Vale Gardner

Vale in Wandfasted; by @Caffeinated\_Dreams

**Vale Gardner** is the fastmate of Tessla Harrow, the father of Elloren, Rafe, and Trystan Gardner. He is the older brother of Vyvian and Edwin Gardner and the son of Carnissa Gardner.

## Physical Description

Like all Gardnerians, Vale has shimmering emerald skin, black hair, and fierce, dark green eyes. Tessla describes him as very handsome. Vale has severely angular features and a fierce expression. His eyes are razor-sharp. His presence can be overwhelming, a simmering, almost vibrating tension seems to emanate from him. Vale is striking, with aristocratic cheekbones, and a natural grace and elegance.

Vale wears the uniform of a Gardnerian soldier. It's black silk with silver emroidery and is marked with a single silver sphere. His black cloak is edged with five silver lines.

## Personality

Vale has a sugar-and-ice personality. He only shows his sweeter side to people he likes, everyone else gets his cold side. He does not agree with his mother's xenophobia, but is unable to fight against her about it. Vale can be quite sarcastic and cynical. He originally had no desire to wandfast, despite all Gardnerians doing so. He is also incredibly prejudiced against poor Gardnerians and believes his family's status makes him superior. Vale is secretly a romantic. Much of his cold appearance is a result of others always wanting something from him because of his family's social standing, power, and money.

## Biography

### Early History

Vale and his brother Edwin were raised by an Urisk nursemaid named Annel'lin who was a refugee fleeing north. The brothers consider her to be their true mother as their birth mother was consumed by her power and had no natural mothering instincts. When he became older, Vale got Annel'lin far from Gardneria and to safety.

Vale did not want to be reliant on his mother for money, so he earned his own by clearing the entire Salish Pass of kraken. There's a hefty bounty for them, so for three years, on and off, he spent time at sea killing them. He also used his wind affinity to work as a Wind Mage to deal with storms and such.

He also attended Verpax University with Fain Quillen. It was here that he first met Jules Kristian. Vale found him to be a brilliant historian and they've been close friends for almost three years.

## Powers & Abilities

Vale is a Level Five Mage with an affinity for fire. His magic appears as blue lightning. Vale has a trace of water affinity, and a pretty strong amount of wind magic.

## Relationships

### Tessla Harrow

Vale and Tessla are fastmates. While their marriage was an arranged one and they initially disliked each other, they end up falling in love. Tessla initially believes he is sleeping with his best friend Fain. At first, Vale is dismissive of Tessla because she is uneducated and from a poor family. He sarcastically wonders if she even knows how to read and says that Lower River Gardnerians are "practically Keltic peasants." He describes her as "tolerable, in a rustic sort of way." Tessla can tell however that he is fighting the instictive pull of their magic drawing towards each other. Vale and Tessla's fire affinities draw them together. Their affinities don't just match, but are in perfect symmetry and proportion to each other. After they are wandfasted, Vale explains his coldness towards Tessla as a reaction to the unnerving strength of his affinity's pull towards hers. He also thought she was with Jules and was trying to respect that by putting distance between them. But he admits that he's always liked her and has always found her to be very beautiful. They discover that they both love books, and feel similar about many issues.

### Fain Quillen

Fain and Vale are best friends. Fain is one of the only people Vale feels he can speak freely with and he has a high respect for him. There are rumors the two of them are in a relationship, which is forbidden under Gardnerian law. Fain is disgusted by Vale's obvious prejudice and dismissiveness towards Tessla because she is poor. At one point, he tells Vale that while he is his best friend, he is also an ass.

## Memorable Quotes

* "I'm too educated to be positive."
* "Gardnerians with overwhelming power will do exactly what any race does with overwhelming power. Abuse it."

## Trivia

* Vale owns three homes. He has a manor in Valgard, a cottage on the shore of the Voltic Sea, and a small house in Verpacia.
* Before Tessla, Vale had only kissed two girls. His first was a sixteen and at sea for the first time. It was a Salishen girl. His second kiss was a few years later at University. It was a Keltic girl who was friends with him and Jules. Apparently, the intensity of his fire made kissing him unpleasant as it was like being kissed by lightening.

## References

1. ↑ *Wandfasted*: page 83
2. ↑ *Wandfasted*: page 96
3. ↑ *Wandfasted*: page 84
4. ↑ *Wandfasted*: page 95