Cathak Rufus

Basic Info

Name: Cathak Rufus
Player: Tony Kirchner
Aspect: Fire
Concept: Junior Senator
Motivation: Reform Imperial Government
Political Affiliation: Imperial (Contemporary)
Anima: Unknown
Cathak Rufus: Character Sheet

Physical Description

Cathak Rufus is a bright flame in a dark empire; he possesses one of the great political minds of his era, a tongue of pure silver, and unsurpassed charm. Rufus has great confidence in himself, his people, and the future of the Empire and he shows that confidence in his appearance. The twenty-nine year old fire aspect does not appear like many of the Children of Hesiesh; he is not broad shouldered, his hair and skin are not red, nor is his skin warm to the touch. However, there is no mistaking Cathak Rufus, he stands 6 feet 6 inches tall with a sinewy build that moves with hypnotic grace rather than a rigid military march. Tanned skin and sharp facial features contrast vibrant blue eyes and matching hair; his flawless physical appearance coupled with his charm make him nigh irresistible and countless young dynast females were lured to bed with him before his betrothal.

Rufus is most commonly found in a very ornate, very progressive blue uniform decorated with the finest gold and orichalcum. This formal attire is most appropriate for almost all occasions and while it sets him apart from the armor clad Cathak generals it does not alienate him from the his family's military strength. His demeanor is that of a rather friendly and curious young politician, he rarely maintains small talk for long though he leaves a lasting impression. He prefers to turn to business as he sees himself a busy man with many things to accomplish, and rarely speaks in much length unless there is something to be gained or someone to impress.

Personality

Rufus is often known to wear his emotions on his sleeve, like many of his fellow Crimson Dragons he is fueled by a mighty passion, a fact that usually doesn't go unnoticed by others. However, more than one rival politician has made the mistake of thinking that with great passion comes an inability to to function with deliberate care and careful calculation. Rufus appears friendly and genuine to almost everyone he meets, he has the sort of personality that draws people in and he easily turns those he meets into close and loyal friends. Or so they are led to believe, in truth Rufus confides in very few people and it is likely no one knows this thoughts or plans to their fullest extent.

While Rufus sometimes appears to let his emotions get the better of him that is rarely the case, as his deepest emotions are buried deep and rarely show but a the deep roots of his actions. Rufus is known to be kind and caring, he keeps very few slaves and treats them better than most nobles do. He lives a relatively modest lifestyle for one of the mighty Princes of Creation, preferring not to show off either his wealth or power. Despite, or perhaps because of, his modesty Rufus is both well known and respected not only among Dragon-Blooded nobility but also among patricians in and surrounding the Imperial Capital. Rufus is content with his current status as he is able to lay low as he plants the seeds for his larger plans. While his name may not have yet spread across the Blessed Isle certainly those who watch the subtle undertones of the Deliberative will have taken notice to the outgoing young dragon blood whose mind and tongue are as sharp as the mightiest daiklave.

Family

Rufus' mother was once a well known senator among house Cathak, but has sense fallen from public view spending time working closely with Cathak Cainan on a private mission which even Rufus knows almost nothing about. Senator Cathak Cacek Matarin's glory days are certainly over and she no longer serves in the Greater Chamber, rather she is now officially 'on tour of the house satrapies'. Rufus was never terribly close with his mother and now seeks mostly to free himself from her shadow, having great passion for debate within the deliberative unlike his aging mother. Peleps Najalin Shun has always been closer to Rufus than his mother, the youngest son of Peleps did his time at sea and when he returned married Matarin whom he had 3 children with. He was an excellent naval commander though spent most of Rufus' childhood in the imperial capital, he was sent out to war once more while Rufus was still at the Spiral Academy and did not return from the battle. It is said that Rufus has many of Shun's qualities both physical and in his personality.

Rufus has two younger sisters with whom he is very close and due to his parents distant, though common, parenting style feels partially responsible for their upbringing. With his father killed at sea and his mother sent on tour by the house elders it has come to Rufus to arrange their marriages. A matter that has Rufus rather torn which has prevented any arrangement to date, though time is starting to grow short. He cares greatly for his siblings and does not wish to force them to marry, however he clearly sees the possible advantages he could gain by arranging political marriages.

