Luinne Ridley

Luinne Ridley is a traveling poet originally hailing from Naviti. He is the brother of Gace and Cas Ridley, the father of Seti, and the guardian of Diadra Godfrey following the Event.

Early Childhood
Luinne was born on the plains of Naviti, where he spent the first three years of his life. While he and his sister Gace were still very young, their tribe was afflicted by a deadly plague called the sweating sickness. Terrified for their and their children's lives, their parents took Luinne and Gace and fled to Tara-Ingerilor. They went straight to the capital, and found refuge there.

Luinne's mother caught the king's eye, and shortly after their arrival, she bore a son. When her husband saw the telltale birthmark on the back of the child's right hand, he knew that the king was indeed the father and grew furious. Although the child was soon taken away to be raised by a wet nurse, the turmoil had already taken hold.

Luinne and Gace were unaware that their baby brother who was whisked away shortly after birth was Prince Cas until many years later. They quickly tired of the constant conflict between their parents and began growing independent at a young age. Gace adopted many of the customs of Tara-Ingerilor's royal court, while Luinne rejected them and constantly wished to return to Naviti.

Departure from Tara-Ingerilor
Shortly before Merek's rebellion begins, Luinne leaves Tara-Ingerilor behind to return to Naviti on his own. At some point in the following years, Seti is born. As Seti grew older, Luinne resumed his travels across the continent. He occasionally appeared in Tara-Ingerilor to visit his parents, sister, and half-brother. He's one of the few people Cas confided to about the existence and circumstances of Reinhold Ridley.

The Event
Shortly before the Event, the wind brings news of it to Luinne and Seti, and tells them to rescue a girl they find there. The two arrive near the end of the Event, making them the only known people to survive the Event with their memories intact. They rescue Diadra Godfrey from the rubble, unaware of her true identity. By the time they return to Naviti, they've discovered she's the daughter of Mikael Godfrey. Luinne decides to not deliver Diadra to her aunt, Queen Isolde of Aljana. Instead, Diadra travels with him and Seti for the following several months.

Return to Tara-Ingerilor
After Isolde's discovery of Ceres Vaughan in the ruins of the capital, Luinne decides to take Diadra back to Tara-Ingerilor to the Church of the Great Angel, to visit her aunt, Rosaline de Clare. He and Seti part ways, and Seti is captured and tortured.

The wind brings Luinne news of it, and Luinne take Diadra to rescue his son. As the wind directs, he takes Seti to the castle of Reinhold Ridley to recover.

The World's Rebirth
After Seti's torture, Luinne loses faith in the overall goodness of humanity. Sensing his change of heart, Alseid decides to use him to control Setine. Luinne consents to helping him end the human race and recreate the world, under one condition: that Seti and Diadra are spared the destruction. It is unclear if Luinne's own survival was part of the deal, or if he was saved because of Setine or Vega's influence.

Luinne watches over Seti and Diadra in the new world until Seti gains consciousness and drives him off in anger.

Personality
Gace remembers Luinne as a hotheaded and rather mischievous child, although he was secretive from a young age and the quieter one of the pair. As he grew older, he became more level-headed, but grew increasingly distant and more prone to being lost in his own thoughts.

As an adult, Luinne displays two distinct personas. The first is his performing persona, in which he's sociable, fun-loving, and openly affectionate. His second, more genuine personality is more reserved, impatient, and at times, even unkind. He's highly secretive, even regarding simple matters. He has a sharp tongue that he uses even on those he's close to, like Seti and Diadra.

Seti Ridley
Seti all but worships his father, and Luinne loves his son deeply in return. However, they share an unusual sort of relationship. Rather than treating Seti like a son, Luinne tends to treat him like a companion, and as a consequence isn't very affectionate towards him. After Seti's torture, however, Luinne becomes much more intentional about making sure he's alright and keeping him safe from harm.

After the rebirth of the world, Luinne continues to watch over his son from a difference, even after Seti drives him away.

Diadra Godfrey
In some ways, Diadra is like the daughter Luinne never had. He keeps a personal watch over her, and is typically more than happy to answer her constant questions. Even so, he sometimes grows impatient with her, and she often becomes frustrated with his secrecy. However, when he's in a good mood, he's openly affectionate with her like he would be with his own child. He cares for her so deeply that her guaranteed safety is part of his deal with Alseid.

