R.L. Rainer

Robin Loch Rainer is the first protagonist of the Unnamed Story. A traveling knight errant, Rainer serves as the audience stand-in, and is one of two primary narrators for the book, the other of whom is Caspian.

Often well-meaning and not very smart, Rainer is habitually in the wrong place at the wrong time, and is loyal to the concept of the famed "right thing", at the cost of everything else.

Not to be confused with his father, Loch Rainer.

Background
Raised as the son of a revered knight, Rainer was born with one destiny: to become a member of the Order of Adavarion, the Temple's righteous military. For him, there was never any question of his future—until an incident in his childhood left him permanently disfigured, and labeled pityingly as the survivor of a rogue witch’s rampage. The marks left behind were more than physical; the event left him frightfully aware of the danger magic posed to innocent people when it went uncontrolled. So, he took up the mantle of his father in order to protect others from the dangers of the Gifted, specifically those who go unchecked. The marks flanking his chin and jawline are remnants from an event that permanently colored his view of magic, and as a result, cemented his path.

Evangeline
Rainer's mount. Evangeline is a Laedian charger, a bay mare dwarfing her tall master at almost twenty hands high. Half a head larger than every other filly in her fold, she was raised by the would-be knight from birth, to prevent her slaughter. Her temperament is largely patient, and at ten years old, she is strong enough to fell a tree, easily carrying Rainer, his tack, gear and weapons, and anything or anyone else he may pick up along the way. Her ability to anticipate his will makes him think she is smarter than he is, and that may be true. Evangeline is his only friend.

Personality
Rainer is the picture of the knight stereotype, proper, just and kind, ready to sacrifice everything for the sake of doing what he perceives is “right.” Though noble, he is largely ignorant, and his few attempts at tact either fail miserably or come across wrong. He has next to no understanding of the motives of those who do harm, and feels compelled to right wrongs where he finds them, no matter the cost to him personally. He is easily confused, and cripplingly shy.

While largely innocent, he is aware of the danger uncontrolled magic poses, having been a victim of it in his past. Despite this, he has trouble taking life, even if the kill is justified. Rainer tries to be fair when he can, but he holds a deep-seated distrust of all magic-users. As a result, he tends to try to convince any witches--illegal mages--he meets to submit to Temple judgment willingly. This almost never ends well for him. His loyalty is deeply tangled with his burdening sense of what is right.

The Unnamed Story
While on the road, Rainer crosses paths with a fiercely confrontational mage, whom, after a short and heated battle, he promptly arrests, in the interest of bringing him to face the Temple, and prosecution for illegal magic-use. His plan to turn the unnamed witch over to the authorities is promptly interrupted by another chance meeting, this time with a young noblewoman and her guard, seeking an escort for their own mission. Bound by honor and unfortunate circumstance, Rainer finds himself hired on as an escort for the noblewoman, who identifies herself as Milady—moments before hiring his volatile prisoner, to his great objection. The event marked the first time he would find himself overruled on the journey, but certainly not the last.

Rainer's role in the story is to act as audience surrogate, his simple understanding of things allowing the reader to keep up in a complex world. His development as a character along the road centers on his core problems: his insufficiency in combat, and his cripplingly idealistic sense of good and evil. These are things he has to work through, and every failure to do so invariably results in serious consequences. Whether or not he learns anything remains to be seen in the story.

Trivia

 * At 6'4", Rainer is the third tallest character in the series, behind Adem (6'7") and the Elder (7").
 * Rainer is canonically asexual. Being flirted with or otherwise come onto confuses him, as he does not experience sexual attraction. Though he enjoys a physical relationship with Caspian late in the game, it is largely at the latter's insistence, and due to his developing feelings for him.
 * Though he starts out with and is trained in the use of a longsword, Rainer's strength is more suited to sword-and-shield use. Reece introduces him to the setup, and it becomes a hallmark of his character.
 * Rainer's singing voice reference is Peter Hollens.