Zephyr Vael

Zephyr Vael
a Wolf RPG character
Profile
Full Name	Zephyr Ivory Vael
Date of Birth	March 12th, 2019
Gender	Trans Man
Species	Mixed Wolf; Timber, Mexican, Coyote
Birthplace	Swiftcurrent Creek, Rising Sun Valley
Affiliation	Ivory Rose
OOC Info
Player	Suledin

The ice wraith of Blackfeather Woods, one-half of the leading pair of Ivory Rose. A silent presence far larger than his diminutive sharp-edged build, casting an icy pall over every situation he enters. Calculating, domineering, a stone-carved protector and above all else a survivor. Shaped by a childhood of tragedy outside the confines of society, in adulthood the coywolf seeks to bring his own warped vision of utopia to life; peace for the damned, sanctuary for those left at the fringes to fend for themselves.

❝You must not forget that a monster is only a variation, and that to a monster, the norm is monstrous.❞

John Steinbeck, East of Eden

Appearance

by Garsheen

A silvered spectre, frosted greys unbroken save an ashen mane-like marking and long, bushy ink-dipped tail. Diminutive and fine-boned, yet made sturdy by long months of training, lithely muscled and carrying himself with learned confidence. Slim, tapered features dominated by his coyote blood and often bearing the frosty countenance of an ice-wraith. Childishly large ears and wide eyes leave him frozen in a perpetual sullen youth, destined to never appear older than an adolescent just shy of his first year. Silver eyes, icy and impenetrable; eerily luminous in the sun, dimming to pale velvety grey in low light.

Zephyr's gait is fluid and silent, typically fast-paced, with a slinking cat-like quality to it leftover from his childhood habits. The scents of ice and stone are woven into his fur, faint until one gets close.

Personality

At first glance Zephyr is stoic yet intense, a force of nature in his own right. The wraith rarely allows any hint of emotion in his interactions with strangers, driven only by his own goals and priorities among unfamiliar company. He often gives impressions of thoughtlessness and stubborn zealotry, cold unflinching radicalism given wolf form; the truth is far less easily defined. Beneath the surface lurks a tightly-wound amalgam of contradictions, a stark black and white motley woven closely to create the coywolf's illusion of steely greys. It is in the finer details, the spaces between the threads, that Zephyr defines himself.

A philosopher shackled in plights of the flesh, shaped by tragedy and necessity to fit the mold of a survivalist, a dictator; Aristotle under an ivory crown, wielding the sword as readily as the pen. The wraith sees the world in color, a work of art unable to be marred by any singular stroke of a brush. He places faith in the bigger picture, walking his own path with no remorse and expecting the same of others; true hatred is no longer among the wintry Vael's vast vocabulary, burned away by the sunrise over a mind once darkened with cynicism.

Guided by a strict moral code of his own fashioning, he is unwavering in his core convictions. He bases his decisions first on this, reasoning rooted in logic above all else. A childhood spent burned by decisions made in the heat of the moment has left the wraith wary of change driven solely by sentiment. He places no strong value on his own negative emotions, though he feels all emotions intensely, saturated colors across the vast spectrum. To Zephyr, this is simply another facet of life, an inconvenient yet unavoidable consequence of conscious thought. It is his goal to remain immovable through these experiences, however affected he might be; frostbound cliffs standing strong against the roll of the waves. Pleasure, however, is a different story. A hedonist in practice if not name, he pursues any opportunity for pleasure relentlessly.

The ice sprite lives first and foremost by an ideology developed through countless lessons in the ways of the world, a series of rises and falls ultimately leveling him to more neutral ground. He subscribes to his own brand of nihilism, a purpose in the utter lack of it; a conviction that our fate is no fate at all, but the compulsion to forge our own paths ahead, to blaze our own trails of color across the endless chaotic kaleidoscope of the world.

Lifestyle

Bound by a harsh moral code best described as lawful evil, Zephyr lives a life of discipline and self-indulgence by turns. He is not above finding loopholes in his own philosophy to achieve the end he desires, but ultimately respects the heart of his own rules. Those who would disrespect them in his view, regardless of his own involvement, are the lowest of the low to him; criminals who have forfeited all rights, as far as he is concerned.

