Gardner Braith

—Gardner, following his murder of Kodiak Lincoln.

* Current
* Original

## Personal Status

### Relatives

Kamala Braith, Sterling Braith, Viola Braith, Viorel Braith, Zelena Braith, Tahlia Braith

## Media

### First Appearance

Page 164 *(silhouette)*
Page 325 *(full)*

**Gardner Braith** is a member of the Braith Family and second oldest sibling of the Braith Family, the main antagonists of the RAIN Comic. His weapon of choice is Écorché, a cleaver-cum-bastard-sword.

## Appearance

Gardner is an extremely tall and muscular man, with dark orange-brown hair and bright orange eyes. He also has a light dusting of facial hair along his jawline, and a scattered scar on the left side of his face.

He wears an orange collared shirt with torn off sleeves, copper bracers which are secured with athletic bandages, grey-brown trousers with braces hanging loosely at their sides, and brown boots. He also wears a copper breastplate.

## Personality

Gardner is a man who operates solely through necessity, and rarely shows emotion. He claims he kills because his hand was forced, implying that he does not enjoy murder as Kamala and Sterling do, and tells his opponents he will make their deaths quick if they allow him to. This implies a warped sense of mercy.

## Abilities and Powers

Gardner seems to possess an explosive amount of power. He capable of generating fire and explosions - an ability which is owed to his weapon, Écorché.

In addition to his weaponry, Gardner is naturally very durable, able to block and endure strikes from bladed or flaming weapons with just his forearm. His attacks pack a significant punch, as he can knock enemies clear through several consecutive walls with just one fist.

### Semblance

*Main article: Siphon*
Through skin contact, Gardner can drain someone else’s aura and add it to his own. A side affect of absorbing an extension of someone’s soul and personality allows him to read their emotions.

This said, the effect is so powerful that he tends to do damage to his own body in the transaction - such as tearing his cheeks open because he opens his mouth too wide. The surplus of aura will usually heal any damage, but some things remain, such as the scarring on the left side of his face.

As well as this, Gardner has a tendency to simply mill around, bathing in the taste of someone’s aura, but this doesn’t mean he is vulnerable. Getting too close will make him retaliate, but if he is left alone he won’t actively pursue an enemy until he’s digested the situation a little.

### Weaknesses

Like the other Braiths, Gardner's aura is unstable to the point that increasing her emotional state too much will cause it to shatter. In addition to this, Gardner's aura is in a constant state of decay, meaning it will slowly fall to zero if he fails to keep topping it up by draining it from others.

## Battles

 Akane, Wil and Roderick vs. Gardner Braith

## Relationships

### Kamala Braith

Unlike his other siblings, Gardner questions his sister and is able to hurry her monologues along without her giving him any more than a sharp glare.

However, he expresses what may be a fear of Kamala when he tells Tahlia that she would find them if they abandoned the cause, and goes on to reveal that he has bought into Kamala's warped quest for 'justice' - apparently aware of whatever happened to the family to cause Kamala to want this.

### Sterling Braith

The first hint towards Gardner's relationship with Sterling is his remark that 'brothers can be moderately irritating'. This is in line with his interactions with Sterling, in which he is teased by his younger brother regarding his constant Aura drain. He does not take the jabs lying down and instead threatens to drain Sterling's aura using his semblance. Sterling, however, is unfazed.

### Tahlia Braith

Gardner and Tahlia have possibly the only relationship within the Braiths that is anywhere close to functional or healthy. Gardner is protective of his younger sister, guiding her away from harm or helping her to her feet despite the protests of the likes of Viorel. He admits to her that the two of them abandoning their family is an option, but it would pit Kamala against them and he would not be able to protect Tahlia as well as he could by Kamala's side.

For Gardner, Tahlia is the only reason to take a risk that could anger Kamala, implying that he values his youngest sister over his oldest.

## Trivia

### Allusion

* Gardner alludes to the deadly sin of Gluttony.
	+ Like the other members of the Braith family, he also reflects a colour of the rainbow.
	+ Gardner is a type of orange, Gluttony being the overindulgence of food.
	+ Gardner complains about fighting on an empty stomach.
	+ His semblance allows him to consume aura. When using it on Akane, it is his mouth that opens extremely wide and he speaks of hunger and taste while doing so.

### Colour Naming Rule

* "Gardner" is derived from the name of a type of Orange.
* Braith is a Welsh unisex name derived from the word *brith*, meaning "diversely-colored," especially black and white or red and white.

## References

1. ↑ http://neopoliitan.tumblr.com/post/173487042734/kamala-wrath-gardner-gluttony-sterling-greed