Klaus

Vladimir (Brother)

Sveta, Ava, and Nike (Sisters)

Naava and Lapis (Half-Sisters)

Extensive Highvalley Kin

## Application Sheet

Klaus, Prince of Highvalley, was a dark charcoal-furred male who served a time as a loyal Enforcer of Vektren. He was the eldest son of High King Rodwen, and brother to Ava, Vladimir, Sveta, and Nike. He had two half-sisters, Naava and Lapis. Klaus trained young Enforcer Monty and was responsible for executing the contract against Tilika's life. He was created and RP'd by Naviira.

## Personality

* ***Temperamental and Unpredictable.*** With his explosive blind rage, Klaus’ apocalyptic temperament can make him incredibly reckless and unpredictable, oftentimes losing sight of his original objective when consumed with anger. Because of the constant struggle to suppress his emotions, the young wolf is easily frustrated and is known to have somewhat violent outbursts when pushed over the edge. His short-temperament makes him a force to be reckoned with in combat.
* ***Stubborn, Impulsive, and Reckless.*** Despite being raised to be analytical and rational, should his emotions get a hold of him, Klaus *will* act without forethought, especially when anger is involved. Furthermore, if he thinks he is in the right, Klaus will refuse to modify his plans to accommodate the rules governing him. This irresponsible behavior coupled with a privileged upbringing oftentimes gets him into trouble with superiors.
* ***Honest and Arrogant.*** Growing up in a privileged, high-class society, Klaus often fails to recognize his own arrogance due to the entitled world that has surrounded him for most of his life. He is also very direct in his communication with others and if he believes he is right, there is little that can hold him back from speaking his mind.
* ***Compassionate and Empathetic.*** Buried beneath an arrogant and conflicted exterior, Klaus is rich with integrity. While his values are largely based on his affections and close relationships with others, Klaus can be very dismissive about those he doesn't deeply care for. His compassion at this point is only applicable to Vektreni wolves. He can be quite cold to outsiders.
* ***Judgmental.*** With complete confidence in his thought-process, Klaus is quick to draw up conclusions solely based on his observations no matter how true, false, deep, or shallow they may be. He is the kind of wolf that will stick very closely to his early impressions of another; a great obstacle some may need to overcome if they are viewed in a poor light and wish to be considered favorably.
* ***Hardworking.*** When he is committed to something, Klaus will put in an intense effort to see it through; a trait he picked up from his father. Giving up is *not* an option.
* ***Aloof and Private.*** Contradictory to his emotional underside, Klaus tries hard to appear distant and unattached from afar over the fear of what others may think due to his uncontrollable emotions; associating and building strong connections with only a select few. He refuses to talk about his feelings or his personal life with others unless a deep bond is shared between them. Even then it can be difficult to pry it out of him.
* ***Loyal.*** While unbearably loyal to those he loves, Klaus’ loyalty ends until he thinks he has been betrayed. Once that happens, that extreme loyalty turns into extreme and irrational hatred towards those who have betrayed him. This is when his hatred and anger is at its most intense.
* ***Vengeful.*** Those who hurt him or his loved ones will feel his wrath. Klaus will take out vengeance with an unforgiving brutality to those who have wronged him or his friends and will gladly resort to violence when doing so.
* ***Insecure.*** Klaus craves constant approval from others in fear that his feelings may not be returned. His overconfidence is but a mask to make himself appear stronger than what he believes himself to be.

## Pre-Group History

Straddled in the middle of some of the domain's highest peaks, Klaus- the eldest of 4 siblings- was born to the High King and Queen of Highvalley. Destined to inherit the position of his father, most of his young life consisted of lessons in how to speak, act, fight, and carry himself with nobility; fundamental for any true future Alpha of the pack. In his early days, Klaus showed much promise and with his rising skills in hunting and combat, the young Prince was projecting to become a favorable leader.

While apparent since puphood, Klaus' quick temperament slowly became more and more of a problem for the pack as he aged. Utilizing his uncontrollable rage, Klaus became a liability rather than an asset for the wolves of Highvalley. Worried that he would drive the pack into destruction and war like his grandfather Eadric before him, whom shared much of the same emotional instability as the young prince, his father Rodwen- a pacifist known for his strategical genius- tried to dilute the young male’s extreme behavior through rigorous, one-on-one training that would often last from dawn to dusk.

Early on, the young prince resisted his training. However, after a life-altering event that resulted in the near-death of someone close to him because of his actions, Klaus began to see himself in a different light. Where once he saw pride and honor, now he could only see dishonor and shame.

Afraid his actions would bring about further pain towards those he loved, Klaus began to take his training seriously; tirelessly working to dilute if not eradicate his impulsive and reckless nature. He wanted nothing more than for his father to be proud of him, who, at this point, was extremely hard on his son. This however only made him more frustrated as he attempted to numb his emotions altogether to seek his father's approval with little success. Ultimately Klaus adopted an aloof and detached personality.

Feeling alone and rejected from his family, Klaus drew into himself more; consumed with feelings of bitterness and and anger towards them. By the time the young Prince turned two years old, he dispersed from Highvalley, leaving the pack on negative terms. From then on he traveled for a short time where he sought out other wolves and packs in the hopes of finding a place where he could truly call home. A place where he could escape the responsibilities of being a prince.

## Group History

Klaus was skirting by the borders of Vektren when he encountered porcupine. After getting heavily quilled, in the rump and the face, he was discovered by Imperia, a beautiful silver she-wolf. She offered to help him with the quills, and then warned him to stay away from Vektren lands.

