Ranarim
Captain of the Nancy,
allegedly assisted with the rescue of the Nikkal Diaspora
In mortal life, Ranarim was a First Age Nireauan-born sorcerer, swordsman, monster hunter and explorer who would eventually ascend to become the Material demigod of lightning and one half of a united deity known as The Stormlords, the other being Thunderlord Ronom. Though some followers identify particularly with one Stormlord's philosophy or fighting style, they are almost always worshipped in tandem.
Ranarim's alignment is Chaotic Good.Description
See also: Ranarim Image Gallery (external)Ranarim is generally portrayed as a typical Nireauan male, with dark hair (usually worn long and ponytailed) and light greyish complexion. He is often represented in fine Nireauan domaru plate mail and wielding his famed glaive, the Senkugoshoha. Particularly popular are busy, action-packed portrayals of him fighting a kaiju or a Lichlord in a towering warbody.
Ranarim was sometimes portrayed wearing shaded glasses, suggesting a light sensitivity that may mean a Meranthic human-drow ancestry, not uncommon in Nireau.Worship
For more on the Stormlord church, Domains, Favoured Weapons, et cetera, see the main article on The Stormlords.
Ronom, Ranarim and their oldest ally Laila By-the-Sea are often worshipped as a sort of collective deity of adventuring and fridnship, often called The Chorus of Seasky. The Chorus was even worshipped in Nireau, where reverence to anyone but their ruling Lichlords was frowned upon. There, they were called the Trioskuri. This worship tended to be centered around Ranarim in particular, who was a Nireauan native.History
Gathering an accurate history on both Ranarim & Ronom is difficult as early descriptions, while common, are steeped in propaganda as a result of the Valamo-Nireauan Wars: Nireauan accounts of the Lightninglord tend to be breathless descriptions of a great hero and icon of the advanced necrocracy's superiority, while Valamonian accounts tell of an evil witch-prince bent on assimilating their proud nation into undead chattel slavery. As always, the reality is more complex.The Volgirre
It's generally agreed that Ranarim's initial rise to fame was as a soldier of the Volgirre: an elite squadron of corsairs, explorers, warriors, assassins and black mages under the command of the feared Lichlord Vierix Echidna. It was likely during these early decades that Echidna, Ranarim and the Volgirre became familiar with the monstrous dangers of Materia's oceans; perhaps it was even by Echidna's command that the Lightninglord began to develop the first formalized methods of dealing with oceanic kaiju.
It's worth noting that Nireau was rooted in an extraplanar empire from the relatively mature and developed plane of Rozsa, who had largely done away with threatening wildlife. As such, Nireauan readers & theatre audiences found tales of the Volgirre's exploits against giant sea monsters and exotic savages to be endlessly exciting, and Ranarim's rise to fame would be rapid (however it is from here that historicity becomes difficult, as reports become increasingly blended with bardic hyperbole and outright fiction).Ronom & The Valamo-Nireauan Wars
Eventually, the New Rozsan Empire's expansion would take them to the doorstep of the rugged, warlike, more human-blooded nation of Valamon. The Valamonians—also skilled naval warriors—were thrilled for the opportunity to war with the elitist, necromantic Nireauans. This included the warlord Ronom, one of the major Norvaalans (of the Twelve Tribes of Kaleva) to support unification with their lowland "city cousins", the Selvaalans, against the invading empire.
Also a famous monster hunter, Ronom was painted as a symbolic rival to Ranarim from very early on, however both were intelligent, broad-minded and weary veterans of warfare, and if anything two heroes' encounters on the battlefield only further convinced them of the Wars' insane futility. This was the beginning of one of the greatest partnerships in Waking history.
For further reading on the two, see the main article on The Stormlords.The Hyperion Cults of Nireau
Despite his political defection, at the height of his power Lightninglord Ranarim was worshipped by a healthy population of Nireauan Hyperion Cultists, a term referring those who choose to worship gods other than their immortal, Lichlord heads of state. Like most of these churches, it was received largely with disdain by the general populace, but even so it wasn't beneath Nireau's shadow government to show its hand and bring about poor fortunes for the cults.
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