Samuel Valdis

Samuel can be described in a single word; passive. Where he does not see the immediate need to put forth the effort, he will avoid it entirely if not pushed to act. As a child, he was rather negligent towards his younger siblings—most notably Arielle and the abuse they endured.

While he's typically wont to act, he enjoys partaking in surviving on the land despite the great amount of physical hardship one must endure to simply live. It's refined his ability to defend himself and understand how life is truly worth living. 

He makes some effort to emotionally detach himself from others, but finds he craves companionship and is rather loyal to those who have earned his trust.

Born and raised in a strict, cult-like, matriarchal family, Samuel was the second oldest brother of five children—one of four boys. In the same fashion as his siblings, he was branded with the family sigil as an infant over the front of his neck. This sigil represented the claim over the Valdis children, maintaining the status-quo among the family until death, obediently abiding and obeying all rules and expectations given to them by their 'guardians'—primarily, their mother; Minerva Valdis.

The small family cultivated and sold their own flowers and herbs in a small, dry village, making little contact outside of their ‘family’ unless in relation to business or private tutoring that the five siblings shared under their mother’s watchful eye. Samuel’s duty among the children was that of maintaining the flowers and herbs before being harvested. As such, he has always been very inclined to being hands-on with anything in relation to herbalism. He has never been afraid to wade waist-deep in mud, or have his arms caked in dirt and grime.

Most Valdis children lived their childhood in submission, accepting their roles in the workshop and among each other as brothers—all for one, being Arielle. As such, they were scrutinized and doled out consistently unfair treatment and abuse that their brothers accepted as normal and justified—even Samuel.

As teenagers, Samuel was the only Valdis brother who had managed to develop any significant bond with Arielle, but even this was strained and distant. Throughout their childhoods, Samuel didn’t understand Arielle’s aversion to their treatment, as he was raised to perceive his sibling as weak, frail, and incapable of carving their own path. It was only in his late-teens that he realized Arielle’s treatment had actually been damaging them, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Samuel was barely eighteen when Arielle ‘abandoned’ the family, having the familial sigil burned off their neck and their earrings, a symbol of familial femininity, ripped clean out of their earlobes before barely leaving with their life for anything that wasn't the cult of the Valdis family—Samuel, being made to witness the torture and departure of his sibling, finally realized what he had done—or, more accurately, failed to do.

In the wake of Arielle's public torment, Samuel could do little but mull over what he had been made to witness. Shaken, the world views that had been branded into his mind were torn apart and broken down, slowly but surely. The life he had found normalcy in suddenly became one he no longer wished to live, finding little point in playing such a confounding, conflicting role in a family he finally saw flaws in. In the face of hopelessness and suffocating guilt, he settled on a single sobering reality; he could no longer live like this.

At twenty, Samuel could not face his own inevitable escape with the same courage his younger sibling had, instead opting to abscond under nightfall to cover his tracks—a decision he could only have mixed feelings about. The shame over his manner of flight from the Valdis family continues to haunt him, as he could not face the same hardship Arielle had endured with the same resolve.

Not long after his departure, he self inflicted his own ‘rejection’ of the symbol marked on his neck, superficially cutting the skin across his neck in an attempt to erase it. With this denial of the Valdis brand, Samuel also rejected the traditional masculinity forced upon him by his former family, opting to grow out his hair and adorn piercings on and around his lips.

Samuel is something of a drifter, staying in some villages for a year, while staying in others for no more than a week. He finds peace in meeting new people and trying new things, a limitation he had no idea was placed upon him—he frequents marketplaces and enjoys finding odd jobs in floristry. He’s currently working at a flower shop and bakery combo, named the Flour & Flourish, with a woman named Juno Fitch, and her wife, Marney Fitch.

Despite his history with floristry, his philosophy is that the work and the flowers are not what aided in indoctrinating him and his brothers—you can’t blame the flowers for the things people do with them.

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• Born into a cult-like family, raised with very sexist/ignorant standards and permanently marked with their familial sigil.
• Second oldest of five, one of four boys.
  • Siblings in order of age from oldest to youngest: Dimitri, Samuel, Arielle, Lucian, Hugo.
• Raised with his siblings to help run a business in selling flowers and herbs—Sam has an affinity for plants, bugs, and dirt.
• Became aware of the normalized abuse after realizing the way his sibling, Arielle, was treated.
• His mother is called Minerva. His father was called Magnus.
  • Father died of mysterious circumstances, albeit, he was just as twisted as his wife.
• Abandoned his remaining (mother & three brothers) ‘family,’ escaped to become a drifter. Currently works in floristry once again.
• Growing up with three other brothers helped him raise his pain tolerance and his own strength. Also, flowers are heavy in bunches. Buckets full of bunches in water are even heavier.
• Definitely throws a good kick and punch, but prefers a short-handled sickle in combat.
• Received an average education for his setting, albeit, under the supervision of his family. Still, he can read, write, and all that jazz. (Not relevant, but that isn't common in his setting.)
• Has been a drifter, knows how to survive without shelter or standard food for a long time. Definitely has survivalist skills.
• Has NO magical abilities, but comes from a world of magic. If it glows, it’s probably magic.
• Not a magic ability, but he has an affinity for birds! Hence the flowers and twigs in his hair. He’s an actual nest.
  • Probably a stoner. Would’ve grown his own weed.
  • That being said, he is very knowledgeable in regards to herbs and their uses in medicines, foods, and poisons.
• Definitely gay. Sorry, ladies.