Víðarr Hróðvitnir
UNDERSTANDING THE SURVIVOR OF CALAMITY
PERSONALITY
Víðarr Hróðvitnir has never lived an easy life. One might even say that the Hyuran half-breed had lived a life filled with strife, grief, and many burdens that overcome most men. However, Víðarr Hróðvitnir may differ in opinion. Víðarr Hróðvitnir believes that through his long years of hardship, misfortune, and failures; that an invaluable gift of resilience was bequeathed onto him.Víðarr Hróðvitnir learned from the beginning of his youth, the qualities that ultimately defined an exceptional leader but he had not realized the importance of this inherited wisdom until he lived to see himself thrive through its guidance. The tribulations he endured are not a shame on his legacy but a proud honor that he carries with him in the many traits that define who he is.Víðarr Hróðvitnir has learned acceptance. To make peace with fate that remains outside of one's control but he has also learned courage; to proudly oppose controversy and adversity for the sake of his passions and beliefs.What defines Víðarr Hróðvitnir, is not merely his wisdom but how he employs it through his own humility to nurture qualities of integrity, self-awareness, courage, respect, empathy, and gratitude. All vital qualities of a leader, father, and lover.
INTEGRITY
Víðarr Hróðvitnir's mentors engrained in him since his youth the importance of integrity. Remaining loyal to one's convictions and beliefs. It is never wrong to be committed to a friend or beloved but Víðarr Hróðvitnir learned from his time in slavery to never dismiss his own values for the sake of others. To take pride in the life he lives and fend for his own happiness as much as others. Integrity is not merely reliant on honesty and valued respect of others but of one's self as well. After loyally serving his dominus as an indoctrinated gladiator, Víðarr Hróðvitnir was forced to admit the flaw in his service to his dominus.He compromised the teachings of his mentor's tutelage, disregarded his faith, dismissed the atrocities of slavery, to assimilate and find contentment in an unforgiving position. He became the champion of the arena to ease his burdens but only discovered that more troubles were earned by tethering himself more closely to the world that sought to change him against his better judgement.After losing three lovers in the traumatic events of oppression from within the politics of slavery to serve another's ambitions; Víðarr Hróðvitnir was granted the revelation of self-preservation and the need to salvage his own ambitions from the destruction of another's greed. This would eventually inspire him to lead a rebellion against his masters in hopes of obtaining a future where he could choose the terms of the life he lived. Even though he had obtained legal freedom, he was never truly free of his servitude. Not until he claimed his life for himself.
SELF-AWARENESS
Having experienced war on many fronts. Not merely in the battlefield but within the political bouts of family, territory, industry, capitalism, religion, and all the likes. Víðarr Hróðvitnir would eventually understand that importance of choosing one's battles rather than eagerly attempting to overcome any and all disagreements through force or lack there of strategy. Víðarr Hróðvitnir's wisdom is cultivated from this revelation, to become aware of one's self as one is of others. To not be distracted by the immediate threats but the future dangers that could be avoid by skillful maneuvering of the present.Víðarr Hróðvitnir now focuses the remainder of his life attempting to perfect the wisdom of perceptiveness. Being aware of himself and others; analyzing each situation with critical thought, restraint, composure. A wise man listens more, speaks less; Víðarr Hróðvitnir has become less vocal and more intuitive to the events that unfold around and within him. Sometimes one's greatest enemy can be themselves but if one's flaws and failures are confessed, themself can also become their most faithful ally. This is why Víðarr Hróðvitnir strives for inner peace, to become his greatest asset in the challenges to come.
COURAGE
Courage is often defined by one's capacity to confront perceived threats despite fearing them. Víðarr Hróðvitnir from early youth was encouraged onto the path of a warrior. Courage was necessary to survive and to thrive in battle. In his adolescence, it was what he believed, was all that he would ever need to overcome any obstacle. Víðarr Hróðvitnir thought that his courage would suffice to bring him his fulfillment in life. The courage to have embraced the adversities of his challenges and to fulfill his current purpose in youth.Only after he accomplished the glory he envisioned did he understand that courage was more than confrontation and acceptance, it was understanding. Courage can be defined by submission, defiance, acceptance, or rejection. Having the wisdom to properly choose when to accept the outcomes presented before us may often lead a path with lesser tribulations to surmount on the presently endured. Having the wisdom to properly choose when to oppose the challenges that threaten to unmake the prosperity we thrive in may lead to a future in where one retains greater earnings than what they originally owned.Víðarr Hróðvitnir learned harmony, one must equally know when to do nothing and when to do something. However, both nothing and something are equally terrifying and this is when one must have the courage to accept the results of what decision they believe is best. Perhaps if Víðarr Hróðvitnir had done nothing when he had the choice to walk away from contests with those of greater means, he could have salvaged the few beloved friends and memorable loved ones, he could have avoided a treacherous history of pain and suffering that came after he claimed he fought an unnecessary battle only to ultimately lose.
