Victor

[Victor Lark]

Teach me half the gladness

that thy brain must know;

such harmonious madness

from my lips would flow.

The world should listen then, as I am listening now.

-Percy Blysse Shelley, Ode to a Skylark

Victor Lark [Overview] A male human, age 20, born Winter 24, 491. [Appearance] His grey eyes, light olive skin, and soft edges are characteristic of the beautiful and hedonistic Lark family. His dark hair was cut to be styled, but it has lain flat and grown long since he left home. At 5’6”, he is shorter than most of his cousins, and the habit of compensating is seen in his unconscious posture. If he is not wearing a suit, he dresses in well-fitted button-downs and colored trousers, carefully fashionable but not remarkably so. The silver chain of a necklace can always be seen on the back of his neck from beneath his shirt. While his skin is smooth from a life of luxury, his face, which has often been described as feminine, is often wrinkled with some deliberate passion. Smiles quickly turn into frowns, but these expressions are never anything but echoes of what he has observed in others. (It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, Victor’s face holds no expression.) His recklessness has lead to a growing collection of scars. Victor sports a long mess of dark lines on his left leg, from the middle of his inner thigh to just below his knee; an arc of ten claw-marks across his chest; a pair of black circles on the inside of his bottom lip; and a thin line across each palm. On the left side of his neck, Victor wears a chevas mark that depicts a bird in flight over a crescent moon. He shares the mark with Seven Xu. [Concept] Presumably from birth, Victor has been incapable of feeling profound emotion. He is familiar with frustration, envy, curiosity, and contentment, but is otherwise ignorant to the passions that drive even the simplest men. Because he cannot feel, he also has trouble observing the feelings of others. Nonetheless, he has begun to recognize that he lacks something, and has devoted himself to the impossible mission of discovering it. He watches others, their reactions and their expressions, seduces and irritates them if only to learn more about their thoughts. He mimics what he sees because he thinks that it is the face which makes the emotion, and not the other way around. He is reckless because he is entertained by pain and adrenaline, which can be felt stronger than any emotion. When it comes to ethics, he is simply selfish. His sense of morality is dependent on the people he is with, and it is arguable that he cannot personally fathom it. Every expression is a calculation and every action is a move in the game of emotion. Because he does not understand the extent of his handicap, none can be told what he is; if they did know, they might call him empty or psychopathic. [History] Chapter One: Comfort : Victor was born and raised a single child to a wealthy woman of Ravok’s merchant elite, who spent her days entertaining with his grandfather’s wealth. She never spoke of his own father, a kelvic, who lived in a birdcage until he died when Victor was sixteen. Virtually abandoned by his mother in favor of her various indulgences, he has spent his life finding amusement at the expense of others. But in the halls and canals of Ravok’s pseudo-court, this caused nothing but discomfort to the inhabitants of the Nobles’ District. Rebellious since birth, Victor never really hated his mother as much as he loved to frustrate her. He would spend much of his time as a child playing slave-catchers and ruining his clothes, hiding valuables and asking for presents. As he grew older, he became tired of his cousins’ rowdy games, which he always seemed to lose. Whenever he could, he would sneak out into the streets, mingling with commoners and foreigners instead of with the same old high society. Still, at the end of the day he knew he had a plate of food and a warm bed, a safe place after a brief chastisement. In recent years, his disenchantment with the constant parties and familial competition increased. The hormones of puberty left him feeling unwanted and ignored. Neither depressed nor worldly enough to consider introspection or suicide, he resorted to ruining family events instead of skipping them, playing childish pranks in an attempt to garner attention. When he began to realize