Riyadh was born on the back of a cart along a dusty road, to Rassidi traders. His mother, however, died of complications from childbirth. After this, Riyadh’s father became a broken man. When Riyadh was 5, his father, still suffering from the death of his wife, wandered aimlessly into the desert one night, never to be seen again.
When Riyadh woke up, he shouted and looked for his father. He was nowhere to be found.
Now an orphan, Riyadh was lost. However, a man named Akkhan, the protector of the caravan, noticed him. Akkhan started taking care of Riyadh, bringing him along as he rides along the caravan’s path, raising him almost as his own son, and showing him the ropes of hand-to-hand combat, so that he might one day be able to follow in his footsteps.
As he grows up, Riyadh and Akkhan are becoming quite the dynamic duo, relying on eachother to keep the traders safe from bandits.
As the trading caravan travels from city to city, trading with all sorts of folk, he talks with townsfolk and explores the towns and ruins along the way, Riyadh becomes quite the adventurous type.
So much so, that one evening, while the trading convoy settles in for the night, he decides to go scouting, and finds himself lost in a ruin in a desert on the south side of Arcas.
After rummaging his way back to the caravan, he finds they had been attacked while he was out exploring. The traders had fallen, and so had Akkhan. On the ground laid the body of what looked like a Kandze, though Riyadh had not seen many of them before. Akkhan had managed to cut off its legs before succumbing to his injuries.
If he was there, could he have saved them all, or would he simply be another body on the ground?
Lost once again, and shattered at the thought of what might have been prevented, he did what he did best. Riyadh ventured north, in search of reprieve, to somewhere he could once again find meaning. A few years later, still somewhat haunted by his past, he found The Free State of Sutica. The diversity and peacefulness of this place inspired him. He had travelled for so long, and faced more than a few struggles. He thought, perhaps this is a place where he can gather his thoughts, and become whole again.
