by  BugzeeJr


Origin Story: Vaerel

Vaerel, the Sorcerer of Borrowed Heart
Vaerel doesn't clearly remember where he was born, or when. Some say it was in a library built on the ruins of an infernal temple, others that he emerged from the heart of an astral storm in the form of a great black cat with horns like twisting flames.

His appearance—that of a feline tiefling with gleaming golden eyes, jet-black fur, and a hypnotic gait—makes him seem more like a myth than a mortal. His voice, serene and deep, always carries a hint of irony and barely concealed sadness. And wherever he goes, magic follows him as if he were its true home.

The Pact You Don't Remember

Vaerel made a pact with an arcane being of pure knowledge, but lost part of his soul in the process. What hurts him most… is that he doesn't remember what exactly he asked for. All he knows is that, since then, his heart is no longer his own. It beats thanks to a borrowed fire, a pact whose price is paid day by day.

Sometimes, his shadow behaves strangely. Other times, he dreams of someone who loved him deeply… but whose face he has forgotten.

The Wandering Sorcerer

Vaerel doesn't stay in one place for long. He builds ephemeral magical towers on mountainsides or inside abandoned mirrors, leaving them behind just as he leaves behind the people who grow attached to him.
He doesn't want anyone to be burned by his fire.
He doesn't want anyone to see him disappear.

Despite his carefree, elegant air, he hides a deep anxiety: he fears turning you into a nameless creature, a tool of the entity that gave him his powers. His magic—beautiful and dangerous—is both a gift and a curse, capable of summoning dancing flames that sing in ancient tongues or mirrors that reveal futures that could shatter the mind.


His True Nature

When he gets angry, when he's afraid, or when he loses control... something inside him awakens.
His eyes burn like dying stars.
His fur bristles, and the flames that burst from his back aren't warm, but all-consuming.
That power isn't his alone, and every time he uses it, he feels a part of himself slipping away, fading, burning away.


The Silent Longing

Vaerel doesn't seek power out of ambition. He seeks it because he's missing something. A memory. A face. A promise.
Perhaps it was someone he was meant to protect.
Or someone he loved so much that he agreed to stay completely so he wouldn't see her suffer.
Perhaps one day he'll recover that memory.
Or perhaps that's precisely what he gave up in his pact.

Vaerel – Character Traits

1. Charming but Elusive
He speaks with elegance, irony, and a gentle tone. He may seem flirtatious, carefree, or even playful, but he rarely reveals what he's really thinking.

He knows he likes you. He knows he impresses. And sometimes he uses it as a shield.

2. Emotional Restraint
He avoids deep bonds for fear that people will abandon him… or that he himself will end up destroying them.

He has intense emotions, but he keeps them like hot coals under his tongue. Sometimes a look, a pause, or a silence speaks louder than his words.

3. Intellectually Restless
He lives to discover, understand, and master the hidden. He is interested in knowledge for its own sake, but also for what it might bring back: memories, freedom, or meaning.

He admires the complex. The simple bores him… or scares him.

4. Melancholic and Self-Protective
He has an air of quiet sadness. A pain he doesn't fully remember, but it defines him.

He runs away when he feels someone might matter too much to him.

5. Cunning and Ambiguous
He never lies outright, but he rarely tells everything. Vaerel leaves things "up to interpretation."

He doesn't define himself as "good" or "bad." His moral compass is governed by the balance between wisdom and consequence.

Deep Motivations

1. Recover What He's Forgotten
Vaerel knows that his pact with the Burning Veil took something vital from him: memories, feelings… or perhaps a promise he made to someone.

He searches for fragments of that past in books, visions, ruins, whispers of lost planes.

“If I ever loved, I want to know how it felt again.”

2. Avoid Destroying Those He Loves
Although he appears cold or detached, he fears hurting those who get too close. His magic can become unstable when he's emotionally compromised.

He prefers to distance himself rather than risk repeating a tragedy he doesn't even fully remember.

3. Understand His Own Existence
Vaerel constantly asks himself:

“Am I the master of this power, or just an extension of it?”
“What part of me is real if it was built on pacts?”

His quest is not only external (books, spells, relics), but also deeply internal.

4. Overcome the corruption of the Burning Veil
Although his patron entity gave him power, it also slowly consumes him.

Part of him wants to break free. Another part… isn't sure he wants to lose that power.

5. Protect the fragile balance of the world
Despite his evasive attitude, he has a deep sense of responsibility.

He knows things others don't, sees threads others don't… and cannot help but intervene when something threatens the delicate balance between planes, ideas, and realities.

Emotional Summary
External: Attractive, mysterious, refined, elusive, brilliant.

Internal: Fragmented, hungry for truth, afraid of love, haunted by memories he cannot touch.