Rayleigh, The Gale
The Winds of Disaster, The Scourge of The East, Mage-Eater
It's odd... out of all the mortal zealots that pursue becoming a natural disaster, I am the only one that was born one. And as strange as it is, my pursuits as disaster of Teiva was to become a mortal.
Rayleigh is a unique mirror opposite to Bellamy in many ways. Unlike Bell whose ambition is to grow into a natural disaster and be unrestrained for Teiva, Rayleigh was born a natural disaster, and his goal is to master restraint as a disaster for her and his family.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Rayleigh is an elderly man of impressive height with a toned build and tan skin. Two of his most distinguishing traits are his round glasses and facial hair, which is arranged embattled across his lower jaw. He also has a scar over his right eye, which he has had for many years. He wears a plain silver cloak that appears magical.
Like Bellamy, his body is littered with scars that was clearly strengthened by conflict but only worn by his age. The major difference, however, is that the scars are more abundant and appear to mostly be from magical attacks rather than physical.
Special abilities
Raleigh has magical abilities that ties to the power of natural disasters, with his specialty gearing towards wind and lightning.
Raleigh is unique among other zealots because his magical power is not provided exclusively by Teiva, rather he was born with it. While his power has mostly been developed by his own efforts, the discipline provided by her was exactly needed to turn him from an impressive spell-caster into a force of nature.
Apparel & Accessories
he chooses to dress quite simply, usually just in a nearly plain button-up shirt, shorts, and sandals. When out in public, he also seems to enjoy the cover of a large silver hooded cloak, though the hood is often down. Underneath these clothes, the old man's body is surprisingly built and very well-toned, a testament to his incredible strength.
Specialized Equipment
Silver Robe of The Arch-magi
Taken from an arch-mage he defeated during his younger years, all the fancy decorations usually seen in a robe like this is stripped away to make it appear an like an incredibly nice, but normal cloak. when observing it via detect magic, however, the sheer magical power this robe has is overwhelming.
Amulet of Proof Against Detection
Taken from a minor East Kingdom mage, this single magic item has allowed him to say hidden from magical powerhouses like the east and avoid his enemies from finding his family. He'd be more willing to give the robe away than this amulet.
Ring of Mind Shielding
Even in the case of being captured or interrogated, he got this item from the black market to further ensure no hint towards his family is made.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Rayleigh was born among a seaside tribe of elemental worshippers. As an infant, he was chosen to be a sacrifice to a summoned elder storm elemental as a part of the tribe's religious tradition. In everyone's shock however, only an infant air elemental was summoned and in further shock its soul was consumed by the infant. Having the magical powers of an elemental now, he was raised being taught he was the chosen one, though no one had an idea of what he was chosen for. It was instilled in him at a young age the idea he was special.
When his sister was born, he was exited to have someone like him around. He assumed his parents knew what he they were doing when he acquired his power and expected the same to happen for her but unfortunately this would not be the case. He was warned that the elder elemental may be strong and he'd be needed to beat it for his sister to consume it, and he felt more than capable of crushing it. Once his sister died from the elder, however, and he realized his tribe expected him to die that day as well, the entire tribe was exterminated in a blind fury.
Alone now, he would wander the seas as a pirate. His wake would be destructive, leaving every island settlement he entered in shambles. He would amass a crew and despite his selfish nature he grew to care for them as his family. This time of adventure and tyranny would last until his late 20s. Growing in power and infamy, the eastern kingdom caught wind of the nature of his power and was eager to have this criminal as a test subject. Without warning, mages would strike his ship, kill his entire crew, and capture him despite his magical power.
Now deep in one of the containment facilities of the eastern kingdom, he had no choice but to contemplate the life he led. He realized just how badly he wanted a family and how every major life decision was toward that, from the destruction of his home in revenge for his sister to his career as a pirate to have people adventure beside him. He also realized how his pride in his power was the reason he lost both as well, how his ability towards destruction was what caused him to loose everything he cared about. For the first time, he hated the power he had and the disaster he brings behind him. Since his trauma from childhood and his pride, he never felt any respect for the gods that may require sacrifice for worship; but after confronting his past and his power now, he opened himself up to them for the first time.
Not even 5 minutes passed until the feather of a falcon drifted into his cell despite being deep underground. All of a sudden, the compound would start shaking violently. As walls began to cave in and his shackles were broken; the compound began to fill with water as a raging flood consumed the entire area. While the other prisoners were stuck to drown, Raleigh would be swept up by the water and knocked unconscious. Though seen through water, he saw blurry vision of a dark-skinned woman with radiant amber eyes and wings of a falcon.
She would say to him, "You are a forceful wind that thought was free because of the disaster you could cause, but now you understand that the meaningless wake you bring is exactly what keeps you shackled. I will not choose the path you take, but that mantle which was forced upon you at birth will ensure that disaster will always follow behind you. Seek my three bolts of lightning, and I will provide the guidance to ensure your disaster does not consume you, that it serves the natural balance." He would then awake at the end of a river and pursue those bolts, discovering Teiva and the Zealots of Disaster.
