Vael'ir Alatori

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QUICK SUMMARY

AGE: Mid-Late 20's
NAMEDAY: 31st Sun of the 4th Astral Moon
GENDER: Male
RACE/CLAN: Keeper of the Moon Miqo'te
CLASS/JOB: Rune Fencer - a specialist in imbuing weapons, armor, and ammunition with magical properties to be unleashed in combat.
RESIDENCE: Odyssey-Class Heavy Freighter Airship Missing Score
OCCUPATION: Treasure Hunter, Airship Captain, Triple Triad Professional
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic GoodVael'ir Alatori ('Vael' to most) is a magically-inclined fortune seeker and silver-tongued gambler from the city-state of Ul'dah. He owns Alatori Acquisitions, a small treasure hunting company based out of his airship that specializes in recovering relics and exploring monster-infested ruins.Ever passionate, ever driven; Vael dedicates himself wholly to being good at what he does, and never leaves a task that matters to him halfway done. He believes in the inherent beauty of the world and in choosing joy in life in the wake of despair and doubt. Vael believes that a life lived mildly is no life at all.His passionate nature makes him quick to anger when he feels that it is warranted. Vael has a particular distaste for the exploitation of the disenfranchised, and is a vocal opponent of the Syndicate (along with most lawful institutions in general). Though he tries to project a smooth, calm demeanor, Vael can be easily flustered at times if caught off guard.Above all, Vael is kind, and does not find pleasure in fun at the expense of others. He is fiercely protective of those he considers friends, sometimes to the point of being overbearing and heavy-handed.Combining a thorough education in the arts both martial and magical at the hands of his mother and an unquenchable love of high stakes entertainment, Vael is a hotshot mercenary and high-stakes gambler who approaches most situations with vigor and confidence. His prodigious talent in magic and his devotion to improving his swordplay has earned him respect in the Immortal Flames, and his obsessive love for Triple Triad and other games of strategy has garnered admirers at the Golden Saucer.Though previously in debt to his adoptive uncle, Vael overtook his uncle's company by force and liquidated its assets, transforming it from a predatory Ul'dahn loan sharking business to a mobile relic-hunting operation. Aboard the Missing Score (a heavy freighter appropriated from the Garlean occupational forces in Bozja), Vael and his crew venture the breadth of Eorzea to seek that which people will pay them to find - and if they can fly some illicit cargo under the radar of watchful eyes, all the better.

