User Profile

Name: Arstin
Age: 43 44 45
Birthdate: April 16, 582 | 1099 EA
Class: Shaman
Country: Atsiria
Family: Taelia (Mother - deceased), Josea (Father - deceased), Reithe (Older Sister), Laeleena (Wife - deceased), Westa (Daughter), Daerielle (Daughter - deceased), Joseph (Son), Darz (Son - deceased), Azshara (Daughter - deceased), Arsele (Daughter - deceased)
Prefered Weapons: Light Magic
Languages: Atsirian (Fluent), High Atsirian (Good), Old Atsirian (Poor), Old High Atsirian (Terrible)
Blood type: B

HISTORY

Power and prestige are not uncommon among the leading merchants of Atsiria. The Jewel of the Desert is the only true power.... but that truth gets muddier for every mile outside Razen. Nobility is only a name so they say, but for the houses that have held their names for so long, it might as well be like it always was. And as such, any merchant mother worth her salt wants her son married to one of those leading families.

Arstin's mother was worth a lot of salt. A trader with sense, and wealth, and plans for her children from the moment they were born. Plans turned into guilding hands, and with his father taking care of all of the accounts for most of the day, his mother shaped him while she worked. No one could expect a young child to simply be seen and not heard. ... Not without some forceful discipline. And his mother was certainly a stickler for discipline.

All the while, he was absorbing everything. He was taught to read from contracts and polite letters, and he grew up very much under his mother's feet. His older sister had already learned the game, and moved on to working under their father. Arstin was not a fast learner however. His mother spent years trying to get it into his head that there was more to the sale than courtesy. He needed to be cunning to get the best deal, and fast to beat all of the others to the sale. Pricey markets were demanding.

... and Arstin shrank back. He was fine whenever his mother guided him, because she did everything for him. When she shoved him out of the tree and made him fly on his own though, he hit the ground with a thud. It was apparent from the age of fourteen that he was not cut out to deal with the pressure that he would be placed under to deal with even minor things in the family business.

His mother was not one to give up on any prospect of her son finding a place in the world though. He was pliable, and he listened well, but he couldn't deal with people. He didn't want to take the lead. She saw strength in this when it came to courting above his station. He would be the perfect match to a rich socialite, if she could teach him the proper way to go about courting.

And he took to it! Once she bent him into a shape, he would stay in his place. He wouldn't have to be aggressive.

As he grew older he gained everything he needed. He looked handsome. For short periods of time he could take initiative and go for something. He was quiet, and respectful, and readily responded to the feelings of others. He knew that he was going into this new scene fully prepared for what he would have to do.

And then Lady Vashj died. His mother knew that Lady Laeleena would return to the city. He began an intense amount of study of the history of the family in preparation for her arrival. The family pool their wealth to afford him the clothes he would need. Surprisingly, even his older sister pitched in.

He approached her shortly after she took over her responsibilities. Many suitors were waiting for a good time to approach her, perhaps at a party where it would be expected. Arstin met her in a corridor holding a dozen roses, and quickly found himself caught up in the tail end of her whirlwind. He tried his best to present himself as who he was. Apparently it was good enough for her, because they were quickly married.

She confided in him, and he confided in her... for the most part. He gave her bits and pieces. She had far more to say than he did, and their conversations were often dominated by topics that interested her. He learned various things about music, and literature for her. He learned light magic to see if he could impress her with skill at light shows, but he was never very much talented with it. He even started to learn Dentorian for her. He was self-motivated, but it was hard for him. While she was busy with the court, he was busy making himself a better person. It was slow going.

His first daughter was a very proud moment in his life. He'd given his wife a beautiful daughter. Though it was the start of a time that another whirlwind touched down. Laeleena was not content to sit back any longer. She began railing against problems in a proactive way, and took all of her troubles to him. He wasn't qualified to do anything about it, but he soaked in everything, and gave her comfort when things were difficult. There was little he could do, except dote on his daughter.

The next years were happy, if fast. Things got done quickly. Children were born is what seemed like rapid succession. They were all cheery, and healthy, and more than enough of them girls to carry on the family name. He tried to make them all happy. He didn't want to become another version of his mother.

Unfortunately, just before Darz came along, the Jewel of the Desert died. Laeleena wanted to throw her eldest heirs into the maelstrom, and make them into fierce glass. Arstin was not as happy with this arrangement as he could have been--having seen his mother do the same thing with him. He watched Westa, Daerielle and Joseph get every advantage in the world, while Darz seemed neglected in comparison. He doted on Darz more than he had his other children. And with each successive child, he tried to do as best by them as possible. It grew harder though, and as they have been growing into their own people, he has stepped back more than he feels he should have. Still, he tries to be the best example possible.

As Franelcrew wondered into the city, he sees his wife and daughter's interest in them to be justified.


PERSONALITY

Arstin takes immense pride in his children. Westa's letters from Razen are a joy for him to read as his wife dissects them in detail. He may not be able to pull out all of the subtleties, but Laeleena is good enough to point them out to him. His wife's ambitions for her concern him a little, but he could never voice those concerns. Daerielle has an innocence that he loves, and a natural curiousity that he is quite sure she got from him. He may not get along with Joseph as much as he would like, but he sees so much of Laeleena in him. He wishes that he would accept his place, but can't bring himself to confront his son about it. He sees a great deal of himself in Darz. He is happy that his son has found something he absolutely loves. He blames Azshara's quietness on his own seed, and wishes for her to come out of herself more, but he still loves her dearly. He wishes Arsele was a little less blunted at times, but he loves her as well.

He is a reasonably competant person. He's not stupid. He's just not fast either. He knows he isn't fast. While he is naturally quiet, he has found that being quiet can be a great defence against going on about something you know nothing about. It's an even greater defence against sounding dumb for not quite getting it the first time. He listens, but without sharpness he cannot hope to plot like his wife can.

He allows his wife to take the lead in public conversations, and he backs her up unflinchingly. He makes himself her support system. For those very rare circumstances where a subject has pressed one of her buttons, he can find her a good excuse to leave the area. He listens to her devotedly, and tries to be an adequate sounding board. Few people know exactly how many times he has forsaken sleep to hear his wife go on about a water system he could barely picture, or the exploits of a new engineer in some project she had been working on. He loves her.


APPEARANCE

While it would take special clothing to make him stand out in recent years, he used to be quite a catch. He has held himself up fairly well over the years. His brown hair is still full, and he keeps himself well shaven and groomed. He carries himself with dignity, and making himself seem taller than the 5'5" he stands at. He still has some muscle tone, but it has been waning in the last couple of years.

Over the years he has kept up with fashions. He wears the most conservative of the latest men's styles. He has never set trends himself, but he has never worn anything out of style either.

((PB is Tamaki's father from Ouran High School Host Club))

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