Svelte

Svelte is a minor character from the series Tech Cross.

## History

As with most things about the man, Svelte's exact background is a mystery. It is known that he's been in service to the Raivent family for at least several centuries, though there is some evidence to suggest that he may have been accompanying their ancestors as early as 3000 BC. The archeological dig responsible for finding said evidence also discovered several fragments of a clay tablet depicting a vague figure labeled by the tablet as an udug, though the incomplete recovery of the tablet means any further potential context is lost.

When questioned about his origins by a member of the Raivent family, Svelte will simply produce a stone tablet with text written in a thus-far undeciphered script resembling cuneiform and state that "It's all there in the contract". He refuses to show the contract to anyone outside of the Raivent family, including aliens whose abilities could potentially be used to translate its text, so the exact nature of this "contract" remains unknown.

Svelte has always accompanied the head of the Raivent family, typically the father of the current generation, throughout the ages, serving them dutifully in the same manner as a highly professional butler. He will perform tasks for other members of the family if asked, but will side with the head of the family if any of these requests conflict with orders from them. Given the turbulent nature of the Raivent lineage, this has resulted in a not insignificant number of in-family assassinations.

He currently serves the 19-year-old Lucius Raivent, who seems to be the closest thing to the "head" of the Raivent family in the modern era. He previously served Lucius's father Sephtis Raivent, who was seemingly killed by Lucius himself when Lucius was only 14. Rather strangely, Svelte took Lucius's side rather than Sephtis's during the incident, perhaps indicating that Lucius gaining the respect of the family his father had rejected placed him in a more legitimate position of power within the Raivent lineage. Even after the revelation that Sephtis had survived Lucius's attempt on his life (albeit barely), Svelte has continued to serve Lucius dutifully as if nothing has changed.

## Personality

Svelte is quiet, polite, and formal; in other words, exactly what you'd expect from a professional butler. He gets his tasks done quickly and efficiently, and while he has never disobeyed an order, he's hardly a mindless drone, being quick to provide notes and offer up alternative solutions if an order he's been given is flawed. He has a tendency to blend in into the background, even in places a tall, thin man wearing a formal black and white suit would normally stand out. When he is noticed, interactions with him seem to carry an enigmatic undertone, even when said interactions are perfectly normal. Whether or not this is intentional on his part is up for debate.

## Abilities

As his exact nature remains unknown, Svelte's full range of abilities also remains unknown, with only the heads of the Raivent family being privy to this information. Simply observing him from an outside point of view, he does not seem to age, has never suffered disease, injury, or illness, and does not require rest. He is much, much stronger than his wiry frame would lead you to believe, and can clean up in a fight just as easily as he cleans a house.

## Trivia

* The udug (or utukku if you're feeling spicy) are a class of very ambiguous demons (probably) from Mesopotamian mythology. No visual representations of them have been found in real life and they tend to be described with traits common among other Mesopotamian demons. Unlike the demons we typically associate with the term today, udug could be either good or evil, with some exorcism texts even invoking good udug against the evil udug. In summary, Svelte may or may not be an udug, but even if he is one, it really doesn't explain much.