Alessandro Velenosa

Alessandro Velenosa
Social Rank	5
Fealty	Valardin
House	Velenosa
Gender	Male
Age	28
Religion	Pantheon (Thirteenth)
Vocation	Lawyer
Height	tall
Hair Color	Dark, Dark Brown
Eye Color	Green
Skintone	Olive With Stray Freckles
Family
Parents	Caradicco Velenosa, Enhilda Halfshav
Siblings	Sofia Velenosa, Lorenzo Redrain
Uncles/Aunts	Vercyn Halfshav, Ahern Halfshav, Riker Halfshav, Khorinne Frorevind, Adelie Pravus, Celina Halfshav, Benedetta Gallo, Wylla Halfshav
Cousins	Brianna Halfshav, Arik Halfshav, Marian Redrain, Marius Greenmarch, Rohkir Redrain, Hildegard Redrain, Monique Greenmarch, Khanne Halfshav, Rowan Greenmarch, Niamh Greenmarch, Fiachra Valardin, Eirlys Greenmarch, Neve Greenmarch, Ianna Greenmarch, Otakar Redrain, Cullen Greenmarch, Toste Redrain, Jarel Redrain, Jamie Greenmarch, Aine Halfshav, Rawen Redrain, Reve Darkwater, Cirdan Halfshav
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Description

Strong bone structure and the lean lines of Alessandro's features combine for an impression of sharp elegance. His cheekbones can probably not actually cut diamond, but it could be a near thing. His eyes are pale and clear, of startling focus and intensity, beneath high-arched, thick, dark eyebrows. Their pale clarity is contrasted with the warm tone of his skin, dotted by occasional freckles. The dark waves of his hair are such a dark brown that they are nearly black, but in direct sunlight glint with deep mahogany highlight. Tall, lean as a rake, and impeccably dressed, Alessandro's looks are dynamic; at rest, features that might be ill-fitted are given an arresting allure by his personal vitality.

Personality

Alessandro has mastered elegance the way artists master their craft, and it shows in everything he does. He pursues knowledge for its own sake, an eclectic, thirsty mind with a keenly energetic spirit behind it, and always has a spare pair of reading glasses in his pocket so that he can take them out and clean them with a monogrammed silk handkerchief. His will is indomitable and contrarian. He is fiercely passionate about his work, and fiercely, intensely protective of his family. He also has a keen sense of the ridiculous, and a deep -- if buried -- ability to recognize his own paradoxes and make fun of himself. But privately, if you please. Dignity is key.

Background

Alessandro was a youth who pushed limits. He got into trouble a lot, and set his overbearing will against the dominance of his elders generally and his parents in particular. He was a handful, a struggle; generally, a big pain in the neck. As he grew older, his mischief grew more obscure and intellectual. His favorite game began to be pitting his intellect against that of instructors he believed couldn't keep up with him. Of course, when he was 12, it turned out he was rarely right about this -- the amount of knowledge an active preteen can absorb, no matter how much time he spends in libraries and harassing scholars for information, is not really a match for most trained adults. But he never really lost his taste for the game.

He hated sword lessons. He hated learning about poisons and antidotes. He was fortuitously allergic to horse dander and exaggerated his allergy to get out of more and more things so that he could spend more time with his books. He learned etiquette and mastered it expressly so that he could push the limits of being rude, and, enchanted with his own cleverness, earned himself several enemies in Lenosia's court. At least one of them is dead now, and it can't actually be traced to Alessandro at all, but he's always been on the lucky side.

Theology lured him, especially the theology of doubt, and while his cousin Isolde soared into the panoply of the Mirrormasks and reached heights of elevation as a disciple leader, he personally found much more lure in the practicum of their craft, and focused himself almost entirely on the scholarship of law and politics. By the time he defended his first case as a Mirrormask serving in the Court of Lenosia, he was certain he couldn't lose, because he knew the law that well.

It turns out there is more to defending a case than being right, though, and Alessandro learned some humility in practice that he had never had before. A perfect record is impossible as a defense attorney, but defending the indefensible is the greatest challenge of Faith for a Mirrormask, and Alessandro grew skilled in the balance of ego and humility, doubt and certainty, necesssary for the work. He also learned very valuable lessons from his family about the critical impact that sartorial perfection can have on one's effect.