RESPECT
A warrior's greatest weakness can be the one that they make for themselves. Many exceptional men have fallen due to their own arrogance and this pride can be the undoing of many who refuse to dismiss the notion that their life is infallible to change outside their own command.Víðarr Hróðvitnir's indoctrination into slavery after the pinnacle of his success, after achieving vengeance for his family name, was a bitter reality to accept. His pride made him reluctant to retreat against unfavorable odds, his lack of respect for his competition clouded his judgement and allowed him to disregard the damage that could be done by unskilled pirates and hapless enemies who were dwindling in battle.However, in the end; he was a slave. Too great a warrior to fall in battle? Too honorable to retreat from a losing outcome? All the result of disrespect.Víðarr Hróðvitnir learned in slavery nothing short of full humility. His pride was doused with the chilling realization of expendability, vulnerability, and the need of others. Not every battle could be won by vigorous courage and spite or superior skill for bloodshed.This humility taught Víðarr Hróðvitnir to not only expand on his personal talents but to increase he avenue of skills to overcome glaring weaknesses. He didn't merely need to improve his physical limitations but his mental restraints as well. He was young and naïve and humility offered him the means of adaptation.He lost the conceited nature to view man beneath him but to see even the most docile and least likely threat as an equal danger or asset.
EMPATHY
His years as a warrior, a gladiator, or even a barbarian, did not teach him empathy. He learned many things, even how to manipulate, to be conscious of his actions, but empathy was something he lacked.Empathy can prevent many catastrophes simply through acknowledgement that a catastrophe could occur because of indifference. Because Víðarr Hróðvitnir had never been shown true empathy outside of his love ones who were now deceased; he was incapable of exhibiting it, knowing how to utilize it.After severing his relation to the past ludus and the tyranny of his former masters, reconvening with a life of his origins, Víðarr Hróðvitnir had the rare opportunity to continue experiencing the longevity of life. Though his sins were not forgotten and he was imprisoned. Before the day of execution; he was offered a means to live.Many if not all with lesser records of criminal affairs were executed the day after; sentenced to death for their crimes. However, tale of his slavery, word of his years lost in the schemes of greedily ambitious masters, and his rebellion to reclaim his freedom had reached the commandant that led the effort to dismantle the insurgences that constantly plagued villages similar to those Víðarr Hróðvitnir had taken part in pillaging.The commandant confessed that the story of Víðarr Hróðvitnir was a sad and pitiful one; a man with such promise degraded into a mere mongrel. A warrior who slayed dozens of trained knights before capture and imprisonment, was sentenced to death. A man like Víðarr Hróðvitnir would only come once every so many years and they were often lost from true potential or great changes for one reason or another.However, this commandant showed empathy that Víðarr Hróðvitnir had done everything and anything necessary to survive. Víðarr Hróðvitnir's travels were closely monitored after the killing of his slave masters and the continued siege on local estates to free other human merchandise from their masters. Even his escapades as a barbarian in his homeland didn't go unnoticed. The commandant understood the need to adapt and to make use of any and every opportunity to see tomorrow. Though, right now - tomorrow was no longer an option, not until the commandant admitted that their only reason for speaking with Víðarr Hróðvitnir before execution was to offer a choice.Empathizing with Víðarr Hróðvitnir's struggle as not some common murderer, thief, or pillager, but a man of circumstance; the commandant offered Víðarr Hróðvitnir the choice to enlist in the knight's academy, be reindoctrinated into civilization, and serve Eorzea in its time of need or die tomorrow. It wasn't much of a choice some might say? But the commandant understood Víðarr Hróðvitnir more than Víðarr Hróðvitnir would admit. The commandant was once like Víðarr Hróðvitnir and was a man of circumstance. He knew that tomorrow during execution Víðarr Hróðvitnir would most likely attempt an escape but he warned that the effort would be pointless. He knows because he tried when he was in the same position as Víðarr Hróðvitnir, a criminal with a history of long lasting troubles.Víðarr Hróðvitnir reflected on this conversation and decided to accept the offer if not for its benefits but for the necessity of adaptation and survival. The empathy displayed to him that day was a mercy that he would share with any he ever later encountered as the unfortunate.
GRATITUDE
The years in the military were not easy but they taught him gratitude. He learned to appreciate his comrades as much as the opportunity he was given to change. For once in his life, since he left home, he could rely on others to safeguard his failings with their talents with honest motives.Gratitude taught him the importance of being recognized because while he was thankful for his time in the military, the military was grateful for his commitments. The neglect of gratitude can fester jealous, greedy, contempt, all which nulifies comradery and cohesion.Recognizing the success of all contributions to ends met, preserves trust and faculties of devotion to the objective. Víðarr Hróðvitnir learned through the politics of the military and his association with governing affiliates; that gratitude can be a cure for the ailments of division. When controversy thrives and plants the seeds of prejudice, reminding each other of one another's value can restore appreciation for differing ideals and salvage a terminal outcome from full degeneration.