Name: Rhodain Kayden, The Triumphant Knight of Fire
Age: 22
Height: 6’1″
Home: Unknown
Divinity: Fire
Quote: “Sometimes you have to go with your gut, and lay it all on the line.”
Bio: Rhodain Kayden grew up on the streets of Baronune after the Days of Hellsfire where he lost both his parents during the attacks. He learned to fight for himself, but always had a tendency to stick up for others that seemed lost or abandoned like him. This led him to meeting both Nova and Avery as they were young kids being harassed on the streets, and this lead to Rhodain adopting them as his new family. From here the trio would venture on to Dragon’s Guard where they would train under King Xi and his guardians to master their own Divinity to become knights. Rhodain contains the Divinity for fire because during a pirate’s raid on the kingdom, Rhodain discovered the treasure they were searching for. A small egg said to be laid by the Phoenix. In haste to protect the egg, Rhodain ate it, and his body underwent an ascension in power. He had to survive weeks of pain and intense heat as the Divinity worked its way through his body, but Rhodain endured and came out of it as one of the strongest Masters of the Mystic Arts left in Arcasia, becoming a Warrior of the Phoenix. This granted him greater Fire Divinity than others, though his now sister Nova, eventually grew to rival and surpass him. After remaining and training in Dragon’s Guard for thirteen years, Rhodain, Nova, and Avery returned to Baronune to become knights and quickly proved themselves to King Augustus Sorenson as they easily defeated his “Grandiers” in a mach tournament. Rhodain even becoming King Sorenson’s champion, his right hand, and gaining the title of the Triumphant Knight of Fire. After two years of servitude, Rhodain discovered a plot to eliminate the king, and in his blind rage, and rush to protect him but in the king’s unconscious, he never witness his heroics. He came to, hearing the words of his queen accusing Rhodain as being his attacker, and held his once Triumphant Knight accountable. Rhodain was sentenced to the dungeons for his crimes, but before the king could give his death sentence, Nova and Avery broke him out, adding their names to the king’s wanted list. On the run, Rhodain ordered his sister and Avery to flee and take refuge in Woodsforge until he could clear their names and make Baronune their home again. Nova refused, so Rhodain gave the task to Avery to always keep her safe, and the two were gone, leaving Rhodain to carry the weight of their crimes on his own. Months later, the king would be announced death, initiating the Round Table Tournament where Rhodain would meet West and their adventure to claim the crown would begin.
The Purpose of the Character: The King of the Round Table Tournament began because I had envisioned a man, standing before a wall of fire, and claiming that he was going to be the King of the Round Table Tournament. At the time, I had no idea what that meant, and so, I crafted the story and soon the Fate of the King series. I always intended Rhodain to be the “Han Solo” of the story. The dashing rogue with just enough edge to him to make him interesting, but under all that was a heart of gold as he was an honorable man, a knight, that would always do what was right. Thus why he never could abandon two kids on the streets, not with Nova and Avery, and not with West and Sophia. His feud with Susan was because I didn’t want the trope of the knight saving the damsel in distress, so rather, he does so not realizing it’s the very woman he learned to loathe over his years of serving in King Sorenson’s court. As cool and beloved as Rhodain seems to be in his short appearance, I always knew he wasn’t intended to be made the main character of the book; that would be West. All because I wanted to shift the narrative away from the typical lead and focus on whom would normally be the side character, and see the world through their eyes and the role of leadership literally becomes thrusted upon West in the end and the New King saga begins. Rhodain remains West’s motivation and goal as he evolves into his own version of the Triumphant Knight throughout the story, but Rhodain will always remain the fire that ignited this series.