VERITY, duke briar

NAME: haniel -- an archangel who guards the tree of life
SPECIES: gardevoir
GENDER: male
TYPE: psychic - fairy
ABILITY: trace
EGGS & TMS: destiny bond
PERSONALITY: once his mother's pokemon, haniel was passed down to briar after her death. haniel has become a second mother to him, despite being a male pokemon. he is just as motherly and protective over him as any mother would their child, turning into quite the fussy mother bear whenever he sees fit. haniel worries constantly over briar, following him wherever he goes to make sure he does not get into trouble.


NAME: karael -- angel who has the power to thwart demons
SPECIES: granbull
GENDER: male
TYPE: fairy
ABILITY: intimidate
EGGS & TMS: metronome
PERSONALITY: his father's pokemon, karael may not seem like much of a guard dog. in fact, the poor pokemon is afraid of his own shadow! he can barely even look at his own reflection without his intimidation ability scaring him half to death. he does find his courage when there is trouble at hand, swallowing his fears in order to live up to his full potential. otherwise, he just hides behind briar after barking at whatever scared him.


NAME: uriel - great archangel whose name means "God is my light."
SPECIES: togetic
GENDER: female
TYPE: fairy - flying
ABILITY: serene grace
EGGS & TMS: future sight
PERSONALITY: originally a togepi given to him when he was around eleven, uriel is a cheerful togetic who can barely seem to read the atmosphere. she keeps a smile on her face and hates to see frowns on the faces of others. she seems to be denser than the rest of briar's pokemon, especially when it comes to stranger danger, but she means well.

briar can be described as an innocent, if not pure, soul. growing up in the church has caused him to see a brighter side to life, picking out the good in everything and dismissing the bad. he sees the light rather than the dark. his view on the world is one not seen in many people, especially one that has grown up in a very conservative church. somehow, he has been able to retain his childish innocence, even when the priests he grew up with tell him to scorn certain people and to detest certain pokemon. he tries his hardest to view all as equals, and he tries very, very hard not to think ill on anyone. of course, being human, even he has his own moments of judgement. he's quick to pray for forgiveness from Lord Arceus as soon as he can, though.

despite how 'pure' his soul may be, he has been psychologically scarred by losing his parents at such a young age. he is emotionally closed off, and he does not allow anyone to really, truly get close to him. the true reasoning behind this is unknown, but some theories from the priest who has been giving him therapy sessions since he was small thinks that it might be a way of keeping himself from getting hurt even more. the less people he truly cares for, then the less it hurts when they are gone. while he doesn't try to purposefully and bluntly push people away, he does have his more obvious moments of doing so. this includes cutting off all communication with them for a period of time, often times so he can get his thoughts straight.

briar is known around the church as the little duke, as they so fondly refer to him as. he has quite a good relationship with just about every priest, nun, etc. he has met within the church. he treats them with the same amount of respect, and he never tries to get on their bad sides. briar loves to listen to the priests' sermons. he loves to be part of the church's choir and sing praises to their great lord arceus. he is even known to attend any funerals held at the main cathedral, paying his respects to those he has never even met before. if there's anything he has never liked, it would be seafood. he cannot stomach seafood no matter what, especially if the chef decides to leave the eyes/head.

born with a silver spoon in his mouth, it is almost unheard of someone of nobility turning out to be so... so pure. well, it probably helps that he did not have that silver spoon long enough to get attached.

born into the house of verity (which noble ranking will be decided later), briar started out with maids and other servants waiting on his every movement. from the start, he had people flanking him, making sure he was well, clean, and entertained. it was overbearing for the young child, but he didn't seem to mind it too much. what made the long days better came towards the end of the day when he was able to see his parents, who worked long hours on business and political matters. the single hour he had with them to when they would tuck him into bed made his waiting worthwhile.

his small moments of happiness did not last long as, at only the age of five, his parents were taken from him. they died in a car crash, though some suspect foul play. briar thought everyone was pulling a prank on him, that his parents would wake up any moment now. oh, how he was wrong. they had to pull him away from their graves as their caskets were lowered into the ground. he wept for days while the adults figured out the official business. in his parents' will, they made everything very clear. the entire estate, family fortune, and business would be given to briar on the night of his eighteenth birthday, on the exact moment he was born--11:15p.m. of december 25th. his parents' title, however, was already placed upon the boy the moment they died.

another key detail in their will was that briar was to be raised in the church. the boy, only at the age of five years, was to be raised in the church of phoenix, to learn their ways and to grow up in a stable environment. so, he left the estate behind to be kept by the maids, servants, and the butler until he turned eighteen. away to the main cathedral of the church of phoenix he went, leaving behind his life of luxury for a more simple, humble style of living. he was welcomed in with open arms.

during his time in the church, briar had to go to countless therapy sessions with the high priest of the church. they said it was because losing his parents at such a young age might leave psychological issues, and they wanted to make sure nothing of the like formed for the young boy. as far as they could tell, nothing did. once he had accepted the fact that his parents were 'in a better place', he was able to quickly move on with his life. though, they did notice that he had become rather... emotionally closed off, for whatever reason. he wouldn't let very many people into his heart, something that has yet to ease up.

growing up in the church has drastically changed how he viewed the world. he started seeing so much light in the world around him, even as wars, abuse, and famine raged on. he started partaking in various church activities, traveling with the priests for missionary work and observing them as they performed duties only they could do. he even joined the church's choir, finding that he had one helluva voice (not that he would use that term, of course). now, with a life dedicated to lord arceus, his eighteenth birthday is the last thing on his mind, but that doesn't mean he hasn't been reminded on several occasions.