kini

Friendly and hardworking, Rean is one who very much prioritizes others before himself. He’s a character who - though openly polite and friendly – is constantly feeling an ever-present sense of dissonance about himself.

At a young age, he was abandoned only to be taken in by the presiding lord of the region. Despite his mysterious origins, he is accepted as a member of that family, even though he is not noble by blood. And in a country that places a lot of weight on status and nobility, it goes without saying that it leaves him doubting his overall sense of worth.

His life is a constant question of identity and where he belongs in the world as it constantly throws discord and more reasons to deny himself his way. On top of that, he also harbors an otherworldly, seemingly demonic power that threatens to overwhelm him the moment he loses control of himself. And despite the support, he still doesn't have any easy answers to why that is and what he should do about it.

So, what's a guy to do? Pack up, leave home, and go to military school!

There he's made part of Class VII and through getting to know his classmates and helping them work out their own problems. To which they're rewarded with two major things being dumped into their laps: a civil war that breaks out thanks to their friend assassinating a major political figure and a sweet giant robot for Rean. Cool! ... First part, not so much, but hey: what's the worst that could happen? That same friend shows up in their own giant robot to kick your ass, leaving you forced to flee and leave your friends behind? Pfft.

... That's exactly what happens and is in itself a primary example of how the bond goes both ways, which in itself presents another issue with Rean: his unwillingness to allow them that much. He's more than happy to help others, but when others want to help him? That's where he's at a loss. He tends to keep people at an arms' length and sidesteps his own issues when the subject of himself is brought up. He even views himself as undeserving of their kindness and it takes him being called out on it until he finally starts to take the first steps past that and accept himself for who he is.

And then all that development runs straight into a roadblock when his closest friend he'd been fighting all this time to get back dies in his arms. On top of that, above-mentioned political figure coming back from the dead to let him know that hey he's back and he's also the exact same guy who abandoned him years back: his biological father. Wow, it sure sucks to be Rean, doesn't it?

Swordsmanship.

→ Intermediate rank in the Eight Leaves One Blade school of martial arts. Most of his training centered around swordsmanship; however, he's also well-versed in unarmed combat as well.

Orbal Arts.

→ Most combat-ready folk of the Trails saga come with their personal Tactical Orbments and Rean is no exception, coming in with an ARCUS unit. It's essentially technology that allow the user to use a form of magic ("Orbal Arts").

→ They're handheld sized and within them are slots where elemental "quartz" can be inserted. Think a slightly more complex version of Final Fantasy 7's Materia system, if you're familiar with it. If not, here's the short layman's version: if Rean needs to use magic for some reason and does not have his ARCUS unit on his person? He's shit out of luck. There you go.

Awakener.

→ Having completed the respective trial, Rean became the Awakener to one of the legendary Divine Knights: Valimar, the Ashen Knight.

→ What this basically means is that he can pilot giant robots. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure bringing your own giant robot to a murdergame is considered cheating. And we're having none of that...!

Spirit Unification. ("Ogre Mode")

→ Allows Rean to unleash his latent ability. In terms of it's origin, not much is known about it other than it being due to Rean having something "mixed" in him. What exactly being mixed entails is currently unknown, but the power itself is described as "something that falls outside the laws of this world." Again, fuck if anyone knows what exactly that means, but it's likened to the power of an "ogre".

What we DO know is that it significantly enhances his attributes all around. Speed, strength, endurance? He's got it all! The exact extent of his attributes aren't quite known. He's shown to be capable of outrunning (flash-stepping, even) several people known to be highly skilled and of considerable physical and/or magical ability. All while princess carrying someone.

But: judging how Victor is still able to hand his ass to him in a single round despite only wielding a greatsword, it's safe to say he's definitely not taking on Goku anytime soon.

→ So, what this basically means is Rean has a superpowered beast mode and it's honestly kind of bullshit. Yeah. Despite that, it still doesn't last forever even if Rean has better control over it.