Kadir "Rais" Suleiman

**Kadir Suleiman,**better known as **Rais,**is the main antagonist of *Dying Light.*He is a former military colonel and hired political figure who was to maintain order after the outbreak on Harran. After the death of his brother, he was reborn as a criminal warlord and the most feared man in Harran.

## History

### Background

Rais is expected to have been born in about 1966, and is 48 years of age during the events of Dying Light ( in 2014 ).

Not much is known about Kadir Suleiman's life before the outbreak in Harran, photographs suggested that he was ex-military. By nationality, he is natively Turkish. Note #12 indicates he as a former military colonel, which automatically indicates Suleiman has served the military for over 22 years ( that is approximately how much it takes to gain the position, then serve as a colonel for 4 years, unless he retreated during his service as a colonel due to the outbreak ).

A background research concludes that after finishing schooling at 18 years of age and continuing superior studies in politics ( allowing him to become a governor post-retirement ) up to 21 years old, after which he enrolled into the army along with his younger brother, Hassan, possibly 18 years of age, in 1987.

It is likely that, among many wars or missions, Rais fought in the Iraq war ( 2001-2011 ) after which he retires with Hassan due to his brother suffering a tragic accident that leaves him paralyzed in his lower body.

Up to the events of Dying Light, Kadir Suleiman serves Harran as a prestigious political figure, allowing him to collect plenty of money from his 24 years of service as well as his brother's, and the benefit of a high salary due to his political prestige. This way, Rais gains several advantages in the city- Military, economical and political power, including building a tall tower in his own name. After the outbreak, he is trusted as leading and acting Governor of Harran, dictating what is to be done about the city's situation.

It is an important detail that most of Rais' fundings went into the Slums, the poorest part of Harran, such as his tower and the Garrison, as well as trying to prevent the bridge's downfall ( Note #12 ) but it was unfortunately inevitable and he was well aware of it. After the outbreak, he spends his money hiring survivors to make him weapons, armor and other goods he can provide to his men and to himself. There is a hint of generosity in his investing.

Unable to carry the many responsibilities that come with the outbreak, Rais requests the GRE to extract his disabled brother from the city and take him to safety, which they fail to, and Rais witnesses his only family get torn to bits by virals, causing the beginning of Suleiman beginning to unleahs Rais, the suppressed, violent side of his already vicious and problematic self.

Kadir blamed the GRE for his death and stole a file, codenamed "Tempest". The GRE lied, mentioning that the file contained an incomplete synthesis of a possible cure for the Harran Virus. It later turned out the file held the GRE's plan to weaponize the virus, a very dark, dirty secret. He used the file as a bargaining chip against the GRE, threatening to expose them if they did not help the city by sending antizin and supplies. Kadir sent the file to someone he trusted with the order to release it's information if anything happened to him or the city.

Afterwards, Kadir retreated underground and took a leadership position with the bandits, one of the two factions in the city and renaming himself "Rais", the Swahili word for "President" or in Turkish, which is "Reis" meaning "Chief". Using his new status as a warlord, he would send his men out to recover GRE DROPs which contained Antizin, hoarding them and "gouging the hell out of anybody who wants to buy some".

It is implied Suleiman had been formerly betrayed. On many occasions he can smell lies easily, such as Osman's theft, Crane's hidden alliance with the GRE and Karim's help towards Crane behind his back. In the second encounter in the "Pact with Rais" main story quest, you can overhear him scold his men : "If you show them compassion, they will see it as weakness. You give them a hand, and they will take your whole arm, understand?". This dialogue may imply a fragment of his past experience of being used for his wealth.

Another one of these betrayals are encountered at The Fishermen's Village during the debt pick-up quest in the second fragment of "Pact with Rais" after you repair the antenna's under Karim's guidance. You walk into a village dotted with electric fences and safety measures but the gate is wide open, allowing the infected to infiltrate. With this, the villagers blame Rais for not keeping his promise and protecting them and only taking his money, though he was doing his job. By completing the "Gas Mask Man" side mission you discover a survivor had sabotaged the gate, possibly out of spite for Rais to cause him troubles with the survivors as well as with his men.

Rais appears to sleep very little, he has very dark circles around his eyes and eyebags. In the "Tunnel Vision" side quest, a survivor explains how Rais drugs himself and his men to stay awake for days at a time. Rais probably does it to avoid nightmares or potential vulnerability to be killed in his sleep, as he has lots of enemies.