Cathak Kawazoe was the second child of Cathak Matarin and Peleps Shun, now 19 years of age she recently graduated from the House of Bells in the top 10% of her class. She is known to closely resemble her mother in appearance, often it is remarked she looks exactly like a younger Matarin though her personality is much more a typical fire aspect of house Cathak. She intends to join the legions in the coming months and has already been promised a fine position of command, a talonlord, in a legion stationed in the northern territory of the isle near the city of Chanos. Rufus is expected to announce her betrothal soon, though no obvious candidates have presented themselves.

Cathak Chiaki is Rufus' youngest sister, only 15 years old she is still in school at the Cloister of Wisdom. Despite her choice of academy she does not intend to become a monk, but plans to devote her life to the Wyld Hunt. She is a firm believer in the Immaculate faith and is notoriously headstrong, often coming into disagreements with Rufus who has encouraged her to devote her talents in another way. He currently is attempting to persuade her to grow closer with a young magistrate who has maintained his power even without the support of The Empress, if she enters his service in a short time she too could be moved up to magistrate. He seems the most likely choice to marry Chiaki though she doesn't seem particularly fond of him, and despite Rufus' fondness of the man a magistrate with little breeding does not provide the smartest match either.

Marriage

Rufus is married to Ledaal Astrala, an arranged marriage set up by the Great Houses in order to secure and alliance between the two families. Cathak hopes to gain the support of another major house in its run for the throne, while Ledaal, which has little to no hope of occupying the throne, hopes to gain military support against the underworld threats. Rufus and Astrala both attended the Spiral Academy together; Rufus graduated a year ahead of Astrala but the two at least knew of each other, though were not particularly close during their schooling. The wedding was arranged as part of Rufus’ graduation ceremony and the wedding was set to take place upon Astrala’s graduation, Rufus had other plans however and his trip through the threshold set the wedding back 5 years.

Upon Rufus’ return from the threshold wedding plans were set back into motion with pressure from both families to be wed as soon as possible. Within a year of his return Rufus and Astrala were wed, setting both houses temporarily at ease with what is becoming an established alliance.

The wedding was not arranged out of the strong feelings on part of Rufus or Astrala, though they are fond of one another both are aware that their marriage is more political than passionate. Over the years since their wedding the two young politicians have become very close friends, often giving the outside impression that it is a marriage of passion. Both Astrala and Rufus have great political ambition and are very loyal to their respective houses, and now their allied house, they often discuss political strategy at home and have certainly been known to help each other in the political scene.

Rufus has remained loyal to Astrala since returning from the threshold though he understands Dragon-Blooded society does not require or even expect him to. He extends the same understanding of society to Astrala and is as uninformed as uncaring about her second love life if in fact she has one. For the time both Astrala and Rufus are mostly consumed in their political careers, mostly making social appearances that benefit them instead of attending for their enjoyment; along with that neither has displayed interest in hurrying into having children though both houses have made it known they would prefer sooner rather than later.

Education

Rufus graduated from the Spiral Academy with promising marks, but more importantly with the attention of the upperclass in Dragon-Blooded society. His performance in school led many to have high hopes for him after graduation, he was immediately offered a position to work with Senator Cathak Hasegawa setting him on track to become one of the youngest Senators to date. However, Rufus did not take the postion, citing that his education was not yet complete and that he would need to travel through creation before he was adequately prepared to begin reforming it. He returned after being gone for nearly 5 years to find re-entry into Dragon-Blooded society rather easy, taking up a position in the aging Senator Hasegawa's cabinet where he built is political career.

Political Career

Rufus honed his skills in the many bureaucracies of the threshold, partaking in the most complicated of organizations at all four corners of creation before he returned back to the Realm where he had already received formal training. His broad range of experience has given him a rather unique approach when accomplishing his goals, using a mixture of styles seen in the Realm, the western courts of The Silver Prince, and the chaotic markets of the guild he has experience normally seen only in the senior members of the Deliberative. His broad range of skills allowed him to move through the political ranks quickly, while only a few strings needed to be pulled by his house to find him a position on Senator Hasegawa's staff, the senator soon found Rufus' advice to be irreplaceable. Spending a number of years as Hasegawa's youngest, but perhaps most trusted adviser, Rufus was named the senator's official successor in the Deliberative. Before Hasegawa retired and handed the reigns over to her youthful counterpart Rufus served with his predecessor for a training period. This was most encouraged by House Cathak who wanted to be sure that Rufus' progressive ideas did not push the more conservative goals of the house from the forefront of his political agenda. Now that the training period is completed and Hasegawa is fully retired, though Rufus still consults with her from time to time, Rufus has been pursuing more of his own goals while not allowing the rather large agenda set for him by his house to be neglected.