that his sadness was just an interpretation of boredom, a new sense of romanticism struck him. He needed to get out. He needed to explore. So he left. Chapter Two: Rebellion : Victor entered the Syliran wilderness a fool with a tent. He struggled for days with the city in sight, neither willing to admit defeat or stray too far from safety. He had since developed a newfound devotion to a brief knowledge of Ionu, left to fester and grow in those days of solitude. With no experience with worship, even basic attempts at meditation proved fruitless. He eventually taught himself to pitch a tent and make a campfire, but his ignorance of the land might have killed him if it were not for a wild Kelvic named Sophia, who almost immediately bonded to the first human she had encountered in years. Despite his countless cruelties, Victor convinced her to feed him, protect him, and lead him south. By the time the city was in sight, he had grown weary of her incessant adoration and bestial tendencies. He killed her in trying to frighten her, but not before witnessing the strength of the fear and despair in her dying eyes; in the heat of the moment, he mistook recognition for empathy. Victor spent the next few days between delirious ecstasy and hopeless fatigue, trying desperately to remember what it felt like to feel. He arrived at the great gate of Syliras alone and haggard, barely able to walk or speak. A guard with a sensitive nose directed him to a bathhouse, where a stranger named Seven found him, took him in, and cared for him until he was well again. As the days passed and Victor’s health returned, their careful friendship became a series of flirtatious games until it bloomed into violent obsession. Between witnessing first-hand the force of Syliran law and suffering an offended ethaefal’s bloody retribution, Victor returned every night to the refuge of Seven’s bed. Even with undying infatuation to distract him, he grew restless inside that stone cage of peace and order. Ionu’s city waited so close, and Victor never ceased his makeshift worship. He prayed; he meditated; he briefly discovered the power of his own djed. And with his greatest passions in tow, he set sail on the Suvan. Chapter Three: Purpose : The moment he set foot in Alvadas, Victor embraced the city and its illusions, let it lead him and betray him and trust him. He lost a gamble, a tournament, and the freedom of his evenings, but at every turn, he took defeat for another challenge; he felt unstoppable and unbreakable. He deceived, eluded, and made mischief wherever he went, claiming to act in the name of Ionu. He dared the Trickster God to make him suffer, and relished in the illusion of victory. With Seven, he forgot his emptiness. Their mutual dependence filled him with a sense of belonging; with every passing day, every glance from a candid face, he learned a little more about expression and emotion. For a while, it made him feel whole to think that he could empathize, but the space Seven filled way fraying. Eventually, he would need something more to sate his growing thirst, but the future felt so far away. Together with an ethaefal named Laszlo, Seven and Victor invested in a tavern called the Sun and Stars. His newfound ambition might have turned Victor into the businessman his absent father might have wanted him to be, but this Lark was distracted by other motivations. Both subtle and enchantingly conflicted, Laszlo became a pet project for Victor and his incessant investigations; he prodded at the man’s psyche with every chance he got, finding amusement with his misery and making an enemy out of a friend. In the meantime, Victor was forcefully employed at Ionu’s Wager, where he learned how to deal cards and work for a living. In his absence, Seven met a Kelvic named Palla; though he resentedthe girl for her bond to his lover, she showed him the fear which he had not seen since Sophia had died. Inspired by her fear and his jealousy, he found another Kelvic girl at the Wager: Roxanne. He brought her home to Seven, to test his loyalty and glimpse his rage, and to see if he could see fear in another Kelvic. At Victor’s request, Seven killed Roxanne, but he was not angry and she was not afraid; Victor saw only a dead girl and a delirious lover, but in Laszlo’s interruption, he saw something close to what he desired, and was temporarily satisfied.

