application: aefenglom

[bloodwit]

Character Information
Name: Viren
Canon: The Dragon Prince
Canon Point: Episode 9 of season 2, Breathe. Specifically, after he seeks help from Aaravos, but before he summons the spooky smoke assassins.
Age: "Dad-ish" - likely somewhere in his forties.
History: Doop! Unfortunately, this link is very lacking in terms of his history, so here's some background:

• There has yet to be much revealed of Viren prior to the start of the series. What is known, however, based on his dialogue, is that he likely had to work hard to ascend the power totem pole to be where he is today. At some point, he became involved in his current job: that of the court's High Mage. He was once married, and from that marriage had two children: Soren, his son, and Claudia, his daughter. However, as reflected on by Claudia, his wife left when they were young children. Claudia recalls them constantly fighting, particularly after they put the children to bed. Viren and their mother made them choose who they wanted to be with. Soren, ever-seeking his approval, chose to stay with their father. At that, their mother told Claudia to stay with her brother - she told them that they would need each other and to stay together at their home. She returned back to her neighboring kingdom. Claudia's reflected that losing her mother was one of the hardest things that's happened to her, but knows that she had to leave Viren for her own sake.
  
  
• Due to a whole avalanche of events, at some point Viren convinced the King - King Harrow - to kill the Dragon King of a land hostile to humans, Xadia. Thus, a few months prior to the beginning of the series, the Dragon King was slain by dark magic. Viren looted several items from the Dragon King's dwelling, of note: a mirror and a dragon egg. He purports the egg would be destroyed presumably for the "good" of humanity. He doesn't do this, and thus sets the stage for the series' start.
  
  
• Viren is first revealed, fittingly, scrutinizing his stolen mirror. He receives word from a patrol that assassins from Xadia have been sighted. The assassins are Moonshadow elves; because of their particular abilities, once the full moon rises, they're "unstoppable." Subsequent efforts to scout them fail - King Harrow accepts that they will have to fight using strength alone, but that their odds of success are slim. Viren suggests that, using dark magic and a creature called a Soulfang Serpent, that King Harrow switches bodies with a common soldier, allowing the soldier to die in his stead while his spirit lives on in another. Ultimately, due to the downright unpleasant connotations of dark magic, King Harrow refuses this suggestion. He asks Viren if he would switch with him himself. Viren balks at this, and King Harrow considers the matter closed.
  
  
• However, Viren's yet to give up on the plan. Likewise, he assumes the King would be more amicable to the suggestion if Viren offers his own life in exchange. As nightfall approaches, he approaches the King one last time. King Harrow's pretty peeved about the fact that Viren, for the umpteenth time, undermines his authority with his persistence in suggesting to use dark magic in solving their problems - before Viren can finish relaying his plan, King Harrow tells him that, if it's going to be his last act as King, that Viren should kneel and know his place as a servant. King Harrow is assassinated later that night, the princes presumably captured by another enemy combatant and yet to be found, and Viren takes one of the assassins as his prisoner.
  
  
• King Harrow's funeral, and subsequently Viren's coronation, turn into a shitshow. It's tradition to mourn a fallen king seven days; Viren, believing the threat of war looming, rushes it to one day. There, he prematurely announces that the princes are dead, that King Harrow called him "his brother" as of the eve of his death, and that he will be taking the throne. The funeral attendants refuse his orders - in their stead, he has his daughter light the King's body on fire. The whole affair really doesn't win him many points with the people. In the midst of his crowning, the ceremony's interrupted by the arrival of the missing princes' aunt, General Amaya. She announces that the princes have been seen alive.
  
  
• His coronation successfully halted, Viren and General Amaya clash on several points. She accuses him of being an overly-ambitious opportunist. He responds that he's heartbroken y the late king's death, and that he only wishes that the kingdom would move forward in the time of war. She insists that the throne will remain empty until the princes are found. While Viren convinces General Amaya to return to the border due to the gathering of enemy troops, General Amaya leaves her commander, Gren, to lead the mission to find the Princes. The second General Amaya steps foot outside the castle grounds, Viren has Gren locked away in his dungeon, ordering his children instead to spearhead the mission.
  
