an uncertain tomorrow

 personality  Charismatic with a roguish charm. Cunning, and shrewd though often obscures it. Flippant and frequently sarcastic, serious when it matters, and faithful when it counts. Tempestuous and vindictive when angered — he's not a petty man prone to grudges, but he never forgets. Honest to the point of often being blunt. Sympathetic to the downtrodden and defenseless, resentful of the oppressor. Hedonistic in line with most of antivan society, but has a loyal heart. Stubborn, and unafraid to dig his heels in when he believes he's right, often to his own detriment. Observant and intuitive, able to adapt to situations as they arise. Opportunistic to a fault, enjoys unfavorable odds and stacked decks. Carries guilt like the lovesick at the grave rather than an altar. Hates unfinished business, pursues it like a man possessed.While his accolades are numerous, his commendations and condemnations equally prestigious and gleaming, one wouldn't say Rhen is modest — but, he lacks the boastful and prideful edge most would have at his stage of career; and seemingly enjoys it's absence. A lover of cheap thrills, crass attitudes and theatrics — favors the common man's flavor of entertainment.Doesn't believe in outing his sources, however serious or benign, enjoys keeping mum.Outwardly, Rhen is a man who puts forward an air of someone who enjoys a leisurely pursuit in life, if not the fervent romantic’s idea of the Antivan dream, viewed through a skewed and rosy tinted outsiders lens. On further reading, and examination, one will find that he's anything but lackadaisical or lacking in ambition. Nor the determination to seize what he's set his mind upon. Rather, Rhen obfuscates much of his own personal struggles with both his personhood, and the weight of a mantle he believes he should have never inherited. Regardless of whether or not the individuals who know him best say otherwise — choosing to craft a believable mask, and falls into habits well worn and battle tested, backed by a ledger of completed contracts with long dried ink.Individuals closest to Rhen who know him further, know him as the kind of man who buys the first and last rounds in. Doesn't do regrets, only hard lessons. A fierce and uncompromising lover, his vision of romance is complex and obscure. Nurses a yearning for the simple pleasures and suspended moments between falling grains in the hour glass, looking for solace in hard to find nooks, carving it out of intentionally getting lost if only for a second to breathe. Rhen's passion for his friends is only outshone by his need to protect, and potentially, die for them. He's an unwavering, unyielding bulwark of moral and emotional support that will be the first to the line and last to leave it, even if in the moment, he doesn’t know what to quite rightly say.At heart, he’s a man divided and still standing, wading through the ashen shallows of a World on fire, knowing full well one foot wrong will send him into the deep end.

 biography  His tale starts like most Antivan Crows, an Orphan from Antiva City. Born in the crumbling, waterlogged Alienage and forced, like many of the desperate and disparate elves struggling to survive in a world intent to brutalise and extort — to adapt or die. Fleet footed, conniving and charming, and developing a dastardly sleight of hand, the boy found quick work out of the small cluster of individuals who came together to at least look out for the orphans, when he was old enough to at least understand the notion of providing for himself. He made his scant andris running errands, delivering missives between various spaces and places, eavesdropping from alcoves too small for the regular man to fit in, and occasionally pick pocketing when necessary.This self-sufficiency, along with his natural talent and forged determination — would put him on the radar of one of the Heirs of the Crows ( later in life, Rhen would also cite his elven heritage and unusual looks were also something the Crows would of inherently been interested, due to aspects of their work preying upon human desires toward Elves. He's not mad about it, it's just what it is. ). In truth, the Heir could of gone much the same way as some other fledglings find themselves, compradi. Purchased, gold coin turned over to his myriad of caretakers, their grip iron on his shoulders, in order to cover what had been spent raising the boy, and temporarily ease the burden. If Rhen hadn't approached the figure first, having clocked them before the opportune moment came to reveal themselves.It was the first revelation of something more than just another potential crow, lurking behind an odd coloured gaze which burned with the right amount of umbrage and razor sharp intelligence. He looked at them as much as he looked through them. Despite the youth still desperately trying to cling to his young bones, he knew he didn't have options. Adapt or die. Alienage life was wont to strip the childhood out of the young. Being a Crow meant there was a chance at something else. Infamy and prestige perhaps, but it was a chance at life.In reality — lost to time, and the subsequent Heir which followed the one that found him, is that he was bought and paid for regardless. An insurance policy, a just in case.Rhen tends to not talk about his past, remarking that where most would simply lie and say they don't remember ( sob stories aren't alluring ), he remembers it and has branded it irrelevant now. Who that boy was, is not the man he is today.Glad to see the back of Antiva City proper, Treviso was strange, familiar and new. It was beautiful, brutal and unforgiving. He can't say if simply being an unclaimed fledgling left to be housed by the guild proper until claimed at the moment of becoming a full Crow, would of been a less severe road ( he doubts it ). Rhen was claimed by House de Riva shortly after arriving, at the behest of the very Heir who had found him. Rare few come in with such a clarity to them, reluctant to name them prodigies, but close enough.Killed his first man at fifteen and became a fully fledged Crow. Made a name for himself as a Crow who could beat unfavourable odds, decisive and uncompromising in his method. Something of a left hand to the Fifth Talon when required, despite their differing methods, their opposites offer balance as much as their similarities demand excellence. Maintains an air of the jovial antivan who enjoys life, and all it's little petite morts. Banks on people underestimating him on that front alone, choosing to disarm and feint through charm and masks.Lethal when required, underhandedly dangerous when idle.