DETAILED CHARACTER SHEET

The Basics
Character Name: Vael'ir Alatori
Age: 27 as of Dawntrail
Birthday: 31st Sun of the 4th Astral Moon
Race: Keeper Miqo'te
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Bisexual (Leans towards women)
Marital Status: Taken (It's Complicated)
Server: Mateus (Crystal)
Character Theme: Not Alone from Final Fantasy IX - Nobuo Uematsu
Voice Reference: Steve Valentine as Alistair Theirin in Dragon Age: OriginsPhysical Appearance
Hair: Black with white highlights. Silky, smooth, slightly wavy, and almost never disheveled or messy.
Eyes: Deep Blue (right), Dark Purple (left)
Height: 5'8" (68 ilms)
Build: Lean
Distinguishing Marks: Flat black stripe across eyes (genetic birthmark, not cosmetically applied despite common misconception)
Common Accessories: Small two-ringed necklace with two pendants bearing Ala Mhigan and Ul'dahn crests respectively, usually worn under clothing. An moon-shaped earring with small crystals attached. A Hingan Fox mask made of aetherically treated porcelain ("The Mask of Hakuzosu").Personal
Profession: Airship Captain of the Missing Score. Owner of Alatori Acquisitions (Treasure Hunting & Exploration Service Company), Professional Triple Triad Player
Affiliation: Nymeia's Garden (Loose confederation of outcasts hiding in the Dravanian Hinterlands), The Immortal Flames (Former Contract Mercenary)
Hobbies: Triple Triad, Reading (prefers trashy romance novellas), Acting, tasting fine coffee
Languages: Eorzean Common, a scant few broken phrases in Hingan
Residence: Mostly lives aboard the Missing Score, but also keeps an office in Shirogane for his company.
Birthplace: City of Ala Mhigo
Patron Deity: Rhalgr, the Destroyer
Favored Aetheric Element: Lightning
Fears: Deep bodies of water, imprisonment, loneliness, frogs & toadsRelationships
Partner(s): Saiana Qalli (Complicated)
Children: None
Parents: Tatamo Tamo (adoptive mother, deceased)
Siblings: No adoptive siblings, possibly some lost biological siblings
Other Relatives: Tatatori Alatori (adoptive maternal grandfather, deceased), Rorotori Alatori (adoptive maternal great-uncle, deceased)
Persons of Interest:
- Vivisha Visha (Close friend, protectee)- Natsuki Uematsu (Close friend, former employee)- Kokozu Kozu (Employee, chief engineer),- Saiana Qalli (Employee, Off & On Romantic Interest)- K'lypso Zelle (Employee, former competitor)Additional information
Smoking: Occasional. Vael favors cigars, but carries a pipe on long trips.
Drugs: None. Vael does not object to the usage of mind-altering substances, but does not partake himself.
Alcohol: Very rarely. Vael dislikes feeling mentally feeble and has a general dislike of the taste of alcohol, and thus rarely partakes. His beverages of choice are coffee and tea.Roleplaying Hooks
- Vael is often seen at the Golden Saucer as a regular hotshot at the Triple Triad Tables. More frequent visitors to the Saucer might know that Vael suffered a fall from grace after a humiliating losing streak that kept him from the tables for months, marking him as a pariah to some. He has since begun working on a comeback, which may be known to regulars.- The Missing Score visits all corners of Eorzea as Alatori Acquisitions touches down and searches for valuable finds on behalf of their clients. The company and the ship's name might come up to those looking to acquire something valuable from somewhere dangerous, or to those who wish to have something moved across borders discretely. Vael can also be encountered in a variety of places while on the job.- Vael is a common sight in Ul'dah, and his facial markings may be recognizable to frequent visitors of the city's bookstores and cafes. He is a former regular of the Quicksand ("before it got weird"), infamous among friends for never ordering any food other than Momodi's omelettes.- With several associates residing in Dravania, Vael can be occasionally sighted in Ishgard and Idyllshire on supply trips. His striking facial features are quite recognizable to locals.- Those that have worked closely with the Immortal Flames may know the mercenary for his exemplary service record against the Amalj'aa and local bandits. He also fought in the Eorzean Alliance's capture of Baelsar's Wall following the massacre of the resistance, as well as a number of battles in the Gyr Abanian and Bozjan campaigns.- Vael used to be quite a philanderer in his earlier 20's, and left quite a few exes in the city of Ul'dah during the peak of his gambling career.- Former patrons of the now-defunct Tatamo & Son Bookstore & Cafe might remember Vael in his youth before becoming a mercenary following the Calamity. Vael lived in the bookstore's attic (which was converted into a living space) ever since he was a child and often practiced his magic there under his mother's guidance.- Patrons of Alatori Acquisitions, a once-powerful mercantile outfit focusing on pawning recovered relics and giving out predatory loans, might vaguely recognize Vael's face from around the offices of the company's owner, Rorotori Alatori. In the wake of Rorotori's death, Vael has taken over the company and turned it around into a more straightforward treasure hunting outfit.