[Skills] Acrobatics: 40 Seduction: 51 Observation: 28 Stealth: 29 Subterfuge: 41 Acting: 20 Climbing: 26 Rhetoric: 37 Morphing: 17 Brawling: 23 Interrogation: 21 Gambling: 10 Running: 9 Persuasion: 19 Philosophy: 9 Dagger: 9 Leadership: 14 Medicine: 8 Wilderness Survival: 8 Intimidation: 15 Meditation: 7 Swimming: 4 Investigation: 8 Singing: 5 Torture: 3 Teaching: 6 Larceny: 3 Wrestling: 3 Negotiation: 4 Cooking: 2 Hunting: 1 Impersonation: 4 Boating (Ravosala): 2 Storytelling: 5 Research: 1 Manipulation: 1 Skills Accounting : Acrobatics: 40 [15 1 3 2 2 1 5 1 2 2 1 4] Acting: 20 [1 3 1 2 1 1 4 2 1 3 1] Boating (Ravosala): 2 [1 1] Brawling: 23 [10 3 1 1 1 3 4] Climbing: 26 [1 2 2 3 3 1 1 1 3 3 3 3] Cooking: 2 [2] Dagger: 9 [1 5 1 1 1] Gambling: 10 [4 2 4] Hunting: 1 [1] Impersonation: 4 [1 4] Interrogation: 21 [3 1 1 3 2 1 2 1 2 2 1 2] Intimidation: 15 [1 1 1 1 2 1 2 5 1] Investigation: 8 [1 1 3 3] Larceny: 3 [1 2] Leadership: 15 [5 1 2 2 1 3 1] Manipulation: 1 [1] Medicine: 8 [3 2 1 2] Meditation: 7 [1 2 2 2] Morphing: 17 [5 1 1 2 2 4 2] Negotiation: 4 [3 1] Observation: 28 [2 1 2 1 1 2 3 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 3 3 2] Persuasion: 19 [1 2 3 2 1 2 1 2 2 2 1] Philosophy: 9 [13 3 2] Research: 1 [1] Rhetoric: 37 [1 2 1 2 5 3 1 1 1 3 4 5 2 3 2 1] Running: 9 [1 2 1 1 1 1 1] Seduction: 51 [15 5 1 4 5 2 3 2 2 2 1 2 15 1] Singing: 5 [1 2 2] Stealth: 29 [15 1 1 2 3 1 1 1 1 21] Storytelling: 5 [1 1 1 2] Subterfuge: 41 [10 3 1 3 2 2 3 2 1 1 1 5 3 1 1 1] Swimming: 4 [1 3] Teaching: 8 [4 1 12] Torture: 3 [3] Wilderness Survival: 8 [3 1 2 1 1] Wrestling: 3 [3] [Languages] Common (Fluent) Symenos (Poor) [Lore] Acting Like You Belong An Act Of Heroism Acrobatics: Rooftop Freerunning The Alvadas Underground Back And Forth With Mother Baiting The Curious Bandaging A Wound Battle Chatter Bending the Rules A Bittersweet Wager Bringing Out The Beast Caiyha (Partial) Calling Out To Ionu Captain Lark Cleaning a Wound (Partial) Court Etiquette Conflicting Emotions The Consequences of Magic The Crespi Residence A Curious Attraction Cutting Yourself Cutthroat Bargains Dangerous Whispers Dangers Of The Bog Dangers of Morphing Dressing A Woman Drinking Game: Truth or Strip A Drunken Brawl Falling For The Illusion Fashionable Falling Finding the Right Shop Fists Speak Louder Than Words Frailty Of Symenestra Freeing The Lark Forgetting The Truth A Game Of Boundaries A Game Of Seduction Giving Chase Guards Assume Wrong Gods And Their Marks Harassing the Youth Having An Empty Stomach Hedges That Move, Roots That Reach Hiding From Mommy Hiding In Weird Places How To Kill A Symenestra How to Smile How To Treat A Slave Ignoring The Deadly Truth In Search Of Fear It Takes Wings To Fly Jacob Nitrozian Kalinor (Partial) Kelvic Shifting Killing No One Kindling Fire The Lark’s Song Learning From The Best Making Promises A Memory Of Father Model: Seven's Vocal Apparatus Model: Seven Xu Morphing False Injuries Murder My Friend, the Murderer Not Shutting Up The Other Side