Poor Rabyn. Most of the texts from the Age of Man listed him as one of the bad guys, but he was as much a victim of circumstance as anything. He started out as a good egg and then everything spiraled out of control.
Each Elder Race had a patron among the gods and for Rabyn, it was the Dolforro. The dolphin-like people were his absolute favorite and he spent time with them from the very beginning. When Perlinora the Firstborn wanted to found a city under the waves, Rabyn pointed her in the direction of the great pearl she then planted as Calisende’s keystone. The pearl transformed the coral reefs into a wondrous underwater city for the Dolforro. As an extra bonus, the reefs worked like the Stones the surface dwellers used. With the Pearl in place, Dolforro priestesses could channel prayers.
Later, when Sunome was ready to strike out on his own, Rabyn coughed up another Pearl and gave it to the Prince so he could sing Dellavende up from the ocean floor. Rabyn gave his heart to the Dolforro and Zara the Temptress broke it when her Ulgarja (squid-like demons) destroyed Calisende and Dellavende. Not a single Dolforro survived. They were slaughtered to the last man, er … fish, whatever, and losing them drove Rabyn mad.
Rabyn retreated into the depths in despair, growing battier by the day. He shunned all contact and stewed over the Dolforro, until he was mad as a hatter and susceptible to the Dark Lord. One-Eye whispered lies to him, lies about his brother Umbar and Davyrma, who Rabyn thought cute for a dragon. Rabyn had the head of a hammerhead shark so he wasn’t too particular when it came to looks. And when it came right down to it, he could take any form he wanted. If Davyrma preferred another guise, all she had to do was ask, but first she had to leave her mountain.
The longer he circled the depths, the more convinced Rabyn became of Umbar’s complicity in the slaughter of the Dolforro. Never mind that this flew in the face of the truth and what Rabyn knew to be true, it didn’t matter. The Dark Lord had sold Rabyn his pack of lies hook, line and sinker. When Kandol pulled the world down at the end of the Elder Days, Rabyn packed up his things and moved to the Darkstar’s seas, but he still kept an eye on Umbar and when his brother wasn’t paying attention, he snuck into Heaven’s seas to spy. That part was easy, thanks to a fold in the Girdle overlapping both seas.
Then the Lady of Esel started her wheeling and dealing and the tension between Rabyn and Umbar accelerated. As part of the Vanara conspiracy, Davyrma had to seduce Umbar, which she did wearing the guise of Lillandra. Davyrma had no idea that Rabyn had the hots for her, but it wouldn’t have mattered. She’d spent the Elder Days on her mountain waiting for the day she and Dracorys could consummate their long-delayed love and had eyes for no one else.
But, wouldn’t you know it, Davyrma fell for Umbar for real. She’d been cooped up so long, I think she would have fallen in love with a cucumber if it had shown her any affection, and maybe even if it hadn’t. Now that she’d had some, she was insatiable, and Umbar was happy to be on the receiving end of her freed libido. Rabyn watched it happen and it infuriated him. Seeing Davyrma fall for another was painful, made that much sharper because it was Umbar.
Just before Davyrma gave birth to Beldar (the Vanara she’d conceived with Umbar) the truth came out. After waiting a lifetime, Davyrma rejected Dracorys for Umbar, but when Umbar found out how Davyrma had deceived him, he’d have nothing to do with her. She fled to her mountaintop and gave birth to Beldar before throwing herself into the sea to put an end to her suffering
Rabyn was watching though and would not let Davyrma perish. He rescued her and took her back to his grotto, where he nursed her back to health. At first, she wanted no part of Rabyn’s advances, but over time, Umbar’s cruel rejection festered and her love for him soured into a hatred shared with Rabyn. Their hatred brought them together. To avenge her (and for a little self-satisfaction), Rabyn leapt into battle with his brother and their battle was like a monsoon upon Heaven’s sea. The other gods could only hold their breath and wait to see who won. When it was over, Rabyn was triumphant and Umbar fell to Sangrar, awakening with no memory and no name, until Raena named him Thar.
The Dark Lord was pleased with Rabyn’s victory and welcomed Davyrma into the Erlikkarin club as an honorary member, the same status Rabyn enjoyed. The asterisk had been a compromise after Cthar, Zara and Morkanis had objected to expansion (Cthar had even argued against Ymyrl joining them). The qualified welcome didn’t bother Davyrma, she needed a place to live and didn’t have many options. In turning Dracorys down, she’d rejected Heaven too. One Eye threw a little dinner party to celebrate and everyone dressed in black, with lots of spikes and leather, except Zara who didn’t wear any clothes.