There are several hidden details to Kadir "Rais" Suleiman, one of the most important being the side mission "The Shadow of the King" that you can complete after finishing the "Do you believe?" side quest in Old Town. The quest becomes available after you complete the main story quest The Clinic, and you will find the person who shall assign you this quest in The University, in Sector 0, Old Town. "The Shadow of The King" will reveal to you a prophecy known by a fortune teller, who reveals to Crane the location of Suleiman's former apartment in a hotel in the city where he used to live with his brother. There are many hidden lines in this quest. Stopping by to analyze Suleiman's room, where you shall find his gun, you may also observe the following : Hassan's wheelchair at the foot of his bed; The fact the light shines over Hassan's bed while Rais's bed is engulfed in darkness ( a meaningful message that Hassan has died and Suleiman had descended into a dark place mentally and emotionally ); A picture of Hassan; Two pictures of Suleiman serving in the military; And an unclear but meaningful detail, a shattered mirror in the bathroom.

It is to believe the mirror might have been smashed by Suleiman himself shortly after the loss of his brother, Hassan. He claims that "Suleiman IS dead. He died with his brother, in this city!", implying that the loss of his last family member was what provoked his change of identity and renaming himself as the oh-so-feared "Rais". It is a sad, hidden fragment of his story, as the prophet mentions himself : "You will find out who he is, and what his weaknesses are". Further evidence that he might've been the one to smash the mirror are the scars and cuts you can observe on the knuckles of his hands, which might have been caused by the sharp mirror shards.

At first glance, Rais appears to have no weakness, but hidden details in the game imply his sensitivity and suffering. In the finale, he yells to Crane : "You don't even belong here, Crane! You don't know what suffering is!" and "I will teach you Crane... You will suffer alongside me".

Rais has no fear of death, or perhaps a death wish, as when Crane holds a blade to his throat, Rais provokes him, telling him to "DO IT!", fearless and bold in the face of death. It could either be that he was accepting defeat with pride, or perhaps he was simply too broken to carry on.

When Crane intends to kill him the say way he did with Tahir, Rais embraces it also as an honor to Tahir, who had remained loyal to him until the very end. So in his final moments, Rais displays mutual loyalty and respect for his falling friend, proving how deeply he values loyalty and how he mourns those who fall, Hassan and Tahir alike.

He shows to be a strong man, no less, bottling up his difficulties, choosing an optimistic outlook on life, an energetic manner and a tendency to avoid his sadness through pleasure, or even sadism, inflicting his own suffering on others and following a machiavelian, egocentric ideology.

### Dying Light

GRE operative Kyle Crane was sent into Harran to locate Rais and retrieve the stolen file by any means necessary. Upon landing, he was attacked by Rais' men, however he was saved by Jade Aldemir and Amir Ghoreyshi, two runners from the Tower. In return for their help, Crane set out to recover an Antizin DROP for the Tower's survivors. When the DROP was flown in, Crane was instructed by the GRE to destroy it in order to force Rais to make contact. He hesitantly complies, setting it all on fire and telling the Tower that there was none.

After the destruction of the Antizin, the Tower's runners concluded that their only hope of obtaining some would be to meet with Rais and strike a deal. Crane offered to go to Rais' headquarters, with his underlying reason being to identify Rais for the GRE. During the meeting, Rais proposes that Crane would work for him in return for Antizin. He has him shake down survivors for protection money and fix the antenna in the slums to reopen radio transmissions, but only hands over a small portion of Antizin in return, much to Crane's vexation. Rais states that if he wants more, he must hand over Jade to fight in Rais' arena, which he refuses to do.

Eventually, Dr. Zere, a scientist from the Tower working on the cure for the virus, is kidnapped by Rais' men, taking revenge after Crane and Jade stole some explosives from one of his bases, the school.

This act was also due to the fact the GRE stopped sending drops to the city, as promised in trade for keeping the file a secret. As it was time for Rais to publish the file, as intended, he knew it would ruin GRE's reputation and would also throw Harran into a crisis due to the lack of antizin, and a cure was no longer something that could be waited for. Rais kidnaps Zere with the purpose of stealing half the cure's research, which was supposed to get to Dr.Camden- Rais's plan being that, with the half-finished cure file, he could manipulate the GRE, help them fix their reputation at the price of himself being in control, as well as working towards a cure faster.

Crane infiltrates Rais' headquarters in an attempted rescue mission, but is captured and forced to battle in Rais' arena against waves of infected. Rais publishes the file and exposes the GRE causing further drama. Crane accuses Rais of dooming thousands of innocent people and Rais mocks him for having no idea what the file truly held and being so easily fooled by the GRE. After winning, Rais orders his men to execute Crane, but he kills them, severs Rais' right hand with a machete, so Rais cauterizes his hand wound on the spot.

