Clover Vines

Biography
Background:

Clover Vines is the daughter of Eadric and Clematis Vines, both of whom represent the Lords of Trade presiding over a very wealthy wine and grape trade. As with most Lords of Trade families, the Vines mostly survived the wars that ravaged the land of Oválll without loss. Despite the prestigious of Clover's name and the typical lifestyle the comes with being an only daughter within a Lords of Trade family, Clover has sought out a life of studies. Clover is the final student of the famous Archmage Svle Nyota before his death. A very outgoing, strong minded, and, self determined individual, Clover rose to be Nyota's personal assistant and became his protégée at a young age. During the final years of the third war of The Three it was Clover along with Pañzy Breeze, Shéo Bleakly and several members of the Flúry Fasá that played a pivotal role in find a safe passage into the new land of Artésque. Despite Clover's quick rise to prominence within her school of Márjx and for carving out a rather recognizable name for herself, Clover has never officially rose above the statues of ''Twift-Apartie (two years of experience within a school of magic). ''Even still, Clover's continued success and experience both with magic and with aiding in her master's efforts as Archmage proved invaluable. With the death of Svle Nyota within book five Clover finally graduated from her previous rank, and was officially titled a Master of Álter Márjx by the newly crowned Sóltina. A title that never has been adopted by Clover herself, along with many of her other titles.  

Personality:

As a very outgoing, strong minded, and, self determined individual Clover has exhibited a very strong smart aleck type of attitude. A bit brash at times, Clover has frequently shown that she cares little for how her words may affect others if she feels as though her thoughts are justified. While very humble in how she carries herself, almost never introducing herself as via a title or even by her families' last name, Clover has been known to use her advanced schooling to trick or disable people within a conversation. It has also been shown that Clover has a strong sense of duty, going to far as to put her own life at risk several times over if she feels it to be necessary. Despite Clover's outgoing personality, it has been shown several times within the series that Clover frequently experiences bouts of self exile.

Family:

Clover In Detail
Clover throughout the series seems to embody two very different personalities. While always quick to speak her mind and do what needs to be done, Clover has been shown to be deal with daily life very poorly. Blessed with a sharp mind, Clover is quick to solve most problems, typically going with only the most logical solution beyond her own emotions. Yet, a true lack of self worth has been shown it comes to decisions involving her well being. While Clover has proven herself to be a very capable master of spells, her official schooling was dedicated to that of Álter Márjx. A school typically engaged with solving problems via the manipulation of natural magic and the use of redirecting or redirecting existing magic for specific purpose. While Álter Márjx has its own set of offensives and defensive spells, its core has always been in manipulation of environment and existing magic. Because of this, Clover's own capabilities in combat are highly dependent on the creature or opponent she verses. Despite this, Clover has frequently put herself in harms way just to prove something.

With the series this problem is addressed at first as being a some type of Hero Complex, that Clover does what she does because she wishes to achieve what her Master has achieved. Yet, upon the death of Nyota it is revealed that Clover has done what she did not for her own gains but rather as an escape. It is raveled that Clover has been promised to another Lord of Trade family once she her schooling has been completed. Clover has since rejected the traditional life of an Únoff, yet is unwilling to verbally or physically affect change beyond stalling her own completion of school. In book seven, Clover states very plainly that she would rather die than spend her life as a married Lord of Trade, as she would be unable to peruse her life of adventuring. It is also revealed in book seven that she has been actively attempting to kill herself via starvation and by taking on challenge she is unready for. Though, her personal attempts at suicide are rather sporadic and hardly ever planned out; Clover off course addresses this fact by stating she wishes not to bring shame on her name, yet still actively peruses tasks in place of Nyota, far out of her league.

Clover's has also exhibited several problems with her father. While it is shown in the series that Eadric views his daughter's achievements very highly, he still firmly believes it is the duty of his daughter to marry into another, more wealthy family to bring both houses together. It has also been hinted at numerous times that Clover and her father's relationship even at a young age was very different than that of Eadric and her brother. As Clover has said, she always saw herself as something to barter with rather than as a member of the family. Clover's relationship with her mother also seems rather distant, as the two hardly hold conversations beyond that of a friendly greeting. Of course, this has changed with the events of book nine.

