Ralaux Rombaferre

::"I'm real good at scaring medics. Gave all the combat ones a heart attack at least a few times... when they had to take bullets out of mine."
:This article is about the Alamo Empire colonel. For his father of the same name, see Ralaux Rombaferre Sr.
Foul-mouthed and surprisingly young for his rank, Ralaux Rombaferre rose the ranks both by accident and by virtue of his own skill and determination. Though he frequently cracks morbid jokes and will rely on humor even in the worst of moments, death bothers him more than he lets on, and he hides his soft-hearted interior with abrasive behavior that now comes all too easily to him.
==Background==
Ralaux was born in Hasse, though his family moved to the more western Talis for the sake of raising him in a less dangerous area and to be closer to relatives and old family friends. As an impulsive and rambunctious child, he frequently got into trouble, though his friendship with the more cautious Ferries Parang eventually kept him in line. The two grew closer as they grew up together, but Ralaux dreaded the day that Ferries would one day leave to follow his dreams. Unlike Ferries, Ralaux had no clear direction to go in and had no idea what path to pursue in life; all he knew was that he wanted fame and glory, which hardly helped at all.
When Ferries was accepted into a medical school in Sonstre, an academic city far south of Talis, Ralaux considered finding a job nearby until he could figure out what he wanted out of life. However, his father insisted that Ralaux stay put and help him run their family's store. Intending to get to Sonstre on his own, Ralaux ran away from home.
Though Ralaux could shape-change well enough to expedite the travel, he underestimated his own strength and preparedness for the long journey. He collapsed near the outskirts of Jerrau and was found by a young Alamo Empire spy whose name he never learned. She helped him into the city and aided in his recovery, eventually enlisting his "help" in an operation in payment for her aid. Ralaux served as a distraction while this spy infiltrated a government office in Jerrau to retrieve some military documents.
After the mission was successful, Ralaux begged to go with her to the Alamo Empire, intoxicated with the sense of achievement he felt after "besting" the authorities. She relented and brought him to an Alamo Empire ship, and Ralaux joined the Alamo Empire army. In time, he found that his ideals lined up quite well with those of the Alamo Empire, and he eagerly wrote to Ferries to tell him about how he had finally found a purpose in life.
However, when Ralaux visited home in Talis, he found that his parents had divorced in his absence due to continual arguments over what Ralaux had done, each blaming the other for their son's running away. Furious with his son for enlisting with the Alamo Empire and for, in his eyes, causing the divorce, Ralaux's father disowned him. Bitter, Ralaux returned to the Alamo Empire's territories, all the more determined to eventually become a general in the army. Over the course of his time with the Alamo Empire, Ralaux exchanged letters with Ferries, unaware that Ferries had ended up in the army of the Alamo Empire's greatest enemy: the Veriol Alliance.
Ralaux's squad was one day assigned to locating a Veriol base of operations somewhere in Kes Joshawk; allegedly, this base was being used as a go-between for spies. However, their operation was nearly ruined when a spy infiltrated their squad and revealed their movements to the Veriol soldiers stationed in Kes Joshawk. Ready in advance for the squad, they were all nearly captured, their acting commander killed in the fighting.
In the clamor, Ralaux was able to shape-change into a small mouse and evade capture. He snuck into the base and freed his comrades, and they took control of the base after killing several of the Veriol soldiers and capturing the rest. For his heroism, Ralaux was awarded a silver mjolinnar, and he was eventually promoted. To Ralaux's surprise, though, when he wrote to Ferries what had happened, Ferries was furious, and in his final letter announced to Ralaux that he had been part of the Veriol Alliance army all along and would not associate with a murderer.
Desperate to reconcile, Ralaux continued to write letters to Ferries to explain himself, but they were never returned. Eventually, Ralaux gave up, and he turned his attention to solely serving the Alamo Empire. After all, it was all he had left.
Ralaux ended up as a colonel over his own squad in time. Despite his single-minded goal of becoming a general, he grew more discontent with many of the soldiers in the Alamo Empire and how they seemed bloodthirsty. Ferries' last words to him had rattled him and shaken his conviction more than he let on, and he found similar views echoed in Jaltur Ironhide, his second-in-command. Both of them felt they had nowhere to go if they left the army, however, and they decided that maybe at least in their squad, they could avoid the senseless violence that some of the other soldiers seemed so keen on.
==First Dream of Arplakoon==
===Olaka: The Longest Journey===
During Arplakoon's first dream, Ralaux and Ferries met once more when they were both deployed to Olaka. A storm sank both their ships and killed most of their comrades, leaving both groups destitute and stranded. Temporarily putting aside their differences and previous arguments, Ferries and Ralaux ordered the remains of their respective squads to cooperate so that they would survive.
As they made the long walk to the nearest city, the uneasy alliance turned into a rekindling of their previous relationship. Both agreeing to resign after this last mission, Ralaux and Ferries decided that they would find out what had caused that unnatural storm to begin with. Their search took them to the godslayer known as Nascimedo that was hidden in the city of Talis, where they had both grown up.
After simply acquiring this weapon caused Ferries to unleash havoc in Talis, they resolved to destroy it or at least hide it away where nobody could find it, but their respective squads viewed them as traitors. They saw Ralaux and Ferries' blossoming relationship as betrayal, and refusing to hand over Nascimedo to the government was the last straw for most of them. However, Jaltur Ironhide took Nascimedo and fled to force the Veriol and Alamo soldiers to pursue her rather than them.
Though they never saw her again, Jaltur's actions allowed them to retire in peace as they originally planned. Ralaux continued to search for Jaltur, but she had all but vanished. Deciding that not being found was her intention, he gave up and hoped that someday he would hear from her.
==Second Dream of Arplakoon==
===Olaka: The Longest Journey===
In Arplakoon's second dream, Ralaux took a short detour on the way to Talis to retrieve his sword, which he had dropped. After trying to take it back from Isaak Dolzhikov (who had found it), Ralaux was shot and consequently incapacitated by Isaak. Unable to flee, Isaak and his companions questioned Ralaux before bringing him to Talis for medical aid. Ralaux, while in the hospital, told Jaspur a little about what had happened to result in the Alamo and Veriol soldiers banding together, though Ralaux had no idea what could have caused them to attack Talis.
Even when talking to Emmitaire Perlais, Ralaux insisted that Ferries wouldn't have attacked the city. Eventually, Ralaux -- along with Jaltur Ironhide -- accompanied the others to locate Ferries. On finding him, Ralaux insisted on coming along to dispose of Nascimedo in Mt. Leharle despite being wounded.
To Ralaux's shock, they found that one of Ferries' soldiers had been impersonated by Ralaux's father, who wanted to help his son and eventually reconcile. Ralaux refused and was belligerent towards him the whole way, though they allowed Rombaferre Sr. to stay with them due to their need of extra help.
Ralaux was disgusted to find every one of his soldiers but Jaltur Ironhide betray him to bring Nascimedo to Hretlakk Flametail, but he was unable to stay angry at them, feeling that he probably would have done the same in their position. After tossing Nascimedo into the summit of the volcano, they left, and Ralaux settled down with Ferries after they both retired from their respective military positions.
Category:Characters
Category:Ealdremen Non-Player Characters