Verawyn Verawor

Overlord Verawyn Verawor

Verawyn Verawor is perhaps the best embodiment of noble privilege in all of Arkhera. While not particularly incompetent or vicious, Verawyn is selfish above all, looking out for his and his city's interests above anything else in the Kingdom. Of course, his attitude did not arise from a vacuum; it is generally seen as a family tradition for the Verawors to look out for the Crystal Palace first while worrying about the Kingdom-wide consequences later, if at all.
He was born as the only child of Erever Verawor and Norivera Alcule, and naturally groomed to be a successor. His third eye was honed with a mind towards fiscal responsibility and sound business ventures, and even as young as ten, Verawyn would enjoy discussions with his father about which private companies deserved grants and which were wastes.
Verawyn and Erever would come to differ fundamentally on one economic philosophy, and that was whether the act of asking for a publicly-funded loan was itself a form of financial weakness. Erever believed that some business ideas were sound alone, and the poorness of the ideamen could be offset by a loan. Verawyn considered this to be a form of charity for the selfish; he considered handouts to the penniless to be strictly for survival, not founding a business, and that ideas only meant something with assets to back them up.
As such, Verawyn was much less reliant on his third eye than his father regarding investments, forcing much higher standards of evidence upon his father's grant meetings. While Lord Erever initially disliked the intrusiveness his son displayed, once the rate of defaults sharply decreased, he appreciated the assistance that his clever heir provided. Lady Norivera, meanwhile, considered her role as a mother somewhat failed, as she believed Verawyn lacked a certain compassion that she respected her husband for.
When Verawyn was in his early twenties, his father told him that he'd found an 'unconventional' marriage match in the form of the five year old daughter of Lord Rhaeus Abraxas, Quira. Verawyn went to see her, as was his duty, but naturally the interaction was closer to a babysitter and his protectorate than any negotiation between equals. To Norivera's relief, Verawyn was kind to the young girl, but nonetheless rolled his eyes at Lord Rhaeus's insistence that such a marriage match could make 'both of their houses great again'. Rhaeus was of course speaking carelessly, as his entire spiel relied on acknowledging the open secret between the Verawors and Abraxas-Senheils that the latter were necromancers whose blood was adulterated with seerish ancestors, as opposed to their public race of spellbinder.
As such, Verawyn refused the match, humiliating his father in the process, but Norivera was proud of her son, telling him that learning from their houses' past failures and showing compassion to a future woman who, if he'd accepted the offer, would be tied to an old man. Erever would berate Verawyn constantly, but Verawyn, cocky from his consistently successful record, asked if he had time to produce a more successful son in time for his death. Overlord Erever could do naught but splutter and insist that Verawyn would regret his words, a concept Verawyn would mock until the following week.
Erever's words were indirectly prophetic, as he would die on his way to the Shrine of the Dead, once again intent on fostering friendship with the down-and-out Abraxases. The last conversation Verawyn would have with his father was an argument over what he saw in a family that had next to no army or resources beyond a shared legacy of failed attempted revolutions. Erever insisted that Quira Abraxas was going to prove influential and save lives, expose corruption, and all the usual saviour talk. Verawyn bitterly mocked his father to the point where Erever refused to travel with him, and as such, he left, then never returned.
Verawyn would become horrified at his last argument with his father upon hearing the news, wishing that he'd tried harder to understand his father's oddities and motives, and though his mother tried to comfort him, Verawyn never truly forgave himself. He took to the role of overlord well, if with much misery, and even allowed his mother to remarry to an ogretamer named Yog'naril at the request of his older brother, Yog'sohal, a long-time friend of the Crystal Palace.
This would prove to be another case of pragmatic prudence which ultimately backfired for Verawyn, as Yog'naril quickly cemented himself as a competitor for his power, along with being an abusive husband to Norivera, playing the charmer in public while beating her in private. Despite the abuse, Norivera considered the younger man to be attractive enough to tolerate, to Verawyn's dismay, forcing him both for his allegiance with the ogretamers' and his mother's sake to keep the monstrous beastmaster in his home, undermining his power.
Later on, Norivera would die, and to Verawyn's surprise, simply of a shaking fit, not at her husband's hands. Verawyn almost made to eject Yog'naril, but the beastmaster leveraged his connection to the Iron Hills Ogretamers, indispensable military assets to the Crystal Palace. Verawyn's patience once again extended, and he let this creature live with him.
Yog'naril would go on to take a young trophy wife by the name of Yaraga, a beastmistress from the Iron Hills Creepmasters whose beauty was unparalleled. Apparently beauty wasn't good enough for Yog'naril, however, as he soon slipped into abusing her too. Verawyn had seen this cycle happen before with his mother, and complicating matters, he was developing feelings for Yaraga himself as he would regularly play the confidant for her. Still, like he did with Norivera before, Yog'naril kept Yaraga sucked in, and had a child with her, Verawyn's beastmaster stepsister, Woraga.
