Riven Flynn

 Stoic, yet somehow charming Riven is a playful rogue at heart. A kid that had to little supervision, a temper and a streak of rebellion a mile wide was never going to end up on the right side of the law. Riven started young, bullied for his Irish roots he remains stubbornly proud of in school he developed a taste for brawling in the school yard.

It was his need for acknowledgement that led him right into the arms of local street gangs where he learned fast it was either fight or die whenever violence broke loose. An already naturally athletic child, he grew fast into a strapping lad that was taken under the wings of a local boxing gym owner hoping to guide him away from the life of petty theft and racketeering he was fast spiraling into.

It worked... kinda. The boxing allowed an outlet for the temperamental Irish lad to get out his pent-up aggressions in a healthier way. For a while, he even stuck to the straight and narrow, almost. He could never rid himself of the desire to rebel and do his own thing, even when others older and wiser than him told him he'd regret things, he never truly understood until he experienced it himself.

Growing up in a time post World War 2 in the UK was not an easy thing for him. The environment was unstable, difficult, if not impossible to truly thrive in. His father had been to the war and returned a changed man with a need for alcohol he never escaped from. His mother, though she tried her best still stood aside whenever her husband felt the need to discipline their fiery natured son. No matter that he was a child, a fist or a belt was the fathers choice of discipline method.

It only drive the now teenager further into rebellion, deeper into the street gangs grips here he thrived by the gangs standards as an enforcer and pit fighter by night. Learning how to fight at the hands of coaches far more ruthless than his old boxing coach who tried fruitlessly to pull him back from the brink of total corruption. He spiralled, taking up weapons and more on the streets when he wasn't in the pits in unsolicited boxing matches, if one could call what they did boxing.

Eventually though, he reached his limits when he learned one night of his mothers death at the hands of his drunkard father. He knew if he ever saw the man again, he'd kill him. Turning to his boxing coach, he confessed what he knew to be true, and the man gave him all he had and told him to leave the country, go start a new life away from street gangs.

Riven left the UK in his early twenties, determined to craft a better life for himself. 

Once in America the man was at a loss for what to do, but he fell in with an old friend of his boxing coach. From there he worked his way into semiprofessional fights, earning a rep for sheer stubbornness and determination to stay on his feet. He was light on his feet for a man his size from his time on the streets and fighting pits, and quick. It was a lethal combo.

He was close to breaking into the ranks of the real fighters, the true professional realm when he was Embraced. He still to this day has no idea who was his sire. True to the tradition of a Grangel he was left to fend for himself, but this time on the outskirts of a town. Fearing his own lack of control when he first felt the thirst, he fled into the woods and mountains. To this day, he claims he hardly recalls his earliest years. Whether this is true or not, no one had pressed him hard enough to find out.

He was found in time by his mentor, Halt. A grizzled old man once that had been turned, he was not a gentle or easy teacher. With little patience for mistakes and fumbling he shaped Riven into survivor and wilderness savvy creature able to track prey for miles in all kinds of terrain, to feed himself and control his beastly nature over a number of years. Halt was a hard man, and an even harder teacher, but Rivens respect for him grew, because truly the man was just the teacher he needed. Someone who wouldn't back down when he got in his face.  Over time, the lessons ceased as the man ran out of things he could teach and Riven drifted away more and more, seeking his own independence now he was confident in his own being as a Grangel.

As is want to follow him though, trouble eventually arose and he got in over his head in time. Picking a fight was stupid, let alone picking one he knew he wouldn't win. He did it anyway. 

However, it was an event he eventually could not come to regret. It led him to Zazuka. Initially he could not bear her near him, a Ravnos was his enemy. Something he sensed she had no clue of the way she approached him so boldly to offer help with his wounds. Weakened as he was, he couldn't truly stop her and truthfully she was fiery and stubborn as he was, refusing to back down at his shows of teeth and snarls. His respect was won in a puzzling series of events, the respect led to them travelling together, she did not try keep him bound to her or admonish him for hos more animal like nature and habits.

Over time, he fell for her and claimed her as his, taking pride in her strength and cunning with people. She is his and woe betide any who try say otherwise.