Vargas

### Aliases

Khasar; King of the Hunt; Thief; Night-Walker; Tramp/Arrogant Bastard (by Sveta)

## OOC Information

### Theme Song

"Stealing a Brig" - Assassin's Creed IV OST

## Application Sheet

Vargas was a dark gray male wolf with vivid sapphire eyes. Born into Stormhaven, he eventually led the revolution to create a new pack: Damasca. This pack, composed of former slaves and thieves, thrived for a short time before Vargas led the pack to new lands outside of the Domain, never to be seen again. He was created and RP'd by Arcadiasa.

## Personality

* ***Roguish and Witty.*** Impish and lively, this rogue handles things with a certain level of ease, flourish and poise that is as vicious as it is alluring.
* ***Suave and Indifferent.*** Vargas will charm and wheedle others if he’s intrigued or if they have something he currently wants. His interest shifts constantly; one day he might be engrossed and another indifferent. He keeps to himself usually not tethering himself to any wolf or pack for too long. Proclaiming it's because he might be there that day, but gone the next.
* ***Clever, Businesslike, and Driven.*** He is a merchant at heart. Always wondering what he’ll get in return for his services. He’s very methodical in his thinking, you need him to steal something, well you better offer up something good. His time is valuable and he won’t accept anything less than it’s worth. This doesn’t necessarily make him heartless, he would do anything for those he deems as worthy. However, those outside of his realm of brotherhood mean little to him. Beneath the coldness he seems to portray, he loves very fiercely for those he cares about.
* ***Hotheaded, but Cold.*** He’s usually a pretty relaxed, careless guy on most days. Radiating grace and keeping his composure by keeping a cold, standoffish aura around others and crowds. But, catch him at the wrong time or say the wrong thing and he can become a short fused, grump. Which in turn makes him argumentative and difficult to work with.
* ***Crass and Blunt.*** When a young pup grows up in a pack full of thieves well you’re bound to pick up some ill-advised mannerisms.
* ***Confident and Vain*.** Full of confidence, he doesn’t cower or become humbled when he’s praised. He preens and flaunts cause he thinks knows he’s pretty amazing.

## Pre-Group History

Vargas was born far to the west, on the coast of a Mediterranean paradise called Stormhaven. The pack-lands were beautiful, buzzing with fauna and life. The Stormhavians were never without food, shelter, nor water. They were also never without slaves to further their luxurious way of living. The elite never had to lift a paw, there were slaves to hunt, to kill, to charge into battle for them. While they simply enjoyed the rich, decadent lives they had become accustomed too. An infinite utopia.

Slaves were kept in a secluded area from the rest of high society. Behind a mountainous wall, that speared through the lower parts of the valley. Out of sight, out of mind, unless they were called upon by the upper echelon. The Lower Court was a land of outlaws, thieves, and marauders. Food was scarce, and battling the tempestuous winds and raging ocean was always a fight for survival.

Vargas, was taught at an early age that to survive in Stormhaven, you stole, you lied, you cheated. If you hesitated due to empathy you were as good as dead. Stealing from the sickly and young, were the keys to that survival as a young pup.

Vargas grew, listening to his father whisper about how their time would come. One day he would get them out of Stormhaven and finally be free. Little, white lies is what Vargas would call them. His father was a great man, who deserved more than this wretched existence, and if Vargas ever had the chance to change his families/pack's life he would. But, with the alphess's and the upper echelon control the dream seemed impossible -- or at least a death wish.

The seasons passed and it wasn’t until after a particularly nasty winter, that finally prompted the slaves to act for their freedom. Wolves grew sick, many died from hunger when the elite had stepped in to restrict their food supply even more. Proclaiming that it was them who needed it more and that the servants would have to ration. In was in that moment that Vargas’s father, Gareth, decided that the slaves needed to act before their existence was wiped entirely off of Stormhaven’s map.

A group of slaves while on duty, had seen the elite’s guards disappear into corridors on the upper side of the court. When investigated the servants realized that they were secret entry/exit points into Stormhaven.  The catch was getting passed the stationed guards on their side of the mountain and further into the valley. Plans were laid out among the inner circle; figure out the change of guard; organize a distraction, and garner the other captives's loyalty and cooperation. If anything went wrong during their escape, they were dead.

They started their plan, late into the night after the uppers had laid down to rest and the guards that patrolled were tizzy with sleep. Vargas and the rest of the group moved swiftly, hiding and taking out guards when it was necessary.When they finally came upon the hidden underground path, they realized too late that it was a setup. The alphess and uppers had gotten wind of their plans from some of the more “loyal” servants.