Personal Code

• Prioritize the loyal above all others.
• Do not harm the innocent, except in the interest of security.
• Do not break oaths, except in the interest of security.
• Advance goals through any means available.
• Do not give without expectation of a return.

Notable Abilities

Primary

Leadership Primarily self-taught; a collection of learned traits and habits ultimately resulting in a tendency to assert some form of control over most situations. Calculating and assertive; able to form and begin to execute plans quickly and decisively. Typically domineering. Level under pressure, logical and often cold.

Combat Skill acquired through a series of painful learning experiences and intense, often brutal training with various individuals. Relies largely on speed and agility in fights to counter a relatively delicate physical constitution. Strong for his size, but relatively weak; his advantage is in his endurance.

Secondary

Chorography The art of mapping and describing a region, self-taught through a childhood spent roaming the wilds. Zephyr absorbs his surroundings with a practiced ease, and rarely struggles with finding his way through territory even slightly familiar to him.

Esotericism The finding and passing of secret knowledge of the divine. The wraith specializes in receiving omens and messages directly from the deities he worships, and interpreting them for other followers.

Relationships

Family

Parents: Alessia, Rosalie, and Kavik Siblings: Helios, Polaris, Lainie, Soter, Morena, and Manon Half-Siblings: Electra, Euros, Astraeus, Alsek, Pele

Children: Notable Extended: Alarian, Caiaphas, Raleska, Illidan, Ephraim, Koro Toro

Alessia A tumultuous relationship defined by neglect and mutual bitterness. Since her death, Zephyr has made peace with their troubled relationship.	Rosalie The wraith's sole living parent, and the only one who still holds his affection, however diluted.
Kavik An early idol cracked and soured by betrayal. Zephyr no longer recognizes Kavik as his father, even after his death.

Helios Once his closest companion, now a ghost; he believes his brother dead after a fire separated the pair.	Polaris His favorite sister, a distant yet affectionate relationship. Zephyr values her as highly as those closest to him.
Lainie A distant connection, lacking familiarity or affection, and distinguished only by a vague protectiveness.

Electra A budding, awkward siblinghood. The wraith holds high hopes of developing a deeper connection.

Euros A confusing blend of attraction and sibling comradery, mixed with strong protective instinct.

Romantic

Life Partner: Phillip Lovers: Past: Mal, Kratos, Taikon

Phillip His deepest and most valued connection, tempered by time and tragedy into something unbreakable.

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Mal The first to introduce Zephyr to sexual relationships, now a burned bridge; a permanently severed connection.	Kratos His first true love, now a thought far too painful to occupy his mind following their forced separation.
Taikon A brief yet intense connection, formed bright and burned away quickly like the death of a star.

Other Relations

Notable

Rowan Co-leader of Ivory Rose and friend to the wraith, possessing a trust few earn.

Daighre A complex and bizarre soul-tie of sorts; apathy, anger, and the inability to be rid of one another.

Pheiros A new but warm friendship, rose-tinged with the beginning of a crush.

Minnow Neutral with a small protective streak for the sake of her connection with Phillip.

Takiyok A neutral yet avoidant relationship, tending toward the negative after events with Taikon.

Astara An enemy of mutual understanding; respected, in the wraith's own way.

History

Early Childhood

Zephyr was born around an hour after his siblings, the runt of the litter, and assigned female at birth. A scared and troubled child even from the beginning, his first experiences with the world were tainted by hallucinations and misperceptions of reality, making him reclusive and paranoid at a young age. For a time, he found solace in the presence of his father and his brother, Helios, distant from his other family members, though he was fond of the woman he called Maman. Unfortunately, it was the birth of Maman's litter that ultimately pushed the anxious boy over the edge. Feeling forgotten and replaced, Zephyr assaulted one of his newborn siblings in a fit of rage, leading to the pup's death. Zephyr fled and was followed by Helios, resulting in the pair's temporary estrangement from their family.

