Ramidon eś Harys

Rami At-a-Glance

Full name: Ramidon eś Harys
Former name: Ramis eś Harys
Nicknames: Rami
Birthday: 412 (AUC) Salicin Thirty-eighth
Hometown: Ramidalé, Quelles
Parents: Diala (Dia) eś Lortis / Garidon eś Harys
Books: Eternity in an Hour

Magics: Eś

Height: 5'7"
Eyes: Violet
Hair: Black, spiky

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(More images below.)

Ramidon eś Harys is one of the main protagonists of Eternity in an Hour. He found Tristys of Paru washed up on the Quellesian beaches, began a relationship with him, and accompanied him as he returned to Cyraea to free his parents from Spȧlorian slave-drivers. Later, along with Tristys and their friend Calyssa, Rami helped revivify Coquellian magic by recruiting foreigners to the islands.

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Early Life

Born in the spring month of Salicin, Ramis eś Harys had a relatively happy childhood. His parents, Garidon eś Harys and Diala eś Lortis, were both talented practitioners: Diala was sought after for her creative, inventive manipulations of eś, and Garidon had successfully attuned to three quell (eś, iś, and uś), which had become an increasingly rare event. Rami grew up in Ramidalé, in one of the highest treehouses in the city. As a young child, he was extremely intelligent — he spent much of his time reading — and very shy. He had few friends, but he loved nature, particularly animals, and spent a lot of time playing in the nearby forests and lakes. By the time he turned ten, he had a rather elaborate collection of pets, which made up, in some way, for his lack of human companions.

Because Ramis's parents were both such excellent practitioners, everyone had high hopes for his abilities with quell. Sure enough, Ramis began Fingerprinting at an early age, just before his tenth birthday, much earlier than usual. The Fingerprints were very minor, and far apart, so his parents postponed his pilgrimage to the Altar of Five Waves for as long as they possibly could. By the time he turned twelve, however, the Fingerprinting was getting too serious to ignore, and his parents prepared for a short trip to the altar, expecting an easy Trial.

Attuning and Subsequent Homophobia

At the Altar of Five Waves, Ramis began his meditations with relative ease. Just a few days after Ramis began, Tierran uś Gaweth came to the Altar to attune. Tierran had already successfully attuned to Fire-magic, so he was several years older than Rami. The two became quick friends, with Ramis almost idealizing the older boy, and their friendship began to develop into more, though neither boy admitted it to the other due to shyness. The altars are, however, not a place for camarederie and nascent love, and the candidates are supposed to focus solely on meditation and attuning. Consequently, the boys often had to sneak off to be together, and they often chose the meditation rooms as their hideaway.

Tierran quickly became a distraction for Ramis, and Rami's work with quell grew remedial and inhibited. As his same-sex attraction grew, his quell magic grew worse, and in Rami's young mind, these became linked. One day, while spending time together in the meditation rooms, Tierran tried to kiss Ramis. Ramis was overcome with relief and joy, but the second he kissed back something happened, and a burst of eś launched from Ramis and struck Tierran. It is unclear exactly what caused this — a loss of control, a violent Fingerprint, or a successful Communing. Regardless, Tierran was badly injured, knocked unconscious, and Tristys was immobile, paralyzed by shock.

Nobody knows how long the boys stayed in the meditation room in this way. One of the priests, Liana, found the boys, Ramis staring in shock and Tierran near death. She erupted in anger, assuming the boys had been dueling, and shouted at Ramis, blaming him for Tierran's death and for desecrating the Altar of Five Waves. She tended to Tierran first, and more sympathetic priests came to help Rami. Over the next few days, Rami recovered, and he began meditating again. Unfortunately, this event led Rami to conflate his same-sex attraction, his use of quell, and Tierran's manslaughter¹, which may explain why he began actively repressing his same-sex attraction to the point that he insisted his name be changed from Ramis, after Ramis the Betrayer, to Ramidon, after Ramidon III. Subconsciously, he also repressed his ability to manipulate eś, to point that he could not or would not Touch it. Not wanting to stay at the Altar any longer, Ramidon asked to take the Trial of Communion. He refused to use eś, or perhaps his subconscious wouldn't allow access to it, and he nearly died during the Trial, surviving only when the priests pulled him from the waters.²

Post-Altar Education and Physical Services

After his experience at the Altar of Five Waves, Ramidon was a changed boy. He pulled farther away from other people, became even shyer, and fell further into his books. He insisted, at first, that everyone refer to him as Ramidon, but within a few months he settled on Rami, though he still insisted his full name was Ramidon, not Ramis. He returned to his education in Ramidalé, and he soon ran into Calyssa iś Temeran, whom he had met at the Altar of Five Waves. She quickly became his only friend and, in a few months, his girlfriend.

At the age of 16, he chose to enter the Physical Services, which required a move from his hometown to Imidalé, the capital of the Coquels. He and Calyssa remained together, largely because their physical relationship was, as expected, something of a sham, and the intense training he experienced helped to ease some of his pain. He grew less shy, and he made more friends, including Salice and her friend, Gawen, who quickly developed a crush on Rami.

At 22, he finished the Physical Services's official training program, and he left Quell to return to Ramidalé, where he remained for only a brief few months before leaving again on a self-imposed tour of the Coquels. He continued training his body during this tour, and just as he was on the last leg of it, about to return home to Ramidalé and ask Calyssa to settle down with him in Partnership, he stumbled across Tristys of Paru on the shores of southwestern Quelles. Tristys, like Tierran, would change everything.

Tristys of Paru (Eternity in an Hour)

Revivification of Coquellian Magic (Unnamed Eternity Sequel)

Gallery of Images

Footnotes

1. Tierran did not die, though Rami never heard of or from him again. When Rami meets Tierran — alive and well — later in his life, Rami finally lets go of his hang-ups regarding sex and magic.

2. In fact, Ramidon's trial lasted longer than usual, and he came closer to death than he should have, because Liana refused to end the test, insisting that Ramidon was playing a joke because of his apparent disregard for the sanctity of the Altar and quell.