Rheila Rachy

Tl;dr
- smol white-scaled viashino healer / general life force controller from Jund

- used to have a philanthropic mission going on with his husband in Alara, then said husband died

- this eventually made Rheila commit to being the best healer he can be, damn the consequences

- turned out the husband hadn't died and they were reunited, which made Rheila regret his edgy doctor House phase

- and now the two are trying to figure out where they stand, but they're healing and getting together

Personality
- mostly terse, distant, to-the-point, and actively projecting stoicism and competence in interpersonal conduct with non-Dajaman people

- when he feels like he can mentally relax (which is rare) regrets being rude and actually enjoys discussion (but don't expect a wide range of topics)

- has to constantly be doing something with his time, spends much of spare time making medicine or tidying

- single-minded, focuses on one issue at a time

- bad with words, more comfortable expressing self through actions

- neat freak

- austere in lifestyle

- holds self to a strict standard, has a deep vein of anxiety over not being some nebulous Good Enough because of it

- takes self very seriously, gets flustered very easily if mocked or put in embarrassing situations

- dampened empathy, not very emotionally intelligent in general

Likes: foods that can be eaten quickly, feeling busy, practical clothing

Dislikes: long periods of idleness, surprises, spices

Driving goals
- do healer work, protect his patients

- be a good mate to Dajaman, whatever that may mean

- (pre-spark) help the world around him be a bit less shitty

- (post-reunion) figure out what the deal is between him and Dajaman

Inner conflicts
- (pre-spark, post-reunion): insecurity about being able to be a good, caring person, uncertainty about what that even means

- (post-spark, pre-reunion): the shreds of his conscience and love for Dajaman vs. his calloused determination to Make The Tough Choices

Appearance
- newt-like face as opposed to ordinary crocodilian Jund viashino

- twink

- white scales speckled with black ones

Abilities
- control of lifeforce (innate)

- more directly: draining it from others and infusing others with it

- more subtly: manipulating the link between lifeforce and mana and converting one into the other (think Channel) or shutting off the ability to access mana; controlling the flow of lifeforce through the body to        disable certain body parts; tracking people by specific lifeforce "flavour"

- blood- and flesh-related magic (learned, reasonably strong)

- barrier magic (learned, passable)

- grab-bag of other WBG-range tricks (learned, weakest)

Weaknesses
- physically fragile

- constantly tense

- probably hasn't slept properly in days. easy to catch off guard

- gets caught up in details, has to actively try to see the bigger picture over immediate concerns

Relationships
- Dajaman: beloved mate. worries about caring for him sufficiently. adores his compassion but wishes he weren't so gullible. convinced he needs to be protected from having to do unsavoury things

- Fulmen Delcarlo and Arina Nisita: acquaintances. slightly cold to arina for prior pub racism

Early life
- born in Jund, grew into a real frail child as opposed to other buff Jund viashino because of it. also got a mutant power innate magical ability to perceive and control life energy directly, so that's nice

- the clan he was born into was all in on keeping the clan alive and strong above all else, so he'd have been killed to avoid wasting food on a runt if not for his lifebending which manifested really soon, and also made him scary good at healing injuries and illnesses

- was pressganged into medic training at an early age. this and knowing he was only alive because of his gift resulted in developing issues with single-mindedness, tying his worth to his capacity and having little time for contemplating matters beyond that

- became childhood friends and eventually fell in love with Dajaman, an older kid full of kindness for both the clan and the outside world, who treated him as a person more than as a runt or an asset. Dajaman was always trying to help people beyond the clan despite (and, in fact, because) of Jund being so barren and dangerous to everyone. although Rheila didn't understand that attitude at first, watching Dajaman's insistence over the years eventually awakened the same sentiment inside him. as the two grew up together, their friendship grew more and more firm; both outsiders, in a sense, they leaned on each other for support and gave each other strength. over time, this bond would strengthen and transform into more intimate love, resulting in the two bonding as mates pretty much as soon as they could

- although mostly confined to the clan's home caves, Rheila would assist both Dajaman and other clan members who were also on board with co-operating with the outside in any way he could

- the two of them chafed at life within the clan, and the predominant culture of it chafed right back. the two dreamed of escape, but couldn't fully trust their ability to get out or make it outside

