Ruairi

'''“Have you ever sat and wondered what red tastes like; what blue feels like? No?  Well, that’s disappointing.”'''

Ruairí (true name unknown), or Ru as he is simply known, is a pooka and Illusar of the Exiled who has abandoned his original existence as an angel for one of the Mortal Plane. Truly ancient, Ru observed the creation of Earth and was tasked with following its evolution from inception to finish without himself being involved. He forswore his mission and chose to become personally embroiled in the battle for control in LA. After being denied access to heaven after refusing to choose an alliance in the preparation for the End of Days, he found himself cast to Earth, neither evil enough for Hell or good enough for Heaven. Finding like minded individuals within the ranks of the Exiled, he joined them and using his own magic in congruence with the magic of the Hollow, crafted himself into a physiology that more suited his current state of mind: that of a pooka.

History
The creation of Ru remains shrouded in mystery. One thing is certain, the angel Nymira is considered his sister, and the former angel Rei (currently one of the vampires of the Coven) is considered his brother. Ru has said they were created “of the same ether,” though if that means they were created at the same moment or from the same material has never been determined.

Little is known of Ru’s origins beyond that he is truly ancient, perhaps older than time itself, and that he was tasked with observing and recording the evolution of mankind upon the face of the Earth. There are certain tomes and codexes that refer to a childish, blond being from the earliest moments of mankind’s development; hieroglyphs and carvings that range from Ireland to the Middle East to China to South America that seem to point to a breaking of his orders to remain removed and aloof from intervening with human development.

Sightings of the slightly effeminate yet boyish male rise again and again throughout history: mosaics in Greece depicting him as one with the Muses, carvings in Great Britain and Ireland, Africa and the Americas all point to a creature allusive and protective over his charges. There is evidence of small interactions with the male: paintings, photographs and sculpture all exist that all strike too similar of resemblance to be pure happenstance.

But only a few decades past the turn of the 20th Century, all evidence disappears. It is as simply as if Ru ceased to exist. There is evidence that a cult, believing him an otherworldly or even demonic, managed to capture the creature and ensnare him somewhere in Germany, where any signs of his travels simply run out. There is no evidence of him throughout the rest of the century, and indeed, it was not until a fair haired and youthful male sauntered into LA calling himself Ru, that ever a creature by that name had truly ever existed.

Having been held in captivity throughout the greater part of the 20th century and the first decades of the 21st, Ru rejoined the world having no knowledge of the Cold War or the many technological advances the human race had made, and knew even less regarding the appearance of the Wormwood comet and humanity’s decline.

He made his way west, following a call that took him through the ruins of Europe and the vast wasteland that was the former United States. Immediately upon entering LA, Ru found himself embroiled in the struggle to gain supremacy over Suzanna Soyinka’s stronghold on the city. Aligning himself with the Choir, Ru quickly became known as the level-headed angel, though his inexperience in dealing with and communicating with others was abundantly apparent. He rose quickly in their ranks and became involved with the then Enchanteur of the Coven, Shane Bricklin. Bonding his soul to the vampire, Ru became to question the authority within the Choir.

Ru's trials within the Choir ultimately led to his decision that the Choir lacked true leadership which resulted in his leaving the faction. He wandered faction-less for a few months before, in a skirmish with the Pack, he was nearly killed. In an effort to save his life, he was embraced by a vampire who was afraid that if he was allowed to die, his mate, Shane Bricklin, would be distraught.

Ru spent most of the next few years within the vampire faction in the city; first with the Coven, and remained despite his mate leaving when Shyann Garzo, then leader of the Coven, converted all the vampires under her reign to the Szentes Clan and renamed the faction as the Darvula. Ru alone refused to accept the new bloodline and remained a vampire of his mate’s blood. Whilst aligned with the Coven, Ru befriended and ultimately bonded with Sam Troell, thus creating another brother for himself, a bond that remains to this day.

As an outsider within the Darvula, Ru was not allowed to rank even though he performed his duties efficiently. Growing ever more disgruntled that his status within the faction was so low, Shyann’s husband, Vice, struck a deal with the newly turned vampire to work as his eyes and ears against his own faction in the wake of Shyann’s apparent immolation. However, Ru used his curious place to attempt to bring Vice out of mourning and lead the Darvula, never actually turning against his faction-mates within the clan.

When it was brought to light that Vice was using his influence over Shyann to turn her and all her ilk into demons to be held in sway under him, Ru left the Darvula, despite the coup de tat the current leaders performed. When word reached the ears of the other vampires within the faction, Ru was deemed a spy for Vice, and despite his proof otherwise, he was shunned and mistrusted by all but the Elders.

Once again Ru found himself without a faction and despite flirtations with the Choir to return, maintained a certain aloofness with his former faction. In a confrontation with the newly demonized Gensa Jameson, Ru was staked, and his body, held in status since his battle with the Pack years earlier, was finally allowed to die, hence speeding along his angelic regeneration.

When Ru resurrected days later, he sought to regain access to Heaven, only to be confronted by the Arch Angel Gabriel, who refused to allow Ru succor. Being told that his work on Earth had not ended, he was cast out of heaven as a creature who had not chosen an alliance in the Battle for Armageddon. A few days later Ru emerged as one with the sidhe, and took his place within the Exiled.

Nature and Skills
Ru’s nature has always fallen between generally accepted confines of good and evil, easily sliding back and forth between the two. He is described by others as neither good nor evil; his chaotic nature, as with most other sidhe, shifts with the situation.

Ru is a well-versed healer, studied and practiced in the arts of Western and holistic medicine. He is a studied and prodigious caster and crafter, able to create and mold new flesh as he wishes, though the practice seems to drain his energy, leaving him immobile for days afterwards. His skill with magic is far more mysterious and less is known about it. He is capable of glamouring objects and people, including himself. Ru has shown himself to be quite powerful the few times he has performed spells; assisting Lore to freeze the water in and around the LAWF during a flood and helping to teach Nasreen to avoid legilimency.

Ru is tricksy and quite proficient in double speech and can be quite persuasive when the mood strikes him. He has already proven himself capable of creating powerful binding oaths, once having taken an oath from the Alpha of the Pack herself so effective that once broken, nearly resulted in her death.