Ja-guen Tor Rilr’rao Tor Jhoutai
Ja-guen Tor Rilr'rao is a ValuSelu Pact Ral-Mi hailing from the hubworld Jhoutai. He is employed in the 'state workforce' of the Pact, known as the Jhoutigari. Ja-guen serves as a communications officer on a WayHall Patrol traveling the border of Syndicate and Federation space near the Nova Braga system.
It is on this tour of duty that he encounters the SWV Resolute Roar and Calhoon, a defining moment in his life.
He has served with the Jhoutigari for five years, having left behind a life of cut-throats and thrill-seekers within the Apple of Hedonism. What he did within Hedon, he refuses to share with anyone but his pack. Auric health checks do show many dark memories around the time.
Throughout his service within the Jhoutigari he has been reviewed as unwavering, effective, and ambitious by his peers. His superiors note hesitation at taking morally demanding orders and a lack of loyalty to the Marshall, Marshall Linor're.
As Calhoon sat, catching his breath, Ja-Guen’s emerald eyes remained on him, searching his face for trauma and his body for wounds.
“Here.” The Ral-mi stepped closer to him, and placed his hands on Calhoon’s shoulders. The Ral-mi’s hands encompassed him, held him steady to the table without forcing him down.
“Breathe with me.” Ja-guen stood firm, and sucked in a long gust of air through his nostrils. His sharp ears perked up with his breath in. Calhoon followed suit and closed his eyes. He focused on his chest expanding, and on the broad hands of Ral-mi holding him steady. The shivers racking him from the shock faded out with his exhale.
“Another. In. And out.”
“One more. Good.” Ja-guen kept his gaze firm on Calhoon, the human was easy to settle down, more so than most civilians that Ja-guen found himself dealing with. Maybe I haven’t been totally forsaken. Ja-guen thought to himself.
Calhoon opened his eyes, and the Ral-mi caught them with his own. Ja-guen’s emerald eyes soothed with their empathy, and thrilled with the power behind them. Somehow despite almost being ripped apart, Calhoon still felt lucky that he met this particular Ral-mi.
- An Excerpt from Gruesome Endings, New Beginnings
Hard Choices
Ja-guen was born to IdPari parents in The Barrens of Yak'koli. According to Ja-guen, the reason he and his parents lived IdPari was to detest military service, as they had lost their first son in war. He lived a an IdPari life, enough to live, but little else. Dinner did not always fill his belly, and to bask in natural sunlight was a treat. To this day, he still has a fascination with stars even though he has been travelling through space for years.
To supplement the family income, Ja-guen worked the streets of the Barren. He scrounged what little money he could. Soon, he fell in with the Hedonite groups of the area, working as a black-market dealer and occasional escort.
Left Alone
At the age of 16, Jaguen's family left him to pursue a brighter life in the Federation. It was a mutual agreement, the parents left Ja-guen everything they could not carry, and they promised to bring him out of the Barrens the moment they could. He has not heard back from them since they left.
When they left, Ja-guen continued his work for the local Hedon club. His strong will and ability to survive caught the attention of the local Hedonite Baron. Working for the Baron, life became easier. He got to visit the better parts of Yak'koli for his work, even making a few trips to the Yak'koli Candy Festival using skimmed transit tickets.
It was outside the Barrens that he met an Aen Auric Caster named Aj'jano. They became quick friends, and after many trips, flings, and shenangians they became lovers. Aj'jano taught Ja-guen how to harness his Meta to cast Auric spells to soothe the soul, a critical skill that would help him get through challenge after challenge.
Terrible Consequences
The high-flying life of an IdPari Hedonite in the Barrens came to a careening halt. Working for the Baron meant more trust and pay, but it also meant more risk. With Aj'jano's help, they had set up a large deal to be brokered between the Sorrows and Hedon. The job was meant to be a ticket off world for both of them, enough money to start anew.
The Deal had been rigged from the start, the Baron having set up the deal to be ambushed in order to force Sorrows into a territory war. A violent skirmish ensues, gunshots rattling the cave-walls of the Barren. In the fight, he loses Aj'jano to a stray round. The Aen pleads that Ja-guen leave however he can with his last breath.
The Baron had gotten his war, using Aj'jano's corpse as a rallying cry of murder at the hands of the Sorrows. Ja-guen has no part in it, he feels in his gut that this was a setup, and does the only thing he could do to get out of the Barrens.
Death is not some unfathomable concept to me. I've seen enough death, it infested life like maggots when I lived in the Barrens. When I held Aj'jano in my arms and felt his final breath leave, that's when I felt the permenance of death for the first time.
I've avoided it ever since. I don't know if I could handle loss like that twice.
Clean the Slate
Joining the Jhoutigari
Now Ja-guen was alone in the Barrens again, with the Sorrows accusing him of brokering a setup, and Hedon focused on fighting. Ja-guen sought to avoid the conflict, and found himself asking the Jhoutigari recruitment offices for help.
They agreed to help, and in exchange for military service, sent him off world to his current assignment. He pulled a squad together through bootcamp; a Parisan, an Aen, and a Helyk. Together they formed an exemplary team, and were deployed together on Wayhall patrols.
His skills in language, his hyper-empathy as a Ral-mi, and his journeyman skills in Auric landed him the team role of Communications Specialist.
Ja-guen had finally left his past behind to forge a new story in the stars.
Unrest against the Marshall
Under the Jhoutigari, Ja-guen serves the local Marshall of the Nova Braga space. Marshall Linor're and Ja-guen never have seen eye to eye, though any distaste is kept to water cooler conversations with Ja-guen's team.
In many cases, when the Marshall has ordered retreat or abandoning a situation, Ja-guen has championed for the opposite, leading to tensions between the two.
I love Ja-guen. Knowing his backstory... So the events later his doubly hard, in both loss and betrayal. Poor Ja-guen. I hope he finally finds the happiness he deserves!
Necromancy is a Wholesome Science.
I hope so too! He seems to be on the right track! <3