Of Akalaks Overpaying For A Drink Passing The Blame Playing At The Slave Market Prying For Secrets Punched In The Face Race: Ethaefal Race: Nuit (Partial) Race: Symenestra The Ravokian Rumormill Reading Tells While Gambling Religion: Ionu Religion: Krevas Seeing The Face Of The Dead Selling a Kelvic Slave So Everyone Wins Song: Rhysol’s Ravok Staying Calm Story Of Fenwick The Fisherman Stalling For Time Standing Your Ground Staying Off The Road Stealing A Girl Stirring Up Trouble Stitching A Wound (Partial) Streetplan of Ravok Streets of Syliras Survivor of the Wild Djed Storm Sylira Wildlands (Partial) Symenestra Poison Thorren Belvare A Toast To Rhysol The Treval Codex True Fear Trust Underpaying For A Pastry Using Ale To Loosen Lips Using All Available Resources Wearing A Girl’s Face Whistling To Birds Witnessing Secret Conversations Yukmen   Inventory [Residence] The Stallion's Rear upstairs bedroom: full bed, desk, chair, chest of drawers, personal trunk [Worn] Weapon: iron dagger Jewelry: mother’s necklace with a silver bird-shaped pendant, set with a pearl (heirloom) and a silver ring with a white stone setting (from Seven) Card Deck: Ravokian suits [Desk] Book: Treval Codex Other: silver glass mirror [Chest of Drawers] Shirts: nine; made of linen, cotton, or poplin; in various seasonal colors Pants: eight; made of cotton, wool, or leather; black or brown Suits (jacket&pants): white linen, navy wool-cotton Outerwear: black leather coat, red wool coat, black velvet cloak, leather gloves, old red scarf Other: hiking boots, brown leather shoes and belt, black leather shoes and belt Armor: Night Leather cuirass, gorget, sleeves, gloves, leggings, greaves, boots [Personal Trunk] Necessities: comb, razor, soap, knife Wilderness: tent, bedroll, waterskin, flint&steel First Aid: needle, thread, gauze Other: map of Syliras, black velvet purse containing savings   Expenses [Total] 2071 gm, 6 sm, 4 cm 100.00 gm: start +500.00 gm: homeless -23.00 gm: small wooden trunk, some extra clothes -5.00 gm: bought tent, bedroll, hiking boots, dagger, scabbard -8.00 gm: bought needle, some thread, gauze, 3/4 bottle strong wine +600.00 gm: taken from a dead girl -5.00 gm: Spring 511 living expenses: Squalor -1.86 gm: a night out -7.64 gm: bought some clothes and lunch -135.00 gm: Summer 511 living expenses: Common -9.30 gm: Fall lodging: The Cubacious Inn -10.00 gm: Alvadas tournament sign up -100.00 gm: bought set of night leather armor -435.94 gm: investment in The Sun and Stars -0.20 gm: deck of cards, Ravokian suits +172.00 gm: Fall wages: Ionu’s Wager •• +299.25 gm: Fall wages: Sun and Stars Tavern •• -135.00 gm: Fall 511 living expenses: Common +048.44 gm: Laszlo’s debt repaid +184.00 gm: Winter wages: Ionu’s Wager • • +276.00 gm: Winter wages: Sun and Stars Tavern •• -135.00 gm: Winter 511 living expenses: Common +030.67 gm: extra wages from Laszlo +455.00 gm: Spring wages: Stallion's Rear Tavern -135.00 gm: Spring 512 living expenses: Common +520.00 gm: blood money