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BACKGROUND

Vael knows next to nothing of his origins before his adoption as an infant. According to his mother, his birth family descended from destitute Miqo'te refugees who found themselves displaced in Ala Mhigo following the Autumn War. His birth was apparently not celebrated, and he was left a crying infant on the doorstep of retired Lalafellin adventurer Tatatori Alatori. Alatori's youngest and only unmarried child, Tatamo Tamo, volunteered to raise the child as her own, putting her own adventuring career on hold to do so.Vael's first few years were spent in Ala Mhigo; years he scarcely remembers, as they were cut short by the invasion of the Garlean Emprie. As the sole survivor of her family, Tatamo fled with her young son in tow, becoming one of the first Ala Mhigan refugees in Ul'dah. With the help of some distant family living in Ul'dah, Tatamo was able to secure the funds to open a small bookstore & cafe in the back alleys. This humble library became Vael's home, and his sanctuary of refuge as a child.Paying their way through the gates came at a price; Tatamo had secured a loan at blatantly extortive rates from her uncle Rorotori to pay for her and her son's passage into the city. This loan would rule the pair's lives for the next twenty years, with most of the bookstore's profits going directly into Rorotori's pockets. In turn, Rorotori often passed along their debt money to his beneficiaries in the House of the Desert Iris; a powerful mercantile family in Ul'dah with connections to unscrupulous figures.Though luckier than many refugees, Vael and Tatamo were still viewed as outcasts by many Ul'dahnian citizens. Thus Vael had little in the way of friends as a child; instead he found solace in the books surrounding him, as well as in the magic lessons imparted by his mother. Vael's manifest talent for aetheric manipulation afforded him the opportunity to study black magic at the Thaumaturge's Guild as well, adding to his diverse foundation in the magical arts.

A childhood bereft of many friends meant that Vael had to look to himself for entertainment and amusement. He enjoyed games of strategy against the visitors of the bookstore, and as his strategic thinking improved, he was even welcomed into gaming halls. Vael was one of the first adopters of Godbert Manderville's hit card game Triple Triad, and became notorious in the streets of Ul'dah for his collection of powerful cards.Vael was hardly into his 20's when the Calamity struck, and although he did not participate in the Battle of Carteneau, his magical skills found use in the days following Dalamud's fall in light of the chaos that followed. Vael began performing contract mercenary work with the Immortal Flames, initially working in Thanalan but expanding to various theaters of conflict as his abilities grew. Vael grew accustomed to balancing his two lives; that of a dashing mercenary by day, and a star card champion by night.Following the reformation of Ishgard in the north, the winds of conflict began to stir in occupied Ala Mhigo, attracting her former native sons and daughters to fight for liberation. One night, Tatamo Tamo disappeared; less than a week later, Vael was informed that his mother was one of the freedom fighters in the Griffin's employ that perished during the massacre at Baelsar's Wall.

Having recently suffered grievous, uncharacteristically unlucky losses in his gambling career, Vael was blindsided by the news of his mother's demise. To add insult to injury, Vael was saddled with his mother's outstanding debt to his great-uncle Rorotori, and was forced to perform unscrupulous shakedown jobs in addition to surrendering a majority of his gambling winnings to help pay off that which he owed. In the wake of his mother's passing, Vael grew increasingly embittered towards his uncle.Unable to combat the legality of his debt without exposing himself to the authorities as an accomplice in criminal dealings, Vael wandered from job to job in a mostly futile effort to catch up on his loan, supplemented with meager gambling earnings. That which he once loved quickly became his prison; he continued on this path until a chance meeting with Vivisha Visha, a rebellious daughter of the House of the Desert Iris whom Vael quickly formed a strong friendship with.With the help of Vivisha and a few other friends, Vael was able to infiltrate his uncle's private vault, uncovering evidence of Rorotori's criminal activities and slaying him in the process. As Rorotori officially died under mysterious circumstances before his company could be passed off to the Desert Iris in his retirement, his sole relative was named the inheritor of his assets; irony that Vael relished.Now debt free, Vael quickly tore his uncle's company apart and liquidated most of its assets, freeing it of its predatory loan practices and converting it into a treasure hunting operation. Having made an enemy of the Desert Iris, Vael now works to repay Vivisha and the others for their help in freeing him of his financial torment. Aboard the Missing Score, a former Garlean craft he appropriated during a stint of service in Bozja, Vael sails the skies from job to job as a treasure hunter, trader, and smuggler, staying one step ahead of the law to ensure he will never live the life of a destitute servant ever again.

