Rageant Lacordaire
Name: Rageant Lacordaire
Vocation: Dark Knight
Gender: Male
Race & Clan: Miqo'te Keeper of the Moon
Height 5 fulm 8 ilm
Weight: 183 ponze
Guardian deity: 
Althyk, the Keeper
Origin: The Black Shroud (Tribal)
Nationality: Sharlayan (Colonial, Expatriate)
Association: n/a
Former Association: Black Sun Covenant, House de Bayle
Residence: Adrift
VISAGE: Rageant frowns more often than he smiles. His dark-skinned face seems designed for it - he has strong, sharp features, not necessarily attractive but recognizable and distinct. His jaw is wide with a bristle of black hair running from ear to ear bridging his sideburns over his chin. This gives him a veritable mane of oily, dark hair which he only grooms just enough to prevent it from growing too unruly. His hair is wiry, thick, and rough to the touch, unbeholden to the whims of wind or rain. The hairline peaks in the cent of his forehead, while two large Miqo'te ears extend from that black lagoon, large for his species and bearing silver hoops pierced in each.
Rageant is very recognizable since he always wears an eye patch over his right eye, and the eyepatch itself is metallic, ornate, but marred from years of use. Moreover he displays a mile scar on his left cheek and possesses the faint hints of age in the forms of wrinkles upon his brow and around his eyes. Some markings adorn his face, tribal tattoos from his youth which bear no modern significance to him, with the majority of them residing near to his eyes. Those eyes are a piercing brown, burning with an admixture of rage and grief, a quivering veneer that reconstitutes itself even after a bout of laughter brings momentary joy to his gaze. He possess a large nose and pair of lips, white teeth with pointed incisors as befits his ilk, and appears to be in his late thirties or early forties, a man who has been aged quickly by a wearisome world.
PHYSIQUE & MARKINGS: Though he is tall for a member of his species, Rageant doesn't look it. He has broad shoulders and a thick torso which makes him appear very stocky. He stands at eight-and-sixty ilms thereabouts without count for his long ears, and maintains an upright posture with his head upright and his shoulders drawn back. He has a dark complexion and his skin is fraught with scarring and callouses from years of toil, battle, and traveling the land at the mercy of the disparate climes. His most pronounced scars are one on his stomach, a narrow, vertical cut, and one on his chest over his heart, an ugly but small scar with an uglier source, like as not. Physically he is formidable; muscle-bound and defined, lean from as low as his calf to as high as neck. He lacks the characteristic litheness of male Miqo'te, though to hear him tell it that's normal for his tribe. As one might expect, he posssesses a tail, bushy and black, which sways tentatively behind him - like his ears, it's quite large.
VOICE: Rageant's voice ushers forth from deep within his breast when he speaks, escaping his lip in a deep octave. His dialect betrays him as possessing Sharlayan origins, though to someone from Sharlayan his dialect isn't perfectly native, and bears a passing resemblance to Gridanian.
ATTIRE: Rageant's wardrobe consists of very little variety, mostly preferring colors that evoke Althyk or to simply wear black, a funerary color to pay respects to those he has lost over the years. While within his chambers he typically wears a simple tunic and pair of trousers, clothing he will both relax and exercise in. He chooses not to dress very casually when leaving his quarters, and in fact will often wear some degree of plate and mail armor, depending on the context of his outing. Afield, Rageant wears a set of custom-forged heavy armor that suits his unusual physique well, right up to the ears and down to the tail. His armor is certainly not ceremonial as it is scored all over by blows and weathered by use. The exception is his knight's armor, which he utilizes very rarely in combat but mostly for Ishgardian functions. All of his armor is adapted for his tendency to bear a great axe on his back wheresoever he goes, kept there by a marid hide strap which runs over his breastplate or under it, depending which set of armor he is utilizing.
Rageant Lacordaire volunteers little and so it is difficult to be certain which facets of his personality define him versus those which enslave him. Most notable is his temper which earned his somewhat of a questionable reputation during his time in Sharlayan and Ishgard alike. He was impatient, impertinent, and sarcastic; he maintained decorum and utilized honorifics as if they stood on uncertain ground like to crumble beneath a tirade of criticism. Age has smoothened his demeanor however; his temper is concealed though perhaps visible through the window of his single, critical eye. As his rage has become tempered, hostility and offense are not easily elicited of him but still he responds poorly to continuous disrespect.
He is intelligent and given to philosophical and scientific discussion, and also eager to learn anything that dwells beyond the boundaries of his own concrete knowledge. This can include anything from martial arts to magitechnology to folk magic though his willingness to learn is often proportionate to his expectation that the individual from which he is given to learn might possess adequate prowess. While he is endowed with wisdom and common sense that is often freely given, the longer he speaks the more nonsensical his ramblings tend to become as he becomes bogged down by the trifles of abstraction.
Rageant will readily claim his appreciation for the utility of violence. He is not eager to face an unworthy foe, and indeed isn't given to sparring for her takes combat far too seriously. In the event he faces a truly threatening beast or foe, he is ruthless, cunning, relentless, fearless, and above all enraptured. Rageant's love for the thrill of combat has matured over the years and he has acquired a precious modicum of self-control and self-awareness. Still, his Beast is strong and difficult to tame, and only by aligning his interests with it can he often keep it in check. Thus, Rageant craves war. Conflict is a hunger he must sate.