  
• Before Claudia and Soren depart on their mission, he has some added details to relay to them. First, he tasks his son, that because “accidents happen" every day in the wild, to return with the "terrible news that the princes have died." To his daughter, he asks that she return with the dragon's egg no matter that the cost. Jokingly, Claudia asks if she had to either save Soren, or save the egg, which should she choose? To which Viren responds, the egg. After swearing them both to secrecy, they depart.
  
  
• His other prisoner—Runaan—has proved uncooperative. Viren threatens him; he shows him three coins, all of which presumably contain the souls of individuals trapped inside. Runaan, even if visibly disturbed, still refuses cooperation. Viren shows him the mirror that he seeks answers regarding - Runaan only tells him that the mirror holds something worse than death, but otherwise tells him that he will never help Viren. Viren responds to this by locking his soul away into a coin.
  
  
• And Viren has still been unable to convince the council to action. The king's dead, the throne's empty, the princes are missing, enemy forces are gathering along their border, and nothing’s happening. Frustrated, Viren steals the late King's seal, and wrongfully posing as the Kingdom's regent, calls for a "Summit of the Pentarchy" - a meeting of the monarchs of the neighboring human kingdoms.
  
  
• In the meanwhile, he still obsesses over his stolen mirror. Using dark magic, he makes yet another attempt at revealing its true nature. This attempt presumably fails; Viren reacts poorly, screaming at the mirror and proceeding to destroy the room. However, the mirror's reflection springs to life to reveal a rare Startouch Elf. The two are unable to communicate verbally, though the elf shows that Viren should gather a few items so that they might properly communicate. Viren does so, but when he's to wound himself during the ritual, he has his has doubts, and states that he needs time to think.
  
  
• It’s then that Viren receives mail confirming that the fellow monarchs agree to a summit, and Viren, still posing as regent, heads off to convince them to declare war alongside Katolis and preemptively strike at Xadia. Three of the monarchs agree to action if all others agree. Queen Aanya, the youngest of the monarchs, refuses. Viren, in an effort to persuade her, tells her a story, a story that he dubs one of "love" and "sacrifice." Several years ago, Katolis was visited by two queens - the then-Queens of Duren, Aanya's mothers. They come to King Harrow with a plea: this winter, one-hundred thousand of their people will die of starvation. To Viren's dismay, King Harrow pledges to help the queens, choosing to sacrifice fifty thousand of their own people in order to share half of their food. Viren works to come to a solution to this - in his research, he discovers that the heart of a titan, a creature of the foreign land, can restore vitality to Duren's land. If they retrieve the heart, he can use dark magic to save everyone that winter. Though his plan is dangerous, and initially met by resistance (such as by Queen Sarai, King Harrow’s wife), King Harrow agrees to it. To do so, they travel to the hostile land of Xadia. They have until sunrise, when the King of the Dragons once again patrols the sky. They're able to locate the titan and steal its heart, though the battle leaves many injured. Viren suggests leaving the injured behind because the party won't be able to make it across the border in time otherwise. King Harrow refuses this plan.
  
  
• Viren's prediction proves true - the party isn't able to make it to the border before the King of the Dragons awakens. The Queens of Duren elect to stay behind to give the group time to escape. Viren, in a moment of rashness in trying to be of use, also stays behind - while he freezes the Dragon, his efforts aren't enough. The Dragon King kills Aanya's parents. Queen Sarai comes to rescue Viren, knowing that without his spell, then the entire mission has been for nothing. While she manages to save Viren, she's killed in the process - bringing the total to three queens dying that day. Viren is the only person that survives the battle to attest to how they died. However, the group is able to return to their land - using the heart, Viren casts his spell, and 100,000 people are saved from starvation.
  
