Valkyrie Christian
"Val Christian. What can I do for you? Yeah. Yeah. I'll be there in fifteen. Lock all the doors, set the alarm, and start heating some sugar. No questions, just do as I say."
I'm sorry. Where were we? Of course. The plumbing consolidation. I said that out loud, didn't I? I'm getting rusty and multi-tasking gets harder the older you get, don't you find? No, you were here about the Council's proposal. I can't advise you one way or the other. But I will tell you that I accepted it.
Name: Valkyrie Christian
Titles: None she'll use. She does prefer Val or even V. to her given name of Valkyrie.
Rules: Nothing, but oversees much.
Height: 6'0". Weight: 165 lbs.
Hair color: Dark brown. Eye color: Hazel.
Distinguishing marks: Glasses for reading.
Appearance: Val is a big woman - not fat, but tall, heavily muscled and curvaceous. She does, in fact, somewhat fit the name she is not fond of. Most consider her very handsome, even beautiful, although she goes to no particular pains on that regard, pulling her hair back unflatteringly tightly and preferring austere and dark suits, though often with skirts and sharply-heeled shoes. She has an air of confidence, competence and busy - as if she's always doing at least three things at once.
Colors: Yellow, silver and green.
Symbol: A silver needle stabbed through a yellow lily on a field of green.
Personality: Val moves quickly and expects others to keep up. She walks fast, talks fast, makes quick and usually right decisions. She is the executive type but she has never truly desired to be in charge. It simply comes naturally to her and she would rather take over than see the person who commands fail and cause more trouble for her later. She is thorough, matter of fact, and some consider her cold although in reality she is very loving.
Parentage: Sansovino and Carolyn Vale.
Age: not completely certain. 362 years Arcadia time, perhaps more or less in the shadows she has been keeping to.
Known siblings: None. See Sansovino.
Known children: None.
Known agents: None specifically her own, but she often is put in charge of others when she is employed.
Recruited By: The Jester.
Thumbnail History: Valkyrie Vale was raised in an orphanage in Tir Na Nog after the death of her mother in childbirth. Her caretakers were good to her, though strict and uptight. She was given a complete education, good and healthy meals and a lot of exercise. At eleven, due to her high intelligence and strength, she was sent to a top of the line boarding school where she paid her fees by working as a maid and cook when she was not in class. She never fit in with the aristocratic girls there, but no one ever had the guts to pick on Val Vale.
From the boarding school she was apprenticed to the Guild of Surgeons, but her talents at administration and book-keeping moved her from premedicine to business, and she soon was in charge of all the finances of the Guild. But the Guild of Surgeons was also a guild of secrets, and soon Val began to hear whispers. Whispers that she might not be an orphan.
The whispers led her to the Jester, for it was rumored that she had been one of the children taken from him at birth and placed in the orphanage by Prince Arayen. Val resigned from the Surgeons and offered her skills to the Jester, trying to find out if it was true.
She was never happy in the Maze, but she put up with the decadence and the insanity for a long time, and still has a fairly decent relationship with the Jester, who likes her and respects her skills, though their personalities are fire and ice. The Jester had Val learning voodoo and combat in order to command the Skullmen. She could only stand it for a few years and then begged to be his ambassador elsewhere. He agreed and sent her to the Castle.
Present for a Council session when she was in her thirties, she met Sansovino for the first time. The resemblance was astonishing, but she ignored it, because she detested him at first sight, feeling his power seeking to manipulate her and despising him because it worked. With her customary thoroughness and competence she began to check on her supposed background and despite how airtight it was, became more and more convinced that Sansovino had set everything up. Finally she went to Tir Na Nog and confronted him. He denied nothing but admitted nothing.
Val pulled a pistol and threatened to shoot herself if he did not give her a straight answer, since her blood, if it was the blood of the Master of Tir Na Nog, would do damage to the earth. Sansovino only laughed. "A bluff worthy of my favorite daughter," he said.
She left as soon as she heard those words, using the Jester's clearance to get out of the gates, where she wandered in Shadow for decades. Eventually she found the Shadow of Zakai, where she stayed for centuries. She worked her way up to the management of enormous corporations, or military command, or design, or artistic management, whatever caught her attention and wherever there was a mess she could clean up. She moved around a lot so no one would notice that she never seemed to age.
There she met and married Kyle Christian, a rock star and porn star of dubious fame, who immediately captivated the romantic side of staid and emotionally cold Val Vale.
