Valtren White-Flame
"If Valtren forged your fate, it will burn until even the ashes are gone."
Valtren White-Flame stands in legend as both architect and heretic, a Magus who bound the impossible into steel. Born of the Shadow Elfese during the fractured heart of The Lost Ages, he refused to accept the boundaries of bloodline, craft, or mortality. Where others forged swords, he forged wonders, where others bent to guilds or crowns, he carved his own law with hammer and spell. His life was a crucible of rebellion and genius, defying rulers, arming the desperate, and daring to reimagine magick as weapon and refuge both. His renown is inseparable from his greatest gamble, the creation of Gaiatia’s second moon, a feat of such staggering ambition that it remains unmatched. This act, born in the chaos following The Fall, was not merely an invention but a salvation, halting the tides that threatened to erase civilization in the first days of The Great Schism that The Fall had caused. To some, it crowned him savior, the Magus who preserved a broken world when no other dared. To others, it proved him reckless, an outlaw smith who played at divinity and left scars across land and sky. Yet Valtren’s story is not a triumph but a tragedy. He fought Vile the Branded General in the earliest battles of the Fall, and though he escaped with his life, the failure to end the Devil warlord’s rampage became the wound he never forgave himself. That guilt, paired with his defiance of bureaucrats and gods alike, shaped his later years into a storm of invention, defiance, and grief. His White-Flame Academy, still standing under the wary stewardship of guilds the likes of which he once spurned, is the last living echo of his will, to teach that craft is resistance, and that magick must be wielded not for vanity or law, but for survival against the impossible. Valtren remains a paradox in Everwealth’s memory, a savior who damned himself, a rebel who built institutions, a man who bent the moon itself yet could not ease the weight of his failures. His sigil, the open palm clutching fire, endures as a symbol both of uncompromising craft and the peril of wielding genius without mercy.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
In his prime, Valtren possessed the lean, wiry build characteristic of Shadow-Elfese, tempered by the physical demands of smithing. While never overtly muscular, his strength was deceptively high from years at the forge. His albinism initially left him vulnerable to sunlight, causing fatigue and burns from minimal exposure, but his later self-crafted enchantment completely negated these effects, restoring vitality and endurance in full.
Body Features
Silvery skin with the faint, almost metallic sheen typical of his people. His stark white hair fell long and straight, often tied back when working. The enchantment that cured his albinism left subtle trace-lines of faint gold along his veins, visible only under certain light, a side effect of the ritual.
Facial Features
Angular, aristocratic features with high cheekbones and a strong jawline. His eyes, gleaming, deep orange, were as much an identifying trait as his hair, and had an unnerving intensity in dim light.
Identifying Characteristics
- Distinctive combination of white hair, silver skin, and amber-orange eyes.
- Thin vertical scar over his right eyebrow from an early forge accident, never healed magically as a reminder of humility.
- The gold vein-tracings beneath the skin from his albinism-curing spell.
Physical quirks
- Habit of standing unnaturally still when thinking, to the point of appearing statue-like.
- Subtle heat radiates from his hands when agitated, a byproduct of his deep fire affinity.
- Never wore his hair entirely loose, always tied, braided, or bound with metal rings of his own making.
Special abilities
- Mastery of Mage-Smithing, blending enchantment, transmutation, and alchemy into functional works.
- Creation and manipulation of large-scale fire magicks without collateral heat damage to himself.
- Ability to craft long-term enchantments resistant to standard dispelling.
- Inventor of the “White-Flame Veil,” the spell which nullified the physical limitations of his albinism.
Apparel & Accessories
- Unique, stark-white gothic-style full-plate armor covered in decorative inscriptions and runic markings. The armor’s base mount is black, giving a stark contrast that enhances the brilliance of the white plating.
- Brown leather straps crisscross the armor, holding tools, potions, tomes, scrolls, and assorted equipment in quick reach.
- His sword arm is half-veiled in a large white hooded cloak most-times, draped for ease of movement while concealing subtle protective wards woven into its seams.
- The left arm, his casting arm, is heavily reinforced with layered plating to protect while channeling volatile magicks.
- The right shoulder bears a thick white pelt from a polar bear, its long fur draping down over the upper shoulder and behind the back of his cloak.
- A belt of enchanted pouches for tools and raw materials, each reinforced to shield their contents from magical feedback.
- Rend, kept in a specially warded scabbard, its true location in later years heavily contested.
Specialized Equipment
- Rend, the amber fireblade of unmatched destructive potential.
- Personal smithing set, each tool enchanted for precision and elemental stability.
- Portable field-forge capable of channeling raw magical energy into materials.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Valtren’s early life remains shrouded in conflicting accounts, some paint him as the son of a reclusive Shadow-Elfese artisan clan, others as an orphan taken in by a rogue Mage-Smith who defied any and all oversight to his whims. What is known is that his apprenticeship began unusually young, and that his first independent works drew immediate attention from both patrons and enemies. His formative years were marked by open defiance of bureaucratic control, forging enchanted arms for rebel militias and disenfranchised border towns alike. His eventual rise was as much due to his undeniable brilliance as it was to political necessity; denying him a seat at the table risked him building his own.