Not long after Crane enters Sector 0, Rais captures Jade and holds her at the city's museum while she had Dr.Zere's tissue samples and whatever was left of his research, which was meant to be delivered to Dr.Camden.

Hoping to lure Crane into a trap to rescue Jade, Rais infects her, and brings one singular dose of antizin to the encounter, knowing ( or planning ) that Crane would sacrifice himself to give it to Jade- As Rais planned- Which would finally get Crane out of the picture. Crane fights his way through the museum and finds Jade to be bitten and minutes away from turning. Ultimately, Jade gives Crane the shot, and he is forced to kill her after she turns, unlike Rais had planned. Crane swears revenge on Rais from this moment on.

In the finale, Rais announces to Crane that he made a deal with the GRE. He plans to give them Dr.Zere's research in return for an evacuation, that being the only way the GRE could redeem themselves after Rais exposed them. Crane hastily travels to Rais' tower to stop him. After evading numerous infected including Volatiles, Crane comes face to face with Rais on the rooftop with him being armed with an engraved machete. Rais tosses a throwing knife into Crane's chest, barely missing his heart, and the two fight as the GRE evacuation helicopter hovers overhead. After being stabbed with his own machete, Rais tackles Crane and the two fall onto a shipping crate, where Crane dangles on the edge with the research as Rais approaches him. Crane manages to survive, stabbing Rais in the neck with the embedded knife and throwing him off the edge to his death.

## Appearance

Kadir "Rais" Suleiman is a tall man ( about 6'5: 195cm ) with a heavy, muscular, strong build ( about 171-206 lbs ( somewhere around 90kg ).

He is in his mid 40's - late 40's, about 48.

His hair and beard are of a very dark brown, perhaps black.

He has brown eyes and copper skin.

He has dark eyebags and hollow cheeks and a rough, masculine jaw.

He has a few small scars on his scalp as well as a few tremendously outstanding scars on the right side of his face in his forehead, cheek, neck and a little cut on the bridge of his nose. The history of these injuries is unknown, but they could have to do with his years in the military.

Rais has large tattoos on his torso resembling two machetes with detailed, elegant motives.

He wears a black suit with a velvet red collar and with no shirt underneath, flaunting his toned torso and intimidating tattoos as a sign of being the leader, not wearing the typical black and yellow uniform he assigned to his men ( except Karim, as he was the co-leader ). However, he wears a simple golden necklace, indicating his wealth and superiority.

A notable detail is that he has large hands.

## Personality

Oriented by the "MBTI" typology system, Kadir "Rais" Suleiman presents the "ESTP" personality type, with SeTeFiNi function stack ( rather than SeTiFeNi ).

His enneagram is 8w7, and his subtype is of Sexual behavior, as well as Social, and lastly Self Preserving.

Kadir "Rais" Suleiman appears to be a dangerous, sadistic but highly intellectual individual. Nothing slips him ( "Rais sees everything. Never forget that." -Survivor at the tower when you're on your way to Rais' Garrison for the first time in Pact with Rais ) therefore proving he is very clever.

He cannot stand lies, sloth, betrayal and theft. He is seen to punish others gruesomely for such acts ( amputating Osman's hand, shooting Karim for working with Crane behind his back; "thinking up a creative way to torture you to death" -quoted by Karim- , throwing traitors to the biters, testing his weapons on enemies - https://youtu.be/Pd8hWPpB258 )

Though aggressive and highly dangerous, Rais appears to have great patience and doesn't impulsively cause harm. In the second encounter with him in "Pact with Rais" he is seen scolding three of his men for disappointing him. He leaves them after the lecture, and two of them get to work- However, one of them drinks alcohol instead, and Suleiman shoots him in the arm as punishment.

Later at the pit, two of the same three men are the ones assigned to hold Crane back while Rais spoke to him. They fail and Crane manages to punch Rais, which angers him and he shoots two of his men who failed to hold Crane back, the same two who had previously gotten on his nerves.

Rais had also avoided the opportunity to kill Crane many given times. By nature, he seems very aggressive and dangerous, but he is also forgiving and patient- Though he never forgets the wrongdoings. He more of just waits to have his last straw pulled so he can get some blood on his hands- He does get quite the kick out of it.

