Vaario of Volantis

Born in Volantis in the Temple of the Lord of Light to a slave whore of R’hllor, Vaario was seen as a gift to R’hllor. Vaario would serve the Lord of Light and begin his teachings at the age of 6 and begin his journey to becoming a Red Priest. He studied the scriptures, he learnt the words and would stare for hours into the flames in the hope the Lord of Light might speak to him. Every day he would sit and stare, becoming obsessed with the flames, at night he would sneak out of the quarters and light a fire in the gardens so he could continue looking into the embers. His obsession worried even the priests who felt he was a risk of committing arson, if not watched carefully.

After years of looking into the flames, Vaario saw a mystic vision that he believed to be from the Lord of Light. Swords striking and sparking as embers popped in the flames. He spent many days contemplating what he had seen and how he should interpret the vision. All that seemed true was that he must learn how to wield a sword.

When Vaario requested that he be trained in the art of the sword, the High Priest refused and reminded him that he is to be a priest, not a warrior, but this did not stop him. Vaario would wake early each morning and begin his studies and practice, so that he could finish hours before the other children. He would run to the training ground of the Fiery Hand, where the slave soldiers of R’hllor would train. He watch for hours, learning the way their moved and swung their swords. As the years went on, Vaario became more rebellious within the Temple of R’hllor and no longer cared for the rules surrounding priests in the training ground. He would train every day with the Fiery Hand and the slave warriors welcomed him, as he was natural duelist. Vaario would teach the warriors about the Lord of Light and the warriors would train him in swordplay.

Proving himself more than capable of surviving the tough streets of Volantis, the high priest sent Vaario away to preach the Lord of Light in the free cities of Essos. He would make many friends and many enemies in these years, but no relation was as sour than what had developed with the masters of Slavers Bay. After stirring a minor uprising amongst the slaves, he was declared a heretic and an infidel, he was hunted by the Son of the Harpy in the streets, narrowly escaping with his life and finally finding his way home to Volantis after a long trek through Mantarys and the ruins of Northern Valyria.

Slaver’s Bay had changed Vaario forever and no longer saw the world in the same way. He felt the pain of every lash he saw a slave receive, every limb that was cut off of a slave and every child that was stolen from a mothers arms to be sold to the highest bidder. He even lost faith in the Lord of Light, it was only slaves who would listen to his words whilst magisters and masters would sit in their manse counting their coin.

## Recent History

When burning eight corsairs who violated the temple, Vaario saw visions in the flames of a slave rebellion involving eight pit fighters he had recently purchased from a slaver in Volantis. Following a conversation with the High Priest, requesting the temple's support (which is flatly denied), Vaario fled Volantis with the pit fighters, 4 red priests and 55 warriors of the Fiery hand to begin liberating slaves across Essos.

As the the band of freedom fighters approached Sar Mell, they came across 10 slavers with 35 slaves in tow. Vaario, believing that they had the numbers, attacked the slavers and fell to a blood defeat, being beaten in single combat by the Slave Leader as his army routed. He was enslaved and returned to Volantis where he was burnt at the stake.