NAME: Valvayas Auvry'l
ALIAS: Val
PRONOUNS: he/him
RACE: Elf/Drow
HEIGHT: 6ft 2in
JOB: Blacksmith
CLASS: Oracle (Pathfinder)
First he lost his parents, then his sight, then his adoptive mother - the gods are surely out to curse Valvayas.
Valvayas is a pale skinned drow with clouded/milky eyes and long elven ears, which are pierced with simple silver jewellery. His hair is almost black with a single streak of white in the front, which he keeps short and practical so he doesn't have to style it or worry about it being in the way. His clothes aren't fancy, not being able to see them clearly anyway, though his leather torso armour is elaborately crafted despite the simple appearance. The rapier his adoptive mother gave him never leaves his side.
Family
Valvayas had two fathers, Khalarrin and Reykr. He was born to a surrogate mother, their close friend Luarria, with Khalarrin as his blood father. Luarria always insisted she never be called Valvayas’ mother, just wanting to help her close friends in creating the family they wanted.
Reykr wasn't originally from their home region of Losalfjar but never spoke about where he actually originated. He met Khalarrin on the surface before returning with him to Losalfjar and never looking back. The two weren't married, yet never corrected people who presumed they were as it made no difference to them.
Loss
Valvayas was very young when his parents went missing after a cave-in. It was quite a large incident resulting in a lot of people dying or going missing, with rescue efforts taking months until things were cleared. Some people were never found afterwards, with the presumption their bodies had either been swept into an off-shoot tunnel system or down into a ravine.
After that Valvayas was raised by Luarria, his parents’ close friend. She was harsh and blunt but very caring and taught him everything she knew, from basic education lessons to how to fight and how to use the forge. Despite not wanting to be called mother, she was everything a mother could be to him.Surface
He was barely a teen when they went to the surface for the first time. In his excitement he’d run ahead of Luarria, dashing up the tunnels far ahead of her to see things for the first time. It was to be his last, however. The moment he reached the surface, the bright sunlight blinded him and he was unable to see.
Luarria thought it was strange that it would affect him in such a way, only seeing people react like that if they were exposed to bright light very suddenly, whereas the growing light in the tunnels should’ve helped prepare his young eyes for the difference. They returned to the depths once more, and after a short while Valvayas regained his eyesight back, but found it was far different to what he was used to.
Vision
His vision was severely limited. Before he could see far into the distance in the dark tunnels they called home, but now he could barely see a few feet in front of him before it all turned dark. Luarria brought healers in to look at him and eventually they deduced that no damage had actually been caused by his exposure to the sunlight, but something arcane or divine had occurred.
“His eyes are healthy.” They had said with wary expressions. “But they’re clouded by a means that we on this plane cannot understand. It’s magical for certain, but from where it came is the question.”
It was obvious that his vision wouldn’t improve any further, but Luarria wouldn’t treat him like an invalid or a lost cause. She taught him how she had always done so, only this time focusing on senses that didn’t rely on sight.
Forge
Valvayas wasn’t completely blind which was somewhat useful, but blurred vision and a limited range of sight was still a hindrance. Luarria taught him how to forge based on how blades sounded when knocked on stone or with tools, how to feel the forge was at the right temperature without judging the appearance of coals. She taught him ways to fight without relying on sight, how to judge where a foe was based on sounds and movement, how to keep balanced and not lose track of his bearings if he was turned around. And most importantly she taught him how to traverse the tunnels of their homeland, judging landmarks by touch and smell, how long it took to walk certain distances, and the importance of familiarising himself with a route without having to make multiple trips along it first.
They travelled together, staying in some locations for a long while in order to set up a forge and smithy to make money selling weapons. Luarria would source their materials, or customers would provide them as part of their payment, and they would make their coin working their forges.
Alone
So life continued this way until the day when Luarria turned to him and told him she was leaving.
“There’s something I have to do. I can’t tell you what it is, but know I will return when I can.” She told him. And he wasn’t a child anymore, he wouldn’t cling to her guidance, he was fully capable of living a life on his own. He trusted her and her reasons for not giving him anymore information.
Though it was concerning when she left her treasured rapier with him instead of taking it with her.
“This was a gift to me from your fathers when I agreed to carry you for them.” She said with a fond smile. “Adin sourced the materials and Khalarrin forged it himself. I don’t want to risk losing it where I’m going, so take care of it for me?”
Adin was the name she and his father called Reykr. He hadn’t heard her use that particular name for his father in a long time, so whatever she had planned was of great significance to her. Agreeing to look after the sword.
Days after that she was gone, and Valvayas was alone.
Onwards
Over a year passed and Luarria hadn’t returned. Valvayas had been hesitant to go to the surface again after the incident in his youth, but throughout his wanderings of his homeland he still hadn’t come across any whispers of where she had vanished to nor what her plans had been.
He kept putting it off, content with staying underground, but something kept pulling him, urging him to go into the sun and to the surface. Eventually the urge was too great to ignore and Valvayas set out.
Luarria and her whereabouts were on his mind, and there were many more unanswered questions that came to mind as he prepared for his journey into lands unknown to him. Where was Luarria, but also did any of his Reykr’s line still remain? Or Khalarrin’s? He’d never had questions about his family before, yet when bereft of one Valvayas realised how little he knew of where his family had come from?
Did it matter? Should it matter? Regardless, he wouldn’t find answers staying in familiar territory. He had to venture out.
And so he went to the surface.
Credits for the artwork on this page that are not created by me:
- Dovalbun