Cas Ridley
Cas is closer to Luinne than most of King Godfrey's children are with their non-royal half-siblings. They were unaware they were related for several years, but after finding out, Cas idolized his half-brother and half-sister. They liked him just fine, and were not adverse to him tagging along with them. Cas always knew that Luinne liked his secrets, and often confided in him as a result. He was distraught for weeks after Luinne left for Naviti.

Cas trusts Luinne enough to tell him about the circumstances surrounding Reinhold, but it's unclear if Luinne ever placed such faith in him in return.

Gace Ridley
Gace and Luinne were inseparable as children, especially after they move to the unfamiliar courts of Tara-Ingerilor. For years, one was never seen without the other. They bonded over a shared bitterness towards their parents' constant conflicts, and a mutual love for snooping about and hearing things they shouldn't.

As they grew older, Gace accepted Tara-Ingerilor as her new home, and Luinne never did. They began to walk on their separate paths, and Gace never followed him when he left for Naviti.

Like Reinhold and Seti himself, Gace has her doubts that Luinne is Seti's father.

Reinhold Ridley
Luinne was aware of the circumstances of Reinhold's birth from the beginning, and visited him enough times that Reinhold could later recognize him without difficulty. They're on good terms, despite Reinhold having a very poor opinion of his father, Luinne's beloved little brother.

Rosaline de Clare
Rosa and Luinne appear to be on amiable terms, but Rosa has expressed disapproval and even disappointment regarding many of Luinne's actions. For his part, Luinne appears to be concerned with her general safety. However, while she's incapacitated from the Event, he chooses to not reunite her with Isolde, despite knowing it's what she would have wished.

Setine
Luinne and Setine are lovers, with Seti being their possible offspring. According to Genosis's memory cards, Setine fell in love with Luinne because of the music he played for her without knowing she was listening. Although Setine seems to adore Luinne, he occasionally implies he only reciprocated her feelings because he didn't have much of a choice. Other times, he appears to love her just as much as she does him.

Claire Seymour
Although they have minimal interactions, Luinne is noted to have flirted exclusively with Claire for a period before his departure from Tara-Ingerilor. It's possible she reciprocated his feelings and that they were romantically involved for a time.

Lyra Nazari/Vega
Lyra and Luinne share a tense relationship. Lyra initially attempted to befriend him, because he and Vega know that this is the man Vega's sister fell so in love with. Luinne, however, is unusually quiet and formal around Lyra. He claims that he's intimidated by the fact that Lyra is both a prince and the brother of his lover, which would make Lyra the only person Luinne is truly uncomfortable around. Lyra doesn't believe this is the case. He accuses Luinne of lying, and says that Luinne hates him for reminding him of Setine. Luinne denies this, but Lyra agrees to leave him alone.

Anaia Sulwell
No interaction between Luinne and Anaia is noted before Merek's revolution. However, after the Event, Anaia retains his memories of Luinne and panics when Luinne brings Diadra into his village. Anaia is, notably, the only person Luinne treats with blatant malice and belligerence. Their conversations eventually reveal that Luinne hates Anaia for breaking Cas's heart and robbing Diadra of her mother. For his part, Anaia expresses scorn for Luinne's Navitian heritage, but he expresses little dislike for Luinne as a person. Mostly, it seems that he's afraid Luinne will reveal his secrets to Diadra, Alhena, and Jezebel.

Abilities
Luinne is a speaker, not a fighter. Despite his occasional blatant disrespect towards authority, he's extremely diplomatic, and can talk himself out of almost any situation. He's a talented musician and storyteller as well.

He is not a magician, but in severe instances like Seti's torture, the goddess Setine fights for him in a manner similar to as if he were a magician.

Trivia

 * Luinne is one of the two vessels of the goddess Setine, but she seems to prefer Seti.
 * According to Lesath Nazari, he is famous in three countries for his lies.
 * Luinne and his half-brother Cas both have sons who have unclear mothers.
 * Luinne's star sign is Leo.
 * His tarot card is the Devil, and his moral alignment is chaotic neutral.
 * He has the ability to hypnotize people, which he uses during his performances and to help Seti sleep after his torture.

Related

 * Luinne Ridley/Poem
 * Luinne Ridley/Supports