Throughout the series Clover has also been shown to deal with down time rather poorly. Before living in Artésque Clover lived within the Capital city of Únoff with her Master, Nyota. Yet, with the land still being settled and only the essential buildings being erected within the short years before the books take place Clover found herself living somewhere else. Interestingly, Clover elected not to live within the new Capital, instead finding her home within a small, Dẃoff town (VéturVill). It has been hinted at that Clover made this decision because she felt living close to Nyota, though not being around him all time as she had been was not sufficiently to her liking. Of course, Nyota states that he sent her away to ensure she met someone before he died and to "give him some free time" (book two).

Clover's circle of friends as shown within the books is rather small, despite her popularity, Clover seems to only truly have three friends, Bella Gems, Elva Breeze, Gwendy, and her adoptive brother Reynard. The close circle however seems to have done little to improve her social life though as Clover typically avoids events within the town. Clover's lack of marry-time appearance however does influence her to lead a hermit lifestyle. In actuality, Clover has made quite a name for herself within the town, she has protected the town on several occasions, happily provides access to the collection of books she owns as a student of Márjx for extra money, helps with legal documents in the Town Hall, and even helps maintain the various magical enchantments around town. Yet, the reason for this seems to be Clover's inability to settle down, while unable to adventure out of fear of missing Master Nyota's call, Clover finds anything and everything within VéturVill to keep herself occupied. This of course proves to be a problem, as Clover finds herself overwhelmed and constantly stressed. Interestingly, when forced to give up on some of these stressful jobs Clover sinks into bouts of depression, typically invoking intense feelings of fear about her perceived inevitable future as a married women to Lothario Faróuk.

Stress and fear runs Clover's life when not in control of her environment or adventuring. Because of this, Clover plans her days out to ensure all moments of the day are filled, even going so far as to reshelve her personal library several times a week just to ensure her mind is kept at bay. While Clover's circle of friends attempt to pull her from her routines, Clover has been shown within the books to frequently lie about her day to ensure she avoids conversations with those who care more for her well-being. Along with this rejection of those closest to her, Clover has been shown to frequently not care about her appearance and generally respond very negative to comments about her appearance, going so far as to even argue with those who complement her.

Clover's bouts of self hatred and fear of shaming her family's name reached the extremes after her Master died and she became pregnant with her secret "lover" Preston's child. Clover actively hide this information form Preston and began consciously starving herself in an attempt to kill her baby. Clover also accepted numerous and dangerous task by Princess Sóltina, one of which resulted in Clover receiving server frostbite, loosing her left ear, and even her eye-sight. While her eye-sight was eventually restored via magic, this stands as just one of the many times Clover as put herself in harms way and actually been hurt. Other instances have occurred in book two when she received a scar on her right arm after a battle, and book six to seven when she was put into a coma after attempting a spell far beyond her reach.

Close Relationships:
Svle Nyota: 

Master Nyota takes on a very different role for Clover than just a teacher. Throughout the series both at the current moment and well before the time of Artésque, Nyota has been like a father to Clover. While never over stepping his role as her Master, Nyota has been shown to give strict rules for Clover, rules that has always expected his young student to follow. While it has never said Nyota saw in Clover some innate talent for magic, it has been said that Nyota saw in her a great need for emotion management. As with all magic with the world of the series, magic is controlled via one's thoughts and emotions. As Nyota has said, with too much thought comes little power, with too little thought comes danger. Being far older than Clover, Nyota has learned much in the ways of magic, yet despite his age, Nyota typically has been depicted as the one willing to try new things and meet new people, whereas Clover tends to be more goal oriented. This love of life and desire to see others grow has done much for Clover, and intern has come back to Nyota. As shown within book one, Master Nyota has begun to loose his mind, perhaps showing the first stages of Dementia despite this fact, Clover has done her best to ensure her master is mentally able to do what he has always done. Years of encouragement and consent pushing has made Clover the capable apprentice of magic she has been. Yet, as evident from book one to Nyota's death, the deteriorating faculties of her master has had a profound impact on Clover's outlook and personality. Even up to the last few moments however, Clover and Nyota's relationship was very strong, both willing to do what they needed to protect the other, with Nyota making the ultimate sacrifice to ensure his student's well-being. A decision, sadly, that has only compounded Clover's bleak outlook of herself.

