Mathei
Grand Chanter of the Dragonfire Society
"Do not ask the Divines for a pleasant existence, ask Them for the strength to overcome our tribulations."
General Information
Who is Mathei?
History and personality
Origins and motivations of a true believer.
Rumors and Reputations
RP hooks!
General Information
| Race: | Argonian | Lukiul |
| Gender: | Male | |
| Age: | Appears to be in his 40's | Actually 55. |
| Height: | 5'6 ft tall | |
| Weight: | 160lbs | |
| Occupation: | Grand Chanter of the Dragonfire Society | Now Retired witch hunter. |
| Star Sign: | The Apprentice. | |
| Relationship: | Married to Ghost-Throat. |
At a glance...
It could be easy to understand how one might look at Mathei and have trouble ascribing civilized traits to him. He doesn't look like most of his kind, more akin to some lowly bestial ground dwelling monitor lizard that has been jerked upright onto his hind legs and taught cruelly that he had to pretend to be a Man. He has a strange mane of faded black feathers on the top of his lizard head, mottled greenish scales that can chaff those that touch him, and strange digitigrade reptilian feet that no shoe or boot can be made to fit! Despite his almost savage lizard appearance, he tries his best to carry himself with the pride and dignity of a Nibenese Cyrod. He typically dresses himself in priestly attire when he is out and about, although he will wear the local fashion back home in Elsweyr where he now lives most of his time. He keeps his reptilian digitigrade lower legs covered using leather wraps and straps, though his large toes and claws are left open to the air.
Personality
Mathei is an Argonian, who was raised not to be an argonian. He was trained from a young age by his adopted father that aspects of his natural biology and anatomy were 'impure' and 'uncivilized', and that only by his strength of faith will Alessia lift his soul up to Aetherius and let him join the other faithful Imperial souls. For many years, this had colored Mathei's vision of himself, his body, his race, even his identity. He used to forcefully blink his eyelids over his eyeballs at the same time he flicked his nictitating membranes to moisturize them, all because he was taught that the sight of those translucent membranes over his eyes was 'disgusting'. He did his best to keep his reptilian forked tongue in his mouth, even though doing so made him unable to smell his surroundings. He even went so far as to torture his own his strange argonian vocal anatomy, twisting and tormenting it to produce a scratchy but tolerable baritone Nibenese accent, rather than the grating, hissing and croaking voice that they naturally seemed to produce.Mathei is driven by a twisted faith that the Imperial Divines are the true and only gods capable of saving the souls of mortals from a doomed existence. He believes that the Reman Empire was the true beacon of civilization and faith in Tamriel, and that only by preserving these ways that were forced upon him could the Empire that he was taught to love be made whole again. He looks to his ‘fellow’ imperials as being lost sheep that he has been ordained by the Divines to guide. Any attempts by him to break free of this always seem to end in a feeling of emptiness - Mathei has come to accept that, in truth, it’s not the Imperials that need him - it’s the other way around.
History
That is not cruel which cures.There are few who know what happened to the tribe Mathei came from. Perhaps only the Hist, those unknowable alien god-trees to which the Argonian people owe their existence, remember when an ancient evil long buried under their village summoned their enemies to slaughter them. Mathei doesn’t know how he, or the argonian he assumes to be his mother, survived. He only knows that she carried him an unimaginable number of miles before she died.He tells people that the priest who found him, a Man named Father Fredrik Gascogne, had saved him. To most people he meets he paints the tale of his foster-priest as being a stern, but ultimately benevolent man. Someone who saved him from the Marsh, and from having the ‘heathen ways’ of his people imprinted upon him. Someone who cared for him. Those who truly earn his trust might learn the darker truth behind the priest - that Mathei had not been discovered by a stern but benevolent priest of Akatosh, but a fanatical Marukhati Priest with delusions of turning something he considered ‘less than human’ into a Man.Mathei lived in Leyawiin after his foster-priest died of plague, and he tells stories about the years when Leyawiin suffered under the Knahaten Flu. During this time, as an Argonian, he could approach those dying of the Flu and try to heal them. Most people who know of Mathei likely attribute his mastery of Restoration magick to these early foundations. He might tell you stories about how he was stuck in Morrowind after the Soulburst and the start of the Planemeld - how he ran with an Argonian ‘savage’ he grew to love named Jalon-Kai. Perhaps they have heard tale of the order of monster hunters he ran, finding common ground with Redoran warriors in mutual hatred of the abomination.People knew him for years as the Magistrate of Rawl’iit, and there was no secret the only way he got into such a position was by marrying Ra’Jirroh, the Baandari would, for a time, settle down roots in a corner of Pellitine. There are many stories he tells of his time in Elsweyr being a stranger in a strange land, aiding the Khajiit in bringing order, life and trade to something that had once been flu ravaged ruins.After departing Elsweyr, Mathei met with another Imperialized argonian named Ghost-Throat, and the two of them traveled to Colovia. There, Mathei used the riches he made in Elsweyr to purchase and renovate an old priory in the West Weald. From there, they - along with their old Imperial friends founded the Dragonfire Society. At long last, Mathei has his church, and from it Mathei has found his meaning and purpose.
Rumors and Reputation:
(Common Knowledge)
Mathei is a priest of the Eight, an Imperial minded argonian who has wandered many roads and spread the word of his faith in many lands.
He has a profound hatred for an ancient monotheistic cult known as the Marukhati, and has a paranoid belief that they will one day rise again.
As a witch hunter, Mathei became very close friends with a Saxhleel named Jalon-kai, despite his former hostility towards his own people’s tribal culture.
Years ago, Mathei met a Baandari named Ra’jirroh that stole his heart. Although they no longer travel together, the passion clearly still burns between them that others have noticed. The two of them sometimes are rumored to meet whenever Jirroh’s caravan comes by.
Mathei’s marriage to Ra’jirroh allowed him to become the magistrate of a Khajiiti town in Pellitine named Rawl’iit. Rumor has it that as Magistrate, Mathei may have embezzled large amounts of gold from the towns taxes.
Mathei now travels the roads with a pale argonian named Ghost-Throat. The two of them, along with some friends, have founded an Imperial Remnant organization called the Dragonfire Society.
RP hooks
Mathei is a master of Restoration. Those in need of healing, curing of ails, or even nonsensical things that are well beyond even his scope of magic might want to seek him out.
He is a retired witch-hunter, who has decades of experience fighting against the Four Abominations. Perhaps you are looking for someone who knows how to hunt a werewolf or root out a necromancer? He has many years of knowledge to share.
Mathei is an ordained priest of the Eight, and can perform all the duties that one would expect of a priest, so long as you don't mind your priest being an Argonian!
Mathei has a lot of history in the city of Leyawiin. Perhaps your character has heard of an argonian priest who used to work within the temple there?
Are you looking for someone with an uncanny amount of knowledge on ancient Cyrodiilic lore, history, and mysticism? Rumors suggest that one of your best sources might be, surprisingly enough, an Argonian priest!