- life went on somewhat steadily, barring one traumatic forced murder for Dajaman (more on that elsewhere), until the Conflux happened, stirring everyone's shit (Rheila was about 19 at the time). seeing this as the sign they were looking for, Rheila and Dajaman used the ensuing confusion to make a break for it. due to Dajaman's unwillingness to fight and kill, Rheila would have to defend their lives from assailants on their journey; without the aid of those they'd aided, they would not have survived

- the lizzos eventually found themselves in the outskirts Bant, where Dajaman begged the people there to at least save Rheila; touched by this, they decided to grant them shelter. from this, the pair was able to establish themselves in Bant and begin their mutual "making the world better" project; Rheila did what he was best at, Dajaman pursued his altruistic desires through training as a civil servant. where the more idealistic Dajaman's approach to this project was more universal, considering everyone worth support and a second chance, the less sensitive Rheila was more disposed to pragmatically evaluating who was worth focusing on, when, and at what costs. even though the two came to disagreements, they still understood each other and tempered each other's perspectives: Rheila reined in Dajaman's recklessness, and Dajaman stoked the flames of Rheila's compassion. and outside of this, they found room to merely live and be comfortable in ways they hadn't been before. it was mostly a happy life unlike what either had expected; for the two of them, freed from the shackles of the clan and the terror of Jund's dangerous environment, it was as though their lives had truly begun that day. for six years, they lived in relative marital bliss, a careful balance between continuing their philanthropic motives and merely enjoying their new home...

Sparking
- then Dajaman, along with some negotiators, went off to Grixis lands to investigate an incident, insisting on handling it through dialogue. but through his gift of sensing lifeforce, Rheila felt Dajaman die there. with cope hope spurring him onward, he followed the trail; in the place where it ended, he found his mate's blood, and nothing else. to his eyes, it was undeniable; Dajaman had died.

- the loss of the most important person in his life left Rheila somewhat dismayed and also triggered his spark. upon landing in the other world, he assumed he'd been sent to some unseen part of Alara and frantically asked for directions back, only to be told he was in another world entirely

- shocked, unable to process what was going on, Rheila gravitated towards healer work almost automatically; the routine of it was something to anchor him into reality and avoid thinking about the grief

Breaking bad
- initially, he pushed himself to uphold Dajaman's uncompromising compassion in his day-to-day life, never intentionally harming or even mistreating anyone around him. however, at some point, he had to handle a severely afflicted patient whose condition no procedure could help. in a fit of panic, he drained almost all the lifeforce from the people nearby to put it into the patient, curing them but leaving the victims on the brink of death. having, in his mind, failed to carry on Dajaman's expectations, what fragile stability Rheila had managed to find crumbled, and after ensuring that the clinic would be well in his absence, he threw himself blindly into the Eternities, not knowing or caring where he'd end up

- turned out to be Vasille, where some corrupt healers were like "hey, you want to get strong so that you'll never lose anyone again or fuck up like you just did? you should probably join our dubiously ethical med school". their reasoning convinced Rheila and their offer revitalized his old, ingrained "only being a good healer matters" instincts, and lost for anything else to do, he would train with them. the nature of their experiments gave Rheila less and less pause over time; the thoughts saying "no, this isn't what Dajaman would want" or "this is not how you fix the world" gave way to "I must grow stronger to truly fix the world", "I've already failed Dajaman, it doesn't matter anymore", and other such things that spoke with the voice of a sense of purpose

- so Rheila would continue healer work on Vasille, only edgier this time; thinking only of the work and of getting stronger, until one day, one test subject died on the table. this, at last, broke through to him; he saw how far he had strayed from what Dajaman would want, what he had wanted. unfortunately, he ignored that epiphany hard and had the entirely wrong takeaway; since he was no longer able to be a good person, obviously all he could be from then on was his work. that day, Rheila's heart hardened into an arrow pointing only towards one thing; the work of a healer, the duty, the purpose... and everything outside it was only material to be used.

