Vánagandr/Personality and Relationships

Personality
Those who have the superficial acquaintance with Vánagandr will get almost only three forms of interactions: a somber silence, a sneering bark or a blood curling growl. Taciturn to the point of moodiness, Vánagandr is always concise and direct. While not particularly rude, the Dark Wolf bears an utter disdain for forced attempt at causal conversation and loathes any form of flattery. He always goes straight to the point and rarely, if ever, sugarcoat anything, this bluntness making even him looking even more imposing than his appearance would suggest. His allies and enemies alike describe him as something less than a man and more a thinking war machine, demolishing everything and everyone standing in his own way before returning to his tent for his daily meditations. Despite the considerable amount of resources he has amassed through his years of conquering and pillaging, Vánagandr knows very few moments of genuine leisure, maintaining the belief that a true warrior must keep himself fresh and strong all the time. Such rigidity is exhibited particularly with his own subordinates, to whom he is extremely strict and demanding. Many of his lesser underlings have been scolded for inappropriate behaviors, cowling in fear before their Imperator. Because of his dour attitude, few members of the Iron Legion bear love of the man himself, though they still carry out his orders without any questions. However, Vánagandr is not devoid of charisma, as his voice exudes an immense amount of tenacity and confidence despite his dry rhetoric, capable of carrying on his men in the moments of most need.

An even more terrifying side of him is displayed whenever the Black Wolf feels rage, amplified many folds by Weil modification on the limbic system. He howls and screams, crouches and hit the ground numerous times like an insane animal rather than conqueror or a captain. In these extreme bouts, being him is in mortal danger, as Vánagandr would rip through or mutilate with complete abandon, delving so deep in his feral side he starts to indulge in cannibalistic habits. Yet Vánagandr will display shrewdness and astute instincts even when taken by these bouts of fury, employing cunning tactics one won’t suspect from such a fuming berserker. If anything, the angrier Vánagandr gets, the more his martial form becomes streamlined and effective without significant losses in finesse.

While in his first years of activities Vánagandr was somewhat of an idealist, believing that Weil's vision could genuinely make the world a more just place. A closer look on the roboticist actual policy of conquest completely shattered that illusion, and Vánagandr has fully realized to have become not a liberator but a tool for carnage and subjugation. For this reason, Vánagandr seems to eschew concepts such a “justice” or “greater good”, believing them to be fancy delusions at best or self serving lies at worst. Unlike other the Yonko and even the Marine Admirals, the Black Wolf seems not to deny but almost revel when somebody calls him out the atrocities he has committed, and chastises all men in power who dare to claim their higher moral ground. To him, the players in the World of One Piece are just as bloodthirsty mastiffs as he is.

Moments of unyielding wrath aside, the few who have little knowledge of the man behind the armor will find that he is nowhere near the monster he is painted or sometimes he fancies himself to be. While certainly far from being approachable, Vánagandr is hardly cruel when not assuming the role of the warmongering warlord, never using his position of power to abuse his subjects. Behind his cynicism and ruthlessness, Vánagandr is a deeply broken and disillusioned individual, still haunted by the loss of all his dearest friends and family, and fully aware that the role Dr. Weil imposed on him will never allow him to fully connect with other human beings. Knowing that he had become little more than a slaughtering machine, slave to a madman, Vánagandr deeply loathes himself and his uncontrollable fury, often crossing longs periods of mourning and deep depression, from which he can get over only through the thrills of his next fight. In more ways than others, Vánagandr keeps his distant facade not out of disdain for his fellow men, but of terror he may lose or hurt again someone else he cares about. And yet, the capacity for genuine kindness and mercy still beats within his heart, and comes forth in rare but truly heartfelt displays of empathy and compassion.

Because Vánagandr has such low opinion on his himself and his job, he is surprisingly tolerant of jokes on his person. To better cope with his terrible position, Vánagandr won’t hesitate in engaging in a grim and self-deprecating of humor, mocking his glory, his fame as a savage, and even the utter lack of sexual prowess his transformation has left him with. Ironically, the people who are most likely to see this slightly lighthearted side of his him are Vánagandr's cockiest and wittiest enemies, as he doesn’t believe he must be as severe with them as he normally is with his own underlings. Though even a zinger from his subordinates, if he deems to be particularly good, will elicit some muffed chuckle from the Black Wolf. On the flipside, Vánagandr despises bad attempts at humor, and will make an exception to his abstinence to unnecessary violence to punish anybody who dares to crack an unfunny joke in his presence.

One of the few things that makes Vánagandr genuinely is happy is fighting at his fullest and learning new techniques to improve his abilities. Always searching worthy opponents to face, he will maintain an highly sportsman-like and chivalrous attitude when his role as the leader of the Iron Legion does not call him to mutilate and destroy. While very difficult to impress, considering his own level of mastery of the art, Vánagandr will show a great deal of respect to the truly skilled and tenacious warriors, regardless of whether they are his enemies or not. Such respect evolves in deference whenever he finds a fighting style that pick up his interest. He will always politely ask other people to teach him, being humble and reverent toward any of his masters, even those who happens to be far weaker or overall less skilled than he is. Vánagandr wholeheartedly believes that martial arts, swordsmanship in particular, are a patrimony to be preserved and diffused throughout the world, that anybody does have the right to learn and master.

As such, in even more rare occasion, Vánagandr will take disciplines to pass on his primary fighting style, or just some of the general knowledge he possess. He is possible at his strictest in these occasions, since he will demand them the same total level of obedience and devotion he would gladly give to any master worthy of that name, taxing their minds and bodies with shattering schedules. Still, he never crosses the border of being unfair, and while his training sessions are often exceedingly brutal, they really pay off, with some of his disciplines becoming fabled swordsmen in their own right. While he would rather deny that, Vánagandr does care deeply about his pupils, and will try as far as he can to keep them living in the purer word of martial arts, rather than the bloody atrocities he is constantly involved in.