Clover's Parents:

While Eadric and Clover have had far more notable interactions than Clover and her mother, it is still best to view their relationship with their daughter as a whole. For Clover and Clematis, the care for one another, though neither have been shown to go out of their way to do much for each other. With the death of Eadric in book nine however, it has been shown that Clover's relationship with her mother has begun to improve. Eadric on the other, while shown to be at least proud of his daughter's achievements, has shown little interest in her desire to break tradition or for her to remain a master of Márjx. It is obvious through Clover and her parent's interactions that they are a very traditional Lord of Trade family. Yet, despite this, Clover has stated numerously both in person and within her personal journals (book seven) that she deeply wishes to please her parents and that she completely accepts her responsibility to join two families together. Though, she is not beyond stalling this process as much as she is able to get away with. It is hinted at throughout the series when Clover interacts with various Dẃoffs that her families' influence has had a lasting affect on her. While not outright a bigot, Clover has exhibited the tendency to reject Dẃoff ideals as "uneducated" (book four). Being that their lifestyle and ideas have affect her, it seems that Clover's biggest issue with her parents is a complex mixture of wanting their approval, while also not wanting to bring shame on her house.

Elden & Cherisa:

Despite the distant relationship Clover has with her family, her relationship with her brother and her brother's wife is rather good. Elden, being Clover's older brother exhibits similar qualities as his sister, albeit without the questioning of his role in life. In book three, when Elden is first introduced, it is stated that he was the captain of a local guard within the city of BalláVill, the city where is wife's family is Lord of Trade. Of course, when Elden is met within the series it is after Princess Clarity has been exiled and dethroned. With a new ruler in power, all those put in power under the last crown were replaced, of these people Stone Hooves, the Captain of the Royal Guard was demoted, and replaced with Elden. While nothing is clearly stated about how Elden rose to such a position and at such a young age two things can be implied. First, that Elden was able to achieve this statues through his wife and his previous status. Or, due to Elden's own efforts as Clover had. The books, again do not say, though it seems implied that the first option may have been the main reason for Elden's rise to power. Then again, it may also have to do with his relationship as Clover's brother, as Princess Sóltina frequently worked with both her and Nyota.

Whatever the reason, Elden seems to follow his parent's ideals very closely, sticking closely with traditional and what the Únoff ways have always deem appropriate. With this said, Clover and Elden's relationship seems to be rather undamaged. While, Elden does make several attempts to persuade his sister from her current path in life, even within the series, he does stand by her decision and ultimately side with her desires. Of course, this only occurs after the events of book nine (see Elden's page for more detail).

Earlier books showcase Elden's personality and actions towards his sister as that of a caring and supportive brother. Books with the middle of the series show Elden and Clover's relationship begin to deteriorate, as Clover's continued desire to put herself in harm's way became clear to Elden. Of course, this period of decline was short lived as tragedy befell their house and the two siblings found strength in one another once more (see Elden's page for more detail).

Cherisa and Clover's relationship is rather vague, as most interactions between the two are in passing. Cherisa much like Clover, is a very goal originated person, though instead of adventures and magic, her passion is in commutation and trade deals between the various holds. It is unknown if she was brought in under Sóltina, though she has seen a rise in diplomatic tasks under Sóltina.

Clover has often said that she enjoys Cherisa's company, though it is also implied that Cherisa is not the brightest of individuals, which does seem to deter Clover from having lengthy conversations with her. Even still, Cherisa and Clover have a very good relationship.

As with both Clover's parents and Clover's brother, she did not mention them before their appearances within the books. She also fails to properly introduce them to Preston upon meeting them (Preston being the POV of the stories).

