Universe:Rakan
The Charmer
As mercurial as he is charming, 
Rakan is an infamous vastayan troublemaker and the greatest battle-dancer in Lhotlan tribal history. To the humans of the 
Ionian highlands, his name had long been synonymous with wild festivals, uncontrollable parties, and anarchic music. But this energetic, traveling showman has left his old life behind, dedicating himself to the cause of his lover, the rebel 
Xayah. Together, they seek to free Ionia’s wild magic, restoring the vastaya’s birthright.
 | "I got freedom. I got a lady. I got a cause I'd die for." — Rakan |
 |
Background[edit | edit source]
Early life[edit | edit source]
The Lhotlan vastaya once lived on the ancient, mystical borders of Ionia’s deep forests, on the eastern island of Qaelin. It was a place where magic was breathed like air, and time had little meaning. To these chimeric creatures, the lands of mortals were an unforgiving desert, virtually devoid of magic—and over the centuries, that desert only grew, encroaching on the vastaya’s territories.
Rakan was born into a tribe in decline, yet he never gave up hope.
Like his brethren, Rakan watched as human settlements continued to expand, damming the flow of Ionia’s wild, chaotic magic for their own safety. Many tribes sent emissaries to negotiate with them, securing treaties to protect the mystical energy the vastaya needed to thrive. Yet over and over again, these promises were broken.
Disillusioned, most vastaya became increasingly isolationist as they clung to their remaining lands. But young Rakan advocated a different path. The battle-dancer believed that mortals could be convinced to let wild magic run free if they could only appreciate its beauty, and he boasted that he was the one to make them see it. For this, he was labeled mu’takl—distrusted as a human sympathizer, and collaborator.
Rakan left the Lhotlan tribe, determined to spread the song of his people across Ionia. He was an entertaining rogue, a welcome performer at any tavern or village carnival, but over the years he realized that was all he was to mortals—no matter how many dances and songs he performed, no matter how much he enthralled the crowds, he merely provided diversion to drunken revelers.
Rakan grew restless, finding himself without purpose... until he had a chance encounter with Xayah, a fellow Lhotlan, at the harvest festival in Vlonqo.
Seeing her in the crowd, Rakan sang one of his old songs, entrancing the entire town with his gleaming plumage. Though countless human and vastayan women had fallen for him in the past, this violet raven seemed immune to his charms, though not uninterested.
How could she see him and yet choose not to follow him? It was a puzzle with no easy answer.
Intrigued, the battle-dancer approached Xayah and asked after the welfare of their tribe. When she told him that the Lhotlan had lost the last of their lands, Rakan howled with rage. This finally seemed to impress Xayah, and she assured him that there was still hope: she was part of something greater, a rebellion of sorts, to take back what the vastaya had lost. Not just for the Lhotlan, but for all tribes.
Rakan was thunderstruck. Here was a chance for him to redeem his people, a cause he was willing to die for. He implored Xayah to let him accompany her, and she agreed—as long as he carried his weight.
And, as Xayah would soon learn, Rakan’s dances were as impressive in battle as they were on stage. He called himself the greatest battle-dancer in Lhotlan history, a boast that none could refute. His grand entrances and dazzling acrobatics distracted and befuddled enemies, before Xayah felled them with her razor-sharp quills. In any dangerous situation, they fought together with uncanny harmony.
Contemporary history[edit | edit source]
During their travels, Rakan became fascinated by how Xayah interacted with the world. She seemed always prepared, aloof, and focused... whereas he was absent-minded, affable, and lacking seriousness. Although Rakan would often forget her carefully laid plans, he made up for it with his ability to read the emotions of others, using charisma and insight to persuade them. The two vastaya were so different, and yet they achieved great feats, each one’s strengths complementing the other’s weaknesses.
Soon enough, Rakan couldn’t imagine life without Xayah, and it was clear that she felt the same for him. The pair pledged themselves to each other in the midst of a raucous tavern brawl.
Yet they did not see eye to eye in all things. Where she viewed the world as black and white, with mortals always the enemy, he had more compassion, and believed some of them were redeemable. Despite this difference, Rakan was certain that his and Xayah’s love for each other would bear them through the storms that lay ahead.
Through Xayah, Rakan has found purpose. Inspired by his partner’s singular drive, Rakan has made her crusade his own, and together they will fight to reclaim the First Lands for the vastaya.