  
• Queen Aanya is touched by the tale. However, she still isn't sold on his suggestion. She rejects his plan, unwilling to send men and women to die in battle and preemptively begin another war. Because of this, the other kings and queen also deny their help. Viren has an honestly perturbing meltdown, in which he starts shouting at the other monarchs that they've "betrayed humanity."
  
  
• After having stormed off, it's evident that Viren has taken his failure of convincing the Pentarchy of his plans badly. He's met by a member of the council when he returns, who tells him that, because of his crimes, he will be removed from the high council - if not worse. Returning to his dungeon, and proclaiming he has "nothing left to lose," Viren proceeds to form a blood pact with Aaravos, the mysterious being in the mirror. (Hence, my chosen canon point.)
  
  
• Aaravos chooses to help Viren. He persuades him to use the remains of four of the elven assassins that had previously attacked the castle. To persuade the other kingdoms that they are truly in the danger that he alleges, he commands the shadows to "bring terror" to the their lands. But he's not able to remain free for long - last we check in with the man, after a violent throwdown with Katolis guards, he's arrested for treason.

Personality:

"You're a monster."

"You're mistaken. I'm a pragmatist."
Lord Viren has all the tells of a frustrated man.

He's ill-tempered, stuffy, sarcastic, volatile — he's the type where you don't really have to wonder why he has as few of friends as he does. Even if he holds himself with aloof politeness, capable of civilities where the situation allows for it, many of Viren's relationships tend to be marked by contention. One wouldn't regard him as particularly easy to get along with - even his closest and most cherished friend, King Harrow, found him difficult. Though close, their relationship involved them seemingly constantly at odds with one another. He's content to argue with whoever on whatever subject. His daughter notes that he's "intense," acknowledging this trait to be one of the reasons as to why he and his wife separated.

Not to say he's entirely incapable of playing nice. When it comes down to swaying others, Viren can be quite the theatrist. He's a knack for storytelling in resorting to dramatic language. He enchants scrolls for the sole purpose of captivating audiences, capable of bring his stories to vivid life. Lacking both the necessary authority or physical might, he relies heavily on his skills of persuasion – even if he has to resort to instilling fear as a motivator. Another character summarizes him, and his corresponding words, somewhat aptly - that when he is not taking aggressive, direct action, that he is a "soft threat," and all the more dangerous for his willingness to engage in deception to get what he wants.

Thinking his accomplices unwilling, Viren seems to have embraced the role of the one to make the "hard decisions." It's a consistent theme to his character. He openly regards others as weak, as soft, as incapable of getting the job that needs to be done, done. It's clear that becomes one of his main roles to King Harrow - he accepts his role as having to persuade the King to engage in what Viren deems as "right." Other times, King Harrow has noble goals to accomplish, and it's Viren that’s enthusiastic in supplying the less-than-savory means that enables him to do so. Now, his means often reflect that he doesn't have the highest of regards for life. Despite his proclaimed goals of ultimately protecting and advancing humanity, he's fairly unbothered when advancing these goals require taking lives. Perhaps he's been embroiled in dark magic too long. Perhaps he's long accepted that sacrifices are simply another, albeit unfortunate, necessity. There's little hesitance in threatening to take someone's life if the situation calls for it, and if someone continues to stand in his way, then he disposes of them with apparent little regard. He operates on a mindset that this is simply a pragmatic practice.

For better or for worse, Viren is dedicated. When he has goal in mind, he doggedly pursues it, working tireless until he's met these goals. When the kingdom is faced with an allegedly unsolvable problem, it's Viren that sinks a wholehearted effort into fixing things. He's known for throwing himself into his work, and frankly, he's prone to obsessions - this is exemplified through two seasons of him being unable to rest until he discovered the "secrets" of his stolen mirror, even sacrificing others in attempting to determine its capabilities. And thus results in his current predicament: resolute as he is in "saving" the humanity, his efforts in achieving this have become more and more unsavory.

