Llyre es vel Volaerys

""Llyre es vel Volaerys sel Bakura sen T'arga're'yahsv Etruscii kes dem Spheniscidae (More commonly known as The Undying, The Traitor or The Warden, or shortened to Llyre es vel Volaerys or Llyre ke sel Bakura) is the Minister of Communications and the former 14th Archon of the Imperial Archonal Union, the Count of Kumaur, Prince Regent of Thalassii,, and the former Warden of the Almmori Freehold, a sovreignty of Kartek in Sparwood.

Appearance
Llyre often cuts a distinctive figure, standing quite tall in comparison to many people around him, as well as his notable wooden wolf's-head mask and wings. Despite his rather imposing first impressions, he is surprisingly young, looking around 17 or so.

He has pale, greyish-tinted skin with faded/faint freckles, 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 is blind in his right eye. They reflect light much like an animal's eyes in the dark. He has pointed ears shorter than those of a fullblooded elf, and wears many earrings in them (particularly a garnet droplet in his left ear), as well as a multitude of simple rings on all of his fingers.

He also has two large, bird-like wings on his back. The left side one has been (haphazardly) pinioned, rending him incapable of flight. They look most close to crow's wings, being black but faintly iridescent in the sun. Unfolded, Llyre's wingspan is close to 10-12 feet (300-370cm). 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. He keeps the feathers trimmed very short in the sake of practicality following his loss of flight, leaving his windspan closer to 7 feet.

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. When he moults, he usually dyes the feathers back to black once they have all grown in, though has recently stopped, leaving them mottled between black and their natural colours.

While rarely unmasked, his face beneath lies on the plainer side of handsome, or would be without the scars he bears, most noteworthy of which are a trio of haphazardly sutured wounds across the left side of his face and a large, jagged burn scar on the right side. The rest of his body is speckled with faded scars from his adventures in Rathnir, some of them held together by staples. He has distinctively long canine teeth, and when he does smile, it looks like an animal snarling.

He is most commonly wearing a tight black tank top and dark brown or black cargo pants with tall leather boots, though he just as frequently wears a heavy grey poncho. He wears netherite armbands and bracelets, as well as soft black leather gloves. As of lately, Llyre has also taken to wearing a pair of goggles, either in his hair or around his neck, as well as armour, which he previously distinctively disliked. His armour is almost always netherite.

For formal events he wears either black gambeson with embroidered details or blue coat with pink detailing and copper lining accompanied by gertek-style riding pants and boots.

The ring and pinky fingers of his right hand, as well as his left leg from the mid calf down have been replaced with prosthetics, either being made of metal (general use or at war), or reinforced porcelain (formal events).

In life he had pale golden eyes and tanned skin.

Personality
Over the years since his ressurection, Llyre has changed wildly— fluctuating between charismatic cult leader to a paranoid wreck to mild-mannered writer.

Ultimately, the easiest way to describe Llyre is complicated. An unkind life has created a peculiar personality, characterised by mood swings and impulses, as well as insecurity and the desperate need to please.

He is, as a general rule, extremely 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 showing compassion or sympathy. That being said, he is not particularly cruel or malicious, just struggles with connecting to the emotions of the living since his ressurection. Any sort of warmth or particular friendliness is somewhat artificial or forced, though he does enjoy helping people in his own emotionally distant way.

For the most part, the only person whose emotions he particularly cares about is Ryou, and to an extreme. His disregard for his own well-being becomes particularly clear when Ryou is involved— considering that Llyre is almost disgustingly eager to ruin his own life for the sake of his husband's happiness. Their relationship is a microcosm of his entire personality, for the extreme tenderness he is capable of, as well as the psychological abuse, stockholm syndrome, posessiveness, and violence that surrounds them.

He struggles with controlling and venting his negative emotions in a healthy manner, often resulting in violent behaviour or overindulge in vices.

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 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.

During this time he was captured and hunted for sport, getting his left wing pinioned haphazardly using shears, which almost killed due to the resulting infection.

Shortly afterwards, while he was still recovering, the people hunting him caught up once again, mortally injuring him. 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 undead face with his distinctive wooden mask, dying his wings black for a reason he could not explain. Strange magical abilties began manifesting in him around this time, as well as his strange dreams.

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

Homecoming and Time in Serafaint —
Lyre returned to Serafaint to find his father, who, reasonably, was horrified by the fact that his bastard son and greatest disgrace, was somehow still alive. Llyre promptly used magic to turn Lucian sen Volaerys inside out. Unltimately, 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 Almmoria.

