Rathan Deleski

Name:	Rathan Daleski
Homeworld:	Atu
Bond:	Jikan Fragment Ratwi'Shuah
Bonded At:	Shivran Aerd
Species:	Human
Age:	32
Sex:	Male
Height:	5'7"
Hair:	Bleached blonde, straight, worn long but pulled back tightly
Skin:	Browned
Eyes:	Brown
Residence:	Hetue
Position:	Priest of the Fifth Order
Description:	Rathan stands just under average height, but not enough so to stand out. He is slender, but not slender enough to really be remarkable. His skin is browned, darker than many of his city, but not dark enough to mark him as terribly unusual. His eyes are a completely normal shade of brown, settled over a very average-looking nose. His hair, like that of many men of Hetue, is straight, not very thick, and is worn long and tied back-- though, as if making good his only real way of differentiating himself, he keeps it a brilliantly pale bleached-blond, rather than its natural brown-black shade. It doesn't really look like it fits him, but Rathan doesn't care. He wears the grayed out shades and simple cuts of clothing befitting his status as one of the lowest individuals in the lowest order of priests.
Personality:	Though he is both shrewd and suspicious, Rathan is generally a good-hearted man, he just doesn't like to show it, both to protect himself and isolate himself. He has seen a lot of things in his life already, and none of it has encouraged him to open up and trust anyone just yet. Despite his low pecking order, Rathan has made no moves to increase his status: he prefers being in the background, unnoticed and ignored, for that it how one learns. Someday he'll be able to put together what he's learned and either escape, make a sudden change of status for himself, or bring about some other surprising change, but for now, he knows that "observer" is the role for him, and he can be patient.
History:	Coming from a poor family and pressed into the priesthood to save money was a poor way to start out life, but Rathan dealt with it. As a child of poverty, his fertile imagination had come up with many ways for his life to improve: suddenly being chosen for a First Order priest and dragon-bond, discovering a cache of jewels to give to his parents, winning the respect of someone rich and generous by some trick, performance, or feat of bravery. None of it happened, of course, and his disappointment in being sent without his consent to be a priest was only compounded by being deemed fit for nothing but Fifth Order, which was little more than an Order for servants and, occasionally, acolytes. That was when his general bitterness began. Despite being bitter, however, Rathan was also clever. He very quickly learned what to do and what not to do, memorized the mazes of the holy temple and attached complexes, discovered who needed what and when, and taught himself to keep quiet and to really listen. Unanswered questions, increased attacks on the city and surrounding farmsteads, and especially contact with the First Order priests-- his status was too low for actual contact with the dragon-gods themselves-- convinced him quite quickly that if the dragons were really gods, they were very bad ones. When priestly "lessons" turned out to be nothing more than learning rituals and memorizing dogma, Rathan turned his free time to sneaking into the library whenever he could to look for things to actually learn. He taught himself several languages and took a strong interest in the history of Hetue-- largely because the history books he could find were brief and, as far as he could tell, largely incorrect, and he liked the mystery of trying to find out not only what really happened, but why it was kept hidden. His search, for the most part, remained in vain, for a mere Fifth Order priest had no access to more privileged texts, not even by sneaking around, and whoever had hidden the city's true history really didn't want the truth getting out. So that was the point of impasse that Rathan had hit when he really met Moniri Luluter, an elf and another Fifth Order priest. They had been acquainted, of course, but had rarely shared words. One evening, though, as Rathan was making yet another foray into the library, he found Moniri staring with the same longing he felt at the section of the library reserved and protected for Second and First Order priests. He hurried the elf out, going to somewhere quiet, and they had a long and very important discussion, one that changed Rathan's view of everything he thought to be true. Moniri had made a dangerous discovery: he had managed to find a forbidden text, and it more than implied, it flat out stated that the "gods" were nothing more than physical, mortal creatures who not only sickened and died, but needed humans, or in Moniri's people's case, humanoids, to survive. It made a lot of sense, but it was knowledge no one was supposed to know, and it was knowledge that Moniri had not dared to share with anyone until Rathan confessed his own curiosity and doubt. From that moment forward, Rathan had made his first and, so far, only friend. Even if he had wanted to try, there simply hadn't been any time to make more, for things changed very suddenly and very drastically shortly after. The High Priest died, finally, of old age, and the chosen successor was none other than Moniri's younger sister, Sunseri. Rathan had never actually met the young elven woman, but from Moniri's stricken descriptions, he surmised that the change in status had not been good for her. Together, Rathan and Moniri decided that the dragons' charade had gone on long enough, and made plans that swiftly grew from simple rescue to a complete overthrow of the dragons' regime, for one would not be possible without the other-- and neither would be possible without outside help. The only problem was, Moniri could protect his own mind from the prying of dragons and fellow priests-- he had a small psionic gift for thought-sending, -sensing, and -shielding-- but Rathan could not. So, as unsuited for escaping across the desert as he might seem, Rathan would have to be among those sent away. Three others were selected, each from different Orders among the priesthood, and each Moniri was certain would be of strong enough stamina and will to bring back real dragons, ones who could challenge the so-called gods and, hopefully, win. With a combination of threats, treats, and mental coercion, Moniri managed to trick one of the "gods"-- the most tractable of the four, a simple-minded young female named Jav-- into speaking for him to endorse the expedition, disguising it as a journey mandated by the "gods" to enrich the lives of the people. If Rathan had held any doubts about the mortality of the "gods", that alone erased them: no deity would be bullied into submission by a simple mortal man, psionic elf or no. The agreement of their envoy received, Moniri sent them and his friend away as soon as possible. Rathan is the only one of the four to know the truth behind their mission, and he isn't looking forward to the moment when the other three find out they were duped. He just hopes he can run fast enough to escape them, should they decide to take their disbelief out on his hide.