Romantically he is a brick wall. Any perceived demonstration of attraction could be dismissed as misunderstanding or misidentification. As an individual he is "all-business," and scarcely indulges in flirtations or even recreation, but for recreation that pertains directly to broadening his knowledge and skills - martial training, study, or recreational reading. Historical volumes and philosophical ruminations seem to be his preference, as well as any practical topic such as manuals of war or medicine.
- Martial arts
- Meat, eggs, onions, turnips, etc.
- Literature (especially related to philosophy, theology, and military history)
- Tradition
- Ishgardian culture
- Responsibility
- Alcohol
- Profanity
- Free-spirited individuals and behavior
- Bread, pasta noodles, and confections
- Decadence
- Immoral roguish characters, especially when they speak with insufferable accents
- Ascetic
- Introverted
- Conscientious
- Early-riser
- Losing control over Windshear
- Being humiliated
- Becoming complacent
- Sustaining a permanent injury that ends his martial lifestyle
- Woodcarving
- Reading
- Worship of the Twelve, visiting their shrines
- Sightseeing
- Echo User
- Has taken the name of his spiritual mentor
- Identifies with "Althyk, the Keeper
- Is an anointed Knight of Ishgard by former Viscountess Carina de Bayle
- Favorite food: Fish
- Favorite beverage: Black coffee
Ragi'zi Jiube was born underneath the Shroud to a matriarchal Miqo'te tribe of Keepers of the Moon. He is, true to his namesake, the ninth son of Ragi which is a particularly unusual development, for the mothers of his race rarely bear males unto the world. Indeed, it was said in hushed whispers and within the privacy of yurt that Ragi was cursed to bear no female heir, fecund though she was and eager for the attempt. Ragi'zi was viewed as a veritable final failure, a personification of disappointment, for as far as he knew she never succeeded in birthing her precious daughter and he was her last attempt. If yet he has a sister, he knows not, for he departed his tribe at a young age. Before such a time he was a hunter who procured sustenance for his kin, as with so many sons it was reasonable to expect that the matriarch Ragi would put them to use. The hunt fostered associations with the outside world, mainly the various hunting clans though not one so prestigious as Centurio, and led him to become an adventurer and escape his undesirable lot as a laborer for a birthplace that did not want him.
A keen intelligence and a rare gift drew the curiosity of scholars from the north with whom he'd crossed paths. They directed him to the Sharlayan colony in Dravania where an organization interested in his gift sought to educate him and employ his talents for the benefit of the colony. Desperate to at last feel valued, Ragi'zi could offer no protest - a book suited him just as well as the hunt, and the saying had come to drive that notion: "Knowledge Seeks No Man." A decade thereabouts was spent there in that colony and the lands surrounding it, during which he studied rigorously and procured reading material from any possible source he could find. He taught himself to read while riding a chocobo so he could become an envoy and ride between settlements, where he would barter between his duties for more material to read. Once he rode to the Observatorium in Coerthas and attempted to trade some tomes of his for theirs own, but they refused - so he instead asked if he might transcribe their tomes, to which they reluctantly agreed. It was well over a decade later when a fire broke out in the Observatorium and many volumes were lost that Ragi'zi did return those transcriptions which still he held, thus making himself a friend in Ishgard during a time when those were rare indeed to possess. His studies primarily centered on history, philosophy, theology, and magick most of all. He took up thaumaturgy, arcanism, and even the basic principles of conjury that he might protect himself and his kinsmen and quench his craving for proficiency. All told, the young Miqo'te was well-suited for the scholarly life, but it was his gift that opened many doors for him. The Echo which had formed the basis for his education and citizenship in colonial Sharlayan manifested in Ragi'zi with an essential perk - the ability not merely to read one's soul, but to read what that soul left behind, mingled with ink upon tattered, dusty pages. Ancient tomes in lost languages and old dialects became open to him, and forgotten knowledge was his to glean and share. This rare advantage won him much support and earned him many favors, but conferred greater responsibility. Even as war loomed on the horizon, the inexorable march of Garlemald, the plains, the forests, the hills, they called to him, his tribal heart at odds with his keen intellect. When the Sharlayan abandoned their colony, Ragi'zi could not join them in the homeland. His place was in Eorzea, upon the mainland.
Though most of his friends and peers had departed, there remained some in Eorzea with which he found shelter and kinship. They were the Path of the Twelve, those who sought to nurture and protect the gift of Hydaelyn which Ragi'zi, too, possessed. In their company he built a close kinship with Willow Evinar, a woman ten years his younger with whom he built a surfeit of rapport despite their disparate origins. The two were inseperable until such a time that Ragi'zi's adoration turned to affection. The sentiment was not mutual as Willow regarded Rag'izi more like an older brother than a romantic prospect, and it became taxing for Ragi'zi to witness her as she was targeted by the advances of younger men. He internalized that pain until it grew loud within his ears and in time he could bear it no longer. He'd enjoyed the hospitality of the Path of the Twelve long enough and knew that forging his own path was the only balm for his broken heart. Ere Ragi'zi could say his piece and begone, the sky was set ablaze - the Battle of Carteneau had come.
The subsequent years are a mysterious black smudge in Ragi'zi's background. Evidently he survived the Calamity and built a small shack in the dark depths of the Black Shroud, where he lived in isolation with the company of his old tomes and a brook from which to fish his meals. Few could know what the Miqo'te hermit got up to in those five years but for one man. Ragi'zi first met the traveler Zieg Einherjar whilst in his self-imposed isolation. On the road north toward Coerthas, the two had crossed paths in the wilderness and exchanged knowledge, pleasantries, and succor. Ragi'zi somehow expected that Zieg had a part to play in his own destiny, perhaps owing to a sensation from the Echo or simply a delusion produced by a lonely mind. He couldn't dwell long on the notion either way, for news had reached him via an old friend that a name had emerged in Ul'dah, a name he'd asked many to keep an ear out for. A fragile hope entered him, his heart yawned open and the past came storming in. Willow Evinar had survived the Calamity.
