Rathvin

'.....'

## **Background**

Born to a Hunter and Handler pair in Dundroma, Rathvin was well immersed in the life of being a hunter since the moment he was born.  When he was ten, he would meet his best friend, a black and white Palico named Flower.  The two soon became inseparable, training with each other and pushing each other to be the very best until he would turn eighteen.  He would then go to the guild, becoming a hunter and immediately being sent out to the distant Moga Village to be their Hunter.

The people of Moga welcomed him, despite his inexperience but he proved to be a quick learner alongside Flower, both of them quickly rising to the task at hand.  His first true hurdle came when a Lagiacrus was thought to be sending earthquakes throughout the island, threatening the village.  Though it was a struggle, he did manage to slay the beast but the earthquakes continued.  It was only after further investigation did they find the true source of the earthquakes, a massive sea Elder Dragon known as Ceadeus.

The danger posed by the beast was so great that the guild had ordered the evacuation of Moga, allowing the people to survive at the expense of their way and life.  Rathvin actually refused orders, instead diving into the deep to battle with the whale-like dragon.  The people of Moga waited, knowing that the fate of their home rested on the young hunters shoulders, and when he surfaced, victorious, they held a festival the likes that they had never held before, celebrating the safety of their home and the guild even forgave Rathvin for him disobeying their orders.

Life was good over the next decade.  Rathvin continued to hunt for the people of Moga, with the young hunter making a name for himself by managing to take down several other elder dragons.  However, the guild would soon approach him with a most dire request.  One of the infamous Dangerous First Class Monsters, the Black Dragon known as Alatreon, was causing trouble and needed to be put down.  Rathvin was one of a handful of hunters that were selected to tackle this beast.  Despite the danger, he was confident they would be able to slay it.  After all, they slew all who came before them so who's to say that this would be any different?

The fight went south nearly as soon as it began.  Alongside Rathvin and Flower were three other Master Ranked Hunters, each one with hundreds of successful hunts under their belts.  The group should have been able to handle it, but the guilds policy of destroying all records about the Black Dragons bite them in the ass.  Within minutes of the hunt beginning, one hunter was already killed.  The second one died shortly after that, leaving Rathvin and a Gunlancer as the only ones still standing.

The battle seemed to drag on for hours, the two hunters throwing their all at the Alatreon, managing to do damage but the beast seemed invincible.  Through one mistake, the gunlancer was the next one killed.  Rathvin himself would have died in that battle, had Flower not thrown her weight at him, pushing him out of the way of a massive burst of lightning.  Unfortunately, that act would cost the Palico her own life, leaving Rathvin alone against the beast.  It was sheer luck that Rath landed the finishing blow, taking the Alatreon down.  He was heralded as a hero of the guild but where victory once tasted sweet, it just left a taste of ash in his mouth.

He returned to Moga, equipment was made from the beast that nearly took his life, but he rarely used that gear.  Too much blood had been shed in its forging, so he would keep it only for the most dire of emergencies.  Life returned to its quiet routine, and after decades of hunting he had finally considered retirement.  He would have gone through with it if the Guild hadn’t come to him and told him about the New World and Astera, and how they wanted him to teach a new generation of Hunters.

After a week of thinking it over, he soon found himself on a ship bound for the New World, and a new sense of purpose that seemed to rejuvenate the old hunter.

## **Personality and Behaviour**

Brash and confident, Rathvin possesses an aggressive personality that doesn’t seem to accept failure as a possibility.  Loyal to a fault, those that win his friendship will have a lifelong companion that will gladly march into hell for them.

That is the personality that he projects, but those that have known him for years know that it is merely a facade.  When on his own, he is withdrawn, quiet, and introverted, still haunted by the ghosts of friends and hunters that he witnessed the deaths of.

## **Occupation**

Originally signing up to be a hunter when he hit his eighteenth year, he was assigned to Moga Village as their dedicated hunter, something he quickly excelled at and has made a name for himself as one of the Guilds best hunters.

