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[birthrighted]

IC INFO;

CHARACTER NAME: Valko Ozerov
CANON & HISTORY: Burning Glass by Kathryn Purdie

Valko is the first born son of the former Emperor of Riaznin, Izia, and his wife the Empress Katerina. He has one brother Anton, who is a year younger. At the ages of 5 and 6, their father separated them and sent them to secret manors to be raised, in order to protect his dynasty. This created a nickname for Valko, the "Changeling Prince", because it was said his carriage was run off the road and his body was found murdered. However, it was an innocent village boy that had been sacrificed. Izia did this so any assassins would go after Anton instead and thus his first born heir would be safe to rule. However, when nobles are displeased with Valko, they spread rumors of him possibly being an imposter due to this story.

At some point in Valko's life, Izia is afflicted with the plague that is rampant through Riaznin at the time. Everyone is lead to assume he died of the plague, but the truth is that he could not bear the disfiguring that the plague left him with, and he killed himself with a dagger. We are not told what age Valko takes the throne, just that it was after these events. Valko turns out to be kind of a tyrant, as he accepts bribes, exempts nobles from paying taxes, and later on even lowers the draft age significantly which wins him no favors.

There is one assassination attempt on Valko which fails. His mother is poisoned in his stead when she drinks something that was meant for him. Valko's Sovereign Auraseer at the time, Izolda, fails to catch this attempt and is executed. That is when Sonya Petrova is brought to him. Auraseers are girls who can sense other people's emotions, and the eldest of them is always sent to be by the emperor's side. He instantly takes a liking to his new Auraseer. Sonya is special in that not only can she feel the living's emotions, but she can also sense the last emotions of a living creature after it dies. She can also push her emotions onto others, though this is not discovered by Valko until much later.

Valko believes Sonya is the only one who can understand him, and eventually their feelings for one another turn toward love. However, his fixation with her becomes something of an obsession which ultimately pushes her away. He does not care, however, and continues to pursue her, wanting her to become his mistress. He even gives up a marriage alliance the night of an important ball when he is caught together with Sonya. He is given an ultimatum by the ambassador to either be rid of Sonya, or have the marriage agreement dissolved. He chooses Sonya despite wanting the alliance very badly.

During all of this, a revolution is brewing behind the scenes. Valko's brother Anton helps lead this revolution, in which they want to overturn the monarchy and have the people rule by democracy instead. Eventually Anton recruits Sonya to help, pleading with her to get Valko to abdicate his throne. Anton's peaceful plan is overruled by Feliks, another revolutionary, and peasants begin to storm the castle. One of Anton's noble supporters betrays him and he is thrown in jail. As the peasants approach the castle, Valko stands on his balcony a safe distance away and watches. It is then when Sonya enters his chambers, determined to get him to abdicate. It is her arrival that I have chosen as a canon point.
AGE: 20
CANON POINT: Book 1, beginning of Ch. 34
PERSONALITY: Valko is a ticking time bomb. It's not a matter of whether or not he'll explode, it's when and why. He seeks to make his country the best it can be, but perhaps lacks the personality to make it possible.

Believed to be deemed by the gods to rule, Valko has a bit of a fixation with being great. Part of this is fueled by his father's death. On the one hand, his father constantly pressured him to be the greatest. On the other hand, Valko sees his father's death as cowardly and weak and is hard-pressed to never follow in those footsteps. He constantly pressures himself to be great, and is always thinking of ways he can expand the empire or make it better. These ideas are not always actually good, but once he gets it in his head, he cannot be stopped.

Valko is volatile. His mood can switch on a dime. One minute he could be laughing and the next he could explode into furious rage, if the wrong thing is said at the wrong time. Basically he hates being crossed or proven wrong, and if he feels he is embarrassed or shown up, he gets extremely moody. This is especially shown with his brother Anton. He hates it when Anton shows him up in anything, especially because it is known that Anton is the more popular brother. Sometimes these moodswings can lead to violence. This is particularly true with Sonya, who crosses him often. He can do anything from kissing her too hard, to threatening to kill her, to flat out hitting her. Needless to say, no one likes getting on his bad side, but it is not very hard to do.

He believes he is very much misunderstood, and has no one he can really trust until he meets Sonya, whom he believes is very similar to himself (and it may be true). He is slow to trust others, especially with assassination attempts being popular with Riaznin's rulers. He especially feels misunderstood, and angry, when people call him the Changeling Prince. He does not show it much, but it hurts him to be thought of as an imposter rather than truly himself. He also hides his pain well. For example, when his mother died, he shuffled all his emotions to the inside and instead carried on like everything was fine. That was his way of coping. Mention what's got him down, however, and he may snap. Again, this goes with how volatile he is.

But Valko can also be a charmer. He's silver-tongued and handsome, so he pretty much knows how to steer things the way he wants them. He has an effect over people that is difficult to describe, it's a sort of magnetism that draws them to him and hooks them in his web, so to speak. He's especially good at getting the favor of women, and has been known to kiss even maids in the palace. He can be very kind when he wants to be and has a gentle side that he will show to those he truly favors. He's not above sending elaborate and expensive gifts as well. His charm plays into his cunning, and he is always coniving as well. There is always some bigger scheme playing in his mind than he originally lets on.

When it comes to relationships, most are superficial as he's the emperor and must play nice to many people whether he wants to or not. He tries to appear benevolent but occasionally slips and falls out of favor with the people. He can also get very obsessive in different ways. For example with Anton, he's obsessed with thinking that his brother is after his crown and this works its way into frequent conversations between them. Once he gets an idea in his head, he clings to it no matter how silly it may actually seem. The other obsession he has is with Sonya. He feels so close to her that he begins to covet her like a precious object, and would do anything to keep her by his side and away from everyone else's. She consumes his thoughts and desires, which both excites and frustrates him. He never really experienced love, so this is sort of his warped way of showing it.

Despite all his bad points, there is one thing about him that very few seldom ever see. Inside of Valko, there is a vulnerable boy who just wants to be good and be remembered. He is scared of disappointing his country and people and clings to any kindness that is shown to him genuinely. He actually breaks down into tears once after a fight with Sonya, revealing a person who is actually rather fragile inside and who only wants to be approved of and accepted for who he really is, and not just a Changeling Prince or the Emperor of Riaznin. It's incredibly difficult to see this side of him, as he keeps strong, sturdy walls up around his heart and is good at putting on a face.

Valko is scheming, moody, and used to the finer things in life, as well as getting his way. There are not many good qualities to him, but a few do exist. You just have to know how to talk to him to get it right.

POWERS: Valko has no superhuman abilities
OTHER: This is the second time I've written this app since my computer ate the first one.... so IDK X'''(

GAME INFO;

MAGIC ABILITY: The power of suggestion. He can turn a suggestion into an urge/compulsion. i.e., tell someone to do a backflip, they feel a strong urge to do a backflip until the action is complete. This will be something he can choose to use or not...eventually. He will not be able to suggest anything game-breaking. If he tries, nothing will happen and he'll just look silly.
PRICE: The emperor's crown
ACCLIMATION: A solid 3. He would do what he has to to survive, but he wouldn't want to give up being emperor, and it's a pretty crucial point in canon he's being taken from.

SAMPLE;

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