Ragi'zi packed a number of his most vital implements and personal effects upon the back of his chocobo, Stranger, and rode south to seek out Willow Evinar. Willow, he knew, suffered from an unusual curse which rendered her memories somewhat inconsistent, so his natural fear was that she might struggle alone under such circumstances, or worse, be vulnerable enough to be taken advantage of. His journey took him to Ul'dah where a string of inquiries from an old Ishgardian contact named Perth Driscoll led him to discover that Willow had indeed emerged in Ul'dah... in the company of a sellsword band under command of a woman named Emmette Stringers known as the "Obsidian Coterie." Concerned for her safety and expecting a ragged band of mercenaries, he sought them out for employment and discovered them in a tea house - a lieutenant and a few others but Willow herself most crucial of all. When Ragi'zi took a seat on the opposite side of the table from her and her face not so much as flashed with a hint of recognition, he knew the truth of it. She had forgotten him entirely, but her company was not what he expected.
They were decorated veterans some of them but all of them seemed to be a cut above the scum Ragi'zi expected around Thanalan. With ease Ragi'zi convinced them of his utility as a potential recruit given his prowess with magic and his scholarly wealth of knowledge, and so Stringers applied him to her personal library and to support their infantry in battle with his enchantments, knowledge, skills, and war spells. In his time in their service he discovered that Willow had become both a holistic and magical healer. He broached the topic of their shared past but feared to indulge her too much that he might incite another episode or worse, preclude any hope for a second chance at courting her by informing her of the truth nature of their friendship. Inquiries as to isolation after the Battle of Carteneau further drove him to deceive her, and guilt for this corroded at his soul, twisting him into a bitter and angry man. His resentment took shape many times - he threatened a comrade who advanced upon her, intimidated his superiors subtly and directly, and loosed his terrible magicks upon their foes, leaving naught but ash in their wake. All the death, the violence, the lies coated his heart in dissolving vitriol until finally he conceded to the guilt and begged forgiveness of Willow and offered the truth of her past and his own place in it. Moved by his honesty, their bond deepened and once he had shown her his home in the Shroud their romance began in earnest. The Twelve did not will it would last long, however.
A time came when the Obsidian Coterie's structure was compromised. Emmette Stringers conspicuously disappeared, which rendered Ragi'zi suspicious, and the knight Chlodomer Bavarac took command. He restructured them into a tight knit group funded by an Ishgardian minor noble with foreign interests named Lord Tybalt Beone, and sent one of his trusted lieutenants, a knight named Marianne Delamare, to oversee operations and represent his interests. Ragi'zi had a troubled relationship with Captain Bavarac, who he suspected had benefit too much from Emmette's suspicious disappearance, and Delamare whom he despised and butt heads with often. In time those tensions reached a boiling point, at expense to his beloved most of all.
Their order, now called the Blackguard, became committed to rooting out some Voidsent-associated cult that Rageant questioned the existence and motives of. He would of course take the threat of Voidsent seriously and there were portents to their presence in Thanalan, but the matter struck him as incomplete - as though a crucial detail was eluding their grasp. Suspicions turned inward and the Blackguard became less of a sellsword company and more like an order of inquisitors at each other's throats. Ragi'zi took more than his share of beatings for insubordination and for loosing his temper on the questionable leadership. Before long Willow approached Ragi'zi and spoke of a vision the Echo had bestowed upon her - a vision of her own impending death. She bestowed the details of the vision upon Ragi'zi who promised to prevent their realization, but Willow felt if Hydaelyn had blessed her with such a vision, it was her duty to let it come to pass. Her demise came shortly thereafter when knights sent by the very same Lord Beone assaulted their headquarters, burning it down and excising "cultist influence" from their ranks. They beat Ragi'zi and while he was incapacitated by a rain of their cruel blows, one of them slew Willow before his eyes. He could not have his vengeance there and then and could not even see to the burial of his most beloved, for he had to escape the burning manor ere he succumbed to the smoke and flames himself.
Rage burned within him hotter than the collapsing structure as they escaped into the night, trudging through desert toward Camp Drybone, exhausted and wary of pursuit. Ragi'zi questioned Marianne's presence in their party, insinuating she was indeed responsible for the actions of Beone's knights, and when she made mock of Willow's death and blamed it on him, he attempted to destroy her with a thaumaturge's spell. As he loosed the tremendous frozen spires upon Marianne, Bavarac stabbed him through the heart with his sword and left him for dead upon the road with parting words: "There will be more blood before the end." It would seem he was correct, for miraculously the Twelve saw fit to spare Ragi'zi. His old contact, Perth Discroll, had come to Thanalan in the nick of time and had mended his wounds with her magic, then concealed him and nursed him to health. He did not linger long enough to discover what she sought in return. He had business in the frigid northern reaches of Coerthas, now.
