Santiago Bolivár Vásquez de Calderón Escamilla

## Santiago Vásquez

* Bard
* Matador
* Ranger

Santiago is a bard and entertainer who had been traveling with a group of adventurers across the Continent in The Istirian/Drowden arc. He originally was a semi-vain Matador who sought after fame and fortune performing for venues in Vetha. After a major terrorist event happening on the day of his performance, he had been sworn to avenge his pride and his career fleeing after the attack. As he traveled, he saw a lot of the world he was not familiar with and eventually changed his mentality towards the war and what his goals really were. After fully realizing he was a fraud, having his career as a matador rigged by his sister Maria, he found he needed to find a different goal in life. He eventually sought after his love of music and painting to hopefully fuel some sort of ambition, changing his class from a Ranger to a Bard.

## Backstory

Santiago is the son of Antonio Vázquez de Calderón and Selma Escamilla. His mother died as an effect of his birth, leaving his father a widow. Antonio raised them in the countryside in a small village where they were adamant followers of Lacarian, making Santiago the butt of harassment over his devilish looks. He was marked as the devil that took his mothers' life and that carried him throughout his childhood. He took up painting at a young age to express his isolation and depression his childhood brought out.

When he was a young adult he began his interest in becoming a matador, something his father never could do and something his sister was already in the running to become. He tried extensive training but had no rhythm and couldn't grasp the training in order to become one. After flunking out with everyone who would apprentice him, he stopped trying to become a matador and took up more humble jobs.

As a young adult he worked simple blacksmith/ farming jobs but kept with painting. Though he flunked out with the matadors he would go to the performances to paint the action and players. Eventually he gained the attraction of Vartali Pérez, an older matador in his 40s. He at first commissioned Santiago for portraits but it quickly ended up being a friends with benefits situation. Vartali helped him with money and became a close friend, giving him the inner workings of matador life.

After staying with him for a while he realized how he might be able to use his painting motif to get himself sugar daddies like Vartali but more extravagant. He started hopping around from older rich men to the next laying low and painting for them while he lives in residence. Doing this for a while, he began to drift away from any motivation in life that wasn't surrounded by money and men.

As he became a serial escort, his sister Maria was becoming a popular matador. She began to rise in fame but started to despise the pressure of an image. She reaches out to Santiago about quitting but he reassures her to not. Instead of quitting they devise a plan where they begin as a tag team act that later becomes Santiago taking Maria's title. Maria intensely trains Santiago teaching him everything she knows. He doesn't know it even now but she had also been cheating, using illegal substances to enhance Santiago and Tito.

Before the events of the campaign, he was a big up and coming matador on a high horse. He was confident in the abilities that have been handed to him that aren't even his.

## Events of Campaign Arc: Istiria-Drowden

Santiago began the campaign as a pompous micro celebrity starting the campaign in his hometown. As his theater was burned and the lives of his queens were threatened, he started to slightly sober up about his current situation. Being told to runaway he joins the party in hopes he can wait out the situation and then return back to Vetha to continue his career. As he traveled it was pretty obvious how unequipped he was for this kind of journey, really stuggling when he couldn't sleep in a bed. He slowly came to appreciate his artistic side and realized his disconnect with Tito and his matador identity.

## Post-Campaign

Post campaign Santiago decides to slow his life down realizing he does not need to be the valiant and capable hero he originally thought. He settles down in his country to focus on his painting and his trade as a bard, making a community within his small town that he feared as a child. He focuses a lot on painting making a small studio in the countryside. After a few years of settling himself he meets Milek once again and continues to have a quick friends to lovers moment. They eventually get married! A slow burn but a sweet burn. They have two baby girls!

### Master Painter

After many years of focusing on what he really was passionate in, he became a master painter painting portraits for many royals and people of esteem. If someone had a Vásquez in their home you know they're bougie. Traveling around while also managing a family, he makes his life very busy by making these pieces. His most popular customers are the Vethan queens, they love his work. Though his main studio is in Vetha, he tends to spend a lot of his time in Drowden with his family.

## Party Relationships

### Björn Sigurdsson

By the end of the campaign the animostiy towards Bjorn had simmered down since the beginning. Santiago does have an appreciation for how carefree he is, but he always found a way to make him stressed out and flustered. Bjorn had slightly matured throughout the campaign and he awknowleges that but isn't fully his best friend. He only hopes in the future he can take his magical talents and put them to good use instead of being a chaotic time bomb.

### Milek Vishnyovsky

Since Milek was added to the party, Santiago always saw him as a breath of fresh air because of his good alignment. He admired him a lot thinking his passion for his job was something he never felt he had, which inspired Santiago to genuinely pursue what he *actually* wanted. Treating him as a close friend, even though they did butt heads a few times, he genuinely did like him a lot! He did initially think he was attractive but didn't act on it out of respect which changed later in life when they found each other after the campaign and had their own romance.

### Demeter of Teron

He looks up to Demeter's fierceness. Definitely does not agree with all her opinions but admires her strength and fashionable slays. He cannot help but to love a strong woman!