Shortly after this, Yog'naril would grow more irritable than ever, especially when Yaraga asked him to participate in raising Woraga. One night, he would argue so much that he beat Yaraga to death, and in full view of Verawyn, who stepped to protect her far too late. Yaraga would die in Verawyn's arms, and once she perished, he flew into an unstoppable rage. His guards attempted to intervene, but he insisted on personally beating the ogretamer to death himself. To this day, his old lounge, whose walls were stained with Yog'naril's brains, remains off-limits to all staff.
Verawyn and his guards all agreed to back each other up regarding the truth of his crime of passion, and King Silas Godspeak acquitted him of his murder, ruling that it was 'only what anyone with blood in their veins would do when faced with a monster'. As such, Overlord Verawor left his trial with a newfound respect for King Silas Godspeak, and continued with his life, raising Woraga as his sister with the help of his staff to honour Yaraga's memory. The Iron Hills Ogretamers even agreed to renew their allegiance to Lord Verawor; Yog'sohal, 'naril's own brother, expressed that if he knew what his brother was doing, he'd have beaten him to death himself.
Less than a year after his acquittal, he would marry Alvera of Ashglass, widow of Verigal Veritas, a woman slightly younger than him who admitted that she'd got used to the high life and thus needed another noble husband. As she'd already had one child, Khalver, he knew she was at least fertile and able to take childbirth, so Verawyn accepted the offer, knowing he wasn't getting any younger. He offered to take in the ten-year-old Khalver too, however, she ranted about how Wisdom Morton had taken him in as a novice and liked to play father, and so despite Verawyn's eagerness to be a good stepfather, Khalver would remain in Ashglass.
While her willingness to abandon her son for a rich marriage concerned Verawyn, he ultimately decided that she was better than no-one, and so along with raising Woraga, he would raise three more children allegedly from his marriage: Veran, Verik, and Anver, the latter of which doesn't resemble his father in the slightest. While Alvera initially tried to play the charming wife, jealousy from Verawyn prioritising Woraga as much as Veran initiated a resentment that bloomed into a spectacularly miserable marriage.
Now, the two spouses fundamentally disagree on who shall be the heir to the Crystal Palace; Verawyn, like many lords before him, such as Moragar Foenaxas, has moved from male succession as a philosophy, embracing gender-agnostic primogeniture instead, placing Veran, his eldest child and only daughter, as his heir. Meanwhile, Alvera, who has coddled Verik, her eldest son with Verawyn, wants her golden boy to be the heir, and has warped his young mind into a state of complete and utter entitlement while bullying her youngest child, Anver, for wanting to become a wisdom like his half-brother, Khalver.
These disputes and Alvera's bullying tendencies reminding him of Yog'naril before her has led to Verawyn sadly becoming what his monstrous stepfather was; a husband with a tendency to beat his wife, albeit out of frustration with her abusive tendencies. While his motives may be more protective than Yog'naril's, the irony isn't lost on him, as he's always quick to apologise to Woraga and his children whenever he's seen to do it.
Despite his failings as a person, he's objectively been successful as an overlord; under his rule, the town of Jadeport has flourished under a gnomish appointee, Gibb Wickins, becoming a major hub of trade for Yukishiman businessmen. He's also making major political agreements with the Soltelle Empire, with plans to build a Yukishiman embassy within the Crystal Palace being considered.
It's thought these are partially to protect himself, however; while he got on with King Silas, his relationship with the current king, Landon Shearwater, is bitter, due to Landon wishing to hike the Crystal Palace's taxes relative to other cities due to the large amount of reserves in their vaults. Verawyn argues that the profits he's secured for his city and people are his to spend or save as he wishes, and that he pays his taxes without fail at the usual rate, so why should he be punished for his lawfulness by having the law suddenly ask him for more. Political opponents like Natt Gatley criticise this as malignant and deliberate stifling of public services like the national railways of Arkhera, but Verawyn's simple response is that his success should not be punished. Despite these sentiments, it's natural that he would also have contingencies involving foreign imperial allies.
Currently, Verawyn remains despised or feared by politicians beyond the Iron Hills, beloved and respected by his subjects, and oft sympathised with by his closest friends. Recently, he's accepted the services of what seems to be the only ascendant in Arkhera, a bizarre conglomerate known as Parthezad, to bolster his third eye's visions by offering insights provided by its telepathy, and he's just as unwilling to budge on financially aiding the kingdom more than normal as before, so his financial growth is likely to continue indefinitely (unless, of course, his spoilt-sweet stepsister spends all his vault savings on expensive, taxable dresses).