Ragi'zi's northward ascent was impeded by his slow recovery and further so by his tumultuous emotional state, begrieved as he was by Willow's passing and beset by the brutal sight of her murder that night, a recurring ephemeral dream of suffering and helplessness. He had become disillusioned with the use of magic, for he felt it allowed him to dispassionately and impulsively end many lives with too much ease, and yet it did not avail him the opportunity to save the one life that mattered - nor could it have saved him from Bavarac's blade finding his heart. He knew then he had to seek martial training, but where could he go where Beone's men could not trouble him? The answer found him in time when he remembered another who had sought refuge in the frigid lands of Coerthas, one he'd met years prior, and one he knew he could trust if only because of their neutrality in the affairs of politics, the city-states, and even gil. He sought the warrior he'd met in the Shroud, Zieg Einherjar, for refuge, for counsel, and for training.
When they met, Ragi'zi trained day and night, a regimen that broke him apart, rebuilt him, and broke him again. He had never known such hardship and believed fervently that Zieg meant to kill him. Indeed, on the zenith of their training, Zieg offered him a simple ultimatum: "When the sun rises, if you are here, I will kill you." Ragi'zi could not sleep a wink, for he was terrified more than he'd ever been. After losing Willow he imagined fear could not grip him any longer, but Zieg taught him the better of that. Dawn came indeed and they fought one final time. Ragi'zi transcended his limits in an act of desperation for his life and for the first and only time defeated Zieg. Their paths parted, with Zieg offering him a final anecdote or piece of wisdom - Ragi'zi could not tell which.
"In this arrangement, this relationship, someone always dies. Be it master or apprentice, one walks away. Yet here we stand."
With Zieg venturing beyond Coerthas in search of new challenges, Ragi'zi remained and sought to train himself. Without his mentor he felt empty, as if he could take his life no further. He vacillated rapidly between honing his skills and grieving. His shouts echoed throughout Coerthas such that the locals believed those crags haunted. One fateful eve he cast himself from the cliffs of Coerthas to his doom only for a strong gust of wind to thrust him back upon stone, and there he wondered if the Twelve had deigned to spare him - their miserable plaything who he felt they'd tortured enough. His answer came when a man approached from the nearby settlement, a holy man of Ishgard. He identified himself as Father Isarn Lacordaire.
The holy man asked Ragi'zi what ailed him, for the din of his cries, training, and self-punishment had made wary the locals who feared the mysterious traveler in the hills. Ragi'zi told Isarn his tale, and the Father quietly listened to the end, then offered Ragi'zi something no one else could. He did not console Ragi'zi nor did he question his pain. No, the Father chose to share in it. He told Ragi'zi that the Fury had spared him that he may avenge his beloved, that the wind was her breath upon the mountain to drive him from his suicidal impulse and to push his heart in a better direction. He shed tear for Ragi'zi's loss and offered him a bed in a nearby convent where he could warm his skin and bones and find a measure of peace in worshipful labor. What could the moonkeeper do but agree?
There Ragi'zi studied the faith of Ishgard, the Holy See, the struggles in recent history they'd endured, the Dragonsong War, the doctrines and saints and everything he could find, all while Isarn and his disciples shared their wisdom and stories with him. He became sympathetic toward their plight, the instability of their faith, the death of their archbishop, their pain, their sorrow. They wore black to mourn the death of the Holy See, and the Black Sun Covenant was thusly formed. To Ragi'zi, Isarn Lacordaire was not merely a metaphorical holy father, but a true father that he never had. A man wiser than he, with principles, morals, virtues, but most of all, with a beautiful dream of a better world. Ragi'zi had never looked forward - only back and only now. It took a father to teach him to look forward and to sacrifice for a greater good, to be a better man and to love one's neighbor and family as oneself. That wisdom thawed his heart and mended his wounds better than any Cure spell, salve or condolence ever could.
He moved forward with renewed purpose, cobbling armor together, making connections in Ishgard, rekindling scholarly bonds between former colleagues, currying favor with like-minded minor nobles such as the Bayles and the Vaurteforts. He found himself immersed in a vibrant community and a beautiful culture, people hardened by war and alight with faith. Even though he was an outsider, a Miqo'te, the very thing Isarn's movement was wary of, he loved and believed in their cause to the bottom of his heart and shed sweat and blood to defend it. He fought dragonkind and heretics and defended his Father. He delivered sermons at his side and heard the words of the desperate. He helped the unfortunate and needy, the impoverished, even as he straddled poverty himself. He even built a tiny family in finding a morbol seedling in his garden at the convent which he named Calliope and made into a pet, or in his view a child of sorts. For the first time he had found happiness and purpose simultaneously.
Then came the Inquisitors. First they watched from the wings, their veiled eyes critical of Isarn's seemingly seditious message. Then they questioned him, spoke out against him, published criticisms. Then at last, during a vigil for the fallen of the Dragonsong War, they came with blade and spear and arrested Father Lacordaire before Ragi'zi. He was lost without the Father but could not challenge the Halonic Inquisition - the father might get a trial, but Ragi'zi would be cut down and the father made him swear never to spill the blood of their brothers. When the trial came, the father demanded trial by combat. Ragi'zi watched as his prayer beads tangled his blade in its scabbard, preventing the Father from defending himself. As with Ragi'zi's intended plunge from the mountain, he knew it was Halone speaking once more. As one must now live, the other must now die. Once more, someone Ragi'zi loved was cut down before his very eyes, and once more he was helpless to prevent it. He carried the Father from the Tribunal halls, burying him alongside his father in western Coerthas, and continued the Black Sun Covenant's work in defending Ishgard for a short time before he disappeared from the face of Eorzea.