### Farren Hargrave

At first in the first few sessions, Santiago was interested in them physically but set it to the side for the rest of the campaign with them. He doesn't necessarily think he got to know them as well as he wished, both of them having very different perspectives on things, but ended up wanting to continue the mission to save them after their departure from the campaign. Farren never showed him ill will and eventually became their friend.

## NPC Relationships

### Valen Kel'taal

Valen and Santiago have known one another since session one. He was the one who caused the fire in Esari and ever since then Santiago has had a massive grudge on him. As he followed the party and eavesdropped on them while on the ship, he become progressively more irritated in him. Santiago tried to attack him multiple times and it was a little embarassing for everyone. This animosity kept building to the point where Santiago became so into him, wanting to understand why he was like this. During their time in Isteria, one night Valen approached Santiago to sleep with him and he took the bait. Valen being a terrible man, Santiago was very accustomed to sleeping with that kind of company. He tried to hide this from the party but they quickly caught on. The party then decided to use this relationship as an advantage. The second night the two slept with one another, Santiago stabbed him with an enchanted dagger rendering his skeleton arm useless. Valen in return gave him a nasty V scar on his chest and left in the night. The party then eventually ran into him during the royal wedding, making Santiago feel very conflicted about his feelings toward him.

Those feelings stayed the same until the party's run in to him again at Withermoore. Santiago confessed his feelings to Valen after the death of his sister and received no response, making him even more conflicted. As time passed the party finally encountered Valen fleeing with a group of Isteri. After defeating him and his men, the party bounded him and questioned him to gain information. Valen revealed he wasn't even gay and everything he's done to Santiago was always for his benefit and meant nothing significant. This did hurt Santiago, creating some kind of narrative in his head about how he would react, knowing this man for so long. He then decided to let this obsession go, now knowing it was useless. He's moved on from thinking about him and abandoned any feelings he would have for him knowing he is completely a lost cause.

### Orion

Orion was a silly crab he befriended on the boat ride off out of Doversk. He does have some animal affinity being a ranger so he happily got to know the crab not knowing it was a man on the inside. Once Orion's curse was reverted, Santiago was immediately impressed that a massive goliath man was stuck in a little crab body. He definitely thought he was attractive from the get go and slowly but surely their feelings came to light and they started being in a little relationship. Santiago was very casual with the relationship, not knowing exactly what it was, but he did like spending time with him and holding him on cold nights. His home cooking definitely improved from making him vomit to making something incredibly edible. He eventually fell out of feelings for him, still very much liking his company, but definitely not seeing anything long term. As he thought more about his life, he intends to find something more serious and he unfortunately couldn't see that in Orion.

### Antonio and Selma

Selma and Antonio had Santiago when she was in her late thirties while he was in his mid twenties. When Selma was about to give birth, it was apparent there was something wrong with the pregnancy and that she was going to die in order to have Santiago. Growing up, Antonio was left to raise Santiago on his own, only giving vague memories of what Selma was like. She was a very important member of the community being a Cleric of Lacarian. Antonio was a decent father, not knowing really what to say at most times. He was still young and hoped Selma would take the bigger burdens of being a parent to help him. He struggled financially, finding a few odd jobs but always found opportunities to care for Santiago and Maria. He raised him with a lot of respect, being a petty criminal in his past he never wanted the same fate to fall on either of his kids. Santiago dearly loves his father and would do anything for him. All he wants to do is make him proud.

Santiago and Selma's relationship is an odd one. He always thought of her and what she would think of him. During his lowest moments, it was the idea that his mother was looking down on him judging him that fueled him to get up and do better. He feels sometimes haunted by her legacy. He believes he can never be as kind of impactful as her, and he has fought that idea for so long. Recently he has tried to stray away from that mentality, but the thought of never being able to see her in his mind does hurt.

### Maria

His sister four years his senior. She keeps to herself more so than him, being the quieter and less flamboyant foil to him. They have a decent and close relationship, but she did get a little annoyed with him having him live on her couch as a young adult. Spending a little too much time with each other brings out the worst in them. When Santiago returned back to her after his professional escorting, she took him in and tried to relinquish her acclaimed reputation as a matador onto him. During that time they really did bond having all that time apart to catch up. They became closer and she became his manager and accountant, sadly becoming his closest friend as the other relationships he created were quite shallow. After the attack on Esari, she had to flee to avoid getting caught by the Silver Syndicate. Months later without any contact with Santiago, they came together in the Drowden Capital and talked about where they were. They promised to meet back in Vetha where they can have a real reunion and clear things up between them as Santiago has changed immensely.

## External Links

* Pinterest Board
* Meme Board
* Fashion Pinterest Board
* ValenxSantiago Pinterest Board
* Backstory Visual Pinterest Board

* Spotify Playlist
* Santiago/Milek Playlist
* Santiago/Valen Playlist

## Gallery

Early Design SantiagoArt by RobinIn a silly Abba constumeHim with StarlingLounging and being hotSantiago at the Galahis original traveling designHe definitely would have... for the moneySantiago's Parents with MariaMaria and SantiagoOrion and Santiago