As mentioned ( See "History" section above ) he can be considered generous, spending a lot of time and money to provide his men and the survivors, but not being shown much gratitude in return which may be one of the reasons he is frustrated most of the time. He is thoughtful and clever with his investments, but his personality is still harsh and rejectful.

Rais appears to be fearless and have a very high tolerance to pain, still having the ability to battle Crane after being punched and severely stabbed and wounded. He is the kind of leader who has men because he needs people to help him get the job done, though he can do everything himself with ease. He is strong and capable, and a true challenge even for Kyle Crane ( missing the dodges in the finale, Rais wins against Crane 8 out of 9 times ). More evidence leads to his strength in the line "Do you know how many men have bested me in a fight before, Crane? None. No one. NEVER".

Rais is cunning, determined, ambitious, serious and very wise. He does not tolerate being degraded or discouraged as he respects his own values and immediately puts anyone in their place when they disrespect him. However, he does get excited when Crane calls him a "crazy son of a bitch" ( "That is what i had hoped to hear! Come and fight me Crane. Let us finish what we began." )

He appears to be very cocky, he enjoys mocking his enemies and is amused when he degrades them and shows himself superior to them, Rais seems to be quite the show off, and despite his patience and mercy, he is cruel and rude nonetheless, and despite his suffering, still fun-loving and talkative.

Rais also appears to be very cultured, his use of language is very formal and elegant. This may mean he enjoys reading and reciting- He is talkative and bold, and enjoys getting philosophical when he talks. ( "Maiden", "I hear not conviction in your voice", "You have the look of the Tower about you", and many more examples of highly educated vocabulary ).

He is confident and sees himself as superior to those around him with a good reason, though he appears to have his own weak emotional spots too, one of them perhaps being loneliness, grief, the impression that his suffering is greater than anybody else's. He values loyalty and honor, and though sensitive, he is cruel and egocentric.

## Abilities

Intelligence

Manipulation and psychological warfare

Good organization skills

Knowledgable about psychology and body language, making others easy to read and easily finding others' vulnerable points

High resistance and durability, increased pain tolerance

Strength

Skilled at weapon use in both close range and distant range combat, good aim

## Quotes

“Was that my left or your left?...”

“And what do you offer in return, hm? Your services? Your loyalty? Perhaps i should take both.”

"Perceptive."

"The... imposing of one’s will... The creation of one’s OWN rules... THAT is what makes a man."

"Do you live by your own rules Crane... Or are you merely someone else’s puppet?... I believe i know the answer."

“If you show them compassion, they will see it as weakness. You give them a hand and they will take your WHOLE arm, UNDERSTAND?"

"I give you shelter, i give you bread, women, bullets, and You CANNOT complete a SIMPLE task. I should send every one of you to the pit..."

“I think not. Your loyalty to the tower... Is nothing but blind obedience Crane. A coward’s submission to false hierarchies. You follow their rules as THOUGHTLESSLY as you follow mine... Like a good little... Dog.”

“Your people need the antizin. Now, more than ever, i would sumise... But... A man who follows someone else’s rules... Is no man at all."

“So! It takes no more than a false hope of rescue to loosen a good doctor’s lips... Hunt the Scorpion down, spare no resource."

"I'm less concerned with making you talk, Doctor, than i am in preventing your escape."

"Give the Doctor some first aid. And take Crane to the pit..."

“You come to us... Like a snake in the grass... Here, in a city of lies, you are the BIGGEST lier of them all!”

"Yes! Lose control! That is what you americans are so good at after all... If i-..."

“Not bad.”

"Clear out the corpses. Leave Crane."

"Impressive!... For a walking dead man..."

"This will only prolong the inevitable! But try to make the best of it, Ah?"

"Is this your first feeble attempt at controlling your own destiny, Crane? Too little, too late i fear."

"You have provided some quality entertainment for my men! Too bad it's a one time performance!"

"Word of your feet here will spread! Such a shame you'll be a corpse by then!"

"Let no one say i never gave you anything, Crane."

"Your skills no longer come as a surprise, Crane. The GRE selects it's operatives well. Lower the platform!"

"Drop the weapon."

“Chaos... Crane. Chaos is the one TRUE order of things... But to pretend otherwise is the SHEEREST folly..."

“You don’t know what was on that file, do you, Crane? You only prove my point for me... The GRE plans to weaponize the virus, not cure it. They’re only interested in PROFIT... Not saving lives. And by following THEIR rules, you have become their trained monkey. Pathetic.”

“Alright...Kill him.”

"You! Give me the torch."