The wilds proved an unforgiving place for the two children, who soon found themselves starving and lost. Circumstances drove them to attempt to steal from a nearby pack, and it was here that Zephyr first met Phillip and his sister Minnow; the pair was fed and sent on their way by the kind-hearted siblings. After this encounter, the brothers briefly attempted to attach themselves to an older wolf, a stranger who they quickly grew tired of and abandoned. Later, they were found by their father, who brought them back to Swiftcurrent Creek. Zephyr spent much of his time away from the territory and avoiding his family, save Helios, who he maintained an unhealthy closeness with, feeling he was the only one who truly loved him after his mistake. At the start of BWP 5, he was nearly caught in a stampede, meeting Atwood in the process. He took him back to Swiftcurrent Creek, where he stayed briefly. He later found his sister Lainie injured and in danger, and hurt himself in the process of trying to help her; their father rescued both of them soon after. Shortly after that, the chaos drove the family to initiate an ill-fated move from the territory, ending in a rockslide that separated them and left much of the family believing one another dead.

Adolescence

Fate tied Helios and Zephyr together yet again, and they left the scene believing themselves the sole survivors of the disaster. Wounded and now orphaned, the brothers wandered the wilds alone for a time, struggling to recover while fending for themselves. Introspective in the wake of the tragedy, Zephyr came to terms with the truth of his identity, and confided in Helios that he was not the sister he'd known, but a brother. A month later, just when the two had finally started to settle into their new reality, they were separated by a wildfire that drove them in opposite directions. Zephyr's flight led him back to Rising Sun Valley, where he soon realized his brother was nowhere to be found.

The search for Helios proved fruitless, and Zephyr's mental state fell into disarray. Curiously, his hallucinations faded around this time, leaving scars in the form of a paranoid edge to his thoughts. Traumatized and nearing a breaking point, he willfully crossed the borders of a mountain pack, half a suicide mission and half attempted theft. He quickly had a change of heart following his first taste of battle and fled, later found and tended by Cupid, who he found he could relate to in an unexpected way. Later on, he drifted too near to the border of another pack, and was nearly assaulted before his father appeared and intervened. Shocked to see his father alive, Zephyr agreed to accompany him back to his pack, and stayed there for a time. In their earliest conversation, he revealed his true identity to his father, and informed him of his separation from Helios. It was during this time that he first met Kratos, though their initial encounter was tense and confusing for both.

Before long, the search for his brother drove him to leave again, a decision spurred by a second meeting with Phillip in which the two agreed to search for their missing loved ones together. The pair traveled together for a time, searching the eastern half of the wilds; they found no sign of their loved ones, though they did find a mutilated corpse. Later, Zephyr met Kratos again, this time taking a liking to the older boy and convincing him to join the search. During their travels, Phillip stumbled across Lainie, though the meeting quickly went south when Zephyr entered the scene.

After some time spent on the road, Zephyr met Mal at the borders of his pack, and first began to discover his knack for diplomacy when he secured a spot for himself and his friends in Mal's pack, Neverwinter Forest. Not long after their acceptance into the pack, the wraith encountered a wolf in heat for the first time. He brought this scent back with him, ultimately initiating his first sexual encounter with Mal. This became the catalyst for his first meaningful experience with romance, sparking a fiery conflict born of Kratos's jealousy over the encounter. Following their argument, Zephyr was attacked by a stranger and subsequently saved by Kratos. Not long after the attack, the two spoke about their feelings for one another and began a relationship.

The next big event in Zephyr's life came soon after; a reunion with Rosalie, courtesy of Mal. However, the apparent bliss did not last long. Around this time, Phillip was attacked and disappeared from Neverwinter Forest. Zephyr never learned of this; he left the pack shortly after with Kratos, driven by betrayal and disgust after he discovered Mal's child with Cupid, while his mate had his own reasons.

Early Adulthood

This departure started a new chapter in the coywolf's life. He and Kratos traveled for a time, eventually deciding to start building their own pack. They traveled back toward Zephyr's childhood home, then past it into the north. There, Zephyr reunited with his father, though it was no joyous reunion; instead, he left with a sense of betrayal and newfound hatred. In the wake of this meeting, he sought comfort in Kratos, who convinced him to let go of the hurt-driven goals he'd started to set for himself. Later, he ran into Polaris, breaking the news to her in private.