Viren has a complex relationship with his ego. He holds himself in high regard. He has high hopes for himself and his potential. He openly regards his magical prowess, as well as his intellect, as being superior to other forms of strength. And he often thinks himself as being the absolute smartest or most logical or most realistic person in the room. It leads him to looking down on others -- and it's not something that goes missed by others, either. It's what drives many of his ill-fated encounters; that is, a stubborn adherence to him being correct. Yet, despite his acknowledged arrogance, he has a telling moment in which he speaks to his mirror,

"Nothing? Nothing. Nothing! Oh, you're powerless. Useless! I thought you were going to be something special, something important!"
It's revealing that in a moment of scathing anger, that his insults of choice are powerless and useless. He bases much of his self-worth on his usefulness and his corresponding power to change circumstances, as well as accomplishment of his goals. Most of his feelings of success in his life have come from his efficiency in servitude. His own dreams may be lofty, but when they seem unattainable no matter his efforts, it leaves him aggrieved. Likewise, he’s prone to evaluating others to the same standards of usefulness: he tells a prisoner that he's of "no use" to him and hence disposes of him, as well as he looks down on his son for being unskilled with something he holds on the highest of pragmatic regards, magic.

Now, despite what may be any self-held beliefs to the contrary, that he's pragmatic to the core, Viren can be quite the idealist. He dreams of a strong Katolis, a nation that will champion the way in uniting and leading the kingdoms. He dreams of a future for humanity where not only do humans survive the current conflict but prosper when they regain their "rightful" lands. He holds the concept of sacrifice, in particular, in high esteem. He operates on the notions that his ideals will prevail, that others will, ideally, cooperate to meet these ideals. He expects others to be as sensible as he is, to immediately understand and see things his way. But, when things don't go his way, he reacts. Poorly.

Because frequently fatal to his professional demeanor is his sheer frustration. Viren's temperamental; often, he makes no effort in hiding his displeasure with others. He's prone to scoffing, shouting, even raising his fists towards others if not engaging in outright assault during what should be peaceable conversations. He's volatile, swinging between emotions with intimidating irregularity. Not only that, but he can be spiteful. When his pride’s been injured, he reflects that onto others. Another character plays into his expectations of others sensibly matching his ideals, as well as his feelings of betrayal when they don’t: "You tried to win over the other humans with loyalty and friendship, but they ignored you. Those who fail tests of love are simple animals. They deserve to be motivated by fear."

But despite his capacity for cruelty, the man isn't completely without a heart. When he feels close to another, the dedication to his goals also extends to individuals. King Harrow knows Viren would "stand by him through anything." It's probably his relationship with King Harrow that reveals the most in that, when he feels close to another, he can be kind. Once upon a time, Viren was even thought of as a happy individual. He even smiles a few times in the series. And he holds a soft spot for his children - awkward and difficult as he can be, he tries to indulge them where he can, and knows that they rely on him for guidance and support. He's patient when he can manage it. Honestly? He tries. It's just that his priorities tend to be a bit... intense.

Abilities & Skills:

• Magic: Viren is adept at his craft - before it was stolen from him, he once had a primal stone, an object that contains pure magical essence in his possession, and something that is speculated to be "sought after by the most powerful mages in history." Magic in itself requires speaking phrases in ancient draconic, or the language of dragons, as well as familiarity with certain complex runes. Typically, its elemental in nature; when it comes to using primal stones, it’s most often seen in the context of offensive magic.
  
  
• Dark magic: Here is a handy list of dark spells he's seen casting throughout the series. One could also reasonably assume that spells casted by Claudia, his daughter, may also be within his skill set. Since humans are incapable of magic themselves, they may rely on using other creatures to supply the energy. It comes at a price. Dark mages use their bodies as vessels, so to speak, to give effect to the energy. Each spell allegedly costs a bit of themselves while leaving some of the darker magic behind - resulting in corruption, inside and out, of the individual. Viren’s true appearance exemplifies this.
  
