Raiko
Character Details
Rory McCann
Rory McCann as Raiko Marin
Name: Raiko Marin
Aliases: The Shackled Dragon of Astapor, The Bladeless Bravos
Faction: The Free Cities
Organization: Essos
Occupation: Sellsword
Rank: Smallfolk
Age: Aug 19 87 (33)

Description

Standing at nearly six foot four, Raiko Marin is broad-shouldered with the massive, heavy build of someone who uses such sheerly for function and not aesthetics. Densely corded muscles are dulled by a layer of weight along thick arms and his capacious midsection, although to call it fat would mean one truly did not understand what real strength looked like — to knowing eyes such heft comes from a core like an imposing tree trunk of ironwood, and there is no true softness to the huge man. Many old wounds are on him, and none pretty. A nose and jaw broken and healed improperly, and patches of skin where a mace once found it's mark.

His unkempt hair is brownish and stringy, ill-combed and falling around a ragged face past the chin. A scraggly goatee of sorts is maintained with a simple blade and poor reflection, when he remembers to. Even with the best primping and grooming, he would not be an attractive man. Raiko's right eye has an eerily precise blade scar passing over a milky orb, but no attempt to conceal it is made. His skin is well-tanned, the sort of heritage and a long life outdoors. His large frame belies an ease and efficiency in movement, with the instinctual grace and finesse of someone who was born and forged in the fire of combat and nothing else. His bloodline is nearly impossible to place, a mixture of Myr and something far more common.

He wears heavy wax-boiled leather pants stitched together along custom seams reinforced with metal-studded patches along the sides of the thigh and along the shin, along with a vest-like jerkin covered in a layer of well-crafted but fight-damaged dark red scales, many missing or dented. It seems to have, at one point, been made to look like what a dragon wore with much posh and glamour. Metal reinforcement is upon the shoulders and biceps, a more elaborate and fancifully foreign design that further draws the eye and screams of Tyroshi eccentrics.

Strange steel-woven gauntlets are upon his hands, reaching down to his elbow and leaving each finger free past the first knuckle; they seem to be of very high quality metal and are engraved with a dragon bound in chains, although worn and ill cared for. On either wrist is an ancient iron shackle, each only having a single rusting loop of chain to the connecting divot. They sit awkwardly, obviously meant for someone smaller, and a length of twine keeps them in place.

There is no visible proper weaponry upon him, simply a leather belt of pouches; only a minuscule sheath housing a narrow blade, barely three inches long, the sort for survival and personal grooming rather than combat. He generally wears a scowl, but how much of that is the old ripped scar in the corner of his mouth and how much is a bad mood is hard to tell.

Background

Raiko Marin was born the son of a whore in Braavos, from an unknown sellsword. She couldn't afford to get the child removed, and promptly abandoned him when he was a babe. Left to die in a pile of rotting fish, he was taken to the Red Temples to be raised as an orphan for the warrior caste. However, he was overly violent and unruly even by the most conservative minds, and after some utter blasphemy regarding R'hllor and poorly chosen words he was kicked out at age 6. He migrated to the House of Black and White, which fed him, and he spent much of his early time talking to those who came to die, fascinated by it. He wanted to join the Priesthood, and did many basic errands for them to earn his keep, and was taught about the Many-Faced God and deeper questions of philosophy.

Ultimately he was deemed too dull of mind and prone to violence to be accepted into the order officially — he had been vetted as a potential Faceless assassin unknowingly, and failed spectacularly in every fashion. Having been accosted by the bravos at night more than once, he took it upon himself to gift the Many-Faced God with one of their deserving death to hopefully be reconsidered. Having found a dull blade, he was mercilessly struck down, losing his right eye in the process. Half-dead he found his way back to the House of Black and White, bitterly waiting for his own death. Be it the rancor in his heart or sheerly being stubborn, he ended up surviving, although was asked to leave.