As an adviser and now a senator Rufus is well known to have long list of political goals, but he is most well known for his work involving legislation of tax collection in Realm satraps, his support of officially empowering the magistrates without direct influence from the Empress, encouraging imperial trade by restricting the power of the guild, as well as showing strong support of the legions. Rufus encouraged Hasegawa while she was in office to strive for political reform by The Deliberative, but Hasegawa was unwilling to stray from Cathak goals to accomplish this so little was done. However, now that Rufus is senator he has started to introduce legislation that will begin to set the foundation for the greater changes he has yet to show. Rufus truly believes that his goals are what is best for The Realm as well as House Cathak, to which he is very loyal, and is sometimes frustrated by others lack of progressive vision. Despite his desire for political progress he understands he is not yet in position to bring about major change, but instead he has begun to accumulate the power he will need while he subtlety sets the foundation to execute his greater plans. Meanwhile he continues to advance the goals of House Cathak working tirelessly to improve no only the Ledaal-Cathak alliance but also spreading a web of minor alliances and favors throughout a number of the other great houses.

Staff & Connections

Office of the Deliberative

Rufus has a relatively small office for a senator, but that is to be expected for someone of his age and experience. Rufus employs two primary advisers as well as 3 dignitaries who work directly for him. Each member of his staff has their own office, though some are relatively small, that are all interconnected to his own office and overseen by a secretary who helps the entire staff. Nellens Eien Kinashita, an elder mortal who has been a long time friend and mentor to Rufus dating back to his days at The Spiral Academy, serves as his senior adviser. His second adviser is Cathak Baisotei, a 19 year old Dragon-Blood who graduated from The Spiral Academy less than a year ago was hand picked by Rufus straight out of the academy.

Besides his permanent staff Rufus is commonly served by one to two interns from The Spiral Academy, almost always Dragon-Blooded seniors seeking a term of political experience before graduation. Though it is common of senators to only accept interns from their own house Rufus has shown that he does not require it as he currently employs a promising young Ledaal, though some no doubt speculate it is only to earn a closer alliance to the great house.

Personal Staff

Rufus is served by five retainers in his day to day life, unlike some Dragon-Bloods he treats them kindly and even with a certain level of respect. Three of the retainers serve solely in his house rotating between managing the house and the busy street-restaurant that serves as the first floor of his home. One of these retainers serves him has a body guard, though who the better combatant would be is difficult to say as neither has needed to prove their combat prowess yet. Despite being a body guard he is rarely seen accompanying Rufus out of his home, serving more as a guard of the house, something Rufus finds is especially necessary given that hundred if not thousands of people pass through the lower level of his home on a day to day basis. The stoic warrior who guards the steps into Rufus' personal area watches over the traffic that moves through the street that passes through his home and on more than one occasion Rufus has used his guard to keep watch and inform Rufus of what goes on within his home when he is not there. His final retainer is perhaps the closest to Rufus and is certainly the one most commonly seen with him, a boy in his late teens with an elegant yet meager look serves as an aide and scribe to Rufus. On most days the boy travels almost everywhere Rufus goes with him, keeping detailed notes of all transactions Rufus is involved which Rufus commonly re-reads at days end.

Connections

Cathak Hasegawa - Rufus' predecessor in The Greater Chamber of the Deliberative who is responsible for Rufus' formal training as a senator and still often meets with and advises Rufus.

More to come...

Goals & Objectives

Rufus has never been very straight forward with his own goals in life, and while it seems relatively obvious he intends to take a path to political success he has made a habit of making rather unorthodox decisions along that goal. Starting with his rather long sabbatical into the threshold before taking up his position in the Thousand Scales, he seems motivated to catch up for his missed time as soon as possible and has already been rather busy with both in-house and empire wide politics. His current position with the Deliberative is understood to be a temporary one though there is intense competition for higher political positions he is striving for, most notably Hasegawa's spot in the Deliberative.

Rufus has always been known as a forward thinker as far as politics go and has made no secret that he feels there are certain changes that need to be made within the imperial government. For a government that has been stagnant for more than seven centuries under the reign of The Scarlet Empress he sees her disappearance as the ideal time for reform and is often frustrated by his brethren's insistence on fighting amongst themselves.