Most said their stormy relationship shouldn't have lasted two weeks, but it lasted forty years until Kyle died of cancer. Not wanting to leave her partner, Val pretended to have plastic surgery constantly and continued to work as an executive.
A few months ago, she was contacted by the Jester through her psychic powers, which he had helped to train. He convinced her to return to Arcadia to help clean up after the Council one last time.
Val as Parent: She would be an extremely good mother, though given her sexuality, she is likely not to be a biological one. She does have a full time job or two, but she is an exceptionally good multi-tasker. She would always have time to talk to her children, support their dreams, scold them or punish them if they need discipline, take them to their games or recitals, and be there to watch them, protect them but also let them grow up. Her children would be stored in safe shadows, where they could grow up ignorant of Arcadia and able to have normal lives.
Val as Employer: Val doesn't have her own agents, but when she is put in charge of others, she is competent, curt, and demanding. She doesn't understand incompetence, but she can sense it, and often fires many employees whenever she takes over an agency or corporation. She doesn't care about being popular, she cares about making things work. She will pull twice her own weight at least, but woe betide anyone who can't pull their own. On the other hand, competence and hard work are always rewarded and appreciated.
Val as Friend: It may be difficult for V., cold and proper as she is, to make a lot of friends. Or maybe it is that she hasn't been in the city for centuries. Regardless, she doesn't seem to have many friends in Arcadia, or to care that this is the case. She and the Jester have a working relationship, and she seems to respect Arayen and Florian. She and Eris have a remarkably good understanding. Melaine and Octavia dislike her immensely and she doesn't seem worried. The general consensus among the youngers is that she is scary. For those few who can call Val a friend, she's still reserved and has a cutting sarcastic temper, but she is also supportive and helpful and will always be there if they need her.
Val Romantically: Valkyrie is a lesbian and a woman of deep passion and commitment. She is drawn to women who are unlike her - who are passionate and wild and firey, who can give her moments of extreme bliss but also stormy relationships and many fights. She is also more likely to fall for the extremely beautiful, especially if they have blue eyes. She only does long-term, and she's not easy, so relationships go on for weeks or months before she is willing to become intimate. She is protective, supportive, caring, a little nagging, but very, very loving. She can take very good care of a lover. Her last partner, Kyle Christian, left her with little desire for a new relationship, but one never knows.
I'm sorry. Where were we? Of course. The plumbing consolidation. I said that out loud, didn't I? I'm getting rusty and multi-tasking gets harder the older you get, don't you find? No, you were here about the Council's proposal. I can't advise you one way or the other. But I will tell you that I accepted it.
Name: Valkyrie Christian
Titles: None she'll use. She does prefer Val or even V. to her given name of Valkyrie.
Rules: Nothing, but oversees much.
Height: 6'0". Weight: 165 lbs.
Hair color: Dark brown. Eye color: Hazel.
Distinguishing marks: Glasses for reading.
Appearance: Val is a big woman - not fat, but tall, heavily muscled and curvaceous. She does, in fact, somewhat fit the name she is not fond of. Most consider her very handsome, even beautiful, although she goes to no particular pains on that regard, pulling her hair back unflatteringly tightly and preferring austere and dark suits, though often with skirts and sharply-heeled shoes. She has an air of confidence, competence and busy - as if she's always doing at least three things at once.
Colors: Yellow, silver and green.
Symbol: A silver needle stabbed through a yellow lily on a field of green.
Personality: Val moves quickly and expects others to keep up. She walks fast, talks fast, makes quick and usually right decisions. She is the executive type but she has never truly desired to be in charge. It simply comes naturally to her and she would rather take over than see the person who commands fail and cause more trouble for her later. She is thorough, matter of fact, and some consider her cold although in reality she is very loving.
Parentage: Sansovino and Carolyn Vale.
Age: not completely certain. 362 years Arcadia time, perhaps more or less in the shadows she has been keeping to.
Known siblings: None. See Sansovino.
Known children: None.
Known agents: None specifically her own, but she often is put in charge of others when she is employed.
Recruited By: The Jester.
Thumbnail History: Valkyrie Vale was raised in an orphanage in Tir Na Nog after the death of her mother in childbirth. Her caretakers were good to her, though strict and uptight. She was given a complete education, good and healthy meals and a lot of exercise. At eleven, due to her high intelligence and strength, she was sent to a top of the line boarding school where she paid her fees by working as a maid and cook when she was not in class. She never fit in with the aristocratic girls there, but no one ever had the guts to pick on Val Vale.