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JOBS & SKILLS

Vael's talent in magic affords him command over many varied disciplines that he has picked up over the years, and he specializes in applying the tenets of thaumaturgy to weapon-based combat. He has an unorthodox, liberal approach to magic, treating it like a performance art that emphasizes the potency of strong emotional states and "feeling" the elements to bolster his spells.As a Rune Fencer, Vael uses magical inscriptions and runic sigils to enchant objects such as Triple Triad cards and aetheric bullet cartridges, deriving several unique fighting styles from his chosen conduits.His signature weapon is a magically-inclined variation on the traditional Bozjan gunblade, a unique model with a crystalline blade that he has named Glänzender. Vael loads magically-inscribed bullet cartridges into the weapon and fires them during combat, allowing him to cast fireballs and lightning strikes at the tip of his blade.When a greater diversity in magical application is required, Vael will fall back on his enchanted Triple triad cards, which he wields in a manner not unlike the Sharlayan Astrologians. He has also experimented with utilizing standard crystals as spellcasting focii, wielding them in tandem with a foil similar to the Crimson Duelists of Ala Mhigo.At times when range is necessitated and magic becomes impractical, falls back on an newfangled Isghardian hand-cannon, supplemented with his spellcasting and inscribed ammunition in a style similar to that of his gunblade wielding. He has also recently experimented with wielding two blades in tandem while invoking an aura of fire aether around him, turning him into a scorching tornado; or it will, once he gets that hang of it, that is.

Vael also possesses a keen mind for strategic games. He is an extensively practiced Triple Triad player, utilizing mechanics oft cited as complicated (such as the Plus and Same rules) with ease. He has placed in most tournaments he has participated in, and has claimed the title of Champion twice during his career. A recent streak of tournament losses has marred his record as of late, but Vael remains confident in his decks and his abilities.As captain of the Missing Score, Vael had to get used to airship piloting very quickly. He has adapted to the role of a helmsman surprisingly well, although his engineering knowledge is still quite scant; he often requires the assistance of Kokozu, his chief engineer, to address this deficiency.Vael's weaknesses lie in his strong devotion to magic. Though an accomplished swordsman, Vael is physically weak compared to many other combatants; his strengths lie in his dexterity and cleverness, supplemented with arcane might. Though often at the forefront of a fight, Vael relies on magical protection and nimbleness over his meager constitution to stay alive in the face of adversity.Vael does not possess a technical mind, and is often vexed by more complicated machinery and scientific babble alike. His thoughts are more geared towards art and the abstract than the concrete and absolute; some might label him as a daydreaming fool at times. He finds himself more adept at wielding contraptions like his gunblade rather than fixing or working on them. As he often says, "Always the airship pilot, never the airship engineer".

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Out of Character

I have been roleplaying for about 20 years on various mediums; some of my haunts include WoW's Moon Guard Server, on the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages Forums, the old Ebon Hawk server on SWTOR, and in my personal games of D&D. FFXIV has been a love of mine for quite some time, despite some ups-and-downs with the RP scene's viability there. I would like to explore Vael as a character other dedicated writers so that he can have an enjoyable, procedural and communally created story.I thoroughly enjoy walk-ups and tells to initiate RP, and you can always consider the RP icon to indicate being in character. I am a paragraph roleplayer and prefer story-intensive play with a focus on character and relationship development. I can easily adapt to shorter form stuff, however.I am over 21 years old, male, and LGBTQ+ friendly. I do not and will not engage in ERP in any shape or form, and adopt a fade-to-black policy in the event of anything approaching it. Vael is not open to any romantic relationships.If you'd like to contact me for any reason, you can add me on discord as dyscomancer, or you can message me on dyscomancer.tumblr.com. I'm always cool with in-game DMs, but might be busy at some points!