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Verawyn is a short man, as expected of seers, with long, greying blonde hair and a beard, something relatively virile for a seer. His eyes are the usual green-red of a seer, his eyes in particular being more green than red unless under deeply dim light. He prefers to wear simple clothing, usually a button up shirt with a jacket or blazer over it, and simple Yukishiman-styled trousers. He's starting to get crow's feet around his eyes, and wears a marriage pendant consisting of a seer's-eye gemstone wrapped in iron and gold.

Social

Contacts & Relations

Woraga Verawor (stepsister)
Inquisitor Parthezad (advisor)
Spymaster Umbria (employee)
Sir Rowyn Khanas (sworn knight)
Yog'nahal the Ogretamer (point of contact with the Iron Hills Ogretamers)
Yarachne the Spider Queen (point of contact with the Iron Hills Creepmasters)
Count Gibb Wickins (economically significant vassal)
Count Veridius Alcule (business contact in the Sanguinas Territories)
Chief of Foreign Affairs Yulia Snow (Yukishiman point of contact)
Lady Natt Gatley (economic rival)
King Landon Shearwater (cold war adversary)

Family Ties

Religious Views

Verawyn Verawor has a strong reverence for the seers of the past, holding plants to be sacred vessels of the dead. As such, his castle offices have numerous plants, with one particular potted succulent being saved for his soul, should it persist. Otherwise, he's irreligious, and doesn't attend any public ceremonies, assembly, or ritual, instead having a simple, private respect for his ancestors.

Relationships

Alignment

Lawful Neutral

Current Location

Crystal Palace

Species

Seer

Ethnicity

Arkheran

Honorary & Occupational Titles

Overlord of the Iron Hills
Lord of the Crystal Palace
Overseer of the Iron Hills Deep Mines

Year of Birth

508 AGA 43 Years old

Circumstances of Birth

Noble

Birthplace

Crystal Palace

Parents

Erever Verawor

Norivera Alcule

Spouses

Siblings

Current Residence

Crystal Palace

Gender

Male

Eyes

Green-Red, primarily green unless in extreme dark

Hair

Grey-blonde

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Olive

Height

4'10''

Aligned Organization

House of Verawor

Other Affiliations

• House of Alcule
• House of Wickins
• Iron Hills
• Iron Hills Creepmasters
• Iron Hills Ogretamers
• Soltelle Empire

Known Languages

Common Tongue
Old Seerish
Old Galdusian
Yukishiman