Name: Artashir Vardyan
Age/Sex: 33/Male
Birthday: 29th January
Blood Status: Pureblood
Wand: 11" willow, dragon heartstring
Teaches: Arithmancy
Family Members:
Father - Samson Tancredus (61)
Mother - Aruseak Hetumyan (59)
Sister - Erazik Vardyan (28)
Brother-in-Law - Kirakos Paroyryan (28)
Ward - Sancia de Bernart (15)
Personality: Artashir is a true product of his upbringing, filled with curiosity and a sense of wonder that has never left him, regardless of how many years have passed. Even from his childhood, he was fascinated by the world around him - especially the magical world - and so has become particularly inquisitive and sociable, especially when he has the opportunity to learn something new from someone with different experiences than him. He is a fairly intelligent man, and is usually at his happiest when he is either reading or having an intellectual debate.
Another thing that becomes evident in Artashir is his somewhat unexpected sense of loyalty; for a man who has never been one to stay in one place long without good reason, he is very easily attached to individuals. If someone is good to him, he will be good in return, and finds it easy to make friends. Of course, that can make him seem easy to manipulate, but he occasionally spends far too much time in his own mind to notice the downsides to it.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Artashir has a habit of getting carried away with ideas. He is a bit of a dreamer, and this can easily lead him to distraction and ideas far beyond possibility. While his dreams have taken him across the Mediterranean, he has also had a great deal of good luck, and cannot rely on that forever. It is also fairly easy to find him irritating, as he is never completely aware of when he should stop talking, especially if he has started talking about something he finds interesting.
History: Artashir was born in Dvin, one of the major trading centres of the Kingdom of Armenia. His father, Samson, was originally Frankish, and had travelled most of the known world as part of his trade; he had, however, settled in Dvin for longer than anywhere else, after marrying a local Armenian woman, Aruseak. Not long after their marriage, Artashir was born. When he was born, Artashir was known as Prankyan - the son of the Frank - but this nickname did not stick for long. When he was five, his parents had another child, this time a daughter they named Erazik. It was not long after her birth that Samson's trade took him away from Armenia, and he brought his family with him. They made the long journey south, stopping in Sivas, Aleppo, Homs, Damascus, and finally reached their destination: Tripoli.
The family settled into the Armenian community of Tripoli, in spite of Samson being Frankish. Both of Artashir's parents were wizards, and had kept it very private back home; however, in Tripoli, there was a more visible magical community, which they also played a significant role in. One part of this was having their children educated in magic. Amongst the merchant class, education was usually limited, but the tight-knit magical community made it much easier for merchants to access. One of the highlights of his education was mathematics, which was much more commonly taught in the Middle East, influenced by the Ancient Greek mathematicians. Even as a child, it fascinated Artashir.
Around the time he turned 14, Artashir's parents were offered an opportunity to have their son educated under Petros Gerasimou, a wizard who was fairly prominent within Tripoli's community. Artashir would spend four days a week with the wizard and a few other students, learning more in depth about magic. It was also under Petros' tutelage that he was introduced to the magical study of mathematics, arithmancy. While skilled at the magical disciplines - especially charms and transfiguration - the young man found himself fascinated by arithmancy and divination, though he was by no means close to being a seer.
When Artashir was nineteen, he had started to become restless. It was a trait he had inherited from his father, a permanent sense of wanderlust. While his mother did not like the idea of her son flying the coop so soon, Artashir found it difficult to resist the call to travel. Petros supported it, and had given him a list of places to go to, so that he could continue learning and make use of his gifts. And so, he boarded a ship destined for the island of Crete; his parents waved him off from the dock, and his life would never be the same. He managed to find his way to the wizarding quarter of Heraklion, where he found work with a healer, mostly to make sure he had a way of earning money.
He remained in Crete for a year, before moving on, now with experience as a healer. From Crete, he went to Sicily, setting himself up in Syracuse. Once again, he found work assisting a healer for the wizards of the city, which paid well enough. On the side, however, he began offering readings based on arithmancy, just to make a few extra coins whenever he needed them. He even used some of the most basic divination he could muster for Muggles, who always seemed content with the idea of a mystic from the East, though Artashir was far from a mystic. This was how he continued for the next few years - he left Syracuse after three years, spent a year in Cagliari, then a few months in Marseille, all the while relying on healing as a profession, and cheap arithmancy for extra coins.
It wasn't until Artashir reached Toulouse that he had the chance to properly settle into something that he had wanted for a very long time. While it took him a while to learn to speak Occitan, there were enough speakers of Frankish, Italian, and Greek to get by. He had enough money tucked away from his previous travels to keep himself comfortable enough while he searched for more work. This time, however, he did not need to find another healer or apothecary to lend his services to - he managed to find someone like Petros back in Tripoli, whose business was teaching wealthy magical children. He took on Artashir as an assistant, though Ugone did take an interest in his new assistant's studies of arithmancy. Finally, his passion was paying.