"CRAAAAAANEEEEEEEEE!!!!" ( classic ;) )

"What are you swine waiting for?! SHOOT HIM!"

"We meet again! Last time we met you took something of mine. Now, i took something of yours!"

"You cannot simply DEMAND to have her, Crane... You must make a showing of effort FIRST!"

"Jade is DYING to see you... Hurry up, Crane."

"Come onnn, Craneee, try harder! You get her too late, and there won't be much left of her."

"She won't wait for you forever!"

"You do not have the luxury of a minute, Scorpion. In fact, what little time you have, you owe to me. Thanks to your repair of my antennas, Crane, i have listened to Every word Any of you have said. How do you suppose i Found you, miss Aldemir? Or the good doctor Camden? How do you think i broke the connection between the sectors? I am the director of this film. And, now that i have Zere's research, the GRE will do as i command them. Which renders the two of you... Useless! TAHIR!"

"Sweet little Jade is FAR from fine, Crane. She was bitten and infected hours ago. How noble of her to try and hide it from you..."

"Once again you find yourself with a choice, Crane. Who will recieve the antizin? Who has a hope of living through this encounter? It's up to you now."

“All of this... And you still had your choice made for you. Disappointing, Crane."

"You! You! You, and you! Get in there and kill them!"

“THAT is the natural order of things, Crane. Kill or be killed! EAT or be EATEN!”

"TAHIR! KILL THAT SON OF A BITCH!"

"Kyle Crane! You can hear me, can you not?"

"Right where i should be, at the top of my own tower. Of course, mine's not quite complete but... It still stands as a monument to Chaos... To Entropy... To what it means to be ruled only by oneself."

"I had hoped that would be your attitude... You see, we ar at War, you and i. A war of opposing philosphies. A war to see who's vision of the world proves true."

"Come, Crane. Come and challenge me. What is it you americans are ao fond of saying... I dare you?..."

"Oh, no no no no no... I won't be going to Hell. I will be leaving Harran though, you see... I've made a deal with your GRE brothers... Using your very own communicator, no less. They know i have all of Dr.Zere's research data. They call it "The Keys To The Kingdom". Very shortly, a helicopter will come and take me away. Imagine the damage i shall be able to do outside the confines of these walls... Of course if you... Think you can stop me?..."

"That's what i had hoped to hear! Come and fight me, Crane. Let us finish what we began."

"I knew you could not resist, Crane."

"What?... HEAR me? What a brilliant idea!"

"Hehe! Much better! It is fitting that an orchestra plays when kings clash."

"There... The agents of my will."

“Run, Crane, Run! That is what you slaves are good at. Run, or DIE!”

"Quite an entrance! Perhaps you are a king!... A king of mud."

"Here, Crane... Accept an offering to the king."

“You cannot kill me... You cannot defeat me. You cannot even reach me.”

"And yet you try, and try... Let me give you a little bit of accompaniment."

"The music of suffering! Played by slaves! Perfect for a slave!"

"Hm! Karim managed to warn you, did he not? I was right to shoot him."

"Some might say it's unsporting of me, taking aim at you like this. But i consider it a matter of... Let us call it, leveling the playing field. That is a term you can understand, yes?..."

"You sound as if that hurt, Crane! Allow me to add to your suffering."

"I cast the deciding vote, Crane. Consider yourself expelled."

"Do you know how many men have bested me in a fight before, Crane?... NONE. NO ONE. NEVER."

"Consider yourself a member of an exclusive club. Sadly for you, it is a club i mean to disband."

"Poor Crane... So consumed with emotion... Burning with the need for revenge... Eaten alive by Hatred. Such feelings make you WEAK."

"So! Face to face again! I guess that means i don't need This anymore..."

"Come now, Crane! Do not pretend you don't care! How many lives depending on this disc?... Hundreds?... Thousands?... Perhaps BILLIONS."

"You are right about one thing Crane... Suleiman IS dead! He died with his brother... In this city."

"You don't even belong here, Crane! You don't know what suffering is!"

"I will teach you Crane... You will suffer alongside me..."

"Do not leave me like this Crane... Prove you're a man! Take your vengeance!"

"How the tables have turned... In the blink of an eye. If i were trapped in Harran, this wound would have killed me... But now YOU dangle on the edge of life and death, while the GRE wait to take ME to a hospital... I give you the honor of deciding your own fate. Hand me the disc, so there is at least a chance that Harran might live... And i will make your death painless... Or resist, and doom the city along with you. You have until the count of five! One... Two!"