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.

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 order 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, 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 Duke, Zeth Rexonidas, 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 Rexonidas 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 holiday truce, Llyre seems 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 holiday truce, 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. He was later rescued by his mother, Mel, and didn't return to the city until the seige.

Aroung this time, Llyre also joined the Viesten Order, and began practicing swordplay.

Days before the Viodoxan war 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.

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. It wasn't until after the battle that he returned to the south, witnessing the chaos and destruction from the battle. He lingered there for some time with his mothers, briefly visiting the Hexturnal and the library, though he was denied access to the latter. The destruction of the city disgusted him and he left to return to Maxstadt.

Shortly afterward, he resumed stabilisation and reconstruction attempts in Almmore, absorbing Refugio and Thalassii under the Freehold's banner, as well as entering discussions with God Emperor Cube of Kartek that resulted in Almmore becoming a protectorate of the empire.

It was around this time that he killed two seperate people with an axe, though the crime seems to have been either swept under the rug or otherwise hidden, as he was never prosecuted in court for either murder. Around this time, he also visited the ruins of Istanboulder, looking for something.

It was shortly after this trip that he went to Voskovy, managing to get his hands on several restricted books and taking them home with him. His mental state took another turn for the worse after this, experiencing long stretches of amnesia and finding a strange book in his own handwriting that he didn’t remember writing.

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 —
Llyre spent the second battle bedridden due to redstone poisoning, having severely burned his lungs and throat to the point of permanently damaging his voice. Despite this, he remained in Maxstadt during the second battle, initially in command of the Defense Garrison, but once Uldarashi forces entered the city, killing most of his unit, he was hit in the side of the head by a loose flare, severely burning his face and right hand. Following this, the rest of the defense garrison retreated, and command was passed to the reinforcements led by Only100Gamer and Jericho dem Spheniscidae, who alongside some members of Ulfaeng, demolished the Uldarashi strike team. Despite his injuries, he considered the battle a victory for the Union, as they had managed to hold the city despite heavy casualties.

Following the battle, and while still recovering, he wrote several speeches and sat in on multiple meetings under the order of Archon Hiiro of the Viodoxan Union, eventually also providing the public announcement published intentationally by the Union. He eventually settled down back into ruling Almmoria. He had another episode, writing/translating a completely incoherent play named "Of Tekhelet Blue", before his health took a turn south for a few days. He soon stepped down from his position as Warden of the Almmori Freehold due to this.

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. All of this came to a head with his father, Vansh Tizoc expressing a desire to "repair" him with redstone technology (an attempt to alleviate Llyre's chronic pain and increasing anxiety over his health).

Heavenly Gardens —
Following his discussion with Vansh, Llyre immediately packed up his entire apartment in Almmoria in one afternoon and fled to Viodoxan Union territory with the help of Havi Asagrim, convinced that if he didn't that Vansh would operate on him regardless of his own opinions on the matter. His mental health quickly spiralled out of control, leading to nearly-constant anxiety and paranoia, accompanied by out of control sobbing and despair. Being in either Viodoxa City or Miklagard proved to be too much for him to handle, and shortly afterward, he and Jericho moved to the half-constructed town of Ryoujing, ruled by Ryou Bakura.

Ryoujing quickly became home to Llyre, and he began constucting his own house, an elaborate, multi-level structure with extensive underground rooms and spaces for his projects, as well as his large pack of dogs and Jericho dem Spheniscidae. Shortly afterward, he married Ryou Bakura, which quickly devolved into emotional abuse from the other, causing increased distress on Llyre's part.

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. 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 also began the Unity Project, a massive collectivisation of Union nationalism and culture. He was ultimately relatively uncontroversial as Archon and reasonably popular.

Nekovirus Outbreak —
During the Nekovirus outbreak in Cymru, Llyre was the original head of the task force formed by the government, being one of the first on the scene of the initial infection of Maxstadt. Shortly afterward, Jericho was infected by Kogan, leading to Llyre trapping him in their basement and quarantining himself, keeping the populace updated via radio broadcasts.

Shortly afterwards, Jericho managed to escape, infecting Llyre, and leading the the reinfection of Maxstadt, as well as much of the Ryoujing populace, including Ryou. At some point during the outbreak he was taken to Valron by his mother, and held in a lab, driving a violent wedge between them. He broke out of the lab (presumably with assitance) and went to Maxstadt, staying there briefly with Ryan von Dirkson, and eventually was cured through unknown means.