## **Likes and Dislikes**

### **Likes**

* Exploring
* Camping
* Tweaking his Switch Axe
* Hunting

### **Disikes**

* Elder Dragons
* False Arrogance
* Egotistical People

## **Strengths and Weaknesses**

### **Strengths**

* Rathvin’s greatest strength is his decades of hunting experience, giving him an aura of calm when facing even the most intimidating of wyverns.
* In terms of hunting, Rathvin is an aggressive brawler, keeping the offense up while relying on decades of experience to know when to dodge and get in and out of danger.

### **Weaknesses**

* Rathvin isn’t the young man that he once was, finding himself getting tired over longer hunters more quickly than his younger companions.
* He is known for pushing himself well past his limits, refusing to accept defeat and refusing to allow a monster to get the better of him, even if it would be better to retreat and regroup.

## **Ambitions**

When Rathvin was younger, he wished to have his name be passed into the Guild Records as the greatest hunter to have ever lived.  While he still desires to be the best, and some could make an argument that he had already achieved that dream, his new ambition is to see his students surpass his own deeds.

## **Bonds**

Rathvin is notable for being one of the only Hunters that does not hunt alongside a Palico, ever since the loss of his original partner, Flower.

## **Appearance**

Rathvin possesses a tall, powerful build.  Standing at 6’3”, three decades of hunting has practically eliminated any fat upon his body, leaving him with a body that men half his age would want.  His hair is cut short, the black strands finally starting to be speckled with gray alongside a full, black and silver beard.  Years of being outside has left his skin with a healthy tan, though the years have taken their toll.  Several claw scars could be seen around his body, including a large burn scar on his torso and a long slash through his left eye that has left him mostly blind in that eye.

## **Physical Abilities**

**Physical Strength** - Rathvin has been noted for his physical strength, able to slam the shield of a gunlance into the ground and hold his ground against attacks that would knock down most others.

## **Intellectual Abilities**

**Sixth Sense** - Rathvin’s decades of hunting experience has gifted him with an almost preternatural ability to read the environment, and know if he’s the hunted or the hunter.  He has attributed this ‘gut feeling’ of his as to saving his life more than once while out in the field.

**Hunter's Knowledge** - Thirty years of being a Guild Hunter has given Rath an encyclopedic mind when it comes to the lifestyle of a hunter, able to craft various traps, remedies, and food from his environment like it is second nature.

## **Equipment**

### **Commission Set**

Assigned a troop of rookie hunters and serving as their Field Team Leader, rather than outfit himself in elaborate hunter gear, Rathvin choses to wear a standard set of Commission Gear, and forgoes the use of his preferre weapon, the Switch Axe, for a simple, yet effective Iron Gunlance. He does this not only to prevent an advantage for himself over his students, but also to show them that however mighty the gear may be, it is nothing without the instincts of a true hunter using it.

### **Ceadus Set**

As a Master Rank hunter, Rathvin has conquered many a monster, and no hunt is more significant to him than when he felled a Ceadus, a mighty water-dwelling Elder Dragon. Though he wears a more simple set to both humour and not outshine his students, his Ceadus armour and accompanying switch axe is his gear of choice.

### **Alatreon Set**

Though a Master Rank hunter is one who will have downed many a monster in their time, there are few who can claim to have not only faced the dread dragon Alatreon, but emerged from the encounter alive. As one of the most dangerous Elder Dragons in the Guild's records, slaying the creature is a feat for which those who acheive it are regarded among the greatest hunters of all time.

Rathvin counts himself among those legends, and as such has access to a full set of Alatreon Armour, as well as a Switch Axe made from the materials of the dragon. He seldom uses them however, with both granting enormous power which would vastly outdo most around him. The set is worn only matters of formality, or the direst of circumstances, in which the power of the elemental dragon is called upon.