[Thread List] [Summer, 512] 91: [Dark Compulsion] Paragon, Seven 89: [Such Harmonious Madness] Montaine 81: [Talk is Cheap] Wrenmae 75: [The Drop-In] Tock 22: [Crossing the Angry Sea] Daske, Seven 19: [Rest in Normalcy] Nixie, Seven 17: [Which Way] Nira'lia 09: [Begun Again, Part Two] Seven 06: [Out of the Valley] Ifran [Spring, 512] 89: [Every Day The Rules Change] Mirage 54: [Luck, Be A Gentleman] Pash [Winter, 511] 52: [Out of the Frying Pan] Liandra 41: [Things Friends Don't Do] Bob [Flashbacks] [Take Your Skin Off] Murmur; 88 Fall, 506 Archive : [Summer, 512] *01: [Draw] Seven; in which bluffs are called and tears are shed [Spring, 512] 47: [Bound] Palla, Seven +35: [What Do Illusions Dream Of?] Marius 31: [Something for the Pain] Nixie; becoming the brother she always wanted 01: [Helter Skelter] Seven; in the wake of a cataclysm, two men say their vows [Winter, 511] 29: [Be Afraid] Solo; a study of meditation, morphing, and their limitations 24: [Making Faces] Seven; a birthday celebrated with dares and rooftop dangers +13: [What’s Yours Is Mine] Laszlo; gambling with lives, or the saving of them +12: [Of Secrets and Skeletons] Abalia; pawn meets player and changes the game 05: [Fair Isn’t Fair] Marius; dockside politics between a thief and a businessman 02: [Who Do You Think You Are?] Laszlo; friendship means keeping promises [Fall, 511] 88: [Disillusioned Delusion] Seven; the light of perfection in the darkness of sin 85: [Aim for My Heart] Seven, Laszlo; there are many ways to say I love you 74: [The Fading Embers] Ulric, Laszlo, Seven; it's easy to make light of the truth 68: [No Place Like It] Palla, Seven; (day) some lessons are learned on accident 68: [Ceramic Mountains] Palla; (morning) a practice in deception and hypocrisy 66: [Show Off] Ifran; the layers of acquaintanceship unravel behind honest masks 62: [Haggle Properly] Arrow; a brewer and a buyer talk beer and business 61: [How The Win is Won] Ambrose; persuading a cautious man to take a risk 57: [An Expected Encounter] Laszlo; all you can ask is for someone to listen 48: [A Poisoned Wager] Bedlam; nobody wins when you gamble with time +45: [The Ball Is Rolling] Laszlo, Seven +24: [Trickster Moon] Caelum, Seven 36: [Shenanigans] Seven; these are the adventures of a bird and his fool 30: [Team Shale v. Team Ulric (Match 1)] Laute, Etc.; the tournament begins 26: [Alter My Ego] Laszlo; a battle of charades turns into a competition of talents [Summer, 511] 69: [Play Pretend] Solo; an introduction to morphing and overgiving 63: [The Games We Play] Seven; a visit to a friend, or a test of dedication 49: [Soulless, but Spirited] Lucas; testing a man's patience is hardly painless 35: [Of All Things Mystical] Runas; discussion and display of divinity and djed 33: [A Gift from Six and Eight] Seven&Asara; a reunion turned bloodbath 26: [A Lesson in the Law] Jaelyn; only fools try to fool the authorities 21: [Reciprocation] Seven; where artifice fails, devotion rises into obsession 04: [Begun Again] Seven; a night of charity and fatigue kindles a friendship 03: [Me, Of Little Faith] Kendall; the beginning and end of two journeys [Spring, 511] 90: [Break the Sky] Sophia; the final chapter in a wilderness love affair 30: [Darker Than the Water] Sophia; bringing out the beast 28: [Scars Tell the Best Stories] Sophia; protecting the strong 20: [Never Give Up] Sophia; an encounter with a wild kelvic 17: [The Art of Luck] Solo; how not to brave the wilderness 14: [Sanguine and Stupid] Solo; travelling supplies exchanged for secrets 13: [A Novice Vagrant] Reaver; a nuit’s knowledge comes with a small price 12: [Everything, Because of Nothing] Aello&Gural; blasphemers play tricks [Flashbacks] [Untitled] Solo; 31 Summer, 509; a conversation between mother and son [Loosened Chains] Lavia; 12 Winter, 508; when offended by a slaver, steal his slave +[On a Lark] Coltyn, Quinn; 46 Spring, 507 [Where You Belong] Bob; 45 Spring, 507; careless foreigner, meet drunken racist [The Nautica Street Wars, Part One] Solo; 10 Summer, 503; learning how to lead [The Lark and the Lyrebird] Wretch; 67 Fall, 502; a child’s antics at a slave’s expense [Children Stories with Unhappy Endings] Devmond; 13 Spring, 500; boys playing serious [Alessa Lark’s Dirty Little Secret] Solo; 24 Winter, 497; a forgotten moment of the past * ungraded + inactive Guest Moderation : Vernon Lark Ravokian Businessman, 39 years old in 509 AV [Captivity’s Rewards] Lynnea Timandre; 74 Winter, Ravok Roxanne Raccoon Kelvic, 6 years old in 511 AV [A Cobblestone Fairytale] Abalia; 25 Fall, Alvadas Aemid & Aodas Inarta Twins, 14 years old in 509 AV [Everybody Hurts] Rista; 10 Summer, Wind Reach .