Winterstone —
One night, a letter arrived at his doorstep from Ryou, asking him to come to Winterstone Prison in Aurora in order to free him, as Hazel Caicuria-McSpeigel had taken him hostage. Initially Llyre didn't see the message immediately, but once he recieved it he immediately went west in a state of panic. Upon his arrival, he was interrogated by the surgeon before he was taken to the prison, When they reached the cells, he was berated by Ryou for taking so long to arrive, leading to increased scrutiny on both of them from Hazel. Eventually Llyre had a nervous breakdown while watching Hazel and Ryou fight, and eventually Hazel and Rum forcing Ryou to drink Wither Rose Tea, resulting in his memory being partially lost and his release from the prison under the condition the pair would remain in Aurora for observation.

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 disappoMarital Blissintment. 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.

With Love —
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.

One afternoon he came home to Ryoujing, and in a fit of rage, smashed Ryou's skull open. 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.

U/C

The Fall —
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. While there, he found Ryan, alive once again, and immediately was delighted, bringing him immediately back to the rest of the government. 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 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) - To say their relationship is complicated is an understatement. Married in a haphazard ceremony several weeks, after meeting (something that caused friction between Llyre and his family), Llyre's behaviour is best described as Stockholm syndrome. Despite the frequent emotional abuse from Ryou, and his own physically aggressive responses, Llyre is quite obsessed with his husband. As time goes on, they have become less emotionally intertwined, and more toxic, as Llyre struggles to manage his violent impulses. He feels as though he is the only person who could lay a hand on Ryou. The pair shares a son, Xeno Maxwell Bakura.
 * Aldric Éadhin Asagrim (CrazyHjonk) - The pair have been engaged for some time. Meeting during arms deals through the Cache, Aldric and Llyre became friends, bonding slowly despire being on opposite sides of the Viodoxan war. By the time the Union turned its sights onto Aldric's home of Karolium, they were fairly friendly. Aldric's loyalty to the Union and betrayal of Karolium is what truly made Llyre interested though. They got engaged several years later, and have remained so, though are planning to get married soon in the massive Ansicun cathedral, where Segra's faithful have already ruined one wedding... They are by no means affectionate in any way, and it's unclear if they even like eachother.
 * Non-Lore/Non-Canon Marriages (Ranked) - Howertt, Thayff,  Jericho dem Spheniscidae (JerichoZ), Ieturu Kumagaya (New_Prometheus), Taxed (1Taxed), CASELOAD,  Hiiro dem Spheniscidae (oxxu) [Divorced], Izzet (DaFreedo), Larry the Lobster (LobsterLarry), Bomby (Bomby705)

Children

 * Arturo Swanson (JDBPixel) - Disowned. Llyre's only biological child and the oldest of his three sons, Arturo was at one point Llyre's pride and joy, but following the secession of Eisenland from the Union, Llyre stopped speaking to his son and no longer mentions him in conversation. He views Arturo as his greatest failure and shame, and at one point requested that he commit seppuku in order to absolve the family of his dishonourable actions. Despite this, he does admittedly worry about Arturo's safety.
 * Xeno Maxwell Bakura (Maniacc_x) - Llyre sees his middle son as incompetent and foolish, but as less of a failure than Arturo. Xeno is Ryou's favourite child and his heir. Despite this, he does not treat Xeno like his son, and more of a younger cousin or friend. Llyre also sees Xeo's failures to get married as embarrassing and is seeking a spouse for him.
 * Kichirō (Dommic) - The only one of his children he raised from a young age, Kichiro is Llyre’s favourite and most spoiled child. 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.
 * Others - Llyre is a notoriously bad stepfather, and despite Ryou's other children, he rarely interacts with them or sees them as having any attachment to him.

