of Eisenland, Ryan left Eisenland for Kumaur under Llyre's reccomendation, and became part of the attempts to revive the city. Unfortunately Ryan did not live to see the city's return and committed suicide.
 * Hamsterz (sub123machine) - They initially became friends during the Second Purple Insurrection, and the pair places a lot of trust in eachother, though since Hamsterz has lost his memory, their relationship was distant for some time, but during the Eisenland crisis, they grew close again, and Hamsterz is the only Eisenlandian citizen currently allowed in Kumaur.

Enemies

 * None, finally.

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 were not on speaking terms for a time, and any remaining relationship seemed to have fizzled out over the years.
 * Loic dem Spheniscidae (Loic_1) - Llyre idolised Loic, in a sort of form of somewhat unrealistic hero worship to a degree. He was willing to sabotage both Thalassii and Almmore for the Uniter, and expressed a strong desire for the man's approval, happily and eagerly throwing himself into writing speeches and propoganda for the Archonal Union. His family being ardent supporters of the Union were likely to have influenced his opinion as well.

Trivia & Meta

 * His full name, Llyre es vel Volaerys, means Llyre, legitimised bastard of Volaerys. This follows the naming conventions of Kemrian Houses, as Birth House > Marriage House(s, in order of importance) > Adopted House (s, if applicable) > Other House(s, in order of importance).
 * His name, Llyre, is based on the the characters of 黎 (lí) meaning "black, dawn",  鈴 (rei) meaning "bell". Thusly, his name could be translated as "bell of the dawn", as well as meaning "from the sea" in Proto-Cymrian.
 * He is completely colorblind, seeing the world in shades of grey.
 * His favourite food is hotpot, especially with whale or seal meat, thick udon nooodles, chewy rice cake, and mustard greens.
 * Llyre's favourite flowers are lily of the valley.