While he taught with Ugone, Artashir also had enough time to work on something that had been playing on his mind for a while. In his spare time, he began to write out a thesis, something that he hoped to one day present to someone with more experience than he. The thesis revolved around the importance of the number of syllables in incantations, and how that would impact spells and their effects. He wrote his first draft in his mother tongue, Armenian, though as he began to edit it, he began to write in Greek. It was while he was writing his first draft that he was approached by a merchant, Pelegrin de Bernart; he was a wizard, and wanted his daughter to be given a full education. Ugone had refused, not believing in the education of women, but Artashir had no such qualms. The amount Pelegrin was willing to pay him was enough to support him without working for Ugone. And so he took the job.
Artashir was given somewhere to stay in the de Bernart home, and he would spend five days a week teaching the young Vierna everything she needed, both mundane and magical. When he began working there, Artashir was 26, and Vierna was 13; she had no brothers, and so was being lined up to inherit her father's business, against all the odds. In between workdays, he continued to write his thesis, then rewrite, then rewrite again, until he was sure of its worth. However, he was not sure who to give it to, to prove it was worth anything. And so he continued to write more, eventually amassing a small pile of essays on all manner of subjects within arithmancy.
In time, Artashir also began tutoring Vierna's younger sister, Sancia. He became a close friend of Pelegrin's, and was almost treated like a member of the family. Perhaps if he had been braver, he would have tried to make something more of his friendship with the merchant, but Artashir had found Europeans were far less tolerant of men like him than those back in Tripoli. Regardless, Pelegrin was a friend for life, he could tell. When Vierna was eighteen, she was sent away to Barcelona, where she would marry a minor nobleman, leaving just Sancia. Pelegrin even offered to help make copies of his essays, and have them distributed to the greatest magical minds in Europe. That, however, was not to be.
Pelegrin had gotten into an argument with another merchant, and it had blossomed into a feud. One night, the two men began a duel. Pelegrin was killed. With his wife no longer alive, and Sancia's only family being Muggles, it turned out that the merchant had promised his daughter's care to her tutor. And so, overnight, his student became his ward. Artashir had no idea what to do, seeing as the family home was now in the name of Sancia's Muggle family. He had heard of a magical school being founded in Scotland, though had never had the opportunity to further investigate. However, that chance had arisen.
And so, with his new ward accompanying him, Artashir began the long journey north, with his pile of essays and his precious thesis safely in his bags.
Age/Sex: 33/Male
Birthday: 29th January
Blood Status: Pureblood
Wand: 11" willow, dragon heartstring
Teaches: Arithmancy
Family Members:
Father - Samson Tancredus (61)
Mother - Aruseak Hetumyan (59)
Sister - Erazik Vardyan (28)
Brother-in-Law - Kirakos Paroyryan (28)
Ward - Sancia de Bernart (15)
Personality: Artashir is a true product of his upbringing, filled with curiosity and a sense of wonder that has never left him, regardless of how many years have passed. Even from his childhood, he was fascinated by the world around him - especially the magical world - and so has become particularly inquisitive and sociable, especially when he has the opportunity to learn something new from someone with different experiences than him. He is a fairly intelligent man, and is usually at his happiest when he is either reading or having an intellectual debate.
Another thing that becomes evident in Artashir is his somewhat unexpected sense of loyalty; for a man who has never been one to stay in one place long without good reason, he is very easily attached to individuals. If someone is good to him, he will be good in return, and finds it easy to make friends. Of course, that can make him seem easy to manipulate, but he occasionally spends far too much time in his own mind to notice the downsides to it.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Artashir has a habit of getting carried away with ideas. He is a bit of a dreamer, and this can easily lead him to distraction and ideas far beyond possibility. While his dreams have taken him across the Mediterranean, he has also had a great deal of good luck, and cannot rely on that forever. It is also fairly easy to find him irritating, as he is never completely aware of when he should stop talking, especially if he has started talking about something he finds interesting.
History: Artashir was born in Dvin, one of the major trading centres of the Kingdom of Armenia. His father, Samson, was originally Frankish, and had travelled most of the known world as part of his trade; he had, however, settled in Dvin for longer than anywhere else, after marrying a local Armenian woman, Aruseak. Not long after their marriage, Artashir was born. When he was born, Artashir was known as Prankyan - the son of the Frank - but this nickname did not stick for long. When he was five, his parents had another child, this time a daughter they named Erazik. It was not long after her birth that Samson's trade took him away from Armenia, and he brought his family with him. They made the long journey south, stopping in Sivas, Aleppo, Homs, Damascus, and finally reached their destination: Tripoli.