Some many moons had passed ere he returned to Ishgard, whereupon he crossed paths with Hestia de Bayle. Recognition overcame him, strong as his memory was, and though it felt as if a veritable lifetime had passed, the knowledge of who stood before him was fresh in his mind. There began their friendship and alliance, for Hestia would name him her Keeper, Althyk, and invited him at last to become a ward of House de Bayle, a citizen and resident of the home he always wanted but could never have.
| Blood That Binds |
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Once upon a time, Rageant went by a different name and was part of a faction in Ishgard known as the Black Sun Covenant. Though there is much to be said for that time, one particular acquaintance he made was with a superannuated dragoon by the name of Arismont Sauveterre. Their interactions were limited short of mutual respect for one another's martial prowess, and when the Father of their covenant died and they went their separate ways, Rageant didn't expect he'd hear the name again. As it turned out, he was wrong. A knight of House de Bayle by the name of Lucius Guicareaux, a fellow dragoon, approached Rageant and asked him about Arismont. His superiors in the order had tasked him with finding the aged lancer's spear and their trail had led them to his wife, Lucrece, whom they interrogated (though Rageant is uncertain what that entailed.) They learned he had ventured east with a man named Garvik, but they knew not where. Rageant knew the name Garvik, and knew of some of Garvik's associates - members of the Long Climb Trading Co, which itself was comprised in its conception largely by the remnants of the Black Sun Covenant, though not Rageant himself. Many of Rageant's records had been inherited by this company, so he thought to find clues as to Arismont's whereabouts in their archives. He arrived at their headquarters in Vylbrand and spoke with Katharina Balk, a high-ranking member, only to discover that those very archives he sought had been taken from them by the owner of the company - none other than Lucrece, who now as Rageant noticed was a member of the House of Vaurtefort. Rageant had somewhat of a troubled history with the Vaurteforts, viewing them as cowards for abandoning the Father in his time of need, as lacking in stability with an emotionally volatile leader who he blamed in part for the Father's death, and as lacking of vision for refusing to make a ward of him (and having chose, instead, a woman who he learned had slaughtered many innocent people) forcing him to abandon Ishgard during a tumultuous time. He resolved then to question Garvik about Arismont's whereabouts to discover he had recently passed, though Katharina was decidedly discreet about the means by which this transpired. Suspicious that Garvik was silenced and the archives ceased to conceal a secret, Rageant decided it best that he speak with Lucius before confronting Lucrece, and to utilize Hestia for the task, for she bore noble heritage and station that might serve better against Lucrece than his own. Rageant would later come to Lucius's aid in investigating a ravaged caravan in the highlands of Coerthas. There was no sign of the assailants, but the gruesome slaughter was almost too rife with clues; one of the attackers was left for dead which was notably suspicious given the unlikelihood that the caravaneers could elicit casualties. Well-paid was this fallen adversary, but they bore wine as well - an aged vintage that Lucius recognized as being from his family's own vineyards. The connection between this seemingly random attack and Lucius's own findings in previous days pointed to a deadly conspiracy at work. Rageant sampled just how deadly that conspiracy was while inspecting a potential vessel at Limsa Lominsa that could bear them to the east. A mysterious man with a shoddy, forced Imperial accent and disguise awaited him on the top deck of the Goldbow. Their words turned to blade-work as they fought in a thunderstorm until Rageant triumphed and understood the identity of the man before him - Arismont, an ally from the Black Sun Covenant he had thought was long dead. Many secrets were then laid bare for him, and those truths spurred him into new action. With the familiar stranger's words echoing in his head, Rageant joined Lucius and Gaelle in plunging the depths of his family archives, where they found relics of a time before Ishgard and other wondrous sights. When they came upon a vault door, they were beset upon by possessed and armed men and women and forced to defend themselves while Rageant gathered the aether necessary to break his mortal limits and smash the sealed door to pieces with his axe. Inside was a case containing a cursed spear, which seemingly consumed Lucius while Gaelle and Rageant fought to defend him from Arismont (the stranger from the Goldbow) and a half-Garlean armed with a formidable gunblade. Their struggles were in vain as Lucius seized the cursed spear and vanished without a trace. After the dust settled, Rageant and Gaelle came to discover that Arismont and the half-Garlean, a man named Gregor, had come to stop Lucius from claiming the cursed spear, called Windshear. They parleyed and came upon a temporary truce, uniting their efforts to find and dispose of the cursed weapon. Rageant, bearing news of the unfortunate circumstances to Hestia de Bayle, swore an oath to return Lucius from this fate. Moreover, he informed Hestia of Arismont's unusual condition - he was Ashkin, an undead revenant who could not slumber. Such heresy could not be suffered in neither Ishgard nor the Twelveswood, and so Rageant agreed to keep an eye on Arismont and find Lucius simultaneously. During their time together, Rageant learned much and more from Arismont about Eastern swordplay and spearwork, but could never glean from Arismont a motive nor could he discover the mechanism by which he walked above the soil - and, he came to discover, killing Arismont was impossible. In time he came to question how much of Arismont remained in this revenant and how much was a charade, but his concerns were kept to himself. Unable to find any clues as to Lucius's whereabouts, Rageant, Arismont, and Gaelle