Valere

Name: Valere Sol
Race/Clan: Rava Viera
Gender & pronouns: Male, he/him
Birthplace: Old Sharlayan
Age: Early 20s
Height: ???
Physical attributes: Messy dirty blond hair, golden eyes, warm brown skin, long ears
Primary jobs: AST, SGE
Title: Stargazer
Current MSQ point: 5.4

Considering I didn't start this game until I could make a Viera, it serves to reason I'd want to make a male one once they were released with Endwalker. Though Viera have been part of the Final Fantasy series since the early 2000s, FFXIV is the first place we've seen male Viera, and I really like what they did with their design. It took me a few tries to find a name and design I liked for Valere; it didn't help that I made him before the male Viera naming conventions were released. Because of that, though, he ended up with a backstory quite separate from Viera lore.

Usually when I make an alt I will buy a story skip for them; FFXIV is a long game even if you skip cutscenes, and most of the outfits I like to farm for glamour are from the later expansions. However, Valere has also been something of an experiment. While I am reasonably confident as a healer, I have always struggled with scholar, in part because it shares levels with summoner and I have long played that instead. It's hard for me to learn a job at max level; it's easier to do it as I level.

Valere, therefore, has been an exercise in making myself play through the story as a scholar. My rule for Valere is that he can only be a healer; no reaching for the ease of DPS or tank to progress. Couple that with the desire to replay some of my favorite expansions, and it's worked out pretty well — though I'm still getting the hang of scholar. I'll get there eventually.

Currently I am working through Shadowbringers on Valere, which has been a fun excuse to revisit one of my favorite storylines. The ultimate goal is to get him through Endwalker at least, but it'll probably be a while before I manage it.

Backstory

In short: a Sharlayan scholar who's full of himself.

While Valere never attended the Studium, he devoted himself to his studies from his earliest years. He thought himself superior to his peers, in part for his unwavering dedication to studying the mysteries of the stars. From a young age he would stay up late and stare up in the heavens, trying to call their power for his own, and was pleased to succeed in unlocking the six heavens.

Unfortunately, in Valere's case, dedication did not equal success. His Archon thesis in astrology was soundly denied. Despite this, he began to study somanoutics, hoping to contrast it with his earlier studies. Again, however, he was refused an Archon mark.

With further research in Sharlayan barred to him, Valere resolved to make his own discoveries out in the world. In his view, it's only a matter of time before he finds something so impressive that Sharlayan will have to take him back.

...Right?

Minion

As usual, I went to the market board to find a cute minion for Valere once I started playing him. For whatever reason, I settled on the Korpokkur Kid minion, and I like to think that Valere came across it while exploring the ruins of the Sharlayan colony in Dravania. He considers it something of a pest that won't leave him alone, but that doesn't stop him from giving it treats...

kanna ➞