"I wonder. If I’d been born into a different family, would I be a different person? One with aspirations, desires, opinions...I don’t know. I could feel wistful at the possibility, but another part of me - the part that isn’t so much dark as it is completely colorless, bland and transparent - doesn’t think it matters at all."

Rhein is the chairman of the paramilitary branch of Lethe, a clandestine organization. Mild-mannered, unassuming, and sickly in stature, he does not give off the air of somebody sitting at the top of the chain of command, and comes across as an unremarkable paper pusher.  However, when interacting with any member of Lethe, it is obvious to see that all Agents defer to him as their king above all else. Even when he does not command it, Agents always position themselves in the room so that he is protected at all times. 

Lethe is a rather shady organization that advertises a "fresh start" to people who want to permanently escape the troubles of their lives. If accepted, it is as if the applicant never existed in the first place, with all documentation of their existence destroyed and their memory inexplicably fading from the minds of their loved ones. To join Lethe, one must submit to a memory wipe and reconditioning so that they might become a tool repurposed for the sake of their master; Rhein is the one responsible for interviewing agent candidates, overseeing any medical treatments or therapy they may need, and choosing their specialization, which can be anything from maintenance and logistics to assassination and sabotage. He manages everything with an inhuman degree of perfection, and with the use of psychic links implanted into every agent during their conditioning. They allow him to coordinate his organization with a hive-mind-like efficiency. There is little bureaucratic mess in Lethe thanks to the capabilities of the Chairman.

Even though the conceit of Lethe is to generate perfect, emotionless operatives capable of doing any monstrous task, Rhein tries to encourage hobbies and skills in his agents. He makes sure to arrange in-person meetings with every operative at least once a month that are completely unrelated to work. As a boss, Rhein is respectful and considerate, and quite forgiving in the rare case that a Lethe agent fails a task. As a result, many agents form a personal attachment to him beyond the blind loyalty of a cog turning in a machine. 

Rhein does not see his actions as kind, but as effective. He views everyone as his sole responsibility and is possessive of them. He finds all the agents and the concept of the organization itself rather fascinating; the idea that after what makes up a “core” of a person (memories) are erased, that he can still cultivate distinct personalities in each of his agents, despite giving them all similar experiences. Compared to himself, he regards the agents of Lethe as incredibly vibrant. 

Rhein does not consider himself a person, whatever a person ought to be in his view. He lacks the ability to feel emotion beyond mild frustration at inefficiency or a disdain for physical discomfort. Rather, he relies on arbitrary logic to make choices of opinion. For example, if he was offered a choice between two snacks, he would consider what he thought the person offering liked more, and then choose the other snack while giving the former snack to the other person. 

After observing the world around him, he has come to the realization that he is a hollow being, lacking any color apart from the white of Lethe. He was raised to be its chairman and centerpiece, and he does not want for more. If anything, he is grateful that the role was assigned to him so that he wouldn’t have to fret about finding his place in the world. It is for that reason that he takes his job very seriously; Rhein is Lethe and Lethe is Rhein. 

He was born as an experiment - a loveless union between his father, a researcher, and an eldritch supernatural phenomenon called a “witch.” After many failed attempts at creating offspring, Rhein was born. However, this came with the discovery that male witches are much weaker and short-lived than their female counterparts, but more controllable as a result. In spite of his horrible health and nature as a witch, Rhein’s father viewed him as a “success” and treated Rhein as a son, setting up an organization with the structure to help his child thrive in spite of his frailty while also furthering his own goals. 

There was no love in such an action, but rather an allocation of resources. By assigning a branch of his organization to his son with no ambition or will of his own, the Giles patriarch could focus on research while his son managed the operations side of affairs. Rhein does not know love at all, not from his cold and half-insane father, nor his broken mother who never fully recovered from experimentation. 

He did not learn that he had two younger siblings until many years later - a witch brother stuck in an underground bunker research facility and a human half-sister living as a civilian. When he first saw his brother, a creature utterly miserable in its solitude, Rhein was startled at how an existence so similar to his own could have such strong emotions and desires. Something like a possessive sense of responsibility formed in him. Distress was a common response to being imprisoned and isolated, so he wept. Crying is a behavior evolved to catch the attention of the herd.

For the first time in his life, Rhein plotted against his father and arranged for an escape for his brother. The result was mixed, with the spirit of his brother fragmenting and part of it being recaptured, while the other was released into the world. He fudged the reports of the Lethe agents sent out to recover his brother, making his father believe that the escaped fragment was neutralized.

