Silvanus

Ambrose and Hieronymus (Sons)

## Application Sheet

Silvanus is a pale-furred male with striking yellow eyes, formerly High Priest of Havir, and then Beta of Vale, before an alternate personality took over and brought him to Vektren as a Theta Viper. Brother to Hera, mate of Dahlia, adoptive father of Evander, and father to five children - Hera (II), Hieronymous, Ambrose, Zinnia, and Aja - Silvanus lived a full and colorful life before he departed the pack. He briefly gained control over himself and found Dahlia, instructing her to kill him if he changed again; when he did change, she couldn't bring herself to kill him. Not until he came back and threatened to kill her and take Aja to Vektren. After killing Dahlia, his daughters killed Silvanus in response, and he passed, at peace. He was created and RP'd by Ramala, before he was given to SilverPocky for his last meetings with Dahlia to be written, and his story concluded.

## Personality

**(Starting from the earliest, moving downward to the most recent)**

**The Metamorphosis**

Silvanus is sugar and spice... heavy on the spice. No one in Havir is safe from his razor-sharp wit and signature, wide, knowing smile. The High Priest is by nature an extreme extrovert that is nourished by interaction from others. He has a marked flare for the theatrical, and loves for eyes to be on him. When he was younger, he tended to place people either on his good list or his naughty list, and would treat his favorites like cherished pets, and his least favorite like they were scum under his claws. As a younger wolf, he always stood under his sister's (the former High Priest, Hera's) shadow, and avoided responsibility and the call towards his task for a long time because of it. He wanted to be his own wolf and maintained an understated rebellion against his own vocation well into his young-adult years. Well, as understated as Silvanus is capable of.

After the death of his sister and the exile of his nephew Faust, Silvanus experienced a profound sobering of his character. He discovered darker, wiser, more philosophical corners of his mind than he never realized he had before. He ignored it for a long while because these deeper places scared the heck out of him as he'd always operated on a skin-deep level in his youth. It was partially these qualities however, that inspired Saurugol to promote Silvanus to the role of High Priest. Slowly, somewhat begrudgingly at first but then veraciously, his maturation continued. He finds profound fulfillment in his role as High Priest, and takes his religion and the spiritual health of his pack very seriously. His silver tongue and penchant for thorough thinking have become unique gifts that he turned towards counseling Saurugol and the rest of the pack on anything from day-to-day troubles, to the deep, dark questions of life and death.

**Pre-Havir's Demise**

Silvanus is a very different wolf than he was when he began, but he's still very much the product of who he was before. He is sly, sassy, and always ready with a quip. He's developed a warmer, more paternal (or some would argue maternal XD) side, and will take it upon himself to nurture wolves in need of emotional support or spiritual direction. Generally, he will treat wolves with warm familiarity, jokes, hospitality, and a wide, Chesire grin. He is a little cat-like in that he likes to bask in the sun on cold days, and grooms meticulously. He despises getting wet or muddy, which gave birth to the "Silvanus Puddle Dance", his peculiarly theatrical way of bounding, skipping, and hopping to avoid muddy puddles. Silvanus is for the most part, completely unflappable and is very hard to catch by surprise. His flamboyance and overall appearance makes many assume that Silvanus swings for the specifically male-attracted team, but the truth is- if you're cute, you're cute. Despite the natural level of flirtation in his personality, Silvanus has not experienced a deep meaningful love, and is beginning to fear that he may never do so. You'd never know he has insecurities by looking at him, he puts on a convincing show of perfect composure in almost every situation, regardless of how he feels. His eyes are piercing and always seem to know something that you don't. He is actually an extremely deep-thinker, despite his sometimes shallow-looking exterior. He is wise, analytical, and gifted with an extremely even keel even in the face of extreme adversity.

**Silvanus the Valerian**

When Havir fell, Silvanus found himself completely adrift. He's suddenly a family-man with a mate, child, and grand-daughter for whom he lives, but everything that made him "Silvanus" before is gone. He does his best to act like himself and be strong for his family, but can't ignore the deep streak of depression sinking in.

**Mental Disorder**

Silvanus' inability to cope with everything that he's lost has given way to a severe mental disorder- Dissociative Identity Disorder. He has a second identity that rears its head when Silvanus can't handle his grief. Other than a brief fugue-state in which the two identities can talk to each other (which the original Silvanus doesn't remember), the original Silvanus is completely unaware of his alter. The alter, or alternate-identity, IS completely aware of what he is and of the original Silvanus' life. He also goes by Silvanus because he considers himself the "True Silvanus", untainted by the original's weakness. The alter-Silvanus is sly, cunning, sarcastic, and sassy. He possesses a cruel streak that the original never had, and is easily bored because his mind works at 100mph. This alter-Silvanus absolutely abhors the Havirian religion, probably as a coping mechanism for the original Silvanus whose pain largely connects to his religion and the loss of his home and priesthood.

