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Valkieri was born the second son of one of the many scheming Houses of Lyceum. As the second son, it didn't matter quite so much that his serious, brooding, and temperamental nature made him less fit for political intrigue, particularly when his older brother had such a flair for it. When House Rubino and House Zaffria were at each other's throats yet again in their shared leadership of the city-state of Gemecitta, it was Valkieri's older brother Zaccheri who became part of the solution when he married the Zaffria heir. The marriage was still in its youth when he suddenly died. Now Valkieri and his widowed sister-in-law Sylphie have been sent to Arx to make what connections they can between the many houses represented there.

Valkieri is built on lean, compact lines that nevertheless show evidence of strength and athleticism underneath a noble veneer. His body is most often held with the strictest of surety and confidence, his back straight as a rod, and his bearing sneeringly superior. His coloring is typical of his Southern heritage -- darkened olive skin and black hair -- and his amber eyes are sharp and observant. His features are the harsher side of handsome, strong-jawed and angled angled sharp enough to cut. His long nose has the slightest hawkish bend to it.

Valkieri is a study of contradictions. Of a more up-front, serious bent, he never took well to the diplomatic scheming that characterizes most of the Lyceum Houses. Still, he has a deepset ruthlessness that certainly lends itself to the game of intrigue the houses play. While others move their pieces more readily with guile and manipulation, Valkieri has a force of personality to command obedience in a different fashion. He is simultaneously impatient with noble etiquette and fiercely (sometimes violently) proud of his own nobility. Although terribly patient in some ways, he has a vicious temper that can show itself either through words or more dangerous methods. Still, he is not entirely brutish: he has his own sharp wit, and he takes enjoyment from using it. He's even been known to smile or, gods forbid, /laugh/ on occasion.