Ryn

Ryn is a side character in the book Gift. He is close friends with the protagonist Leiea during the plot and before. He is a survivor of the village fires and lives in Raencalia.

## History

### Before

Ryn used to go to school in the same year as Leiea. They became friends quickly, (mainly to avoid Lorietta) and it stuck through the years

### Gift

In Gift, Ryn is introduced when Leiea is bringing Fleya back from the forest after being attacked by a bird. He helps them back to their house.

Ryn graduates from school with Leiea, and he places 2nd. After this, he offers to suggest her a job she could take, but Sheyric employs her first. This makes him angry and possibly jealous. Ryn and Leiea’s last interaction before she leaves is an argument.

When Leiea returns to the encampment, Ryn is the only one of her friends or family that survived. They become closer friends and share a tent. She invites him into her and Sheyric’s “venture team”, which he reluctantly agrees to join. In the forest, he runs away from the scene when they are attacked by Ildful, and he reappears in the encampment.

Ryn escapes the settlement when it is bombed again. When it’s clear of fire and the birds, he stays in the ruins to watch over Leiea who suffered a concussion. When she wakes up, she urges him to go out into the fields and help the others. He does so, but it’s presumed he immediately came back to the ruins, since he was there when she and Hania returned at the end of the book.

## Relationships

### Leiea

Leiea is Ryn’s close friend. They met in school and would often be seen together during lunch. When Fleya was attacked in the forest, he helped her and Leiea home. Later, they were both awarded during the graduation ceremony.

During the ceremony, Ryn promises to suggest to Leiea a career she could take up. However, she follows Sheyric’s quicker and hurts his feelings. Their last interaction before Leiea leaves for Karyk is an argument.

Following Leiea returning from Galerus to the encampment, they put the argument aside and become closer friends than before. They share a tent in the camp, and Leiea asked Ryn to join her and Sheyric’s venture team into the forest.

## Personality

Ryn is very shy and introverted. He is extremely smart and loves reading and writing. If he and his family had the money, he would have liked to study further in Florithe to become a teacher. Instead, he was a teacher’s assistant for a short time in the village.

He is also shown to be loyal and lose his temper quickly, such as when Leiea doesn’t keep a promise to him. It’s also possible he acted this way because he had a crush on her,

He was said to “barely talk in complete paragraphs.”

## Skills

### Intelligence

Ryn is very intelligent and book smart, placing 2nd in his school graduation. He is skilled in reading and writing.

## Appearance

Ryn is 22 years old (17 in Gift). He has tan skin, shaggy dark brown hair, and green eyes. Although it is stated in the book at he is tall, Ryn is confirmed to be short for a male. Behind the scenes, it was said he was originally going to look more like Sheyric (tall, pale, black haired) before such character was introduced later.

After escaping the village fires, he has burns running across his cheek, which left the skin there bumpy. In Anew, Sheyric believes his voice is deeper than before.

## Etymology

The name Ryn is of Welsh origin and means “ruler”.

## Trivia

* Ryn dislikes most animals.
* He is aromantic and asexual as of Anew.
* Unlike most survivors of the village fires, he does not have pyrophobia, stating that he understands the importance fire holds.

## Quotes

> “Goodbye Leiea. I wish you luck.”
>
> Ryn to Leiea, Gift