kraiaKy [old]

Valcen maintains a bitter distance to anyone and anything, having slowly and methodically removed his need for anyone's praise (seeing as he's unlikely to ever get any) and embracing a scientific mindset cold enough to chill. The only one he allows guilt-tripping him about Anigi, without exception, is himself - anyone else will have the myth of his 'guilt' cynically deconstructed.

He lives on Zalaagra's worlds as someone who enjoys studying cultures by partaking in them as a sort of quiet, observant and nerdy character, all the while mostly ignoring their 'maker' (who tolerates his presence, chiefly out of confusion as to what else to do with him). He holds onto all Thread he comes across as a casual matter of course, deliberately going against the wide-spread opinion that he shouldn't have any. He's acquired quite the collection he beats over anyone's head that tries to take it from him. In that sense, he's the closest a Threadwielder can come to being an outlaw, passive title as that is.

He's not reluctant to use Thread - he would do so in a heartbeat, he's entirely aware of his own skill - but he's lost the drive to reshape the universe.

He has a tendency to play devil's advocate both in discussion and action until he runs out of steam. Asking him to help him (or trying to use reverse psychology to get him to help you, he's not stupid) is likely to end with him antagonising you for a while, at best 'to get a feel for the situation', at worst because he just honestly can't stand you trying to involve him in anything and would rather you regret it thoroughly.

Valcen tries not to have opinions on anyone or anything, perhaps with the exception of 'that smug asshole, Jeneth'. As far as he's concerned, a scornful hypothetical of “Jeneth systematically burning every Threadwielder world” would merely be the source of mild amusement - he'd not bat an eyelash if something of that magnitude occurred. Quite on the contrary, he might settle down somewhere nearby and take in the carnage calmly and chuckle a little.

Actual Threadwielder death or direct suffering is still something he's incapable of shutting himself off to - as long as it's hypothetical, he can ignore it, but if it becomes a rationally self-evident threat or something he actually witnesses, he'll have trouble resisting the urge to do something about it. At the end of the day, he has much more empathy for his fellow Threadwielders than he'd like.

Ordered roughly from positive to negative, Valcen…

• …appreciates that Zalaagra lets him be. He doesn't talk to her, though.
• …is deliberately, painfully neutral toward most other Threadwielders, including Evenatra.
• …hates Jeneth - albeit not as much as Jeneth hates him - and goes out of his way as much as pride allows.

If there's a single Threadwielder best-equipped with skill and knowledge to handle Thread, it's Valcen. Madjan might surpass him by experience alone, but since neither Threadwielder do much of anything with Thread any more, it's hard to say.

Valcen has kept out of mythology as much as he can, though his devil's advocate ways have earned him the occasional demi-god or demon status as a footnote in some culture.

…

By own claim, he just picks up whatever he finds most aesthetically pleasing at the time, but he hasn't budged much from his pick of a Ceratosaurus avatar since way back when he paid Nekenalos a passing visit out of equally passing curiosity. If it has a psychological relevance, it's totally lost to him and others - he certainly feels no urge to return there. He largely seems to be enjoying how it makes him not-quite-fit anywhere.