Gender Identity
Valtren identified and presented as male according to Shadow Elf cultural norms, though surviving accounts suggest he may have once spent many years under the effects of a curse which changed him into a woman.
Sexuality
Historical records offer little certainty, though some preserved letters hint at romantic entanglements with both male and female contemporaries. To Valtren, bonds of the mind and shared ambition seemed to matter more than convention.
Education
Educated first by local smith and mystics, Valtren later absorbed works of Humans, Dwarfish, and even Orcish smithing techniques. His formal magickal training came from a magickal academy of great prestige known as 'Heighthall Academy', but the facility has been lost to time; Though famously leaving before completing his official arcane credentials, returning years later as a peer rather than a student.
Employment
Founder of the White-Flame Academy. Serving as headmaster between his own exploits intermittently, but often operating independently of the facility altogether. His services were sought by rulers, merchants, and warlords, though he accepted commissions selectively, often to the great frustration of those in power.
Accomplishments & Achievements
- Created Gaiatia’s second moon to stabilize tides post-Fall.
- Forged Rend, the amber blade of eternal flame.
- Established the White-Flame Academy, still operational centuries later.
- Developed hybrid forging-ritual methods still studied by Mage-Smiths today.
Failures & Embarrassments
- Repeatedly censured by corrupt officials which buried much of his work.
- Accused of arming outlaw bands and insurgent groups, though never convicted.
- The “Iron Citadel Contract” scandal, where a siege engine of his design was turned against a civilian city, remains a stain on his legacy.
- According to varying accounts, Valtren had encountered Vile sometime in the earliest days of The Fall; Meeting him in combat, the conquering demon lord defeating Valtren after a lengthy and destructive battle, forcing Valtren to retreat, but not before leaving Vile with a limp he carried to the end of his days.
Mental Trauma
Witness accounts suggest Valtren carried deep inconsolable guilt for those lost in the Fall and The Schism that followed, every rape, every murder, every civilization burned a dozen at a time he believed his fault alone; Failing to defeat Vile in single combat when he had the chance, failing to prevent the conflict, the millions of ignoble deaths that Vile wrought. It devastated him, broke him, many accounts agree his final days were spent in sharp contrast to the 'unstoppable spitfire' he was before, wracked with grief, isolated, almost catatonic in his depressive state. Some scholars argue this drove his final works toward increasingly dangerous risks, suicidal charges on battlefields against Vile's men, forcing volcanoes to erupt atop cities he didn't know for sure had been fully evacuated, culminating in his final disappearance upon creation of the moon itself to stop the tides post-fall.
Intellectual Characteristics
Razor-precise in speech, uncompromising in craft. Obsessed with functional beauty, every creation was to be both a work of art and a perfect tool. Known for ruthless problem-solving and an uncanny ability to foresee unintended consequences.
Morality & Philosophy
Believed that power, magickal or mundane, should serve necessity before law, and that corrupt authority forfeits its right to rule. Advocated for the preservation of craft knowledge even at the risk of misuse.
Taboos
Refused to forge for those who sought dominion through cruelty. Never altered another Mage-Smith’s work without permission. Considered mass-produced enchanted arms a desecration of the craft.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Valtren’s life’s work was driven by two intertwined goals: to master magick so completely that no limitation, physical, political, or cosmic, could bind him, and to wield that mastery for the protection of Gaiatia’s people, regardless of whether they deserved it. His early battles with the sun’s curse on his albinism shaped a personal philosophy that weakness was an invitation for the world to devour you, and only through relentless innovation could one turn that weakness into strength. While much of his later reputation is shrouded in myth, his actions suggest an unwavering belief that magick should serve survival above all else, even at the cost of angering kingdoms and coalitions alike.
Savvies & Ineptitudes
Savvies:
- Mastery over advanced magickal metallurgy, particularly the fusion of enchantment and transmutation into weapons and tools.
- Strategic foresight in both political maneuvering and battlefield conditions.
- Deep understanding of oceanic and celestial magicks, evidenced by the creation of Gaiatia’s second moon.
- Disdain for political diplomacy; his bluntness often turned allies into rivals.
- Impatience with bureaucratic procedure, making him a constant thorn in the side of many factions.
- A tendency toward over-engineering, sometimes producing creations too complex for others to replicate or maintain.
Likes & Dislikes
Likes:
- The challenge of solving “impossible” problems.
- The smell of hot metal and burning oil.
- Students with the courage to argue their point rather than bow to reputation.
- Idle scholars who hide behind titles instead of results.
- Those who hoard knowledge to maintain power.
- Political posturing that delays decisive action in crises.
Virtues & Personality perks
- Resourceful in the face of scarcity, able to create miracles from meager tools.
- Fiercely loyal to those he deemed worthy of trust.
- Willingness to defy powerful enemies when the stakes demanded it.
Vices & Personality flaws
Vices & Flaws:
- Obsession with legacy, occasionally making reckless choices to leave a mark in history.
