Life Story
Rian is the bastard son of Caine and Joscelyn Chantris, an unplanned product of their dalliance in the decades after he lost his wife in childbirth. When she became pregnant, she chose to conceal this from Caine and her family, expatriating to Minos. Remaining there for years, she raised her son into his early teens. His mother was taciturn on the matter of family but he deduced her noble origin and suspected his father was the same. The only clue he had was a dagger-shaped pendant his mother used to wear which she gave to him before she left Minos during his early teens.
After his mother's departure, his sense of family shifted to a gang of hooligans in Cameron. Since growing up, the members of this extended family have spread about the Golden Circle, giving Rian contacts almost anywhere he looks for them.
The above facts are not common knowledge.
Life Before Amber
Rian (pronounced like the name Ryan) is known by many to be a Cameron street rat who took to the seas after his youth. He has been a mariner in Minos now for nearly a hundred and fifty years, during which time he never made a move for a full-blown Captancy, although he has been known to captain a craft here and there over his decades at sea.
During his travels he found and tamed a miniature gryphon from somewhere in shadow in the neighborhood of Sukho which he named Keir (pronounced like the word "care").
In the fall of 2009 he was serving on the Triton's Legs under Captain Kraken when the crew mutinied. Kraken may or may not have been killed (rumors disagree on that) and Rian was "made governor of an island" because he sided with the captain during the fight and failed to stand with the mutineers when they were victorious.
Coming to Amber
Within a month or two of his marooning, Rian was rescued from the islet by a ship in the employ of Captain Stormcrow, Cyrus, Duke of House Chantris, with whom he made some sort of arrangement behind closed doors known only to him, the Duke and the Duchess Dinah, also known as Captain Discordia.
Rian resided in Amber for a brief time. During that time he served on the Starchaser under Captain Redhand along side Erika Chantris and Maereina. He also met his cousin Aurora (who identified him as a son of Caine), the Lady Celeste of House Mandrake, his brother Dirk and others. Additionally, he and his father met and since Caine recognized the pendant Rian wears their relationship came to be known but, at Rian's request, this was decided to be kept quiet so that he could develop his own reputation separate from his father.
A Long Absence
After about a month in Amber, Rian hired on with another crew as he'd made no long lasting oath to stay with Captain Redhand as first mate to a merchant captain. He traveled the seas of shadow for a few subjective months before yet again falling prey to a mutiny. During the fight Rian was hit on the head and concussed such that he lost access to his memories of the past year. Then he and his captain were abandoned on an island somewhere in the boondocks of shadow.
After nearly a full year on the tropical island the captain went mad and attacked Rian forcing him to kill the man in self-defense leaving him alone other than Keir. Prior to that, they had mapped out the island, found a source of fresh water and built a house in the bough of two large branches of an immense banian tree. Though happenstance he was rescued by Captain Midnight and his nephew Alec Dirkson who brought him back to Amber on her ship the Midnight Song on 3 April 2017.
Also see Rian's Road to Amber Characters Wiki entry.
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