Jaks Virta

Jaks Virta was a Jööru author, poet, and literary philosopher who is best known for his dark-themed writings, and is widely regarded as the pioneer of the Myric literary aesthetic, sometimes also known as Virta fiction or Virta horror. Virta is considered to be among the most influential artists of all time and the most prominent author of the 19th century. Some of his most famous works include The Trapper, Fetters of Makalbü, and Bell and Clapper.

Born in 1835, Virta grew up in the small unincorporated village of Heval, Gladomyr with his mother Ilean Virta and his sister Unelma Virta. His father, Petür, was absent from his childhood due to his foreign residency in the Transbregashian Confederation. Located only 3 kilometers from the Myro-Eduran border, Virta's hometown of Heval was home to just 38 inhabitants and had a majority Jööru population. Due to its proximity to the border, Virta would frequently cross into and out of Edury on a regular basis, allowing him to become well acquainted with the culture and language. After Virta's sister's death in 1845 to, Virta and his mother moved to the city of Godenhaven in Edury in search of greater job prospects. With both lacking any formal education, Virta was forced to work at a alongside his normal education at the local Stroomist temple. Although Edury allowed women to work—being particularly abnormal for the time period—jobs were exceptionally scarce, which resulted in Virta's mother resigning to be a stay-at-home caretaker.

Virta began writing from the age of 13, first writing only poetry but expanding into short stories over time. Virta's first published work was Nocturne—a short story which was printed in the Godenhaven Newspaper. At the age of 18, Virta would go on to manually print pamphlets containing 13 of his original poems and then hand them out on the street. Coincidentally, one of those to receive a Virta pamphlet was the brother of prolific publicist Swyðen Edburrow. Impressed with the poems, Edburrow tracked down Virta in an attempt to publish the 13 poems for a wider audience. Virta accepted, and would go on to write numerous more short stories and poems. In his lifetime, Virta published 135 short stories and over 570 poems; however, Virta would never see his works gain the reception garnered today, and would resort to working as a dock worker in Hasä, Gladomyr at the age of 30. Virta died at the age of 35 in 1870 in mysterious circumstances, and his works would only begin to gain stardom throughout the early 1900s.

Virta's influence on modern literature is among the strongest of the 19th and 20th centuries, and the legacy of his works are seen across the globe. His development of the Myric literary aesthetic and, as some claim, the horror genre as a whole, has cemented his place in Myrish and Eduran history as among their most acclaimed historical figures. In modern day, both Myrish and Eduran historians have come to argue over Virta's true nationality.

Early life
Virta was born on September 9, 1835, to his Jööru mother Ilean Virta and his father who is only known as Petür. Petür was likely a foreign or long-distance traveler and was therefore not present for Virta's upbringing. In recent years, Petür has been speculated as being Eduran Piet Siðburrow, a census bureau official who was nearby at the time of Virta's conception. Virta was born in the unincorporated township of Heval, a small village that boasted a population of just 38 at the time of Virta's birth. Positioned in the Penguinnes only 3 kilometers from the border with Edury, Virta would frequently cross the border and visit locals. Because of this, Virta would pick up a rudimentary grasp of the Eduran language by the time he was 8. Due to the remote location of Heval however, Virta would not learn the Myrish language until much later on. Because of Heval's isolation, Virta would also not seek any sort of formal education, instead primarily being taught to be a worker on his uncle's cherry orchard and as a ranch hand. This resulted in Virta being illiterate for much of his upbringing.

When Virta was 10, Virta's younger sister Unelma Virta would succumb to after Virta successfully managed to recover from the disease. This, in combination with two bad seasons in a row, resulted in Virta and his mother relocating to Godenhaven, Edury, later that year. The move would be difficult for the family, as Heval was not connected by road to any major settlements. Virta and his mother would therefore be forced to leave much of their possessions behind, having to start from scratch once they reached the city of Steines. From Steines, Virta and his mother would have to board a train to Godenhaven. In this time period, trains were still a somewhat new technology and was therefore a very long and arduous journey. Virta and his mother would not be the only ones relocating to Godenhaven however, as the city and country as a whole were experiencing a major boom in industry and industrialization as a whole, this being their major incentive to relocate to the city in the first place.

Upon reaching the city of Godenhaven, Virta and his mother were able to secure a spot in a block within the industry sector of Godenhaven. Even though Virta's mother was eligible for work, she struggled to find a job due in part to the fact that she did not know Eduran. Virta did know Eduran, and therefore managed to find a job at a local textile mill at the age of 10. Virta was not paid significantly, and only barely managed to earn enough to provide food for himself and his mother. In addition to his work, Virta also enrolled at a local Stroomist school in search of education.

Poems and short stories
In times in which Virta was not working or in class, he would frequently write short poems or other stories. What started as 5-10 line rhythm-less poems about menial parts of his day turned into epic-esque poems about fantastical scenarios. These epics included elements found in Old Myrish epics, including s and s. Virta's early epics would frequently exceed more than 300 lines, and were the foundation for Virta's signature Myric literary style. In contrast to Old Myrish epics—Virta's main source of inspiration—Virta's poems lacked or put a twist onto the stereotypical "hero's quest" plot. This included having a hero see their untimely fate, a hero with morally ambiguous goals, or simply no hero at all.

It was during this time, at around age 15, that Virta would begin displaying typical characteristics of, or OCD. Virta's work would take a sharp turn in style, becoming more horror-like. With OCD being lesser understood or even misconceived in this era, Virta quickly lost his position at the textile mill, which dipped him and his mother further into poverty. Virta's mother became bedridden soon after due to severe illness, and Virta's job search was fruitless. The two would eventually be evicted from their tenement, but were offered a place to sleep by Virta's Stroomist school. The two would begin living in the attic of the school while Virta continued looking for a job.

After continuous rejection, Virta eventually decided to attempt to get his poems published. Initially, these too were rejected, until Virta managed to get one of his first poems—Nocturne—into the Godenhaven Newspaper. The poem helped boost Virta's publicity, and the work was reportedly well received at the time. Hopeful, Virta collected 13 of his best poems and manually copied them onto pamphlets which he would hand out on the Godenhaven city-center to passers-by. By chance, one of the receivers of such pamphlets was the brother of Swyðen Edburrow—a premier publisher of the time. After being given the pamphlets, Edburrow was impressed, and quickly began to attempt to track down Virta.