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Ruhn Danaan is the former Crown Prince of the Valbaran Fae and half-brother to Bryce Quinlan.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
| “ | The royal bloodline shall end with you, Prince. | ” |
–Chapter 14, House of Earth and Blood | ||
Ruhn Danaan is one of about a dozen Fae Princes across Midgard. He grew up being abused by his father Einar Danaan, better known as the Autumn King. Despite being Vanir, he bears burn scars on his arms which he has covered with tattoos. He visited the Oracle at age thirteen, who revealed to him that the royal bloodline would end with him. This was a fact that he never told anyone. Instead, he lied to his father and claimed the Oracle had said he would be a fair and just king.
Fifty years ago, at the age of twenty-seven, he and two of his friends, Tristan Flynn and Declan Emmet, went through their Ordeals together. They weren't alone in this, but instead were faced with his cousin Cormac Donnall and his friends as well as several other beings. During the Ordeal, Ruhn ended up alone in a cave and drew a sword, the Starsword, out of a rock to defend himself against his enemies. This was how he found out that he was the Chosen One. Not long after their Ordeals, Flynn Anchored Ruhn during his Drop. Upon returning from Avallen and enduring his Ordeal, Ruhn moved out of his father's villa and got a house with his friends in Lunathion. Einar gifted Ruhn a villa in FiRo adorned with priceless antiques upon winning the Starsword during his Ordeal, but Ruhn never stays there.
House of Earth and Blood[]
Ruhn is not only the heir to the Autumn King, but also the commander and head of the Fae division in the Auxiliary. A position given to him by his father fifteen years ago. He had little choice in the matter.[2] He lives in a wild house with his best friends Declan and Tristan. He and Bryce once were close, but after a fight about 10 years ago in which Ruhn angrily called Bryce a "half-breed sl*t," Bryce stopped speaking to him unless necessary. Because Bryce wasn't an acknowledged daughter of the Autumn King, she doesn't want anyone to know of her paternity. Ruhn goes along with the explanation that Bryce is a distant cousin. Ruhn is extremely protective of her, much to Bryce's annoyance.
After Bryce finds Danika Fendyr and the Pack of Devils murdered in her and Danika's apartment, she chases the demon she found fleeing the building and saves an angel who was brutally attacked by the demon on the street. She is taken into protective custody by the 33rd and questioned about the night's events, but before they can really get many answers from her, they’re informed to release her. Command relays that "Ruhn Danaan called, he’s angry the House of Sky and Breath wasn’t notified" because the attack on Bryce technically falls under Fae jurisdiction. They're told they can't question her or hold her in custody without the permission and presence of the Autumn King or one of his representatives. The 33rd releases her but Ruhn shows up minutes later, bypassing security with his shadow powers, and demands that they hand her over. Hunt Athalar tells him they let her go five minutes ago and Ruhn leaves.
Two years later, Ruhn shows up at the White Raven just as Bryce is about to be assaulted by Maximus Tertian. His presence alone is enough to distract Maximus so that Bryce can slip away from him. Ruhn is there to tell Bryce, who has the reputation of being a wild party girl, that the Autumn King wants her to keep a low profile until after the Summit so as not to embarrass the Autumn King when he has to meet with the Asteri, Archangels, and other Vanir leaders. Unbeknownst to Ruhn or anyone else, Bryce has stopped drinking and partying since Danika's murder.
Ruhn texts Bryce and asks her to meet at Luna's Temple to talk because there are no cameras there. He tells Bryce the Autumn King has tasked him with finding Luna's Horn. The Autumn King thinks Ruhn can find the Horn because his Starborn power was woven into the Horn by Prince Pelias, the first Starborn Prince.
Hunt and Bryce show up at Ruhn's house after being caught in a bombing at the White Raven. Ruhn tells Bryce the Autumn King knows they're looking for the Horn together and insists that Bryce needs round-the-clock protection, which Ruhn has volunteered for. She declines and says Hunt will do, since he's already watching her all the time thanks to Micah and the investigation. Ruhn then asks her for access to Jesiba's underground library to search for information on the Starborn gifts and their connection to the Horn. She agrees on the condition that he gets Declan to use his hacking skills to help her investigate.
In the library, Ruhn finds a book that talks about the history of Prince Pelias and his bride Lady Helena. It says that the Horn worked only for the Starborn and required to be filled with the Starborn power to be used. The Horn, however, is broken and Fae legend claims it can only be repaired by '"light that is not light, magic that is not magic."'
Ruhn goes to see a medwitch about the case to ask if she could think of any way a magical object might be fixed that people haven’t tried yet. The unnamed medwitch says she doesn’t know, but maybe with modern healing technology it could be possible. He asks if she has any idea what "Light that is not light, magic that is not magic" could be, to which she answers that she does not.
