<div class="floatright">(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-idiZQMN1riA/Vq3w7dpWvyI/AAAAAAAAbdQ/xu4ZIKeHI-8/w700-h966/medium-heavy-armor.jpeg)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Valdis<br/><strong>Race:</strong>Half-elf<br/><strong>Sex:</strong>Male<br/><strong>Orientation:</strong>Hetero-flexible<br/><strong>Occupation:</strong>Eldritch Knight/Sword-for-hire<br/><br/><strong>Mode of Attack: </strong>Trusty sword; tried, tested, true.<br/><strong>One Thing In My Pack: </strong>Lantern.<br/><br/><strong>Height:</strong>5' 9'';<strong>Weight:</strong>136 lbs.<br/><strong>Description:</strong>Lithe and well-built, Valdis has messy, unkempt hair that looks like burnished bronze, and keeps the excess tied in a short ponytail.  His appearance largely favours the human side of his heritage, with only the barest tapering of his ears, though his teal eyes are always considered his most striking feature and seems almost luminous.  He tends to prefer neutral facial expressions when on business or adventuring, since he doesn't want to be regarded as someone with a temper, whilst his smile accentuates his youth (which he's decided isn't conductive to being taken seriously when trying to get a job or quest).<br/><strong>Personality:</strong>Valdis remains a fairly easygoing individual until there is a job at hand, in which case he is intensely focussed, almost to the exclusion of everything else.  When he doesn't have to draw his blade, he affable and as generous as his pocket allows him to be.  He presents an air of confidence without arrogance or servility.  Matters of honour are important to him, not only his own, but also that of others; something he will arduously defend.  His manner is marked by a certain degree of old-world genteelism, unless startled or angry.<br/><br/><strong>Likes:</strong>In addition to player ons: outdoor adventures; exploring ruins (especially elven ones); sparring partners; peasant girls; tavern wenches; frustrated widows; socialising with half-elves, half-orcs, half-anything; chances to act gallantly/knightly; training with experienced magic-users and warriors; romance.<br/><strong>Dislikes:</strong>In addition to player offs: excessively arrogant or rude characters.<br/><br/><strong>Story:</strong>Valdis grew up on a minor border village.  His father was a wandering elven adventurer-mercenary, who made it a regular point to come an visit Valdis and his mother every few years or so, bringing stories of the outside world and some of the wealth he acquired in his travels, including a light gem which the boy treasured.  Though his mother wanted him to take over the family inn become a innkeeper, he preferred to learn his father's craft with sword and magic when she wasn't looking.<br/><br/>Then one day, his father stopped coming and, instead, some of his companions came to deliver his sword.  It was fairly easy, even for a young Valdis to figure out what it meant.  Not too long after, he overheard an arranged marriage with his name in the matter.  The prospect of being tied down and losing his chance to see the world was so daunting that he slipped out of the house in the early hours with his father's sword and has been marching the road until Amberdale was coming into view.