consulted a comrade, Jancis Milburga, who used some manner of augury to determine that Lucius was likely in Gyr Abania. This aligned with Arismont's suspicious - Windshear sought conflict, and would drive its vessel toward war and conquest, and so Rageant imagined that they might find their lost comrade on the periphery of the border of Gyr Abania and Ilsabard, where tensions burned hottest. By airship they arrived in Castrum Oriens as six - Rageant, Arismont, Gaelle, Gregor, Jancis, and Cinnabar Prentice. They traveled the sun-parched wastes in pursuit of Lucius's trail. In time as they broke camp, however, Gregor grew restless and attacked Arismont. Rageant sought to defuse tension and protect Gregor from committing to a battle Rageant knew he could not win by intercepting Gregor's opening blow and making himself the half-Garlean, half-Ala Mhigan's opponent instead. Their fight quickly turned lethal as Gregor professed his desire to destroy Arismont and utilized deadly magic against the Miqo'te. Rageant prevailed for a time, until an unexpected foe joined the fray, a woman named Nox Corvum, similarly half-Garlean and an ally of Gregor who had discreetly followed them through Gyr Abania. Rageant attempted to fight the two of them off but as he was backed into a corner, Gaelle leveled her sidearm with Gregor and blew his hand off, disarming him. This did not prove to delay the madman wholly - as Rageant exchanged blows with Nox Corvum, Gregor recovered from his injuries using an esoteric art of self-sacrifice with which Rageant was unfamiliar and attempted to strangle Gaelle. Rageant, disarmed of Terreveiller and desperate to triumph, made to seize Arismont's katana from its scabbard as his hip and utilize it in battle. Ere he could, Arismont took the blade himself and critically injured Gregor, ending the conflict. Nox tended to Gregor's wounds, stabilizing him, while Rageant, Gaelle, and Arismont argued as to whether they would leave Gregor to his fate and where they would go next given the unfortunate circumstances. Not to be denied his vengeance, Gregor rose again and charged Arismont, scoring a blow against the Ashkin with remarkable efficacy that did not regenerate as Rageant had previously witnessed. Enraged, Arismont cast aside any pretense and deception - he revealed his own weapon to be what they sought all along - the cursed Windshear - which morphed into a spear and impaled Gregor. Arismont reeled from the wound inflicted by the vengeful half-breed while Rageant, Gaelle, and Nox collectively declared their intent to kill Arismont once and for all, even as the vile undead professed his allegiance to some unknown, eldritch force. Their combined assaults weakened the revenant and yet it prevailed in a twisted new form. Desperate to end this once and for all, Rageant reached forth to seize Windshear from Arismont - or rather, the cursed weapon seized him. Thereafter as the two women fought the revenant, Rageant was lost in a battle of his own within the confines of his mind. The weapon had turned to a sort of writhing mass of quicksilver and encapsulated his hand, causing him excruciating and unthinkable pain, and during this the Presence within the weapon (a tentative descriptor, as it were) made its twisted edicts in his mind - to rend, to maim, to destroy. Rageant was not lost and imprisoned by this presence as its former victims however - Rageant possessed the gift, the Echo, who rendered him immune to certain pervasive influences. This was his shield against the onslaught upon his sanity and will by Windshear. Ultimately Rageant fought to assert his consciousness over Windshear, and when Lucius emerged to help them finally defeat the revenant Arismont, he lingered long enough to take Lucius to Jancis where he could be treated and recover from his ordeal. Rageant then departed into the wilds of Gyr Abania to fight in peace and isolation with the consciousness within Windshear that threatened to assert control over him, just as he had previously fought to master his Inner Beast not so long ago. Rageant ultimately triumphed after a time, returning to civilization wielding a new power and with a harrowing passenger clawing at the back of his mind. |
| The Price of Obsession |
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There has been a string of unusual postings on the House de Bayle bakery noticeboard - notorious monster postings such as for an aggressive boar raised to enormity by the Sylph named Phaia, which he and Hestia dispatched. The unusual postings are presumably left by a member of the Order of the Twin Adder but curiously Rageant has never caught him in the act. Since many of the postings are too dangerous to be posted on that board, Rageant has decided to gather the able-bodied members of the House to tackle them head-on, in hopes of improving relations between Ishgard and Gridania as well as fulfilling their duties as residents of the Shroud that must protect their home. One such listing concerned a bandit clan known as the Black Mites who were frequently assailing traders on the road in the North Shroud. Rageant and Hestia led several House members, some uniformed, on a patrol of those roads. In a bold move, the Black Mites attempted to ambush the patrol, confident in their superior numbers, but Hestia's reconnaissance spared the House members from being ambushed and Svana's swordplay made short work of the attackers, with no small sum of assistance from Jacline Kerelle, Cinnabar Prentice, and Bruno Suvois. Many of the bandits were killed and the rest given over to the custody of Gridanian officials, who paid the House for their services. Another notorious monster notice would come into their midst, this time leading them to slay a creature in the East Shroud that had accounted for the deaths of some great many travelers, adventurers, and livestock. It would come to be that this creature was Calliope - Rageant's own pet morbol that he raised from a seedling, which had evidently gone mad and begun a streak of violence. He and his peers in the House were forced to slay the beast, an act that consumed him with guilt and grief. |
| Final Letter to Willow |