The family settled into the Armenian community of Tripoli, in spite of Samson being Frankish. Both of Artashir's parents were wizards, and had kept it very private back home; however, in Tripoli, there was a more visible magical community, which they also played a significant role in. One part of this was having their children educated in magic. Amongst the merchant class, education was usually limited, but the tight-knit magical community made it much easier for merchants to access. One of the highlights of his education was mathematics, which was much more commonly taught in the Middle East, influenced by the Ancient Greek mathematicians. Even as a child, it fascinated Artashir.
Around the time he turned 14, Artashir's parents were offered an opportunity to have their son educated under Petros Gerasimou, a wizard who was fairly prominent within Tripoli's community. Artashir would spend four days a week with the wizard and a few other students, learning more in depth about magic. It was also under Petros' tutelage that he was introduced to the magical study of mathematics, arithmancy. While skilled at the magical disciplines - especially charms and transfiguration - the young man found himself fascinated by arithmancy and divination, though he was by no means close to being a seer.
When Artashir was nineteen, he had started to become restless. It was a trait he had inherited from his father, a permanent sense of wanderlust. While his mother did not like the idea of her son flying the coop so soon, Artashir found it difficult to resist the call to travel. Petros supported it, and had given him a list of places to go to, so that he could continue learning and make use of his gifts. And so, he boarded a ship destined for the island of Crete; his parents waved him off from the dock, and his life would never be the same. He managed to find his way to the wizarding quarter of Heraklion, where he found work with a healer, mostly to make sure he had a way of earning money.
He remained in Crete for a year, before moving on, now with experience as a healer. From Crete, he went to Sicily, setting himself up in Syracuse. Once again, he found work assisting a healer for the wizards of the city, which paid well enough. On the side, however, he began offering readings based on arithmancy, just to make a few extra coins whenever he needed them. He even used some of the most basic divination he could muster for Muggles, who always seemed content with the idea of a mystic from the East, though Artashir was far from a mystic. This was how he continued for the next few years - he left Syracuse after three years, spent a year in Cagliari, then a few months in Marseille, all the while relying on healing as a profession, and cheap arithmancy for extra coins.
It wasn't until Artashir reached Toulouse that he had the chance to properly settle into something that he had wanted for a very long time. While it took him a while to learn to speak Occitan, there were enough speakers of Frankish, Italian, and Greek to get by. He had enough money tucked away from his previous travels to keep himself comfortable enough while he searched for more work. This time, however, he did not need to find another healer or apothecary to lend his services to - he managed to find someone like Petros back in Tripoli, whose business was teaching wealthy magical children. He took on Artashir as an assistant, though Ugone did take an interest in his new assistant's studies of arithmancy. Finally, his passion was paying.
While he taught with Ugone, Artashir also had enough time to work on something that had been playing on his mind for a while. In his spare time, he began to write out a thesis, something that he hoped to one day present to someone with more experience than he. The thesis revolved around the importance of the number of syllables in incantations, and how that would impact spells and their effects. He wrote his first draft in his mother tongue, Armenian, though as he began to edit it, he began to write in Greek. It was while he was writing his first draft that he was approached by a merchant, Pelegrin de Bernart; he was a wizard, and wanted his daughter to be given a full education. Ugone had refused, not believing in the education of women, but Artashir had no such qualms. The amount Pelegrin was willing to pay him was enough to support him without working for Ugone. And so he took the job.
Artashir was given somewhere to stay in the de Bernart home, and he would spend five days a week teaching the young Vierna everything she needed, both mundane and magical. When he began working there, Artashir was 26, and Vierna was 13; she had no brothers, and so was being lined up to inherit her father's business, against all the odds. In between workdays, he continued to write his thesis, then rewrite, then rewrite again, until he was sure of its worth. However, he was not sure who to give it to, to prove it was worth anything. And so he continued to write more, eventually amassing a small pile of essays on all manner of subjects within arithmancy.
In time, Artashir also began tutoring Vierna's younger sister, Sancia. He became a close friend of Pelegrin's, and was almost treated like a member of the family. Perhaps if he had been braver, he would have tried to make something more of his friendship with the merchant, but Artashir had found Europeans were far less tolerant of men like him than those back in Tripoli. Regardless, Pelegrin was a friend for life, he could tell. When Vierna was eighteen, she was sent away to Barcelona, where she would marry a minor nobleman, leaving just Sancia. Pelegrin even offered to help make copies of his essays, and have them distributed to the greatest magical minds in Europe. That, however, was not to be.
Pelegrin had gotten into an argument with another merchant, and it had blossomed into a feud. One night, the two men began a duel. Pelegrin was killed. With his wife no longer alive, and Sancia's only family being Muggles, it turned out that the merchant had promised his daughter's care to her tutor. And so, overnight, his student became his ward. Artashir had no idea what to do, seeing as the family home was now in the name of Sancia's Muggle family. He had heard of a magical school being founded in Scotland, though had never had the opportunity to further investigate. However, that chance had arisen.
And so, with his new ward accompanying him, Artashir began the long journey north, with his pile of essays and his precious thesis safely in his bags.