He accepted this title as a Zealot and felt led to investigate the mages that captured him. This investigation would unravel into a huge conspiracy of the Eastern Kingdom secretly experimenting with elementals and their powers, along with the study/practice of rituals that appeared exactly like the sacrifices of his home tribe on a mass scale. (Unknown to Rayleigh and even the East, these experiments were inadvertently encroaching on methods to free the primordials from their planes, which Teiva and most other gods needed to stop.) While the exact details of the event would be kept secret by the east, Rayleigh's retaliation against this would make him infamous as "The Scourge of The East" with his constant assaults on eastern magic facilities that would last for 10 years.
This crusade ended when he finally killed the arch-mage leading these elemental experiments along with destroying the rest of the research he had, taking his silver robe as a trophy and a threat. Obviously if the East knew that a cleric was assaulting a specific area of study, they would push further into that study assuming that they were tapping into something a god didn't want them to know/have, but because he was a sorcerer, only a zealot by name, and they didn't have an inkling on what they were encroaching on; they made the educated guess that Rayleigh attacked them out of personal vengeance and was using this to gain Teiva's approval to become a zealot, rather than being led by her as one. So once Rayleigh wiped out anything involved in that elemental research, they never pursued it out of lack of results and fear of further retaliation.
After this long battle had ended, Rayleigh would disappear and become nomadic as most Zealots are; protecting nature, hunting down the unnatural, and following teiva's will in smaller pursuits. He would also go out of his way to help people in need even, but insisting that the people he save keep quiet about him so he is avoided by strangers as a threat for their safety. Though he was now pursued as a Zealot of Disaster, he knew he was truly free now.
After a few years of this traveling, he would come across a woman he would fall deeply in love with. He was intensely afraid of his nature hurting her, however, and prayed to Teiva for a week in the most sacred grove he knew of, begging if he was strong enough and disciplined enough to have the family he dreamed of without it hurting them. After this intense praying, he was led to the message that whether he was a zealot, storm sorcerer, or anything else that suffering is expected to strike them no matter what. He also understood that with his entire career has a zealot, it was thanks to Teiva that he was able to move through the disaster that followed him. So with courage and faith, he decided to pursue this dream.
Coming back from this prayers, he would marry this woman, have a daughter named after his lost sister, and later have 2 grandchildren. Nowadays, while he is certainly retired (which is unheard of for zealots), he will leave home in a pilgrimage of divine violence every other year.
Accomplishments & Achievements
At a young age, Rayleigh was a part of and led a pirate crew that was a force to be reckoned with. While that crew was lost and he regrets the needless violence he caused, he still thinks of his crew with pride.
Rayleigh was made a legend for his assault on the east, and thanks to his efforts the many victims of the elemental experimentations were freed ( and unknown to even himself, he possibly saved the world from primordial invasion.)
Despite not completely getting his power from Teiva, her guidance and his natural ability combined to create the most powerful lightning and wind magics out of any known Zealot.
Failures & Embarrassments
Being told he was special growing up and his younger life seeming to affirm that, Rayleigh simply had intense Main Character Syndrome. Recognizing this once he was brought low, he realized that what made him "special" was the driving force to all his failures/losses and goes out of his way to live humbly and with mutual kindness towards everyone.
Mental Trauma
After witnessing his sister die and realizing he was meant to be the same; he grew fearful of cultures/religions that may encourage blind barbarism and put a lot of effort to stay separate from them. Although this fear has died down, there is always a suspicion towards them.
Since facing Eastern Wizards for the longest time, he has seen wizardry at it most horrific, hubris, and vile. After everything he faced back then and the amount of time he's fought mages alone, there is still a general distain and mistrust of wizards. He recognizes why this is the case, so he tries his best to treat them with due respect.
Morality & Philosophy
Suffering is bound to hit everyone, to avoid it completely is impossible. But when you develop your body, mind, and ideals to withstand disaster; you and the things you protect will have the strength to withstand the forces that seek to obliterate us.
To be "special" takes us away from us at our most natural, and our most natural is where the things worth living for are found. Whether you are or even just feel special, its important to not let that change your nature and your humility.
Taboos
Those who believe they became great only from themselves or only their own judgment to either be lying or narcissistic.
There will always be casualties in conflict, but to drag people unrelated and undeserving into a conflict is absurd.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
While Rayleigh believes in Teiva's ambitions and always seek to aid in them, his highest priority will always be his family. Everything he does as a Zealot is with the belief/understanding that maintaining the natural balance and smiting the unnatural will put his dangerous nature to use and make the world a better place for his family.
It is easy to forget that he is primarily powered by his own ability/goals. Though he wouldn't get in the way of an immoral mission from Teiva, He will not take part in that kind of mission out of self-respect and his morality. Teiva respects this for the most part, and gives him assignments that he'd be willing to partake in .