Bitter, he went to the Southeast through the age of 18, working as a petty thief and burglar when he could, and in a few small gangs was mocked for his poor work with a blade until he threw it aside and swore never to use one again. When further derided, he physically beat his harasser to death. He was quickly growing into a large, strong lad, although with no ambition or goals of any note. His only mental talent of worth was a venomous tongue that could incite even a pacifist, or to make even a twin-wielding Sword Dancer pause. He also found out that he hated horses, and doesn't like being near them. They like to kick him. This made his travels slow, and much of it was spent eating mostly non-poisonous food. He got by with endless jogging and learn-as-he-went survival, enough to manage even grasslands with… not comfort, but a definite lack of dying.

Fate, being kind, lead him to the outskirts of Slaver's Bay. Attacked and captured by a band of slavers, he was shackled at the wrists and ankles before being carted across the water to Astapor. It took five minutes of his tongue in Astapor to be bought by a gluttonous man named Marius who ran a fighting pit. Still in shackles and chains, he was put against a man with trident and net. Defiant to the end, Raiko's venomous tongue irritated the superior opponent into highly underestimating him. After being improperly netted, he managed to grasp and wrench the trident away, huck it aside, and strangle the man to death with his own chain. This turn of events became very popular.

Always wearing his shackles and chain, he became something of a celebrity. At first, Marius truly intended for Raiko to be killed in his little games, but the defiant young man always triumphed. In one fight the chains of his manacles were broken by a greatsword, and he proved how ill-suited most flashy combat was to defending against brutality and street fighting at close range. Becoming known as the 'Shackled Dragon of Astapor' for his fearless ferocity, Marius instead invested in him as a true blood fighter. The home of the Unsullied had many masters willing to teach him, but he refused to use a weapon. Such lead to him meeting Kharak, a man from the mountains of the far distance. He was taught a brutal style of fighting, and the philosophy that one is never unarmed with a fist clenched, and the power of the Earth beneath.

For nine years, Raiko mastered the art of putting on a show. The Shackled Dragon made quite a name for himself, keeping his broken shackles and using them to deflect assaults, defeating even armored men. Despite his size he wore scaled leather and focused on speed, grappling, and disarming, making him incredibly dangerous in singular combat. His high point was managing to kill a tiger, although the scars upon his chest remain to this day, and are one of his more favored bragging points. In the end, he wanted his freedom, and Marius opted to retire him in a spectacular fashion. Eight men on one. If he was the last standing, he could leave, with a sizeable pot.

Like a beast uncaged, he broke through them, much to the surprise and chagrin of Marius, but to the delight of those who watched. Bleeding and badly damaged, he still managed to spit insults and blood. The gluttonous old man kept his word, although scarred him permanently on the left pectoral with his brand before he left. He made his way to Tyroshi on foot, finding the harbor town familiar. His fame followed him, and he lived a few years of life on his stipend, hired as a bodyguard, sellsword, or simply getting in fistfights. His penchant for gambling and women quickly made him broke, and he used what little money he had to sail back to Braavos.

Raiko couldn't tell you why he went there. Some bitter part of him blamed the city for the rough, bloody life he left behind. Now an adult with the weight of reputation and experience, he took to harassing the local bravos population. Something of a vigilante, the 'Bladeless Bravos' enjoyed a few months of posterity, before inadvertently breaking the neck of someone important. His second managed to escape, recognizing his face. He is not a smart man, but nor is he stupid. He snuck into a random ship, and found himself in a strange city. Despite sticking out like a sore thumb, the shackled Braavosi settled himself in the nearest bar to drink with what meager coin he had left. Sellsword, bodyguard, mugger… he doesn't particularly care where his path leads him any more. That will be up to the fate of others. He remains a believer of the Many-Faced God, although is hardly philosophical about his childhood knowledge. One thing is for sure… death is truly a mercy.

RP Hooks

  • Been to the Free Cities or Slaver's Bay in the last fourteen years? Raiko's pretty famous for killing people bare-handed in the pits of Astapor. They even say he killed a tiger once!
  • Partied long and hard in Tyrosh!
  • All Hail the Many-Faced God!
  • Hates horses. And horses hate him.

Quirks

  • Wealth:Poor
  • Famous: Shackled Dragon of Astapor
  • Tough
  • Fearless
  • Nemesis: Bravos
  • Foreigner: The Free Cities

IC Events

Raiko Logs

Related Logs

Logs featuring Raiko.

Logs that refer to Raiko.

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