Rime Grayson-Xek

Rime's mother brought him up in the Xek clan, which was defeated and subjugated by the Grayson family in 1212. She either had a lover among the invading family or was raped by the invaders, depending on who among the Xek you ask, but either way the invasion changed her personality drastically- it left her largely broken and nihilistic, and some Xek question whether or not she was actually the same person, or a mere clone created for some nefarious purpose. She passed her attitudes on to her son, who has a highly cynical, pessimistic, and nihilistic outlook on life- he believes that there are no morals, that religious and legal constructs are fool’s errands in that they attempt but inevitably fail to provide comfort and safety, and that although gods may exist and influence reality, that they are inherently flawed and in general, not worth worshipping. He believes that the only true manifestation of power is the ability to kill, and generally scorns authoritative, charismatic, religious, or economic power dynamics. The ability to kill is a much more complicated question than simple strength, however- Rime respects magic, cunning, pure strength, and nearly any other form of death-bringing equally, and his only true driving motivation is the acquisition and use of increasingly greater power.

Rime is a sorcerer of draconic (copper) origin through his mother’s side. None of his ancestors have been particularly notable sorcerers, but Rime (and his mother) blame that on the historically disdainful attitude of the Xek clan towards sorcery. His father’s house is much more supportive of sorcery, and although the family line does not contain the necessary bloodline, multiple sorcerers have been hired in recent years, following the family’s meteoric rise from regional power to superpower, as retainers for the house’s military forces and as personal bodyguards to the head of the house. If Rime were to become known to this family, the sorcerers currently on retainer to the family may view Rime as a threat, since he represents the possibility of integrating a draconic bloodline into the house’s lineage, were his bastard status to be ignored. Thus, he is both vulnerable to the Grayson family, if the retainer sorcerers gain influence, and highly desirable to the future-minded and power-hungry members of the family’s elite. At the moment, they know nothing of him, but careless interactions with those under the control of the family could bring information of his existence to the leader of the house, Farlii Grayson, and in turn set loose an unpredictable chain of events.