**Silvanus the Vektreni**

After over a year of taking bits and chunks out of the original Silvanus' life when he shut down and couldn't cope- Silvanus' alter burned enough bridges with the family and Vale that he decides to take over for good and move to Vektren to pursue his \*ahem\* other interests. From then on, Silvanus' alter is the primary personality.

**Present Day Silvanus**

Completely overtaken by his alt-personality Silvanus is the mirror opposite of the wolf he once was. He cares for nothing and no one but himself and will not hesitate to whatever is necessary for the sake of self preservation. He’s not afraid to socialize but sees no need for petty connection, only things that are deemed “interesting” are worth his time. Present Silvanus is cunning, sly, and has a hint of a sadistic attitude.

## Pre-Group History

Silvanus was born into Havir, but was always a bit of an odd duck, so he faced a lot of scrutiny from day one. Did he let this phase him? Not really. From very early in life, Silvanus' extravagant personality made him stand out like a sore thumb amidst the stoic Havir. Not that he cared. He was always almost supernaturally charming and naturally formed a network of friends and "fans" while also developing a contingent that just couldn't stand him, but he always seemed to care more about making an impression than fitting in. For the most part- the resulting effect is that he is fairly well-liked and gushingly affectionate towards most (even if a little artificially in some cases), except for those unfortunate enough to incur his wrath. Having been born into the pack, he always took his religion as mere fact, and takes it more seriously than many might think. He was born under the Night Glow, and his sister became the High Priest of Havir, so it was always expected that Silvanus would become a priest, despite his sanguine nature. He had always felt the pull, the call, and he fought against it for a long time. He had convinced himself that the expectation and responsibility was not his style. It was always in his heart, though, and he eventually succumbed to his destiny.

## Group History

Silvanus had been putting off his call to be a priest of Havir; maybe it was because his sister was the High Priest and he was shying away from the pressure, but he finally found enough adult bones in his body to start on that journey, becoming promoted to Delta Priest.

He asked for Saurugol's blessing on his promotion to a Delta Priest. They went to kill a stag offer the sacrifice to the gods as a prayer for a merciful winter, where Saurugol was impressed by Silvanus' surprising natural talent as a priest of Havir.

Silvanus fought off Sabien the cougar with his reluctant partner, Ira. The two developed a mutual respect for each other despite their initial and ongoing tension.

Silvanus met and consoled Daciana about her mourning and her lost purpose after the loss of Angelos, discovering how natural a knack for guidance he possessed. Silvanus parted ways with Faust as he left for Blutwald, he hinted that he had suspicions about Faust's faith, but that he loved him regardless.

When Faust returned, however...so much went wrong. Hera would fall to her death, claimed by the gods, and Faust, ultimately, would be banished from Havir forever. Silvanus was devastated - the two wolves he loved most in this world, gone.

While Silvanus grieved, Saurugol received a dream, which inspired him to appoint Silvanus as the new High Priest in Hera's stead. Silvanus accepted the promotion, and would end up flourishing as High Priest, becoming a mentor and councilor to many of his Havirian packmates.

The peace would not last.

A meteor struck the territory of Havir, killing Saurugol and Malika instantly and making the territory unfit for living. With the rest of his packmates, Silvanus had to flee the territory. Silvanus and his remaining family made their way to the territory of Vale - Faust's pack.

Realizing how suddenly everything could be taken from him, Silvanus announced his love for Dahlia, who admitted that she, too, shared these feelings, and the pair would be wed in Vale.

Little did he know, however, that the tragedy of Havir's destruction would manifest something terrible in his inner self - an alternate personality, which would rise from the depths of his consciousness to protect him from the agony of his losses. This alternate personality, a result of Dissociative Identity Disorder, would grow slowly more severe as time passed - and Dahlia had their four children.

His children, named Zinnia, Hieronymous, Ambrose, and Hera (after his sister), would start to notice his odd behavior. When his DID alter began to explore outside of Vale, he met and became enamored by Hekate of Vektren. His children, not understanding the nature of his alternate personality, saw these rendezvouses and assumed the worst of him. One of his sons, Ambrose, confronted Silvanus, which caused the alternate personality (Alt!Silvanus) to take over. Defensively, Alt!Silvanus shoved Ambrose down a waterfall to keep his secret.

The supposed death of Ambrose and the growing appearances of the DID personality caused the little family to break down. Eventually, Dahlia confronted Silvanus about it - Alt!Silvanus took over and explained everything that happened. Dahlia was horrified. Alt!Silvanus, intending to take over control from the original Silvanus, and left Vale for Vektren, to pursue his other 'interests' (namely, Hekate).

Distancing himself from his Havirian religion, Valerian life, mate and children, and everything that ever caused him 'weakness', Silvanus rose in the ranks and became a Count of Vektren, putting his silver tongue and dramatic flair to use as a Theta Viper.

