Ryn

Basic Information

Name: Ryn
Current Age: 44 (Chapter 1: 37)
Type: Dragon-Blooded Exalt
Player: NPC
Aspect: Wood
Concept: Member of the Hallowed Order of the Grass Spiders, Ronin-Duelist
Motivation: Live at the mercy at his own whims and play by nobody's rules but his own.
Political Affiliation: The Hallowed Order of the Grass Spiders
Anima: Swirling green and brown energy spiral together, accompanied by the chattering of monkeys. At fully totemic the eyes and tail of a Lemur appear in the energy, starring down his opponent.
Likes: Duels, Roof-Tops, Tree-Tops, Monkeys, Homemade Wine, Drugs That Can Be Smoked.
Dislikes: Rules Not His Own, Fighting Multiple Opponents At Once, Needles, Politics, Cooking, Sleep.

Background

Ryn was born in the tree-city of Chanta, one of the two million inhabitants of the capital city of The Kingdom of Halta. From birth his life was abnormal, his mother was the well respected and well known Flera Skyweaver; Air Aspected Dragon-Blood, famous general, and recently appointed Head of the Haltan Department of Warfare. If that was not enough, his father was a wise, old fae-blooded architect who designed many of the remarkable buildings that make up Chanta's distinct cityscape. Despite their prominent status in Haltan society their son was not relieved of the mandatory military service for all children in The Haltan Nation. Ryn showed exceptional military prowess, even from a very young age, though he was always more talented than he was interested. His wealth of talent and lack of interest or motivation left their mark on his early life which eventually discouraged his parents, though his instructors were frequently willing to overlook this for the opportunity to harness his skill. None of them succeeded.

It was no surprise when he exalted shortly before graduating from secondary school, following in his mothers footsteps as a dragon-blood; but of a more common eastern, wood aspect. He had breezed through secondary school without much of a challenge with high marks, though those who truly applied themselves outperformed him. After secondary school he was forced into his mandatory service in the Haltan military, given a high rank due to his talent, exalted status, and the prestige of his mother. Ryn had long disdained the thoughts of war, taking more after his father than his mother in that respect and many others. He had a carefree personality which made him a poor military commander, and he preferred to kill in an artistic manner than an efficient one. Naturally this did not serve him well in battle and his superiors rarely missed the chance to point it out; Ryn never paid it any mind. Ryn's refusal to yield to his commanders and acknowledge the need for his unit to follow the efficient, and often predictable military standards of the Haltan military earned him the ire of his superiors, but allowed him to deliver some of the most spectacular victories in Haltan military history.

His amazing victories, exalted status, and the high standing of his mother left the military with no choice but to continue to promote him up the ranks. Though finally he had earned the ire of enough brass to be punished, though discreetly. Ryn was promoted the the equivelent of a Dragon-lord within the Haltan military, though to do so his legion was changed. He would be reassigned to the legion that was newly joined with The Bull of the North on the front lines against The Realm and rival nation of Linowan, secretly many officers of the military hoped it would be a death sentence for Ryn. Their wish nearly came true.

Ryn continued to use his eccentric combat tactics in the battle against the Realm, however he'd never fought against the brilliantly disciplined legions of the Realm and his tactics cost him and his men dearly. In the midst of the battle against the Realm's forces he was injured by the overwhelming numbers of the legions, separated from his command he was left to fight alone. He fought valiantly against the horde, but eventually was overcome and badly injured which left him for dead on the battle field. His wounds did not turn out to be fatal and he escaped the battlefield in the quiet after the battle amongst the other dying and injured. He managed to hitch a ride west, passing in and out of consciousness as his body healed slowly over the course of the trip, those that carried his body likely assumed he would die. Which explains how he ended up in the City of the Dead, Sijian, but by the time he reached the city he was mostly recovered and forced to find himself a new life in the foreign city.

Ryn soon discovered that he fit in here far better than he ever had at his own home, here death was an art both in how one died and how one was treated in death. Ryn specialized in the former aspect, but he also came to embrace the intricate burial rites that made Sijian famous. His dueling nature led him to the line of assassination, he found it a natural line of work and he excelled at it. Only a short time had passed before the Grass Spiders came calling, his skill at assassination along with his dislike of killing those uninvolved made him an ideal fit. The Grass Spiders love of artistic and unique deaths appealed to him greatly, he didn't hesitate to accept.

What He's Been Up To

The Veil War

Ryn is easily the most outspoken Member of The Order against The Veil War, this is particularly surprising considering Ryn is normally one of the more laid back members of The Order. His issues do not lie in his loyalty to The Grass Spiders, but rather in the manner that the war has been waged. This shadow war has primarily avoided direct conflict between the two warring parties, and the result has been an excessive amount of collateral damage. Ryn simply finds this to be unacceptable, both to his own ideals and to those of the organization. As a result he has butted heads with some members of the organization, especially with The Harvestmen. The most damaging instance of this is with the hot tempered Anton, at this point the two Grass Spiders generally avoid one another rather than get into another confrontation. Certainly this could have cause quite a bit of trouble for Ryn; however a private understanding seems to have been reached between Ryn and The Three Fiends who have all shown support and confidence in Ryn's right to be outspoken regarding how the organization is run. Rizuka and Oak seem to have come to an understanding with Ryn's perspective and the whole matter seems to have cooled off as of late. The internal strife has done nothing to slow down Ryn's production in the field or dedication to the training grounds. The Three Fiends have mostly steered him clear of White Veil Society involved missions, at his request, which means that he stays very busy making sure the organization's reputation never suffers a blow while it's resources are stretched thin. Though Ryn is a natural loner he has grown quite close to The Shaded Templar, he and Aleni share an affinity for swordsmenship and angst towards The Orders leadership that has led to frequent training sessions to work off negative energy. Ryn has also been known to join The Circle with No Name on smoke breaks, and is one of the few Grass Spiders who will indulge, and occasionally best, Opal in climbing or athletics competitions. Recently the chemistry that has always existed between Ryn and Libitina has turned into a full fledged relationship, albeit a whimsical one. Normally it is no problem for a Grass Spider and Associate to be romantically involved; however Libitina is in a political marriage arranged by her brother who would be quite displeased to hear of her affair. Currently his circle-mates are the only ones in the know and each has given him some wildly different, and equally unhelpful advice on the matter.