Family

 * Rhaelys es vel Volaerys (welcometothehive) - Llyre's older sister, and his only full sibling. She's nice. She had taken a neutral stance on the war, which Llyre disliked, but accepted for his beloved sister. Rhaelys seems to take a somewhat motherly role, but spends much of her time travelling, leading to a more distant relationship between the two of them, especially once she moved to Vassa, a city in Karolium. He is extremely supportive of her relationship with Kogan.
 * Aerin mo sen Volaerys (Cyme_) - Aeren was Llyre's older half-brother through their father, and the current lord of House Volaerys. They were once close, but since Aerin’s disappearance, Llyre has slowly distanced himself from the memory of his brother. Now that Aerin has returned, Llyre struggles to connect the memory of his brother to the person he knows today.
 * Noodle es wir Volaerys (Noodle_Woodle) - Adopted family member, Noodle is Llyre's close political ally, the pair frequently teamed up together against rivals. Outside of work, they were fairly close, often involving eachother in their shenanigains and pestering Aerin. Currently, they still proceed in a variety of business ventures together, but aren't as close as they were.
 * House O'Valmen - Llyre is extremely distant with his family, seeing them as mostly strangers, or actively disliking most of them. Following being disowned, he stopped using the O'Valmen name and expressed his disdain for his former adopted siblings and parents openly, save for his adopted father, Vansh Tizoc, who he remained fairly fond of.

Friends

 * Jericho dem Spheniscidae (JerichoZ) - Llyre's husband, they got married for tax benefits and to commit insurance fraud. They then got divorced "because god said so", but are currently remarried. Jericho is Llyre's closest friend, and seemingly his only support system, functioning both as a roommate, best friend, and bodyguard. They live together in Ryoujing with many dogs.
 * 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. His death marked another change in Llyre's personality, and the fall of Kumaur. Ryan's return from the dead during the Dark Day was part of what brought Llyre closer back to his old self.
 * 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 has been distant at best.
 * Moncie Se Aldfrith (Mongoose10) - Llyre sees Moncie as a friend and also as a suitable heir for when he stepped down from his place as Warden. They get along well, often mining together or otherwise spending time before Llyre went into hiding.
 * King Zeth "Mercrio" Rexonidas 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 served as Mercrio's Hand of the King before his abdication.

Enemies

 * Barend (BarendKramer) - Llyre doesn't hate the man, but he does not like him by any means. While Barend sees Llyre as untrustworthy and shifty, Llyre in turn finds Barend uncompromising, irrational, and stuck up. The rift has only grown as time has gone on, ever since Llyre chose to leave Kartek for Viodoxa. (ooc: no beef, barend is pretty chill, ily babygirl)


 * Max “Ablaze” Swanz (AblazeGenie) - The custody battle for their son Pixel was brutal, frankly. It ended with the Kaiser hospitalised and Llyre facing (now dropped) attempted murder charges. Following the secession of Eisenland, the resentment has become personal. (ooc: we got BEEF bro, he ruined my nap by declaring independce smh my head)

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 things are currently extremely vague between them.
 * Chorboi Etruscii (Chorboi) - A former friend, their relationship soured following Llyre's choice to follow Loic. For a while, the two stood on opposite sides of a looming war, each with their own hatred and anger. Things are mostly civil between the pair, despite their frequent bickering, often about Chorboi's age or Llyre's short-lived crush on the older man. As of recently, they have reconciled, and seem to be back to their former relationship, with Llyre being named Chorboi's heir.
 * Hiiro dem Spheniscidae (oxxu) - Llyre's loyalty to the Purple Insurrection seemed to hinge entirely on his loyalty to one man, Hiiro dem Spheniscidae. His best work as a minister and writer of legal documents was produced during Hiiro's (admittedly) short reign as Regent Archon of the Union, and he was outspoken in his preference for the man as Archon over Cube.
 * 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. These days he still admires the man, though it is less of a blind idolisation and more respect for a capable leader.
 * Arthur Edishield-McSpeigel (imjust1cutecat) - Llyre's ex-fiance. It's unclear how he felt about Arthur, though he was extremely distanced emotionally, as well as extremely unaffectionate through their engagement. Their betrothal was marked with turmoil, with Llyre demanding Arthur divorce his wives, and refusing to participate with the planning of their wedding.

Trivia & Meta

 * His full name, Llyre es vel Volaerys sel Bakura sen T'arga're'yahsv Etruscii kes dem Spheniscidae, means Llyre, legitimised bastard of Volaerys , and married into Bakura, heir of T'arga're'yashv and Etruscii, as well as a paramour/consort of house dem Spheniscidae. This follows the naming conventions of House Volaerys, as Birth House > Marriage House(s, in order of importance) > Adopted House (s, if applicable) > Other House (s, in order of importance).
 * 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". 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.
 * Llyre's current name is derived from the Welsh or Irish name "Llŷr", meaning "from the sea".
 * He has a habit of chewing dried mint or sage leaves, and often carries them with him in a small pouch at his hip.
 * He is completely colorblind, seeing the world in shades of grey.
 * Llyre's favourite flowers are lily of the valley.
 * Portrait by Creame :)