Some time later, when Hekate was killed by her son Hellion, the original Silvanus was able to emerge while Alt!Silvanus was in shock. Alarmed to find himself in the heart of Vektren, he fled, returning to Vale's lands and finding...nothing. The pack was just...gone.

But not all of them.

His beloved *Dahlia* was there. He found her, and they reunited for a time, with Dahlia filling him in on everything that had happened in the many seasons he'd been in Vektren - about Vale's departure, the war between Vektren and Aryn, and so on. He was horrified by how much had happened, and how he'd betrayed her in his alternate form.

Dahlia didn't care. She had him with her again, and she wanted to do whatever she could to enjoy this time with him, because she didn't know how long he'd have control. It was only for a short time. Dahlia and Silvanus had discussed what should happen if his alternate personality took over...and Silvanus *begged* Dahlia to kill him if that happened.

She couldn't, though. When Alt!Silvanus emerged again, the two fought briefly, but Alt!Silvanus knew that she wouldn't be able to kill him, because of the love she felt for Silvanus; alternatively, he could not kill *her* because he was too weak to match her at that time. Instead, he told her that he would be waiting for her, in Havir's old lands, at the change of the season. Then, he departed.

Did he know he'd left her with a gift?

Probably not, not until he tracked her and discovered their young daughter, Aja. He decided to leave her with a bit more time with Aja, to let her grow a bit more and wean her of milk, before confronting Dahlia. He thought perhaps, *perhaps*, Aja would be the key to him returning to Vektren: a young mind they could mold.

His plans were complicated when his children - Hera, Zinnia, and Hieronymus, as well as their companions Seava and Silas - arrived to meet Aja and see Dahlia again. He didn't know for certain what he was going to do about the others, but decided that he would ambush Dahlia first.

Alt!Silvanus approached Dahlia when she was out with Aja, alone. She told Aja to run and fetch her siblings, and stood her ground facing her mate's alternate personality. Alt!Silvanus, who'd caused so much harm...Dahlia was ready to end it. She hadn't been, before, but now she had wolves to protect.

Alt!Silvanus revealed to her that he planned to kill her, and then "deal with the other pests" - and then take Aja to Vektren. The two launched into battle, Dahlia determined not to let him harm their family anymore. She put up a good fight, but Alt!Silvanus got the upper hand and grabbed her by the throat.

His children raced in and attacked him in revenge, with Hera and Zinnia working together to kill him. As his life ebbed away, the Alt!Silvanus relinquished its grip on Silvanus's mind, and the real Silvanus - the *true* Silvanus, High Priest of Havir, returned. All he could do, with his dying breath, was praise his children for doing the right thing in killing him, and asking for Dahlia.

The two wolves, reunited for the final time, would die with one another, passing into the afterlife side-by-side. Their children would bury Dahlia and Silvanus side-by-side, before taking Aja back to Aryn, where she would be safe from Alt!Silvanus's plans for her in Vektren.

## Trivia

* Silvanus is beginning to suffer from a mysterious illness that results in weight loss, muscle wasting, fatigue, and coughing blood. He tries to keep it a secret because he believes A) he shouldn't worry anyone and B) it is a burden placed on him to suffer with by the gods for an as-of-now unknown purpose.
* His application sheet and medallion have been left as those created by Ramala, because of how briefly he was owned by SilverPocky (only for his story to be properly *ended*) and how the vast majority of his story was by Ramala. For a link to his application sheet from SilverPocky, click here.

## Quotes

* “Adetunji, accept the heart consumed by your vessel, and render mercy upon the pack of Havir. May the sky be quiet and clear as the winter falls upon us, and let death not hasten in its grip upon the spirits of our wolves. Ademache, father of our fathers, take our sacrifice and let the moon shine brightly and gently in the night, so we may bask in its light and sing in your honor. Adezevah, mother of our homeland, let the land still yield sustenance for us when the cold comes and threatens to force our prey to the south. All the gods of the sky, the earth, the sea, and all their children, see our offering as a sign of our devotion and good faith and look kindly upon us this coming season.” (Silvanus's prayer, offering to the gods after catching a sacrifice with Saurugol and becoming a Priest, *Havir's New Priest*)
* "I AM what YOU wanted, Silvanus. I am because you need me, you need this respite, I’ll take care of you. Whenever the world becomes too much, whenever your heart begins to ache and race... I'll come out to play." (Alt!Silvanus introducing itself to Silvanus, *Split in Two*)
* "I'm sorry you had to cross paths with the...lesser one. He is gone for good. Snuffed. I made sure of it. He will trouble the earth no more with his weak platitudes - it is me and only me here before you." (Alt!Silvanus to Hekate, *Home Sweet Home*)

## External Links

* Official Application Sheet (Ramala)
* Ramala's deviantART Gallery