Klaus, however, had other plans. He was intrigued by the mysterious pack, and revisited the borders, meeting the alpha's brother, Cicero. Klaus asked Cicero for an audience with Hekate, and Cicero agreed, guiding him into the heart of Vektren.

Shortly after his arrival, Klaus took on the task of an Enforcer. He met Imperia again, and she was horrified that he had sacrificed morality to join the dark pack. She gave him a warning - "Princes still bleed" - and then left him.

He discussed the morals of the pack with Seraph, one of the highest-ranking wolves in the pack. He also got to meet some of the other Enforcers, Daithi and Ragweed. Other packmates, he met under less than favorable circumstances, like when he mistook Sionn for a trespasser. He found Agatha trapped on a large rock, and helped her to navigate down to safety. He also met wolves like Theora, who still hadn't been initiated into the Brotherhood.

Klaus worked hard, often spending more time around the territory, patrolling the borders, rather than being at the Nest. Admittedly, this meant that he didn't become very close to any of his packmates. He did succeed in scaring off quite a few intruders, including Baely of Fellfang. Still, his devotion to his task meant that he was ranked up to a Gamma Enforcer.

His familiarity with Vektren territory would be put to the test when an earthquake rocked the Domain. A massive flood swept through Vektren, splitting several members from the pack. While he endlessly patrolled, searching for the lost, he managed to find a packmate named Aniu, and her pups, Belladonna and Montu.

When sulky juvenile Hellion (Hekate's son) wandered away from the pack's main den, Hekate took Monty to find him. They tracked him to the border, where they found Hellion waiting with a Vale wolf named Alar. Alar wanted to make a deal with Vektren, and Hekate sent Klaus back to camp with her son.

This alliance meant that Klaus was sent to Vale when the Valerian rebels attacked Alar's regime. In the midst of the battle, Klaus killed a beta, Notah, and returned, injured, to Vektren. Though Alar's regime, and thus Vektren, had lost, Klaus had done well by his pack. When he returned, he was greeted by Perry. She asked, horrified, whose blood he was covered in, and he explained what had gone down.

She told him she was leaving. She told him she'd rather leave, with a bounty on her head, than remain and be executed for her treasonous opinions. Klaus warned her of the consequences, and she turned on him, firm in her opinion.

If Imperia's disloyalty wasn't enough, he had another little 'hiccup' in his ability to relax in Vektren: the arrival of a Highvalley wolf named Thorn. Thorn recognized Klaus as royalty, and offered his loyalty to the dark male, before Klaus warned him never to address him by royal title *ever* again in Vektren. He didn't want anyone to know of his past in Highvalley. As a result, Thorn promised only to give Klaus the respect he needed as a superior in Vektren, not as Highvallian royalty.

Klaus was then given a very important duty. Normally, Enforcers weren't usually sent to commit assassinations, as that was a job for a Scythe. But Klaus was sent to accompany Scythe Jerikoh to complete a contract on Tilika of Havir's life. By this point, Tilika was in Highvalley, and Klaus made his way into familiar lands. Still, he only encountered wolves who'd joined the pack long after his departure...and one of those witnesses, the key witness, was his target.

Tilika was slain, and he brought the heart back to Vektren, where he was rewarded with a promotion to Theta Enforcer.

Still, just because he was an Enforcer, didn't mean Klaus was a ruthless killing machine. For instance, when Moth trespassed, looking for Ruffian, he sent her away with a brutal warning, but didn't kill her.

Then, for several months, he thought about his life in Vektren. He wondered if this lifestyle, of cultish gods and immoral acts, was really something he was willing to dedicate his life to. He wasn't particularly close to any of the other Vektreni. Thorn was ever-loyal to him, as was his young apprentice in the ways of an Enforcer, Monty, but on a personal level, he was rather distant from both of them. And Imperia was gone.

After months of indecision and unhappiness, the Enforcer vanished from Vektren. Nobody knows what became of the ex-Highvallian prince, but he has not returned to the Domain since his departure.

## Trivia

* As a Highvalley pureblood, Ava had *many* relatives. Her first cousins were as follows: Thorn, Gwendolyn, Quilo, Aspen, Alpine, Lycan, Amara, Rholdar, Vysariel, and Amalthea...and several NPCs who shall not be listed.
* Per Highvallian tradition, Klaus was betrothed to a suitable Highblood female, his cousin Gwendolyn. The two were dear friends growing up.
* He is very sure-footed from growing up into a pack that frequently hunted on the cliffs of mountains.
* He can be easily manipulated if one knows how to wield and aim his anger.
* He speaks very formally due to his upper class upbringing. However when his mind is clouded with emotion, his words tend to be a lot less so.
* Growing up with the privilege of having his own den, he finds it very difficult to adjust to sleeping with the rest of the pack in the Vektren nest.
* His fighting style is like a berserker, in the sense that he is very reckless, primitive and brutal, caring little if he gets hurt along the way.
* Klaus' favorite prey to hunt is bighorn sheep, and his favorite activity is hiking/going for walks.
* He is terrible at small talk and is very awkward when it comes to romance.
* Klaus keeps the fact that he was born and raised in Highvalley a secret from Vektren and everyone else he comes into contact with. The only one who knows his roots is Thorn, a former Highvallian.

## Quotes

* “Cold blood or not, who are we to play a god? Who gives us the right to decide someone else’s fate?” (to Seraph, *Playing Gods*)
* “By joining this brotherhood you’re not only giving up your life to its cause, but your soul. This scar… it marks us for life." (to Theora, *It Marks Us*)

## External Links

* Official Application Sheet
* Naviira's deviantART Gallery