Valdemar

**Quaestor Valdemar** is one of the five members of the Vesuvian court. They are the head physician of the palace and Julian Devorak's former boss. Their patron arcana is Death.

## Appearance

Valdemar is tall and slender, with green skin and red eyes, with arched eyebrows and long eyelashes. They have horn-like bandages on the top of their head, resembling a headdress. They also bare sharp teeth without their mask on. They typically wear a white doctor's uniform that has a red beetle brooch at the neck, matching the other courtiers (with the exception of Consul Valerius). They wear an apron with a pocket full of surgical tools and long black gloves.

Their true form is one of many horrors, described as a shape that the apprentice can't even begin to understand. They're an undulating mass, their surface boiling with clusters of eyes, teeth, and rib bones emerging from within and dissolving back into it. They also have possibly numerous long, terrible, blade-like limbs.

As their human form is merely a veil that covers their monstrous form, they are able to choose the form and height they want to be, though the 'hat' they wear adds onto their height. As noted in Portia's route, they don't understand why humans care so much for 'aesthetics,' seemingly ignorant as to how much pain their true form leaves to human eyes.

## Personality

It's evident they aren't quite human at all first glance. Their appearance and demeanour comes across as off-putting to many.

Despite their unsettling demeanour, they remain polite yet nonchalant to many, remaining independent and keeping to themselves. However, science and the dissection of living creatures is their greatest interest, stemming from a huge interest of death as a whole, solidified when the Apprentice noticed their eyes shine with glee when they discuss corpses.

They are the most independent of the courtiers and refuse to listen to the likes of Countess Nadia and Procurator Volta. Torture of their victims is also stemmed from their love of science. They are fascinated by the red plague to this day, dissecting plague beetles when they feel reminiscent. The dungeons, that they have kept largely secret from others, is filled with vivisection and dissection tables, cages to hold patients in, and a pit to throw the bodies when they are no longer useful. This was hugely utilised in the height of the red plague.

They are an ancient creature of great power, as old as Vesuvia itself. They sapped the power from the Patron arcana Death.

## History

They were hired as head physician by Lucio to help cure the plague and particularly cure him, although they simply wished to prolong the cure to experiment with their passion further. They also refer to the patron arcana Death as an old friend.

### Night of The Masquerade

As noted by Consul Valerius, all the courtiers were present when Lucio was on fire but Valdemar's reaction wasn't mentioned. They, as all the other courtiers, participated in the magical ritual that was meant to replace Lucio's dying body with a new one on the first night of the Masquerade.

## Interactions

Quaestor Valdemar's first appearance is in the prologue when Countess Nadia introduces the court to the Apprentice. They beckon the Apprentice to sit near them but don't interact further. Julian mentions them in Book X of his route when he tells the Apprentice he is pleased that Valdemar isn't around, implying they find quaestor deeply unsettling.

**In Julian's route, Book XI - Justice**, they sneak up on the Apprentice when they were trying to get into the secret dungeon. They show the Apprentice around the dungeon and hold back no detail. The Apprentice even judges they enjoy watching their reaction. Valdemar then testifies against Julian Devorak. They state they have personally locked Julian in his office but then leaves abruptly to clear the dissection table, showing no signs of affection for their former colleague.

**In Book XIII - Death,** they ambush the guards and steal Julian's body after the execution. The Apprentice and Portia find them in their work room in the palace dungeons with their hands poised for a dissection. On the table, Julian convulses and Valdemar wonders if he can repeat his resurrection. A fight ensues and the Apprentice chases them away with the help of Portia, Malak and Julian.

**In Portia's route,** when Tasya merges the arcane and mortal realms, Valdemar offers to help the apprentice, largely as death is no longer possible in this realm and their greatest desire is gone. They sent the apprentice off to the lazaret to speak to Death for help, implying they are an old friend. Death is incredibly weak and unable to hold a physical form for long, implying valdemar has not only made deals with the Devil but may have had a colourful past with Death.

**In Lucio's route**, Valdemar is commanded by the devil to distract them and hold them back.

## Relationships

### The Apprentice

Valdemar is initially fascinated by the Apprentice and essentially sizes them up. They were friendly in their first meeting in Nadia's court. Later, they attempt to torture and dissect the apprentice. Depending on the route however, this changes. Valdemar either assists the apprentice, holds them back from fighting the devil, or simply tries to dissect them.

### Julian

Julian mentions they are former colleagues but shows distaste towards them. In contrast, Quaestor Valdemar doesn't seem to be wasting too much thought on him. They say personality wise, Julian has a vapid head. They also note Julian mostly worked with leeches because he thought the plague was blood related. Either way, Valdemar notes they didn't pay attention to Julian, not more than the other doctors. Their fascination with science and plague takes over when they leave the Coliseum to ready the dissection table for when they can pry open Julian's skull.

### Courtiers

They do not care for the other courtiers, specifically Volta. When Volta summons Valdemar for a court meeting in Nadia's route of Book XI, they don't come to the meeting. They show they don't care about anything other than death and dissection, sticking to their own plans.

### Death

Valdemar shows affection towards death, implying they are an old trusted friend of theirs.