He goes back to the unnamed medwitch days later and asks what she knows about a drug called Synth. She tells him about its properties as a synthetic form of healing magic but that it's addictive in high doses and dangerous. She provides him with some published research on the drug and asks him to please send her some samples of kristallos venom if he finds any in the murder investigations because she is researching its use in an antidote for a Synth overdose. Ruhn shares this information with Bryce and Hunt, which eventually leads to Bryce going to see the medwitch about her leg.
When Micah punishes Hunt by returning him to Sandriel, Bryce publicly offers to buy Hunt for 97 million gold marks and her Archesian Amulet. Sandriel declines, melting the amulet. Bryce offers to trade herself for Hunt's freedom, and Sandriel thinks about it, musing how valuable it would be to have control of the Autumn King's only daughter, publicly revealing Bryce's secret. Ruhn appears, panicked and furious, and publicly lays claim to her as his sister and thus by Fae law property of the Autumn King. Therefore blocking Sandriel from taking possession of Bryce. After Sandriel leaves with Hunt in chains, Bryce tells Ruhn he's dead to her and deletes his contact info from her phone.
Ruhn attends the Summit with his father. There he reveals to Hunt that he can mind-speak; a secret he has kept from everyone, including his father. Hunt thanks him for saving Bryce from Sandriel. When the new Witch Queen is called forward to be formally presented and recognized by the Asteri, Ruhn realizes she is the medwitch he spoke with about synth reseatch and the Horn.
When Jesiba Roga interrupts a Summit session after receiving an S.O.S text from Bryce and broadcasts her security feed to the attendees of the Summit, it's revealed that Micah lied to Sandriel about having to attend a different meeting and is instead at Jesiba's gallery to interrogate Bryce and try to force her to give him the Horn. Ruhn immediately dispatches the Aux to the gallery to save his sister, because he is over an hour away by angel's flight and can't save her himself. He can do nothing but sit and watch as Micah admits to being behind Danika's murder before attacking Bryce in an attempt to use the Horn. He is also a witness to the video feed when Bryce uses the Godkiller gun to kill Micah.
At the Summit, Ruhn and Hunt use mind-speak to communicate their fear of what will happen to Bryce for what she did to Micah, but Declan patches into the video feeds of the city and realise that Micah’s experiment with the Horn didn’t fail, as portals open at each of the Gates and demons come pouring out of Hel into the city. They watch Bryce battle her way through the city, trying to save people from the demons and get them to the security shelters. She is soon joined by Ithan Holstrom and other wolves, against Sabine Fendyr's orders.
Everyone at the Summit is powerless and just watch as the city is torn apart and Bryce shoves Ithan ahead of her through the small gap in the door as the last shelter closes. Bryce calls Hunt's phone, now in Sandriel's pocket, and Hunt asks Sandriel to let him answer it. On the call, Bryce tells him to tell her parents she loves them and to apologize to her friends for things she did. She also asks him to tell Ruhn she forgave him for his insult a while ago and that she's sorry from hiding the truth from him because she didn't want to take his title from him. She then reveals what she means by this by using her hidden Starborn power, much stronger than Ruhn's, to close one of the Gates.
House of Sky and Breath[]
TBA
House of Flame and Shadow[]
TBA
Personality[]
Ruhn is often seen to be both funny and sarcastic, but also very protective of his friends and especially his sister, Bryce. He is kind, as seen with his treatment of his mother and the three sprites he has allowed to stay in his home. Ruhn is also an open-minded person, thinking beyond the traditional Fae beliefs, which has led him to accept Ithan and Hunt as well as to rebel against the Asteri themselves. He is disgusted by Fae hierarchies and politics. He also hates that everything he has is bankrolled by his father. Despite being trained to be a lethal, efficient killer, Ruhn doesn't enjoy being a warrior. His Starborn power is just about the only part of himself he likes.[2]
Physical Description[]
Ruhn has golden skin, blue eyes, and several piercings including a silver hoop through his lower lip and a line of rings in one arched ear. His straight hair is raven-black and falls to his waist, save for one shaved side, which is buzzed. Both of his arms have colorful and beautiful tattoo sleeves that hide the burn marks caused by his father. He has a very muscular build. There's no disguising the heritage his strikingly handsome face broadcasts. He has the telltale physical heritage of the Starborn line.
Powers & Abilities[]
Powers[]
Ruhn is a Starborn, from his father's line, and an Avallen Fae, from his mother's line, which means he can command light to his will on the former and control shadows from the latter. He gets most of his power from his mother. Although he can only use Starborn magic with effort as he only possesses a drop of the power that was granted to his ancestors. Despite this, his ability to summon any amount of Starlight makes him Starborn in the eyes of the Fae.
- Fae Physiology: As one of the Fae, Ruhn has enhanced senses and physical abilities, including a sense of smell much stronger than that of humans. It was mentioned that he was strong enough to break a number of Hunt's ribs during a fight despite his angelic physiology, and was able to dent the hood of a car with just his fist before it could hit him. He also heals from injuries much faster than a regular human.
- Telepathy: He is a telepath meaning he can communicate with people via their minds, also called mind-speaking. However, he can't read their thoughts. This ability was passed down through his mother's line.