"It would be unnatural for a mother bear to neglect her cubs, for any animal of your kingdom to not prioritize their family, their pack, their pride, their herd, their hive, their flock! Surely it'd be just as unnatural if I were to neglect my own, even for you!"
Savvies & Ineptitudes
Pros
A lot of the skills attributed to harden sailors are still seen in Rayleigh. hard working, perceptive, resourceful survivors, a reliable navigator, and well used to naval ships.
Even in his younger years, Rayleigh has always had a magnetic personality, effective with his words and capable of solving many situation with that alone.
With his extended time in a magic-rich society, Rayleigh has grown quite learned on arcana, wizardry, and most magic based cultures. He knows how to fight mages and their general weaknesses in combat and in character.
Con
While still incredibly powerful today, it would be a lie to say his age hasn't been weighing in him. His older age has physically weakened him and made him easier to knock down than when he was in his prime.
Likes & Dislikes
Likes
Sailing, Sushi, Gardening, Beaches, His Wife, Daughter, and Grandkids
Dislikes
Littering, wizards, People that see themselves as "special", Dairy
Virtues & Personality perks
Rayleigh is light-hearted, casual, and fun loving. In the past, he was known to have been more cold akin to Bellamy. However, he has changed his personality in his older years, becoming much more relaxed even when in intense conflict.
Though he often has a serious air, Rayleigh enjoys going with the flow and appearing in unexpected places and in unexpected ways, especially given his status and age. He often comments on his age and how his body "does not work the way it used to"
A rare trait in Zealots, Rayleigh is not often headstrong, looking before he leaps and taking time to plan ahead before taking action, although he does not hesitate to act if needs be. Even when entering into an unfortunate or unplanned situation such as engaging an admiral in combat or having his ship sink, Rayleigh remains completely calm, pushing forward through adversity with no hesitation. However, Rayleigh has something of a fatherly side to him, and when pushed, Rayleigh is capable of anger when thoroughly provoked.
Representation & Legacy
Rayleigh left his mark on Vontia in a big way, humbling the east and establishing infamy of the Zealots in the region. When most people in Vontia talk about the Zealots or even Teiva, it would be unusual if Rayleigh isn't mentioned at least once. It is simply a testament to the legend his past exploits are turning into.
Social
Contacts & Relations
Zealots
Rayleigh would only meet other zealots for the first time quite recently... and lets just say they simultaneously met and broke his expectations.
Bellamy Abigail
The only Zealot he's met so far. He recognizes the odd mirror opposites they are and feels a deep kinship towards him. While Ray needed Teiva to master humility to handle the power he had, Bellamy already mastered humility and only needs to develop his own power. Unlike himself however, he knows Bellamy's power as a cleric has much higher ceiling, and while they are equals in power now, he is aware he is capable of surpassing him when he was at his peak.
While Ray is in the position of mentor/veteran, he wants to try and encourage Bellamy to break his self perception and enjoy the good in life he has access to. He believes that bell is very naive in regards to himself and perhaps others too, hoping that he would have someone, friend or even wife, to have.
Family Ties
Of everyone in his family, only his wife and daughter knows his identity as a Zealot. He has dozens of stories about them, but keeps their names and info vague enough to keep them from being traced.
Shakki, (Half-elf)
Rayleigh's wife, she was once an impressive monk before settling into a normal life as a bartender. She is very knowledgeable and constantly seeks information on major events in the world. Likes to tease people, especially him.
Vivi, (half elf)
Rayleigh's daughter, She grew up to become quite a successful potter in her town. She is very funny and radiates joy. She greatly admires her father despite being away from home so often, and makes sure he knows that when he is home.
Briant (human)
Rayleigh's son-in-law, he was a bard that decided to settle down to be with his wife, Vivi. Rayleigh feels weird about him, not because he is a bad person in any way, but because he reminds him of someone on his crew long ago. Regardless, he is still happy that he makes Vivi happy and appreciates him as that partner for her.
Coby (half elf)
his Grandson, he is incredibly energetic and talks always talks about being an adventurer when he grows up.
Hibari (human)
his Granddaughter, she is much more meek but is incredibly compassionate and loving.
Religious Views
Rayleigh is a follower of Teiva as the storm queen, and most of the actions he takes as a warrior is in her name/ambitions. He has no opinion towards other gods.
While he believes deeply in the following of a god, he is often doubtful of religious establishments, afraid that they represent a mortal organization with its own goals rather than the hands and feet of the god they stand for. He is much more trusting of a follower acting as an individual than as a part of a larger establishment.
Mannerisms
After casting a major spell, he'll often readjust his glasses.
when he stand up or sits down, he groans like most grandpas do.
After meeting with people he likes, he'll give a piece of butterscotch to whoever is in most need one before he leaves.
common, celestial, primordial
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