- from then on, his life followed a pattern of "find new plane --> set up shop --> heal people, gather ingredients, experiment, absorb mad skillz, do whatever necessary (short of direct murder, due to the trauma of feeling Dajaman die, although he'd rationalize this as "wanting to keep a low profile") to achieve aforementioned pursuits unhindered --> develop anxiety about all the patients and mad skillz waiting in the Eternities that he could be working on but isn't --> speed-train sufficiently competent replacement if necessary --> planeswalk away --> repeat process, repress occasional guilt and doubt over current modus operandi

- although Rheila quickly learned enough to perform at least partial resurrection of the dead, he would not return to give Dajaman the same because 1) no body 2) he felt that any possible side effects were too much to risk 3) he really felt Dajaman would reject him after finding out what he'd become

- he also ran into Tshosiech, a planeswalker who's really into eating undeveloped sparks. due to saving the life of one of their intended meals, Tshosiech decided to trap Rheila in a mental trap, but Rheila left before it went off

Reunion, revised life plans
- about six years passed until Rheila found out that Dajaman wasn't actually dead, and was also a planeswalker. the resulting emotional shock made him wander through the planes aimlessly in a torpor until he found his way back to [plane], where Tsosiech's mental trap triggered, resulting in Rheila being trapped in a coma state. he spent a month or two like that until he was busted out of it by none other than Dajaman, who'd caught wind of this. the ordeal made Rheila awaken green mana also

- Dajaman coming back opened Rheila's heart and made him realize how callous and withered he'd allowed himself to become. in his shame, he tried to push Dajaman away, believing he no longer deserved Dajaman mate in his life and was no longer able to be what Dajaman wanted him to be. Dajaman, however, had already heard about some of the fuckshit Rheila had done, including Vasille, and independently decided to forgive him of it. when Dajaman asked if Rheila still wanted to continue the work they'd set out to do, Rheila thought on the matter and decided that he did. for Dajaman, if not for himself. and that was enough for Dajaman

- they both wanted to be together again, find out what new form their future would take; however, the matter of Vasille hung over their heads; Rheila decided he had to go back and fix what could be fixed before he could feel worthy again; Dajaman agreed to this, but insisted to come along as support, partially blaming himself and his delay in finding Rheila again for what had happened. on hesitant, but hopeful feet, the two stepped into the Eternities...

- and that's all the concrete I have planned right now lol. for vague terms; they go back to Vasille and undo some of Rheila's damage, getting closer in the process. Rheila thinks he has to do some more atonement, but eventually Dajaman starts to be over the whole atonement schtick and is on his "people deserve to be happy actually" arc, so they do just settle down together at some point

(no longer canon from this point)

- during and after some time of Rheila going back to some previously-visited planes to make amends, the two re-established their bond and relationship. Rheila would continue working with medicine and improving lives around him in-between domestic happiness with Dajaman, but his mind was now divided between devoting itself fully to efficiency at the cost of compassion and compassion at the cost of efficiency. his will wavered, but Dajaman's support kept him mostly grounded

Prior, now retconned bullshit
- then Shenanigans happened with a kid named Amber and Rheila got the parts of his metaphysical magic system that let him directly heal people irreparably damaged. whoops. this attack at what he internally associated with his entire existence as a person made him go a little completely bonkers and psychologically coerce Amber into reversing the Shenanigans. it didn't take. after angsting for a bit, he decided to get right back on the community service horse even harder this time, focusing on the weak and the poor specifically (due to expoiting the relatively weak Amber). also to mount a rescue of Amber, who'd been kidnapped while he was angsting. this got Dajaman to take him back after being briefly horrified by aforementioned bonkers-going, join the rescue, and also concentrate his previously-less-directed drive to be excellent in general into becoming lizard spidermen

- this new lease on life went reasonably well for a while, if fraught with the aforementioned split devotion issues, until the duo returned to Vasille, where healers were being serial-killed by mutants created by all those live experiments Rheila participated in back in the day, which he'd managed to forget entirely. investigating this made Rheila un-forget this and, fearing this to be the thing that would push Dajaman away from him for good, began investigating further on his own. his emotional state worsened to the point where he actively tried to give his life to the mutants to appease them, only to be saved by Dajaman who'd found out anyway. after an argument about trust, they resolved this and confronted the mutants' leader together. this ended up with Rheila killing the mutant leader and, through doing so, reaching a kind of emotional reconciliation between his two warring outlooks that let him consider both in a more balanced manner again, on a case-by-case basis. the power couple coerced their way into the mutants getting actual therapy and stayed in Vasille to fight against the various exploitations of the weak and poor there, with Rheila's recovered determination and newfound broader mentality making him much more effective at it