Though the pair was happy for a time, fate ultimately plotted against Kratos and Zephyr's plans for the future. Zephyr was kidnapped in May of 2020, and spent the next five months in captivity, subject to brutality and torture beyond even his most twisted imaginings. Eventually, he escaped, re-entering Teekon Wilds different; broken. He encountered Kratos again at the height of his injured, feverish state, and came away from the brief meeting believing it a hallucination. Shattered by the cruel experience, he gave up all hope of ever seeing his mate again, and dismissed the relationship as lost to him. Fortunately, a reunion with Phillip pulled him from the depths of his despair soon after, and gave him a new spark of hope. A second reunion with Rosalie soon followed.

Revitalized by the appearance of these important figures in his life, he set off west with the group. He met Daighre for the first time early on in the trip, and their initial encounter left both of them irritated and unsettled. Sometime later, they ran into one another again, this time in a far more heated situation; Zephyr broke his own personal code in a twisted projection of vengeance and subsequently released the offended man. Guilt and regret drove him into emotional overload, and he confessed deeply-held feelings for Phillip following the experience, shedding the last of his inhibitions regarding their blossoming romance when he discovered that the feeling is mutual. Shortly after, he ran into Cupid and Mal's son Caerus, permanently burning bridges with the exchange that follows.

A near-death experience at the hands of Stjornuati ended his traveling for a time, and left him with new worries regarding his identity. Fortunately, the healer aided him in the wake of their battle. Later, a golden savior appeared, leaving Zephyr instantly enchanted; Pheiros tended to him and led him back to his group. Time passed, and Zephyr healed further. He found unexpected kinship in a sibling he never knew of, Electra, and the group moved forward. Time ultimately found the wraith at Blackfeather Woods, where he met and made a deal with Rowan. Finding common ground in their goals and both in need of allies, the boys struck up a friendship, agreeing to co-lead within the woods. So Zephyr settled, a leader in role as well as title for the first time.

Soon after the group settled in Ivory Rose, Zephyr embarked on a trip north for recruits. The trip took a turn for the worst when he discovered Alessia alone, sick, and dying, though Phillip's unexpected presence softened the blow somewhat. He sent him home and buried Alessia, finding help in an unusual place. The encounter soured quickly, however. He continued on his way following the meeting, changing course for the last place he'd seen Polaris in hopes of breaking the news. When he arrived, he received news of his own, and the two siblings were left to the realization that they had quite suddenly become orphans. Later, on his way home, he ran into Daighre again; this time the encounter left him with a nasty head injury. Daighre stayed with him for the night, in light of his lack of consciousness, until a cougar interrupted them in the early hours of the morning and wounded them both, pursuing Zephyr back into the Valley.

The wraith lost several days in the wake of his head injury. When he next found conscious thought, he'd run into Taikon, a total stranger who was immediately both concerned and infatuated with the injured coywolf. Zephyr found himself sucked into the little group, though Taikon's companion Takiyok was initially against the idea. The two reached an agreement later solidified when Zephyr saved Takiyok's life in the aftermath of a second encounter with the cougar. The group stumbled across Takiyok's niece Taktuq later on, taking her into the fold without question. They left the Valley together, though not without first experiencing a rather dramatic meeting with Daighre. On the trip home, Zephyr developed an unexpectedly intimate bond with Taikon, and the two agreed to discuss their future relationship at the journey's close.

These changes triggered a massive shift in perspective for the coywolf, marking the beginning of a new era of his life; one defined by progress rather than failure, curiosity rather than cynicism.

Zephyr came out of the mountains transformed, and launched himself into his newfound purpose with zeal. Immediate betrayal in the form of Taikon's fickle romantic attachment briefly tainted his new perspective but he kept his promise nonetheless. A whirlwind of activity followed. He broke the news of Alessia's death to Electra, defined his relationship with Phillip, and confronted Taikon in what ultimately became his first lesson in adapting to his new lifestyle. Soon after, chance brought Euros to Ivory Rose's doorstep, another of Zephyr's unknown half-siblings. A further twist of fate brought Pheiros back to him when the golden boy broke his leg and the wraith happened upon the scene.