Reynard:

Being a fróx, Reynard and Clover's relationship as brother and sister is rather strange. While nothing it wrong with having a fróx as a pet within Únoff society, when one begins to treat said pet as an equal eyebrows begin to raise. Even still, Reynard and Clover's relationship is perhaps on par with that of Clover and Nyota's. Clover met Reynard during an adventure with Nyota some time during the time of the Oválll. It was stated in book two that Reynard's egg was found in a smash nest, fearing that it was abandoned, Clover convinced Nyota into letting her keep the egg. It is implied however, that while Clover cared for the egg, she at the time lived with here parents, as Clover's mother seems to care for Reynard during their visits. Either way, for the last few years leading up to where the first book takes place, it seems that Reynard and Clover have lived together. Their relationship, while brother and sister styled, does tend to boarder on a pseudo mother-son relationship. Both care deeply for one another, though Reynard's child-like ignorance seems to keep him from truly comprehend Clover's problems. Even still, Reynad does his best to help Clover any way he can, Clover in turn, tends to do her best to keep her emotions in check around Reynard.

Bella Gems:

Being one of the few friends Clover actively trust, Bella and Clover's relationship has blossomed over the course of the series. While it is noted that their relationship started off purely as a business relationship, being that Bella is the only Únoff clothing tailor, designer, and seller in Clover's small town. This customer/seller relationship however changed predominantly through Bella's doing as she actively began to persuade Clover to become the face of her designs when outside of the town. In typically Únoff fashion, Bella saw Clover's status as a way to increase her own recognized and business within the Únoff communities around the area. After years of friendly interactions however, Bella began prompting Clover to open up more, something that eventually led to their current relationship now. While it is still true that their interactions are still limited to when one or the other wants/needs something. In later books, this has prompted a closer relationship as Clover has found herself asking Bella to look after Reynard more often. Bella's cheerful personality and gift of gab however has been able to convince Clover to take time off from her busy schedule.

While Bella and Clover's relationship is beneficial, it has been shown that Clover often questions Bella's friendship as she knows it began mostly from Bella's desire to grow her business. Beyond this, Clover has admitted in book two that she is jealous of Bella's easy life, being that she has gloated numerous times about her various mates, and about how free she is to do what she wants with her life. While Bella and her family seems to not be in the upper echelons of Únoff society, it seems strange how often Bella seems to talk about her encounters with members of the opposite sex with Clover, as it should be common knowledge that daughters of Lords of Trade are promised to be wed at a young age. Of course, Bella may not know this, or it may be due to the fact that before Clover came to the town there had been very few upper echelon Únoffs in town, meaning Bella's clients would have been lower Únoff and Dẃoff patrons, of whom may have enjoyed sharing such gossip. Clover has also stated that she is jealous of how Bella looks, believing that she could never be as proper as she is. Despite this, Bella may in fact be one of the few characters within Clover's relationships who actually sees that Clover has problems.

Elva Breeze:

While Bella is a figure of friendly compassion for Clover, Elva is a figure of reason. Being that the Flóff care little for dealing with emotional problems, Clover and Elva's relationship tends to blossom only with concerns of actual importance. Elva, being the half-sister of Pañzy, and knowing that Pañzy and Clover have known one another for some time, would have most likely been the first person to know Clover when she moved to the small town of VéturVill. The interactions between the two seem to mimic a relationship between two liaisons, often with their conversations being short and to the point. Though their meetings are short lived, Elva does bring a sense of strong convection to Clover's life. Evla, being a very well recognized figure in Flóff circles is in many ways, the winged version of Clover. Of course, Elva is older and tends to show very little in the way of faults, Elva still relates to Clover's goal originated life style. It has been said in book two that Elva taught Clover how to use a blade, a skill typically that goes unlearned for most Únoff students of magic. It is also obvious that Elva admirers Clover for what she had done, in turn, Clover too acknowledged the amazing feats Elva has accomplished. Their relationship tends to be a bit competitive, at least for Elva, though it still remains beneficial for both (See Elva Breeze for extension).

Princess Sóltina:

With Master Nyota dead, Princess Sóltina took on the role as Clover's mentor, at least unofficially. Being that Sóltina is both Princess and devún, Clover takes every meeting with her very seriously. While their relationship is somewhat one-side, with Clover becoming Sóltina's errand girl, Sóltina does provide an outlet for Clover's urges to adventure and continue what Master Nyota started. Of course, their relationship begins to strain after the events of book nine (see Sóltina's page for more information).

