Vigo

Vigo
Monstrous Gladiator
"Run or fight, your end's the same!"

{Info}

Clan Dark-Blood's flag

There is a strict divide between hunters and warriors. Both may find themselves pouring their heart into their role for the sport, but only hunters waste so much time on the chase. A proper warrior, on the other hand, will meet their opponent head on. They do not need tricks, or to slink around with their heads low to the earth. Instead, they don their armor and raise their claws high, knowing they need not worry about the next battle until this one is through. Why spare a thought for the future when the present looms so large? Vigo does not believe in mincing words or wasting breath, nor in the lonely life of the hunt. Deep in his marrow, down to his very core, he is made of the same steel that longs for the blood of beasts, and his thirst will not be quenched. The only life for him is one of bloodshed, one studded with sharpened claws and broken blades, with the sharp applause that approves the kill. More clever than his brutal ways might suggest, he treads lightly through Clan Dark-Blood. It is no secret that his inclination towards violence sows distrust among his peers, and he knows what they think of him. In their eyes, he is a showman and a braggart in one, with no room in his heart for the values they so righteously lift up. Let them think so little of him. It makes for a better challenge in the end. And is that not what Vigo truly wants? His warrior's way is an honorable one. He dislikes engaging in deceit, or prolonged dalliance. Confrontation is not some long game to play with only a few parties privy to the strikes at any given time. It is meant to be a spectacle, with all the world to witness a simple truth: the strongest shall prevail. It is this truth that has made him something of a gladiator. Few dragons of the clan are willing to repeatedly throw themselves into the ring to face him, and most of his challengers are visitors wishing to test their skills, but still, he has a regular audience to bear witness to his strength, his adaptability. From the stands, they discover what glory looks like, even as the weaker spectators turn their gaze from the gore that accompanies it.

With every skirmish, Vigo commits to showing the stands his very best. If he loses, so be it, infuriating as it might be, but more often than not, he comes prepare to claim the day's title rather than lick his wounds. As long as every combatant gives their all, he will be satisfied.

When his opponents lose their courage, though, Vigo often loses his temper. There is no disappointment greater than expecting a proer clash, only to find oneself facing a coward. There is no quarter in his colosseum for the faint of heart, and it brings him nothing but shame to fight creatures that flee or refuse to defend themselves. He does not live for the battlefield of war, where all manner of hearts find themselves under one banner. No, he lives for the battlefield of sport and fame, where the witnesses matter most. If the stands see him falter, they will think him weak. If they see his opponent coward even as he gives his all, they will think him without morals.

No, Vigo must have a fair fight, a matched fight. And if he cannot have it with bloodshed, then by the gods, he will lash out with a barbed tongue. Shame is, after all, a powerful motivator, and if his opponent cannot even defend themself from that, then it is time to seek a new challenge.

As of late, Vigo finds fewer and fewer opponents to be worth it. Dragons bested again and again lose their luster, and beasts beaten into submission only provide a thrill so many times. To bring himself to new heights, Vigo will have to take on greater challenges, ones that will not walk willingly into his path. But where to draw the line between invitation and provocation? How to keep his place in Clan Dark-Blood rather than wandering alone through Sornieth with his reputation left far behind?

There are few answers to this conundrum, few solutions that might bring any satisfactory result. But what if Vigo were to issue challenges directly? What if he were to call out his opponents by name, dare them to face him with their claws bared and bright?

Some will decline, seated high on their pillars of wisdom and restraint. But some may answer the call, knowing that their bodies are weapons waiting to be wielded.

Vigo will start with some of the more ambitious warriors of the clan, that much is certain. With enough traction, though, he aims to one day face Shadowblood himself.

And he aims to triumph.

Bio by Tues.