  
• Manipulation: Listed here because the wiki lists it as one of his "abilities," apparently. As explained, Viren doesn't hold quite the authoritative power he wishes he held. For this reason, he relies on underhanded tactics in order to get what he wants. He lies with considerable ease, even if these lies ultimately aren't the most believable; notably, he most often tends to exploit fear.
  
  
• Research: His position involves finding "creative solutions." Because of the nature of the magic, this often requires enormous amounts of research. He's seen repeatedly carrying stacks of books to complete this purpose and he’s proficient in locating the sources he requires.
  
  
• Basic combat: He's seen twirling his staff like a baton, whacking people with ferocity, and utilizing other agile moves. He's no trained melee fighter—magic obviously behind his forte—but he can hold his own if necessary.

Inventory/Companions:

• His outfit. Yay!
  
• Whatever bullshit might be in his pockets. Seen mostly to be ash-like substances and dead bugs. And without using the magic of his world, they're presumably really just ashes and dead bugs.
  
• An elven-crafted staff. Typically, it would be used to amplify to his magic. In game, it's a fancy walking stick.

Choice: Dragon
Reason:

• Mostly? Irony. Viren sees dragons as, if they aren't serving as fuel for his dark magic, then as something to be exterminated due to their dangerous propensities. The series is largely propelled by two of Viren's choices: The first choice being convincing King Harrow that they slay the Dragon King; the second is, upon killing the creature, Viren then lying about his destruction of its egg — and instead keeping for himself. Dragons are humanity's enemy, and he spends a solid portion of his screen-time trying to convince others of the same. (Funnily enough, much of the magic he nearly worships has dragonic roots.) He’s wholly dedicated to humanity, wherein dragons serve as humanity’s most serious threat to survival. Having him transform into a dragon would lend itself to a bit of an internal predicament when it comes to his loyalty to humanity and transforming into what he’s sworn to fight against. Adding fuel to the fire is that humans of his word, through centuries of conflict, look onto inhabitants of Xadia, where the King of the Dragons once ruled, with both scorn and fear. Viren is no exception to this. Whether this transformation will be something he manages to accept and overcome, or hasten his downfall into a more destructive force, is something that I'm pretty interested in exploring!
  
  
• That said, though, Viren does have somewhat dragonic traits. As noted above, he can come across as arrogant, even if this pride manifests itself into severely looking down upon others. However, as King Harrow once noted, and which Viren later espouses agreement with, Viren most hopes to be special. Additionally, he's temperamental - when it comes to warfare, he's aggressive; he may have to resort to "softer" tactics in trying to effectuate his ends, but ultimately he would like to employ bold, direct attacks on his enemies (such as when he suggests killing a monster of a foreign land, or slaying the Dragon King, or making the first attack on Xadia). He's also somewhat independent - likely helped by the fact that his personality is just. Really painful to behold. That, and he thinks he has to do everything himself due to both others' perceived incompetence or their unwillingness to act. Beyond his children, the man doesn't have much in way of allies, or even people he prefers as company.
  
  
• Thirdly, Viren is well-associated with fire. With the frequency in which he's responsible for fiery disasters, I'd speculate that the writer' are probably trying to imply some sort of symbolism to it - what, with how hotly his anger runs and how anything that gets in his way tends to be, well, destroyed, a tendency that may result in his own undoing.
  
  
• Finally, while Witch may be the obvious choice, I'd like to explore Viren without magical capabilities. He's remarked on physical strength generally as being inferior to his intellect; having his source of "power" largely depend on physical prowess will take some forcible adjustment. As mentioned extensively, the man heralds himself for his "creative solutions" from the use of magic. He's relied on it to a literally unhealthy extent. While the magic of Aefenglom is different from what he's accustomed to, taking away even the possibility of it would force him to explore alternative avenues of progress. Perhaps he'll come to be persuaded to cooperate and rely on others more often, thus forcing him to make connections he otherwise wouldn't willfully seek.