Valentine Xavier Halvard III

## Valentine

> *"Sorry my dear, I didn't see you there. This book had me completely captivated."*
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> - Valentine when you talk to him while he's reading
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**Valentine** is a resident of *Toffee Town* and a Librarian at *Lacabòn Library*.

## Gifts

> *“Ah, this is quite wonderful! Perhaps we can enjoy this together?”*
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> *“How delightful! Thank you, my dear.”*
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> *“I… ah… Ahem, thank you...”*
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> *“... Have I done something to upset you?”*
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## Personaility

Generally, Valentine’s attitude is warm and polite if not somewhat reserved. The saying “Manners maketh the man.” apply to him in every aspect. His speech, his bearing and his genteel manners all drip with aristocratic breeding. He treats others with respect, although it’s not always clear on whether or not he is being truly sincere or just polite. And while he knows how to act in the confines of his own society, he is completely ignorant of the world outside of his social circle. Small towns and their way of life are an enigma to him. Their mannerisms, their eloquence, all foreign. Due to his upbringing Valentine acts supercilious and proud and in some ways, does believe his opinions, rank and even species are superior to others.

He has extraordinary self-control over both his emotions and his actions. The discipline he possesses shines through in the way he presents himself as a person and in his worth ethic. He is always on time, and his schedule is never broken. This also means he can be inflexible and since he's a stickler for routine, feels at a loss when things don’t go according to plan. Being as old as he is and having a tendency to reject change Valentine proves to be an old-fashioned soul. He tries to avoid new technology as much as possible and prefers the morals, manners and charm of the past.

Above all, Valentine is a dedicated scholar. Being an inquisitive man, he has spent a lot of his long life studying and expanding his mind. He always has his nose in some book or another, lost in its sea of words. His mind is a library of knowledge that he will happily open up to those interested, he can talk for hours about topics that interest him. However, on the subject of himself, Valentine is a very private man. To strangers and acquaintances, his personal life is always kept out of the discussion or mentioned only briefly. With those close to him he’ll never voluntarily open up unless prompted with a question.

## History

Valentine was born into a noble family living in a rich Elven city. A city where technology was scarce and magic was used in its place. As the only child of a General and his wife, Valentine's early childhood was strict, regimented. Throughout the centuries, the Halvard's have been rich and powerful military wizards, though nowadays the city has very little need for an army and they have been reduced to local law enforcement. While his mother's side of the family owned a large vineyard. Right from the start, it was intended for Valentine to follow in his father's footsteps and become a high ranking officer. He proved to be a fast learner and learnt to speak and read earlier than a lot of other children. However, he also was born with a weak immune system and his magical growth seemed to be stunted by his constant state of sickness as his skill level was far below boys of the same age.

Frustrated at his son's lack of magical prowess Valentine's father sent the six-year-old boy to a prestigious boarding school in hopes to improve it. During his time there Valentine took an interest in learning about art, literature and music under the guidance of one of his professors. Things his father thought were more "womanly" activities. Valentine also excelled academically and was often top of his class. But the use of his magic improved only moderately and he was always behind his fellow students in that area. This became a sore point for the boy and he was often teased about being so weak so he kept mostly to himself during his time there.

After graduating high school Valentine was eager to next attend university to study his newfound passions. But upon arriving home he found that his father had enrolled him into his old alma mater. Upset at this he tried to argue his way out of it. But General Halvard wouldn't have it, he threatened his son with disownment saying that Valentine would ruin the family name if he should refuse to attend. Feeling as if he had no choice he eventually resigned to his fate. From the start, Valentine knew that the life his father wanted him to pursue wasn't one he could or even wanted to lead. The rigorous drills took a toll on his weak body and his magic was hardly adequate for protecting the lives of others. It was clear he would never have been qualified to attend if it wasn't for the General’s influence. Nonetheless, his pushed on. In the end, he was awarded the rank of Lieutenant and thanks to his high academic scores was even invited to become a teacher. He accepted and stayed there for many years.

Despite enjoying being a teacher Valentine eventually grew restless during his long time at the academy, so he gave in his resignation and returned home once more. He found his old professor had taken up the position of curator at the city's library. Once reunited the pair would spend hours in each other's company, Valentine helping in the library in exchange for unlimited access to the books there. Life went on happily for a few decades, the old Elf becoming like a second father to the younger one. Until Valentine's parents started to worry about their son not actively looking for a wife and subsequently provided an heir for the family fortune. Annoyed, they arranged for him to marry his childhood friend Dorothy the daughter of a powerful wizarding family. But tired of having his life planned for him yet again, Valentine flat out refused to marry the woman. In a rage, his father threw him out of the house telling him to never return.

Knowing the shame he would eventually have to face if he stayed in the city. Valentine returned to the library to seek advice from his mentor. After a bit of searching through stacks of yellowing papers, the old man produced a crumpled leaflet. Pressing it into the younger Elf’s hand he explained how he had planned to move there himself when he finally retired. Upon studying it Valentine saw it was an advertisement for a place called Toffee Town. Pictures showed a small country town and while the offer was a good one, free housing and a job, he was sceptical about living in a town like that. But after a slap upside the head and a reminder to not be such a snob he realised there wasn't much else he could do. Maybe Toffee Town was just what he needed...

## Trivia

* He has a weak immune system and gets sick easily.

* He also suffers from mild asthma that flares up with too much physical activity.

* His magic is comparatively weak to other Elves so he never really uses it in public due to embarrassment.
* He absolutely cannot stand the heat. Anything above 25ºc (68ºf) will cause him to sweat.
* Considers himself a wine connoisseur.
* Smells of old books and tea leaves.
* Since his cooking skills are limited at best he eats out most of the time.
* His hair is naturally a curly mess, so he puts lots of product in it every morning to try to tame it.
* Is in the habit of slightly bowing as he greets people.
* He is almost totally blind without his glasses.
* He struggles to understand ‘countryside’ accents.
* Wary of Dwarves thanks to his father’s vocal prejudice towards them due to past conflict.