From the boarding school she was apprenticed to the Guild of Surgeons, but her talents at administration and book-keeping moved her from premedicine to business, and she soon was in charge of all the finances of the Guild. But the Guild of Surgeons was also a guild of secrets, and soon Val began to hear whispers. Whispers that she might not be an orphan.
The whispers led her to the Jester, for it was rumored that she had been one of the children taken from him at birth and placed in the orphanage by Prince Arayen. Val resigned from the Surgeons and offered her skills to the Jester, trying to find out if it was true.
She was never happy in the Maze, but she put up with the decadence and the insanity for a long time, and still has a fairly decent relationship with the Jester, who likes her and respects her skills, though their personalities are fire and ice. The Jester had Val learning voodoo and combat in order to command the Skullmen. She could only stand it for a few years and then begged to be his ambassador elsewhere. He agreed and sent her to the Castle.
Present for a Council session when she was in her thirties, she met Sansovino for the first time. The resemblance was astonishing, but she ignored it, because she detested him at first sight, feeling his power seeking to manipulate her and despising him because it worked. With her customary thoroughness and competence she began to check on her supposed background and despite how airtight it was, became more and more convinced that Sansovino had set everything up. Finally she went to Tir Na Nog and confronted him. He denied nothing but admitted nothing.
Val pulled a pistol and threatened to shoot herself if he did not give her a straight answer, since her blood, if it was the blood of the Master of Tir Na Nog, would do damage to the earth. Sansovino only laughed. "A bluff worthy of my favorite daughter," he said.
She left as soon as she heard those words, using the Jester's clearance to get out of the gates, where she wandered in Shadow for decades. Eventually she found the Shadow of Zakai, where she stayed for centuries. She worked her way up to the management of enormous corporations, or military command, or design, or artistic management, whatever caught her attention and wherever there was a mess she could clean up. She moved around a lot so no one would notice that she never seemed to age.
There she met and married Kyle Christian, a rock star and porn star of dubious fame, who immediately captivated the romantic side of staid and emotionally cold Val Vale.
Most said their stormy relationship shouldn't have lasted two weeks, but it lasted forty years until Kyle died of cancer. Not wanting to leave her partner, Val pretended to have plastic surgery constantly and continued to work as an executive.
A few months ago, she was contacted by the Jester through her psychic powers, which he had helped to train. He convinced her to return to Arcadia to help clean up after the Council one last time.
Val as Parent: She would be an extremely good mother, though given her sexuality, she is likely not to be a biological one. She does have a full time job or two, but she is an exceptionally good multi-tasker. She would always have time to talk to her children, support their dreams, scold them or punish them if they need discipline, take them to their games or recitals, and be there to watch them, protect them but also let them grow up. Her children would be stored in safe shadows, where they could grow up ignorant of Arcadia and able to have normal lives.
Val as Employer: Val doesn't have her own agents, but when she is put in charge of others, she is competent, curt, and demanding. She doesn't understand incompetence, but she can sense it, and often fires many employees whenever she takes over an agency or corporation. She doesn't care about being popular, she cares about making things work. She will pull twice her own weight at least, but woe betide anyone who can't pull their own. On the other hand, competence and hard work are always rewarded and appreciated.
Val as Friend: It may be difficult for V., cold and proper as she is, to make a lot of friends. Or maybe it is that she hasn't been in the city for centuries. Regardless, she doesn't seem to have many friends in Arcadia, or to care that this is the case. She and the Jester have a working relationship, and she seems to respect Arayen and Florian. She and Eris have a remarkably good understanding. Melaine and Octavia dislike her immensely and she doesn't seem worried. The general consensus among the youngers is that she is scary. For those few who can call Val a friend, she's still reserved and has a cutting sarcastic temper, but she is also supportive and helpful and will always be there if they need her.
Val Romantically: Valkyrie is a lesbian and a woman of deep passion and commitment. She is drawn to women who are unlike her - who are passionate and wild and firey, who can give her moments of extreme bliss but also stormy relationships and many fights. She is also more likely to fall for the extremely beautiful, especially if they have blue eyes. She only does long-term, and she's not easy, so relationships go on for weeks or months before she is willing to become intimate. She is protective, supportive, caring, a little nagging, but very, very loving. She can take very good care of a lover. Her last partner, Kyle Christian, left her with little desire for a new relationship, but one never knows.