A fight broke out shortly after, and in the midst of it Vargas’s father and mother pushed their way closer and closer to the exits. Hoping to get some of the wolves out while everyone was distracted. But, several of the guards had rigged the cave entrance to collapse in case of a coop. The rocks fell and the end, it was only Vargas who made it out. He could hear his family’s desperate pleas behind the debris ordering him to run and he did. He ran for hours afterwards, legs burning and exhaustion overtaking him before he finally collapsed.

Now, he travels around from pack-land to pack-land, thieving and looting. With a vow he holds close, to return one day, to Stormhaven.

## Group History

Vargas was a scoundrel for sure, and he loved nothing more than picking on a certain royal princess: Sveta of Highvalley. Both were determined to have the last word in their standoff, but ultimately, Sveta made a hasty escape. He was both attracted to her and a fan of irritating the princess, so he made a point of lingering near Highvalley's border to tease her.

However, his presence was quite helpful for Sveta when she was attacked by a pair of loners. The two teamed up to fight the attackers away.

Of course, he wasn't always a suave hero-figure, swooping in to save the day. Sometimes other wolves would come to his aid, such as Shiloh. The two often met one another, as loners tend to do, and help one another in certain situations...like when Vargas, practicing tree-climbing, got snagged in some vines. He also got into a tight bind when stealing prey, and got caught in a mudslide, with Nadia of Chandor.

Then, the day came. He returned to Stormhaven to free the slaves...and *succeeded.* He took the slaves and created his own pack, one with him as the leader, or Khasar: Damasca. In the midst of this battle, he was responsible for the deaths of some wolves...including Soulstorm's mother. He never connected Soulstorm (going by "Ignis" in Damasca) to the Stormhaven elite, believing she had been a low-ranking wolf as well, and allowing her into Damasca.

The ex-Stormhaven wolves were of split opinion on Vargas. Qestir, an ex-slave, was of even *more* of a mixed opinion, themselves once considering Vargas a close friend, but one who had made things worse in Stormhaven after the first failed rebellion. Samsara, on the other hand, was overjoyed and relieved to be *free*, and ever-grateful to the ruffian.

When a flood swept through Highvalley, Vargas, once again lingering a *little* too close to the borders, got caught up in the floodwaters. Despite having the perfect opportunity to be rid of the annoying male, Sveta leapt into the floodwaters to rescue him. Once again, they parted ways. Perhaps..."even", in Sveta's book, because each had rescued the other from peril.

He returned to his pack, where it continued to thrive. He taught the youngsters of the pack (well, one youngster - Wick) about being a good Damascan thief. He gave advice to his packmates; he offered comfort to those who needed it, like Shera; and, of course, he posed a daunting first sight when he 'welcomed' visitors Orion and Barbosa to the pack.

Of course, just because he led a pack with a main den and a territory of its own, didn't mean he didn't continue to enjoy crossing the borders to Highvalley for thievery and roguish endeavors. It was on one of these jaunts that he found the broken body of none other than Princess Sveta...grievously injured, but not dead. He took her back to Damasca to recover.

He invited several wolves to join the pack, rather than just..."stealing" them as he stole Sveta. He brought in Gabriel and Nysien, and several others. After encountering the (near elderly) Vidar, he realized the opportunity the male provided to offer wisdom to his band of rogues, and offered Vidar a place in the pack. He didn't bring just anyone into the pack - just those with something to offer.

He entertained his packmates with Damascan celebrations and tales, but all things must come to an end. The herds in the territory were dispersing, and Vargas realized that they could not be a stationary pack...they would need to follow the herds. He gathered the Damascans who wanted to join him, and traveled south, out of the Domain.

Neither he nor the rest of Damasca have returned to the Domain since.

## Trivia

* He’s a bit thievish… It’s not his fault you can’t keep track of your belongings. Besides, its worth is probably lost on you.
* He's able to move about silently and is hard to read -- which works in his favor when he's trying to deceive, cheat, or steal from another.
* Feels no love for nobility, and feels little for those who don't push themselves to survive.

## Quotes

* “Let’s learn the easiest way to steal something off your mark. The easiest way to steal something you want is to make your target think you’re going to steal the bone on the left while you actually steal the ones on the right. The goal is to take advantage of your mark’s attention and direct it where you want it to go." (a lesson to Wick in thievery, *Learning the Ropes*)
* “Gods battling gods, huh? Can’t say I’ve ever thrown myself into a tussle between the divine." (in response to Orion's story about the Curse of Pajackok, *Midsummer Fire Festival*)

## External Links

* Official Application Sheet
* Arcadiasa's deviantART Gallery