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GALLERY

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THE MISSING SCORE

The Missing Score is an Odyssey-class heavy freighter airship, used as the primary operating vessel of the treasure-hunting company Alatori Acquisitions. Originally a trading vessel of Dalmascan manufacture named the Ras Algethi, she was seized during the Garlean occupation and retrofitted for combat operations as the Antares. She was subsequently hijacked and stolen by Bozjan resistance ally Vael’ir Alatori, who remains her captain to the present day.The Missing Score features a tuned ceruleum engine and an array of crystalline absorption/dispersal nacelles. The ceruleum engine is the primary means of propulsion, working in tandem with the ship’s twin air bladders to keep the ship aloft; the nacelles function as lightning rods for ambient aether, drawing it in to power auxiliary functions or to provide emergency power in the event of engine failure. The polarity of the nacelles can be reversed to repel aether in the case of dangerous weather or other dangerous situations.The Score retains her Garlean fittings, sacrificing raw speed and nimbleness for durability and firepower. The ship’s hull is composed of aetherically treated ironwood and cermet plating, rendering the vessel heavy but sturdy even under sustained fire. In terms of firepower, the Score boasts two pairs of long-range cannons on both the starboard and port sides, as well as a front-mounted aetheric energy lance. The lance is saved for desperate situations, as it generates a significant amount of heat and runs the risk of overloading the ceruleum engine.Her most prominent feature is her metallic bow, which serves to distribute weight evenly against the surprisingly heavy crystals, and to protect the front-mounted ceruleum engine.

AIRSHIP SPECIFICATIONS

Length: 20 meters
Width: 10 meters
Hull: Othadrian ironwood body with cermet plating and chromite alloy rigging
Crew Complement: 5 maximum, 1 pilot minimum
Cargo Holds: 1x starboard, 1x port, hidden smuggling compartments in captain’s quarters
Crew Quarters: 1x aft room with 2 sets of wall-inset bunk beds & common area, 1x aft captain’s quarters with wall-mounted bed & personal lavatory, 1x crew washroom
Crew Amenities: 1x Siphon Coffee Brewer, 1x fire-crystal-powered iron stove, 1x ice-crystal-powered ice box, 3x Tournament-Compliant Triple Triad Boards
Primary Armament: 1x Garlond Ironworks Frontal Aether Lance
Secondary Armaments: 4x Garlean Standard Rotary Long-Range Ceruleum Cannons
Engine: Dalmascan Ceruleum Engine, fine-tuned by Kokozu lux Kozu
Experimental Fitting: 5x Garlond Ironworks Crystalline Absorption/Dispersal Nacelles
Buoyancy: 2x Hardened Cloth Dirigibles (Ceruleum gas operated)
Estimated Market Value: 8,750,000 gil

CREW

VAEL'IR ALATORI

Captain, Helmsman

As captain of the Missing Score, Vael is responsible for all executive decisions aboard the vessel. Although not well-versed in the technicalities of Ceruleum engineering, he has displayed an innate knack for maneuvering the ship, thus his position as pilot of the Score. His sensitivity to aether and his mastery of magic aids him in expertly utilizing the ship’s experimental crystalline nacelles.

KOKOZU LUX KOZU

CHIEF ENGINEER, GUNNER

Formerly chief engineer during the Score’s tenure under the Garlean Empire as the Antares, Kokozu has eagerly defected to Alatori Acquisitions to fully explore her mechanical talents without Imperial oversight. Kokozu spends most of her time fawning over the ship’s ceruleum engine, but is a capable gunner in combat situations as well. She affectionately refers to the ship by the name “Missy”.

saiana qalli

ARTILLERIST, SONGSTRESS

Saiana dislikes interacting with most of the airship's systems due to her general opposition to all things mechanical. This suits her fine, as her primary role aboard the ship is to supplement its firepower with powerful thaumaturgic artillery strikes. She is also Vael's most frequent partner on ground excursions. Saiana also uses her melodious singing voice to entertain her crewmates, or make some extra gil when at port.

K'LYPSO ZELLE

NAVIGATOR, BOATSWAIN

Once a rival in Alatori Acquisition's smuggling trade, K'lypso has settled onto the Missing Score as her navigator and quartermaster. She oversees inventory, manages shipping manifests, and ensures the concealment of any questionable cargo. In addition, her experience as a naval navigator serves her well in the air, helping her to plot courses and read weather conditions on the horizon.

Natsuki Uematsu

SECURITY DETAIL

Although rarely actually aboard the ship, Natsuki remains an associate of Alatori Acquisitions and serves as on-board security when aboard the Missing Score. Like Saiana, she dislikes magitek and ceruleum engineering, and makes an active effort to avoid most of the ship’s mechanisms, instead spending her time above deck. Natsuki insists that she is not a true member of the crew, despite Vael's insistence otherwise.

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