Difference between revisions of "Hrathen"
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{{character
|image=Sel-5-Hrathen.jpg
|died=[[Battle of
|bonded=[[Hrathen's seon]]
|profession=[[Derethi]] {{tag+|Gyorn}}
Little is known of Hrathen's youth. He was a citizen of Fjordell, and from a young age was determined to enter the priesthood. While still a boy, he appeared to have an intense ardor for Shu-Dereth. This passion would define the rest of his life, although it would be extinguished in his first experience at a monastery.
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[[Dakhor]] monastery was the most elite of Fjordell's Derethi monasteries. Hrathen proved both his talent and devotion by being accepted into its ranks. However, the experience there was not the one he had expected.{{book ref|Elantris|36}}
The priests of Dakhor wielded a power not unlike that of the Elantrians, though the monk's powers were much more adapted to battle. The most remarkable difference, however, was in the requirements to gain powers.
Where the Elantrians gained their powers in a seemingly random fashion, the priests of Dakhor used human sacrifices and strange rites to alter themselves.{{book ref|Elantris|58}} For some powers, such as the ability to travel great distances instantaneously, a secondary sacrifice was necessary to activate the power.{{book ref|Elantris|60}} In many ways, their powers are similar to [[Hemalurgy]].
Hrathen weathered the early stages of the training with mixed success. He was able to complete the beginning stages of the transformation -- a reshaping of the bones in his right forearm.{{book ref|Elantris|15}} The exact powers that this bestowed are unknown, though it seems likely that it enhanced his physical capabilites, given the prowess he demonstrated later in life. His time there deeply scarred his psyche, however, and when Dilaf, the
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After leaving Dakhor Monastery, Hrathen was still resolved to progress in the priesthood. Accordingly, he went to Ghajan Monastery to finish his training as a Derethi priest.{{book ref|Elantris|36}} Not one of the three specialized monasteries, his training there was a combination of religious instruction and military training. Hrathen excelled at both disciplines, and rose quickly in the ranks of the priesthood. In a relatively short period of time, he ascended to the rank of gyorn. As a gyorn, he was one of a group of twenty men that stood nearly at the top of the religious hierarchy of Shu-Dereth. Only the leaders of monasteries and Wyrn, considered the voice of God, stood higher than Hrathen, and neither was often a presence in Hrathen's day-to-day actions.
He conducted sermons denouncing the Elantrians as Svrakiss and being unholy, damned by Jaddeth, working to make the people hate them. His intention being to unite the people in their hatred for Elantrians and use that to convert them. He began preaching atop the Elantrian wall and this is where he first encountered [[Sarene]]. She was able to ask questions that would embaress him in front of the gathered nobles he was preaching to. Rather than be annoyed he was actually very impressed by her shrewdness and felt invgorated by the promise of a worthy opponent.
Despite his humiliation, several of the nobles still agreed to attend his private meeting where he offered them vague promises of power from Fjordell should they convert to Shu-Dereth. The most
Wishing to closer inspect the Elantrians, he bribed the captain of the guard at the Elantrian wall to bring him an Elantrian. He questioned the Elantrian and decided that he couldn't allow the populace to actually get close to the Elantrains and see how mundane they really were. He ordered for the Elantrian to be put back into Elantris but Dilaf instead tortured the Elantrian to madness and tried to burn it alive during one of Hrathen's sermons. Fearing retribution from Iadon, Hrathen interrupted the sermon, swayed the audience to his side and burnt the Elantrian to death later in private to end it's suffering.
Hrathen was present at Raoden's coronation and was disgusted when the Arelene nobility still accepted him as king after he was revealed to be an Elantrian, realising if he had continued his plan to make the Arlenes hate Elantrians this never would have happened.
At this point he learnt Dilaf was actually a Dakhor monk and that several of them had infiltrated Kae. Dilaf revealed that Wyrn never wanted Hrathen to succeed, instead sending him in as a distraction. Their enemies spent so much time focused on Hrathen and foiling his schemes to convert Arelon they did not notice the monks preparing to commit genocide, wiping out the people of Arelon and Teod to prevent any more dissent from Shu-Dereth and stopping anyone else from becoming an Elantrian. Hrathen was horrified at this, having wanted to save souls not cause a massacre. But before he could take any action, the monks began the [[invasion of Arelon]].
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{{for|Invasion of Arelon}}
Accompanying the monks during their assault on the city, Hrathen was in a constant state of disgust and shock. He was witness to Sarene being taken captive by the monks and learnt Dilaf's beloved had been driven mad by an incorrectly drawn Elantrian Aon causing Dilaf's hatred for Elantrians.
Dilaf and Sarene were placed in a circle with Dilaf and several monks. A monk in the centre was burnt up, body and soul, to allow magic to transport them to [[
=== [[Battle of Teoin]] ===▼
{{for|Battle of Teoras}}
Meeting with Eventeo under the pretense it was time for him to convert to Shu-Dereth the monks prepared to assassinate the King of Teod. Hrathen became aware that Dilaf planned to murder Sarene in front of Eventeo before they killed the king and finally realizing that his feelings of respect and rivalry with Sarene were in fact love he saved her life by attacking Dilaf.
Eventeo escaped while his guards fought the monks and Hrathen and Sarene retreated into a alley. They managed to avoid the monks and disguise themselves as peasants. Walking among the masses, Sarene questioned why Hrathen chose to change sides. Hrathen revealed that he still followed Shu-Dereth, still prayed to Jaddeth, and still thought the Derethi teachings were correct,
Hrathen died in Sarene's arms, his final thoughts being: ''"Goodbye, my princess. Jaddeth be merciful to my soul. I only did the best I could."''
However, Hrathen got back up and saved Raoden and Sarene from Dilaf
=== Legacy ===
Due to his training in various monasteries, Hrathen is a skilled unarmed combatant, capable of disarming a seasoned soldier and disabling several attackers with ease. His official gyorn's set of full plate armor, unlike that of many of his colleagues, was fully functional, and since he wore it at all times he was in public--most of his waking hours--he was in excellent physical condition.
Hrathen is also a talented speaker and strategist, capable of winning people to his cause and accurately predicting his
Hrathen's only power linked to the Dor is a bone in his forearm, the only remnant of being trained at the Dakhor monastery, although the abilities of this bone are not extensively revealed, it was shown to be practically indestructible and granted him the strength to break the neck of a full Dakhor monk.{{book ref|Elantris|62}}
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