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Dearest Willow, Another troubled month is behind me, seven alike since our parting. In that time I’ve witnessed every facet of grief and endured its every sting. I have seen sorrow’s deepest pits, billowed with rage’s hottest fire, danced to the tune of profound madness, and here I am, now and today, penning this letter to a woman who is dead. A woman I have loved, a loss that left me well and truly hollow. Why then am I writing to you? In the time since your passing, your death has wounded me scarce as I’ve wounded myself, but my wound has since vanished. I am warm now; my face bears color, my arms and legs are filled with strength, and my heart beats with life’s vigor more than ever it has, but for the time we were together. I’m writing to you because I have at last found the letter which you left me - it fell from my old journal where you tucked it for my foolish fingers to find. As my eyes clouded with tears following your delicate long-hand upon the pale parchment, as the forgotten aroma of your perfume graced my senses, my lips did curl into an unfamiliar configuration, the comfort of a scarcely-worn smile. It wasn’t a smile of nostalgia, nor joy, no - it was a smile of forgiveness. Forgiveness for the world that took you from me. Forgiveness for the monsters who did this to you. Forgiveness for myself most of all, to have languished so long in sadness, to have poorly mourned thee. The love we had, I celebrate it. I thought death had claimed our love as had it claimed you, but I see the truth, now. It is not taken by death, but by it immortalized. Here I am, the gods’ play-thing, fated to persist having known the height of life’s purest meaning. So many wasted tears shed for my loneliness, for having become hollow and empty, when all along have I been since the moment we kissed, complete and whole. In fact, I think the road before me is auspicious, paved with potential and I will not squander any stretch of it. I have everything, and only now do I realize it for true. What were we, Willow? We were young when we met. I confess I did not see at first how much you could mean to me, and it took longer, I think, for you to see the same in me. I remember having heard the song of your voice before I saw your soft face, knowing your beauty before the moment it would stun me. We were inseparable - the days you toiled my reassurances caressed thy ear, and the days I doubted myself I could count your affection as proof my fears were but mist. So what’s next for me, darling Willow? Shall I make new friends? Shall I bring hope to those who need it most? Shall I love again? What can I do now but strive with the strength in my body and the wit between my ears to make this world a better place? I thought before of these days to be cursed, but they are each and every one of them a new and exciting gift. This smile upon my face is perhaps your final kiss for me, one I shall wear often in memory of thine very own. Farewell my beloved Willow, you the piece which has completed me, the key which has freed me, my sweet Raven flown. Love always Ragi |
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 "I knew thee only by thy name and trade, Slayer of Dragons. We stood shoulder-to-shoulder for what we believed in, for the Father's message. Perhaps we could know each other by that alone. That I suppose is why you chose me, why you trusted me with your family's secrets and why you led me down into that frozen labyrinth. We found a deeper evil there than ever could we have imagined. I didn't go through Hell and back because the Baroness ordered me to. I didn't follow that undying old-timer into the deepest fits and most desolate wastes out of morbid curiosity. The father's apparition did not come to me in the night and beg me to raise you from perdition. And I was not driven by pity for Gaelle, even if hers was a pain I know intimately. I dragged you out of that deathly mire because it was the right thing to do. You slew a hundred dragons to keep your people safe. I'm your people now, Lucius; I had to repay the favor. What shall you do now, brother?" |
Zieg Einherjar
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| "Think about the nature of this attack, and the form of the final attack will come to you. If you can't find what it is you're missing, you'll never be able to learn it because I will kill you in the exchange. You have one night to think about it. What is it you are missing in all of this?"
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Zike Lancean
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 "Rageant, my friend and comrade, over the time we have spent together, I have come to see you as a close ally and confidant. As we've worked together I've sensed a kindred spirit within you. The spirit of a man who has been an outcast. Though our time has been relatively short, I consider you one of my closest allies, and it is for this reason I would be honored if you would attend a dinner with me and a select few others after the ceremony tonight. Additionally, I give to you this lucky stone, a small bauble I found in the sea of clouds as a youngster, and polished to a mirror sheen. May it always inspire growth and exploration for you as it has for me." |
Willow Evinar
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 Ragi'zi met young Willow during his tenure with the Path of the Twelve, during which time he became hopelessly infatuated with her. As they carried out their studies and adventures together, he found himself unable to inspire the feelings in mutuality with her and he was forced to endure as she was the subject of attention by various more fitting suitors. Willow suffered from a perplexing condition which caused her to lose stretches of memory seemingly at random which greatly compromised her studies and their friendship, though Ragi'zi committed himself to unearthing information that might combat the challenges of her condition. Around the time of the Battle of Carteneau, Ragi'zi was separated from Willow and though he could not be certain if she were alive, he asked all of the contacts he'd accrued over his years of adventuring and study to keep their ears to the ground and contact him had they found any information.