Lothario Faróuk:

Lothario is Clover's Fiándyo (planned fiancé) while neither two have had a meeting lasting longer than a few hours within the books, it is strongly implied that the two at least know one another through their families. For instance, Clover's father reference's spending time with Lothario many times through the series, even when he is not present. While Lothario does his best to treat Clover with respect, the bottom line is that neither one truly knows one another, yet Lothario expects Clover to act as his wife. Clover, while she does little to state her discontent with Lothario does not reject her future role, and reluctantly accepted it as something unavoidable.

Preston Armor:

Being that Preston takes the main role through the series as the POV, everything that is known about Clover is through Preston's interpretation, knowledge, and conversations with her. Their relationship, as a result is one of the most complex within the series and perhaps one of the most important driving point within the series. To summarize their relationship without spoilers, here is the following. Preston, a newly arrived Mortóff (mortal of Éordiarx's siblings) is stuck with Clover after the events of book one until Nyota can find a way for both him and his brother to go home. Being that Clover typically does not open herself up to individuals so quickly their relationship starts off rather poorly, as Preston quickly beings to feel as an unwanted house guest. Yet, under the direction of Nyota, Clover's responsibility is to keep Preston safe and learn what she can about him and his world. The forced relationship they begin to form starts off as nothing more than another task for Clover, yet eventually they become friends. Clover, typically the negative within their friendship finds some balance with Preston's more upbeat attitude. Preston, being a person or morals and wishing to repay everything both Clover and Nyota have done for him finds himself looking out for Clover as much as she looks out for him. After a shared near death experience within book two, the couple shares an intimate night in which their relationship quickly takes several drastic steps forward the two become lovers of sorts. Of course, it is revealed within book four that Clover truly has no feelings for Preston, and that their romance has been nothing more than Shár, a type of stress relief practiced by Únoff as sex beyond marriage is typically frowned upon unless the individual seeking it is of great important. From this, their relationship enters into a period of regret and self doubt as Preston gave up his opportunity to return home for Clover.

During this decline, Nyota dies and once more Preston and Clover's relationship is rekindled from another spark of emotions. Yet, with Nyota dead and Clover's schooling now complete the question of when her arranged marriage should take place forces another divide, as Preston finds out about Clover's arranged marriage. Their fighting prompts another downward spiral for Clover, who eventually hurts herself and is placed into a coma. Once out, their relationship seems to reset at being friends; though Preston now bitter and spiteful over how Clover treat both him and herself. Despite his protest and the request of Clover's family to get marriage early, she continues to quest for the Princess in Nyota's absence. After another close call, it is revealed that Clover is pregnant, a fact that she has both hide from Preston and has been actively trying to change. With yet another downward spiral in their relationship the two find themselves at rock bottom, yet due to their situation, they find strength in one another.

While it has become clear to both by book nine that neither is truly willing to leave the other, their relationship has spiraled into chaos. What started with lust for one and love for another, has turned to a bitter and mostly lifeless going through the motions, yet whenever the worst happens, what pull Clover back from the brink of self destruction has been Preston. For more information on Preston's insane and almost in human infatuation with Clover please see his page. Ultimately, the Clover's relationship with Preston has turned toxic by predominantly her own doing. Yet, despite how poor their relationship is depicted within the book, and despite how poorly they treat one another, all attempts to leave bring about only worst results. Clover, unable to accept the guilt of carrying her lover's child and face up to her family, and Preston unable to forgive the lies and unable shake the idea of Clover hurting herself without him there to stop her. In Clover's words, "Love is poison, it kills you slowly and does it every day. But in the drink, you would never known it as such."

Preston has frequently put himself in harms way to protect Clover, most of which would be heavy plot spoilers to talk about. Of course, Clover too has returned this gesture by frequently solving the problems before Preston's actions would truly matter. It has been shown throughout the series that while Clover actively denies her affection towards Preston and actively seeks to destroy her relationship, that she ultimately depends on him to be by her side.