rioN // Noir

They say "I'm on your side when nobody is, 'cause nobody is."
"Come sit right here and sleep while I slip poison in your ear."^{--St. Vincent, Paris Is Burning}

About

=Details=

"I was well known, once upon a time. Some even called me
the Serpent in Silk. A charming title, don't you agree?"

A former Alacran fixer turned retainer, a silver-eyed gentleman whose impeccable manners conceal a past steeped in Ul'dah's underworld.

=RP Hooks=

"I have a certain fondness for snakes. Perhaps I see something of myself in them."

History

"My mother was a good woman. She spent years beating me senseless until I understood this fact."

A half-elezen, Rion was born in Ishgard to a mother who never wanted a child. She made this clear every day of his life – through beatings, neglect, and starvation – but still he strove to gain her love. From early childhood he knew he was different: his eyes had an unnatural, snake-like appearance, and his pointed ears never grew quite as long as his mother's. More than that, there was a disconnect between how he was born and how he felt inside. The day he came home wearing a suit instead of a dress, his mother beat him unconscious.As the years passed and he struggled to learn his mother's wishes, he became exceptionally skilled at controlling his self-presentation. She would accept neither a daughter nor a son, and so he learned to present himself somewhere in-between, never too masculine or too feminine, always searching for some combination that might spare him her displeasure. It was a compromise born of necessity, not a reflection of who he was. This seemed to placate her, until the Calamity struck and she fell violently ill as Ishgard began to chill. On her deathbed, she called him in and gave these parting words before passing: “I don’t care what you think you are. My son, my daughter; no matter how many times you shed your skin… you’ll always be a snake.” No one else attended her funeral. He left Ishgard a man.Now traveling under the name Rion Noir, he found his way to Ul'dah in search of power, wealth, and a life of his own. He joined the Bloodsands, learning to use his natural speed and agility against his much larger and stronger opponents. After a while, he caught the attention of the Alacran. They offered him work as a fixer, and he accepted. He quickly became a well-respected and even feared member of Ul'dah's underworld. Transactions arranged, packages delivered, bodies disposed of. Rion proved adept at finding what others wished to keep hidden, arranging what others could not, and ensuring that a problem rarely remained a problem for long. There was no work he was unwilling to do, and few people who could afford to dismiss his usefulness.After a few years, however, everything came crashing down as the powers that be descended upon the Alacran and Rion. He fought, he fell, and he was captured. The resulting imprisonment proved costly. Though he eventually secured his release after serving his time and trading favors where he could, his injuries had fared poorly in custody. An abdominal wound received from a Brass Blade's sword had never healed properly, despite the chirurgeons' efforts. The speed and agility upon which his former livelihood depended were diminished, leaving him with little choice but to seek another occupation.Though it was not his first choice, he eventually fell in line with the Adventurers' Guild and joined up as a retainer, work which continues to this day. He is impeccably well-mannered and professional with his clients, predicting their needs and accommodating their requests before they need to ask. He remains useful, dependable, and discreet – qualities that have served him well in more than one line of work. Yet honest work offers little of the danger or influence he once enjoyed. The underworld still remembers the name of the “serpent in silk,” and Rion longs for the day they call on him again. He tells himself he misses the work. Perhaps what he misses is knowing that, when he entered a room, he had the power to make others take notice.

"All of that is neither here nor there. If you wish to hire me, I assure you, you will not regret it.
I am simply the best retainer there is."

Gallery

About the Player

My name is Host. I am struggling to get started with roleplaying Rion, so patience is appreciated.
Discord available at request.