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Father Isarn Lacordaire
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 After Willow died, Ragi'zi was so possessed by grief that he journeyed to Coerthas on some misbegotten idea he could seek vengeance for those responsible for her fate. There he fell prey to his maddening sadness and threw himself from a mountain only for a gust of wind to push him back to safety. Not long after the Father Isarn Lacordaire found him and nursed his body and mind back to health while instilling in him the faith of Halone. The two shared a profoundly close bond, something akin to father and son. Ragi'zi committed himself to the Father's cause for a better Ishgard to the bitter end, and buried the Father's remains alongside their own father's. Now he honors Isarn's memory by taking his name and attributed any and all of his good works to the Father in hopes that one day, when he joins Isarn in the next world, he can take pride in the gift he gave the world through his teachings which he could be certain had taken nest in the heart of at least one unlikely ally and friend. |
Hestia de Bayle
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 Rageant met Hestia for the first time during one of the Father Isarn Lacordaire's sermons, though their interactions were sparse. Their friendship began in earnest when he approached her during her vigil in Ishgard and exchanged wisdom and memories with her. She invited him to join her at the Dawn Vigil in the Black Shroud, whereupon he became a squire of House de Bayle in the interest of having a place to stay and a good cause to serve. As time progressed they exchanged wisdom, personal experiences, and share the glory of battle so much that a powerful bond was forged, built on mutual respect and trust. Rageant became a part of a cadre when Hestia named him her Keeper. As one, they accomplished a great many deeds and triumphs. Rageant saw Hestia conviction and strength, someone who could change the world. He possesses a wealth of gratitude for the succor she offered by opening her home to him and raising him from a nameless traveler to a Knight of Ishgard. In time, their paths diverged as Hestia took a more prominent role in the military affairs of the Eorzean Alliance while Rageant focused on more personal matters. They last spoke to one another during one of the many Grand Tilts of Coerthas at Camp Dragonhead, when Hestia entrusted Rageant with a delicate and crucial affair involving a Dragoon of Ishgard who had gone missing. Rageant roamed Abalathia's Spine and Gyr Abania for some few moons in search of this missing figure and ultimately found him and sent him home, but by then Rageant had a new purpose and new trials and could not return home to his friend. The two spotted each other intermittently on the battlefield during the Ghimlyt Dark, but since then they've never crossed paths again. Among many fond memories Rageant possesses of their friendship, there was a time once when he wished to sample Hestia's martial prowess first-hand. Rageant and Hestia pursued a notorious monster contract, a journey that culminated with the two of them triumphantly awash in the beast's blood. Rageant would later show his appreciation for Hestia by gifting her with a dark oak rosary depicting the emblems of the Twelve, which he whittled by hand himself. In return, Hestia gave him a gift - an uncirculated gil piece from her former home which possessed great sentimental value to her. The gesture moved Rageant, who knew the deeper meaning behind the gift, and so he still keeps the gift on his person to this day. |
MARTIAL PROWESS: Rageant has an impressive martial pedigree - he hails from a savage tribe and a fighter's bloodline, he has been trained by a peerless Warrior to master his inner beast, he survived the Grimlyt Dark, he possesses a fairly remarkable and unique soul crystal from which to draw knowledge, and most importantly he is captivated by the desire to see how deadly sharp he can hone himself. It's fair to assume that Rageant possesses exceptional skill and instinct where fighting is concerned. He is very skilled in a variety of weapons, most notably the battle axe and the broadsword, but is deadly even while unarmed (though not by a Monk's standards.) His fighting style is a practical adaptation of several styles he has learned from his mentors through the years, from observation, and from his soul crystal. This style prominently features a potent admixture of one mentor's axe technique, of Ishgardian swordplay, and even a hint of Arismont's Far Eastern bladework.
DARK KNIGHT: Owing to his unique relationship with Windshear, Rageant commands a power that closely resembles the Dark Knights of legend.
THE ECHO: Rageant Larcordaire is an Echo user, and formerly a member of the Path of the Twelve. He can therefore utilize the gift and has some understanding to its nature and origin.
PHYSICAL TRAITS: Rageant maintains an impressive physique through regular training. He is very strong and resistant to harm, possesses a high tolerance for pain, and is fast. He's not particularly graceful or dexterous, and since he is missing one of his eyes he's not well suited to tasks requiring a more significant measure of visual acuity.
AETHERIAL TRAITS: Rageant is capable of manipulating aether and has an affinity with the Earth aspect. He has studied arcanism, thaumaturgy, and conjury, though isn't particularly talented in any of the three. He cannot perform these particular forms of magic without a properly-attuned focus, but isn't completely lost in a conversation about them and can somewhat reliably identify magic upon witnessing it. Rageant wrote a paper about beast tribe folk magic during his time in Sharlayan and so possesses some magical esoterica of scant relevance.
TRADES: Rageant is an amateur woodcarver in a hobbyist's capacity. He is also a journeyman alchemist, having studied it at an academic level in Sharlayan and briefly continued his studies in Ul'dah prior to the Calamity. He hasn't used the trade much since and is therefore woefully out-of-practice.
A wrought iron battle axe with a mythril edge that has been at Rageant's side or upon his back for years. This weapon is tried and tested and he maintains its keen edge well. It is heavy, sharp, and deadly in his hands indeed.
Rageant favors heavy armor. His current favorite set of armor is a suit of ornamental steel plate designed to evoke the image of Althyk, the Keeper. This armor was forged and manufactured by fine artisans owing loyalty to House de Bayle. The armor is a perfect fit and is no easy barrier to penetrate.
A multi-aspected crystal upon which is carved the myriad deeds of warriors from eras past. Rageant came into possession of this valuable relic after enduring the punishing training regimen imposed upon him by Zieg Einherjar, a veteran warrior. The influence of Windshear has pervaded this soul crystal, infusing it with the knowledge and skills of those who were previously possessed by the weapon.
A pair of sterling silver hoops that Rageant always wears on his ears.
Rosary beads once belonging to the late Father Isarn Lacordaire, handcrafted by him and given to Rageant as a gift.
An exotic, uncirculated gil piece given to Rageant by Hestia as a gift, with great emotional significance to her and, in turn, to him.
A gift from Knight-Captain Zike Lancean, it is a polished stone found in the Sea of Clouds in the knight's youth, given to Rageant as a token of friendship.
Rageant keeps this side-arm sheathed on his person at all times, usually in a holster tied to his belt or chest or occasionally in his boot.
- ■ "Rageant is a man of valor and loyalty. Severe as I am, and dedicated to his cause. I hold a great deal of respect for the man, and even more in his wisdom. I could listen to him speak for bells; his words are ever profound. I only pray he finds similar company in myself." — Hestia de Bayle
- ■ "Oh, the fierce kitten with the big axe. Saw him snap someone in half, once. Don't pull his tail. ...Maybe don't call him 'kitten,' either." — Skylar Steelheart
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