- Inability to fully trust allies, especially political ones, leading to self-isolation.
- Rumored addiction to a great many illicit substances like Opium, and an Elfese calming herb known as 'Long-Leaf'.
Personality Quirks
- Habit of tapping his thumb against his scabbard while thinking.
- Never allowed his armor to be polished by anyone else, believed the act infused the plate with his own “resonance.”
- Spoke to Rend aloud in moments of solitude, as if the blade could answer.
Hygiene
Kept his personal gear immaculately clean, to the point that even after weeks in the field, the runes of his armor shone white against the black underlay. By contrast, his workshop was a chaos of soot, half-finished enchantments, and smoking crucibles.
Representation & Legacy
Valtren’s sigil, the White-Flame crest of an open palm clutching a flame, remains a symbol of uncompromising craft and defiance against impossible odds. The White-Flame Academy still teaches students, now though under the banner of The Scholar's Guild; The present The Arcane Coalition oversight however keeps its curriculum bound in ways most account believe Valtren would have spat upon. His name is invoked both as a warning and as an aspiration, a mage who could defy nature itself, yet whose defiance often left ruin in its wake. Across the coasts, fishermen still thank “The Magus of the Second Moon” before setting sail, though most couldn’t tell you whether he was elf, demi-god, or myth.
Social
Reign
While not a monarch in the formal sense, Valtren’s “reign” in the arcane world spanned over nine centuries if rumors of his longevity are to be believed, but his power aged his body where his Shadow-Elfese blood should have made aging impossible. His era was defined by acts that defied both nature and political will, the Second Moon’s creation, the forging of Rend, and the foundation of his academy. His influence ended abruptly with his disappearance after hurling the frozen mass into space to quell the great tides, leaving a void in both magical innovation and resistance to Coalition control.
Contacts & Relations
- Scholar’s Guild: A tenuous relationship, he is both a celebrated figure and a constant source of headaches for new apprentices who end up dead trying to be 'The Next White-Flame'.
- Arcane Coalition: Officially an overseer of his work, unofficially a political foil he would have despised.
- Independent Mage-Smith Circles: Maintained respect from unlicensed crafters, though he often scolded them for reckless methods.
- Sailors’ Unions and Coastal Clans: Revered as a savior for mitigating the tides after The Fall.
Family Ties
Little is known of Valtren’s family, no confirmed spouse, children, or surviving bloodline. Some Shadow Elf genealogies claim distant relation, but evidence is tenuous at best.
Religious Views
Publicly dismissive of organized religion, often poking fun at priesthoods and holy orders. Privately, he respected forces greater than himself, especially the primal forces of sea and sky, but believed they should be challenged, not worshipped.
Social Aptitude
Valtren was as charismatic as he was abrasive. He commanded respect through skill and sheer force of presence, but was quick with barbed humor and rarely softened his words. His confidence bordered on arrogance, tempered only by a surprising willingness to mentor those he saw as worthy.
Mannerisms
- Leaned on his forge hammer like a walking stick when speaking at length.
- Often gestured with tools instead of fingers, even in casual conversation.
- Paused mid-sentence to take a drink or bite during meetings, ignoring etiquette entirely.
Hobbies & Pets
- Kept a massive black forge-cat named Ember, said to sleep atop piles of glowing coals.
- Enjoyed sea-fishing from cliff edges, claiming the salt air “reset the mind.”
- Known for crafting bizarre, impractical inventions in his off-hours purely for the amusement of making them work.
Speech
- Tone: Deep, steady, with a perpetual edge of sarcasm.
- Accent/Dialect: A mix of Shadow Elf cadence and coastal slang picked up from sailors.
- Insults: Creative, often craft-related, calling someone “as sharp as dirt” was a favorite.
- Farewell: “Don’t break anything I can’t fix.”
Wealth & Financial state
Valtren was wealthy in the way only a mage-smith of his skill could be, his assets were rarely coin, but instead unrivaled artifacts, precious metals transmuted at will, and enchanted tools beyond appraisal. His disposable income fluctuated wildly, often depleted by massive undertakings that left him near penniless, only for a single commission to restore his coffers. Debt was a rare but real problem, especially when funding large-scale projects without patronage.
Ethnicity
Honorary & Occupational Titles
- The White-Flame Magus - His most enduring title, given after he developed the sun-warding magick that freed him from the worst effects of his albinism.
- Founder of the White-Flame Academy - Recognized formally by the Scholar’s Guild, though its current incarnation bears heavy Coalition oversight.
- The Magus of the Second Moon - A more poetic moniker used by sailors and coastal folk, referring to his role in creating Gaiatia’s smaller companion moon.
Children
Sex
Male.
Eyes
Orange
Hair
Long, white.
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Pale and silvery, somewhat pinkish at certain angles.
Height
6'5"
Weight
191 lbs.
Quotes & Catchphrases
- "Steel is only as strong as the hands and the mind that forged it."
- "The sea does not care for kings, gods, or gold; I care even less."
Character Prototype
If Gandalf were a blacksmith.
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