- Avallen Magic: Through his mother's line, Ruhn has the ability to manipulate shadows. This includes summoning and walking through them, and cloaking himself and others in darkness. This is the bulk of his magic. Ruhn's power is strong enough that not even the temperature monitors on the high-tech cameras in the city can detect him when he shadow-walks.[2] Despite this, no shadows have ever been able to hide Ruhn from his father's fire magic.
- Starborn Magic: Through his father's line, Ruhn inherited the abilities of Starborn from his ancestor, Prince Pelian. Unlike his sister Bryce, who has access to the full potential of this power, Ruhn only has access to a fraction of the Starborn magic. His Starborn abilities are little more than a sparkle of starlight in his palm. It usually takes him a good amount of concentration to summon his starlight and it leaves him with a headache for hours afterward.
- Healing Magic: After consuming the antidote to the Asteri Parasite, Ruhn gained access to the dormant healing magic in his blood.
- Immortality: Since he has made the Drop, Ruhn is immortal, which not only grants him a slowed and expanded lifespan but allows him to survive injuries that not even his accelerated healing would be able to regenerate from.
Abilities[]
- Combat: Ruhn is trained in various forms of combat and a skilled warrior. Since he has trained his entire life to be a lethal, efficient killer, he's as well-trained as any of the angels' elite fighters.
Relationships[]
Tristan Flynn[]
Ruhn and Flynn live together and are often throwing parties, getting drunk, and high. They work together at the Aux.
Declan Emmet[]
Declan and Ruhn are close friends who are often seen around each other. They also serve together in the Aux.
Bryce Quinlan[]
When Ruhn learned of Bryce's existence, he was intrigued at the idea of having a half-sister after more than sixty years of being an only child. Ruhn is fifty years older than Bryce. Their father's treatment toward thirteen-year-old Bryce opened Ruhn's eyes to the Autumn King's true nature. Over the next three years Bryce and Ruhn had been best friends, united in their hatred of their father. Ruhn would frequently visit Bryce at her parents' home. She'd been the brightest spot in his life. But that ended when Bryce was sixteen. They had a big argument where Ruhn insulted her. Bryce stopped speaking to Ruhn afterward, ignoring his various attempts to apologize. Their relationship became a bitter one, with Bryce and Ruhn blaming him for their falling out. Ruhn thought she always did whatever she wanted without considering others, while Bryce found him to be a "domineering dick" whenever she ran into him. She avoided him whenever possible. However, Ruhn still watched over Bryce and made sure she was safe. They later fixed their relationship, with Bryce forgiving him.
Lidia Cervos[]
Lidia is the first person that Ruhn opens up to and talks with about his personal insecurities and the problems with his father. He claims to have fallen for her only due to their meetings, without ever seeing her. When he finally discovers who she really is, he acts in a repulsive manner.
[...]
Ruhn describes himself as "unabashedly, unrelentingly in love" with Lidia. Until Lidia asks to marry him, Ruhn didn't realize he wanted a family.[3]
Einar Danaan[]
The relationship between Einar and his son was strained at best. Einar depicted Ruhn to be a failure and did a better job at ignoring him than caring for him. As a child, Ruhn desperately wished for his father to care about him. Einar would abuse Ruhn multiple times during his childhood, using his fire magic to burn Ruhn as punishment. The scars never healed, so Ruhn has tattooed over them. Upon returning from Avallen and enduring his Ordeal, Ruhn moved out of his father's house. As Ruhn possesses the Starsword, it provides him some leverage against his father. Einar's treatment of Bryce opened Ruhn's eyes to his father's true nature and Einar has never forgotten this. Einar resents Ruhn for having shadow magic.
Lorin[]
Ruhn is shown to have a very affectionate relationship with his mother. As shown, Ruhn is constantly worried for his mother, particularly due to her non-assertive and meek personality, with him often visiting her home to make sure that all of her appliances and house is in good condition and him arranging to have any of them fixed should they be broken and Lorin too shy to call or ask for anyone to help due to not wanting to bother others.
As shown, Ruhn can be frustrated with his mother at times, although he himself never shows it in front of her. This can be seen where he internally laments his mother's contendness with her lot in life, particularly of her negative treatment from her husband and of how she’s not bothered or hurt by the fact that she was essentially only used to breed the Autumn King an Heir and then abandoned. Greatly frustrating Ruhn as his mother has repeatedly shown to not only be not bothered by it, but actually feels honored at being "chosen" to continue the Royal Line of the King, pressuring Ruhn even further due to his prophecy.
Gallery[]
See more here.
Trivia[]
- Bryce confuses Rhysand with Ruhn in House of Sky and Breath's final chapter, alluding that Rhys might share an ancestor with Ruhn.[4] They do indeed share the same ancestors.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 House of Flame and Shadow, Target Exclusive
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 House of Earth and Blood, Chapter 14
- ↑ House of Flame and Shadow (Ruhn & Lidia Exclusive Bonus Scene)
- ↑ House of Sky and Breath, Chapter 78