Appearance[edit | edit source]
Rakan has white hair, which is accentuated by a bold red stripe running through it. His small red cape conceals the base of vibrant yellow plumage, which cascades down like a regal cape. Adorning the cape is a single bird skull which keeps the cape in place. Shirtless, he showcases two bracers on his arms, concealing additional yellow plumage underneath. Rakan wears azure pants which secured by a red rope belt adorned with bird skulls. True to his Lhotlan lineage, Rakan bears avian features such as bird legs and pointed, feathered ears.
Personality[edit | edit source]
As the title suggests, he's as charming as they come, being an emotionally aware guy and incredibly graceful. Because this he can be a flamboyant and showy performer, as he is energetic and confident. But he is also brave and loyal, and compassionate and unlike his lover, Xayah, he tends to act on instinct than planning.
Abilities[edit | edit source]
- Vastayan Physiology: Rakan is a Vastaya, an ancient race of demi-humans changed by magic of the Spirit Realm. The connection to the Spirit Realm increased their longevity so they can live for centuries, and granted them powerful magic. The Vastaya are divided into several different tribes, each one defined by an specific animal. Rakan is a Lothlan, a type of birdlike Vastaya.
- Enhanced Agility: Lothlan are much more agile than a normal human.
- Magical Plumage: Rakan has a "wing" on his right shoulder that produces magical feathers that can be used for several purposes. He can throw them at a foe, create powerful gusts of wind that can knock his enemies of the ground, or help others by creating barriers and healing them.
Relations[edit | edit source]
Xayah[edit | edit source]
Rakan is a Lhotlan Vastayan who travels Ionia as a wandering entertainer. After meeting and getting in a relationship with Xayah, both travel Ionia to preserve Ionia's natural magic from being controlled by humans. They are not married, since Xayah wants to hear him proposing to her everyday.
Zed[edit | edit source]
Rakan and Xayah fought Zed and his Order of the Shadow in Wild Magic to prevent them from harvesting a magical grove for the Kashuri Armories, the creators of 
Jhin's 
Whisper.
Read More
Biography
Starring Champion
Mentioned Champion
Alternate Universes
Trivia[edit | edit source]
- Rakan is confirmed to have ADHD based on his in-game voice lines and short story.[1]
- This was confirmed by Odin 'WAAARGHbobo' Shafer, who explained that they indirectly gave Rakan ADHD through piecing parts of their personality together, as well as events from their friends and family, to create him.
- His tribe's name, Lhotlan, was named after Lhotl, a Vastayashai’rei hero during the war against a race of titans from the sky.
- He was originally intended to be 28 in equivalence to human age, but due to being a young Vastaya, he is over a few hundreds years old.[2][3]
- This can be explained that as one enters a vastayan forest, time — as we know it — becomes to be less reliable. This is the border to the spirit world, so time can go strangely; days can become years, or months can become seconds in the world outside of the forest.[4]
- Rakan's emotional intelligence and self-awareness is through the roof. He is evidently also very present at any given time; he lives in the moment. Rakan was aware of his emotional interest in Xayah as it happened. It's not a singular moment for Rakan, it was a journey.[5]
- The Vastayan culture's relationship and marriage rituals are somewhat different than ours, in part because magic is largely integral to them and their landscape. Their culture is big on declarations. Symbolically when you declare something, it becomes true; with Vastayan magic, these sort of declarations also form a weak charm. Reinvoking it maintains its status and makes others aware. From a human perspective, they are not married nor engaged, and would self-describe as a "couple". But for a Vastayan, declaring someone your companion is equivalent: it means you are allowing your magics to entwine.
- Vlonqo, the town where Xayah and Rakan first met, is a town with a monastery and a Quinlon.[6]
- Quinlons are the magical filters and damns scattered around Ionia that attempt to contain the amount of magic released into the region, or limit it to positive and helpful magic, which in turn affect the Vastayan livelihood due to their dependence on magic.[7]
- In Wild Magic, Xayah and Rakan destroyed one of the Quinlons that Zed and his Shadow Order use to create their Ichor which is used to channel Shadow magic .
- In Wild Magic,
- Quinlons are the magical filters and damns scattered around Ionia that attempt to contain the amount of magic released into the region, or limit it to positive and helpful magic, which in turn affect the Vastayan livelihood due to their dependence on magic.[7]
Change log[edit | edit source]
The following change log is for the Character blurb found at the top of the article:
| Character blurb | |
|---|---|
| 7 July 2020 (V10.14) | Updated to current version. |
| 10 Apr 2017 (V7.8) | Original version. |
For historical versions of other stories, please see each story's respective change log.
References[edit | edit source]
See also[edit | edit source]
