Zalvetta

Zalvetta is a character that first appears in The Gods Are Gone arc. He later makes a return in Duet of Dungeons.
== History ==
According to Xin, many years before the Great Iconoclasm, Zalvetta was part of a group of bandits that attacked and ate spiritfolk in order to disrupt their reincarnation process. At some point, he and the others were arrested and used by Tenui to punish his enemies, by consuming parts of rebel spiritfolk. At some point he consumed part of Xin, who intentionally used his wisp in order to "mess [Zalvetta] up".
Zalvetta said he is an artificial human made with Kuravian necromancy. He said to Gregor that while the gods were experimenting with humans, he was created by Xin as a sort of "trump card" against his peers, claiming him to be the closest thing he would have to a parent. However, something in him turned out wrong, and he was discarded by Xin and the Ban.
=== Gods are Gone ===
Zalvetta first appears in part 1 of the Gods Are Gone, during the Lily Clan (and later Rust Clan) trial. Moren explains that he is a strong fighter with a large kill count on the Ban, and who collects their masks for fun.
Initially, he is unimpressed by the trial's applicants and has no interest in clan politics, until Ashe mentions that, with the addition of theft as a tactic, Zalvetta will be the main target. He immediately hops on board and adds that he can bring more masks to sway the trials in his favor and that it sounds like "a fun game."
Zalvetta takes a vial. After leaving the Lily Clan gardens, he's noticed by Ashe, Markus, Kyr and Gregor - Markus distracts him by setting a tree on fire and attempting to snatch the Ban masks he has on his belt. He manages one, but is scolded by Zalvetta not to be greedy when he attempts to take another.
Zalvetta challenges the group to a race to reach the spiritfolk first, promising to give them all his masks should they defeat him. The group hastily agrees and runs off, and Markus realizes that the ninja has somehow swiped the mask back.
He ends up being the last to arrive to the beginning of the trial.
Later, in part 4, a group of Ban are running away from him in the Catacombs. He slays one of them fairly casually, and seems impressed by Gregor's fighting. Zalvetta also converses with Markus, and points the group in the correct direction to the spiritfolk further in the Catacombs. He then runs off to help Eilin.
When the Mysterious Masked Man relaxes his guard to pick up chalk, Zalvetta strikes from the shadows. nearly killing him. He notes that he finds the hero interesting, and the two begin to fight as the others run off further into the Catacombs.
Little is known of what happened during their fight other than that Horaven suffered no wounds and that Zalvetta was an "irritating" opponent.
Gregor later runs into him in the streets of Xinkala, carrying the masks that he promised (and a few stone duplicates), holding up his end of the deal. He seems intrigued by Gregor and his friends, and questions his familiarity with danger. The ninja is also surprised that Gregor has no issue being around him, despite the amount of people that he's killed.
He offers his help to Gregor in carrying the sack, and they chat as they go back to the Lily Clan gardens. Zalvetta introduces himself as an assassin by trade ("if you need anyone killed, I'm your man") and expresses his annoyance at the Onorhian lifestyle and mindset, stating that they need to loosen up and have fun.
Zalvetta is also assigned to be a Rust Clan champion by Kyrlos, though he denies the role and leaves.
After Gregor meets with Kyrlos in the Knuckle, Zalvetta arrives as a visitor, though he is technically also a champion and asks him to hang out. Together they go and visit the Punchdome, though they each end up with a black eye. When they meet up again with Markus and Ashe, Zalvetta mentions keeping an eye out for "that flower" and goes on his way.
In part 10, Zalvetta and Gregor train together in the Knuckle, practicing on training dummies. Zalvetta expresses annoyance at being hit repeatedly by fish, and also that he's sick of stabbing the dummy because it doesn't react. As Gregor and Kyrlos spar, Zalvetta is almost hit by several of Kyrlos's crossbow bolts and demonstrates murderous intent because of it.
== Appearance ==
His robes appear to be made of cloth of different colors, covering his entire body save for his lower face. He wields two long sickle-like weapons that can be considered either falx or war scythes.https://twitter.com/FrameDodge/status/595012559125643264
When not in his robes, Zalvetta has long blonde hair tied up in a side ponytail with two blue elastic bands. He has wide hazel-brown eyes and is described to be quiet short in stature. He wears a short maroon crop top with baggy, dark navy pants accentuated by a purple sash decorated with gold. Leather bindings are stripped across his torso and he has leather guards on both his arms. He is described to be incredibly pretty and looks rather androgynous.
== Personality ==
Zalvetta seems to skew towards whatever he finds will be the most fun or interesting - he kills the Ban primarily because he enjoys it, and is incredibly well known for it. He also collects their masks for the same reason, but appears to have no qualms about giving them to Gregor after he loses their bet.
When he becomes overtaken by bloodlust, he becomes much more aloof. Having told both Ashe and Iggy to run away while he was in such a state, as well as him describing it later as "sometimes overwhelming", it seems he might be inclined towards violence in this state that he cannot control or stop.
== Abilities ==
Zalvetta describes himself as "being made for sprinting", as while he can deliver fatal blows fairly quickly, both long fights and long walks seem to take their toll. He also can vanish for long periods of time, an ability comparable to stealth.
Due to his unique history, Zalvetta's biology seems to be a mishmash of several different nervous systems all layered on top of each other. He seems to be able to change parts of himself using those layers, though that may only be when he's in a murder frenzy. In addition, due to eating parts of various wisps, he has incredible longevity and resistance to death even through violent means. According to Xin, Zalvetta was alive when Xinkala was first built. 
== Relationships ==
=== Gregor Hartway ===
Gregor genuinely considers Zalvetta one of his best friends, and Zalvetta seems to consider him the same. While there is the distinct implication that he stole Telvillian's Tear from Markus in order to create a "fun" situation, it could also have been legitimate care for Gregor - during the war in Eocho he went so far as to suppress his own murderous instincts and attempt to negotiate a talk with Xin at Gregor's request.
=== Xin ===
Zalvetta was taken in by Xin for a time, and while the circumstances of their relationship at that time was unknown, Zalvetta was later discarded by Xin and grew vengeful against him and his Ban. Despite this, the two appear to work together to help the group during their reappearance during Duet of Dungeons.
== Trivia ==
* After the fall of the Clans, Zalvetta founded the Shadow Guild, which Gregor is the Champion of. Gregor is also one of the only guild members.
== References ==
Category:Side characters