Born as the second son in a noble family in Delhi Sultanate, Amit grew up with privileges and wealth others did not enjoy. His older brother, Nitya, was the wise and responsible one unlike Amit. Although he spent his entire life under Nitya’s shadow, he could never resent his brother. How could he? Nitya was the protector of the family in that troubled time. If anything, he looked up to his brother. “But you are the smart one, little brother” Nitya used to say, even though Amit did not believe his brother. That was the reason why it broke his heart when Nitya was killed. One night, he woke up to the sound of commotion, and found his parents on the floor. Over their motionless bodies was a strange man grinning at him in the dark, bearing long, sharp fangs. The next thing he knew, he was waking up on a cold stone floor he did not recognize. Soon the strange man returned, introduced himself as Ananta. The man was a Rakshasa, an undead blood-drinker from the bedtime stories. He handed them a sword and presented the brothers a choice, as if this was all a game: die together; or kill one and the other will be spared. Amit did not wish to live instead of his brother, who was obviously more worthy. But his brother had a different idea. “You are the smart one, little brother,” said Nitya, “I know you can survive this. And as long as you are alive, there is always a chance to restart. I want you to survive, Amit.” Those were his last words before Nitya drove the blade through his chest, sacrificing his life for Amit. Ananta was disappointed, but kept his words– although he never specified how the other will be spared. The last thing Amit remembered was watching the life escaping from his brother’s eyes, and a sharp pain against his neck.
When Amit rose once again as a Rakshasa, also known as a vampire, several months had already passed since Nitya’s death. Amit could not even properly bury his brother, no time to mourn as he suddenly became a plaything of Ananta. While he abhorred his sire, he could not resist the ancient vampire as a young spawn. But as his brother used to say, he was smart– he does not play a losing game. He spent decades serving Ananta as his sire, playing the part of a resentful spawn slowly growing to accept his fate. He learned the Rakshasa’s every habit and secret, made allies and gained leverage over them. When he earned the trust of his master, when the Rakshasa lowered his guard, he plunged a stake on Ananta’s back toward the heart. He sealed the body in a coffin and buried it six feet under for a safe measure. Fleeing from the wrath of the elder Rakshasas for killing his sire, Amit turned his eyes toward the bigger world. His home, after losing everything he had, was tainted with grief and nearly a century of enslavement. He had no intention of returning. After revenge, his sole goal became fulfilling his brother’s last words. The life of a fugitive suited him, at the very least. He lied, cheated, used and betrayed those who foolishly put their trust in him to save his own skin. Luckily, all those vices were what he had a true talent for. Moving from city to city, one empire to another, he blended in, gained the trust of powerful figures in the region and influenced them for his benefits. He was quick to extract the dirty little secrets out of others in case they turned against him. Really, it was like taking candy from a baby. After a century or two, his notoriety caught up, and he had to change his business model. He established himself as a freelance informant, a glorified title for a spy with no allegiance. He worked for governments, groups of supernatural creatures and private entities to trade crucial information and secrets. While many wanted him dead, his particular skill set was valuable to some, and the rest could not afford him revealing their respective skeletons in the closet. A snake, they called him, so he cheekily reclaimed it as his title– Nagaraja, the king of serpents.
By 2019, he was tangled up in a complicated web of deception and betrayal, as several groups had a price for his head. To eliminate these threats, he took a risk with a group of fanatics called Order of the Silver Flame. The job was infiltrating Foresight Corporation, headed by the ‘Witch of the Century’, Nazanin Ismail, to assist the Order in eliminating her. In exchange, the Order was supposed to get rid of his enemy. ‘Reginald Roshan’ entered the Corporation and weakened their defense from within. The fanatics, however, did not keep their end of the bargain, and attempted to kill him as well after their less than successful attempt to kill Ismail. With nowhere to turn, Reginald arrived at the doorstep of Lethe and sought protection. He convinced the Council that there were entities outside Lethe who were gradually taking interest of this little safe haven, and that he can work for the town– feeding false information while collecting intelligence for the Council. Surprisingly, his gambit worked and he was permitted residency in Lethe.
Reginald knew about the Riverborn even before he came to Lethe. Word travels fast, you know. While he is not exactly sure what this means, nor does he particularly care, he knows a few people who would be interested in this sort of intel. He is still holding on to his cards, however, waiting to see how the game plays out. His bigger predicament lies with several citizens in Lethe who might have a bone to pick with him. The trouble of being immortal: the people you fucked over don’t die within a century. He is confident that he will survive this, of course. He had worse, to be frank. The real question is, what will it cost him?