Venz

*"I always thought I'd settle in a place like this. Rolling hills, beautiful grassland and, most importantly, some bustling wildlife. I don't care for its people much, but they can be quite useful at times. Especially when I'm in need of more secure housing for an evening or two. Serving this land's great Remnant has been a delight."*

 *Show more/less*

*It doesn't ask for much; its rare requests are usually easy to cater to... The Sharrow might be an intimidating creature upon first sight, but I know that it's a gentle soul that has guarded these lands for a long time and, in a way, it's protected me too. I felt like I was unravelling before I came here. I wasn't the person I wanted to be. The Sharrow's helped me to hold myself together.
Each new season I tend to gravitate to Mishijk, Ninut, Lica; one of the larger settlements to welcome the return of the birds. Goodness, it's a fantastic sight, watching the swirling flock of jabbers and nills, flinthooks and lacedivers, all returning home for the start of a bountiful spring. You'll... you'll hear them before you see them: their squawks and chirps echo through the canyons, enough to get on anyone's nerves, but... it's been so quiet lately. There's... there is just the sound of the winds.
 Without the birds, everything seems dulled; muted. The villages count it as an ill omen, but for what? I do not know. I do know that it has been a while since anyone's laid eyes on the Sharrow. I cannot recall the last time it asked something of me... so I'm out here searching for any sign of it, hoping to find it before the storm sweeps in. Someone should do the rituals: it's only fair that it's me. The Sharrow kept me safe and it's time to return the favour.*"

―Venz

### Humanity

Grey hair swept backwards, older, grey facial hair, dull grey-blue eyes, weathered face from travelling, unsteady hands, slightly un-sprightly.
Venz' homeland is much colder than most of the rest of Ryne, and as such he is adapted to withstand very cold temperatures through having a raised body temperature and very hot blood. This also means he doesn't get ill very much.

### Personality

Patient, even-tempered, attentive. He has dedicated himself to various Remnants over the years, and has a drive to keep moving. He tends to avoid forming close relationships with people or communities in case he ends up feeling unable to move on when the Remnant he serves is done with him (*Tiding 08*). In *Tiding 09* we learn that when it comes down to it, he is probably more attached to having power than to serving a Remnant, but his life of service is still very meaningful and deep-rooted.

### Clothing and Equipment

Wears clothes he has made himself, out of cloth and furs he has acquired over time in his travels (from scavenging rather than killing animals)

## Relationships

### Family

He left his family quite early in life, and this has had far-reaching effects on his lifestyle and relationships with others. Losing another family would be very difficult for him, and so his lifestyle tends away from situations where he might start a family in the first place.

### Other

* Venz has spent quite a bit of time with Cast, preferring to stay with him, another outsider, than in the larger settlement of Ninut. Cast is one of the few people of the Sharrow that Venz had formed a relationship with prior to the events of Tiding.
* Challa
* Belka
* Bris
* Cast
* Korrin
* Keen
* Silver
* Sharrow

## History

After Venz exhibited signs of having Unravelling powers in his freezing homeland, he was trained to use these powers responsibly and for good, to benefit both the Remnants and the people living in their territories.
Venz has travelled around the wider world. He has spent time bonding with and serving various Remnants, acting like something of an Envoy and seeing to the Remnant's needs. This could include teaching the people of a territory how to act around the Remnant; how to give it tribute or thank it. Unravelling are often mistrusted by communities in the territories (because they have the potential to be quite dangerous), and Venz has learned to stay on the road most of the time, arriving at a community, helping people with their problems and entertaining children with stories, staying a night or so, and then moving on. He has learned to avoid revealing too much about himself, his abilities and the source of his power, as doing so has affected his relationships in the past.
 For the last 5-10 years, Venz has been living in The Sharrow (territory), serving the Remnant of the same name: Sharrow. Although Venz kept himself apart from the communities for the most part, he knew people in most of the settlements, having helped them with healing, flora and fauna, or performing rituals for the Sharrow. Venz' status was slightly mythical amongst the villages, something he leant into as a persona.

## Additional Information

* Venz' older age is unusual amongst Unravelling- they usually unravel and lose their self before reaching Venz' age, but he has been very careful with how much he uses his abilities. His advanced age is also now contributing to the acceleration of his unravelling.
* The nature of the tribute rituals that Venz enacts are communicated to him directly from the Remnant concerned.

## Mechanics

### Playbook

The Unravelling

* Weave a spell: When you use spirit to weave spells, say what you want to achieve. Choose tags according to your bond with a Remnant, and roll. 10+ = success; 7-9 = success, but with complications: take extra damage; unravel\*; the spell has side-effects; the Remnant you're bonded with calls in a bond on you.
* Name a Remnant: You gain a bond on the Remnant, and the remnant gains a bond on you. When you cast spells, the nature of the Remnant affects the form they take. [The story starts with Venz bonded to the Sharrow, causing his spells to be powered by the winds]. If you cast a spell without having a bond with a Remnant, the spell is riskier: on a 7-9, choose an additional complication.
* Still Human (bond move): Whenever someone goes out of their way to remind you of your humanity, gain a bond with each other.
* Drain Spirit (gained in ep. 8): When you drain spirit from another to heal your trauma or to weave into spells, roll. On a 10+ pick 2, on 7-9 pick 1.
	+ You control how much spirit you take, inflicting trauma 1 for 1
	+ You heal up to 3 trauma or hold up to 3 [from the scene?] that can be used to cast spells
	+ You keep your talents hidden
	+ You don't mark the state that your target was feeling 1 for 1 for each trauma inflicted

\*Every time you unravel, there is a mechanical consequence from a list (draw unwanted attention, spike in your weakest emotion, be forced to act against your own best interests etc.) You can unravel twelve times (choosing the order of consequences), at which point the final consequence occurs: the last thread of your humanity leaves you.

### Emotional stats

* Scared: +2
* Powerful: +1
* Mad: 0
* Peaceful: +1
* Sad: -1
* Joyful: 0

### Bonds

Pre-story:

1) *If somebody sees you unraveling, they gain a bond on you; if they sheltered you and reminded you of your humanity, gain a bond on them.*
 Venz has a bond on Silver, a character from their past who helped them through a tough time when they had to use their abilities a lot; Silver and Venz may also have had a romantic connection.

2) *If you have helped someone through your knowledge or gifts, gain a bond on them.*
 Venz has a bond on Korrin, from a time when he was called to Ninut because Korrin was 'unwell', and realised Korrin has the potential to become an Unraveling. (This realisation was kept as a secret between Venz and Korrin.)

3) *If you know another's secret and are holding it for the right moment, gain a bond on them.*
 Venz has a bond on Belka. Venz knows that Belka is a Heart.

### Beliefs

Tiding 03:

"Aya's son Korrin shows great potential. I must get Bris onside."

"I must find out what happened to Sharrow and heal whatever's gone wrong."

"I must never give my life for somebody that doesn't respect the Remnant."

## Quotes

*These Flimsy Rituals is distributed under a CC BY-NC-SA license. This wiki contains excerpts of scripted text and official shownotes, and is considered to be under the same license. Official artwork is not to be used on this wiki. Fanart pieces are distributed under licenses determined by the artist- please check the caption or alt-text.*