It was an utterly illogical and downright foolish thing to do, as there was a good chance that releasing an experiment into the world would likely result in chaos, but the consequences never came back to Rhein. In the meanwhile, he prepared Lethe, an organization created for his sake, for the monumental trial of surviving after his impending death - as a non-human, he expected his life to end in his mid-twenties. Rhein thought that Lethe served a function worth preserving after his death - "utilitarian suicide," or the opportunity for hopeless individuals to build a new life from scratch, free from the burden of their memories. In the event of his failure to find a successor, he made sure all his agents had marketable skills so that they might be able to live in society after the organization collapsed. 

Then, one day, Rhein learned that the very brother he helped escape years ago had gotten himself into trouble. Cerule discovered his increasingly unstable abilities and ran away from his peaceful life out of fear of harming his loved ones. With a put-upon sigh, Rhein arranged for his brother's admission into Lethe so that Cerule would not be subject to their father's experiments without a buffer, while keeping tabs on another dangerous witch making waves in another part of the world.

Just another day of cleaning up other people's messes.

"This must be some sort of sick joke."

A bright-red blade invades Rhein’s peripheral vision as it slices through the rich wood of his desk like it is jelly. He raises an eyebrow.

He does not find his brother's self-destructive tendencies very impressive (he’s seen worse), but damage to office property is uncalled for.

“Was the work not dangerous enough? Would you prefer I sent you into the field with fewer provisions next time, if it was too easy?” Rhein taps the table. “Even though you technically failed the mission parameters.”

“I didn’t sign up to be a babysitter,” Cerule growls. “I suppose I was being presumptuous for assuming that my partner would be a functional, well-adjusted adult.”

Cerule’s eyebrows are furrowed, pupils dilated and eyes glinting with anger. Rhein takes a moment to admire the face that looks so similar to his own, twisted with ugly emotion that he would never be able to replicate. So that's what he looks like if he were ever to be petulant and indignant (and throwing a temper tantrum).

“Well-adjusted is an overstatement, wouldn't you say?“ Cerule rips his pen out of his hand and throws it at the wall with enough force that it explodes and leaves an unsightly black splatter on the wall, ink trails dripping towards the floor in thick rivulets. 

Rhein frowns.

“Make my next mission solo.”

“And reward this kind of behavior?” Rhein says, reaching into his drawer and pulling out an identical pen. “You claim you want an adult for a partner, but you’re acting an awful lot like a child.”

Cerule moves to do something else, perhaps strike him. There’s no way someone like Rhein can avoid such a hit, and his irritating younger brother’s strength would cause quite a bit of damage. So Rhein responds in kind, pulling a card he was hoping he wouldn’t have to for a long while yet.

It’s a psychic link every Lethe agent has implanted in them when they undergo their final memory wipe. It allows the Chairman to subjugate the agent in case of memory loss reversion and the agent destabilizing. He's never had to use it yet - Vrana does excellent work and no agent has ever been the victim of a resurfacing memory.

But that’s beside the point. His younger brother did not have his memories wiped, but the link was put on him during his first medical checkup. There was some uncertainty as to whether it would prove effective on someone with their memories, or a witch, or someone blood related to him. 

Cerule drops like a rag doll, as if every tendon in his limbs were severed. Minus the ones required for bodily function - it wouldn't do to make a mess in their primarily white office. That is precisely what his nervous system is telling him, even though he is physically pristine.

Rhein peers over his desk and sighs at the crumpled teenage mess lying on his floor.

“If I am to be frank, out of every Lethe agent we’ve had, you are the one who has enjoyed the greatest number of exceptions and privileges to the laws. And yet you do not show any awareness towards your own situation. It’s frustrating.”

Cerule’s mouth is also paralyzed and unable to form a response, as are his eyes unable to form a glare, but Rhein gets a sense of the fuck you emanating from his person. It would be impressive if this horrible attitude was not directly interfering with productivity.

“You’re far too eager to play up your victim complex. Despite what you think, I am not personally out to sabotage you, and it would cripple myself to waste resources for the sole purpose of victimizing you. I think Ramiel will be good for you, and you for her. While you are separated from your moral pillar, you need something to remind you of your humanity. But, if you want me to treat you like the soulless machine you so desperately believe you are being treated like, I can do that too. So long as you are willing to give up the right to make every decision for the rest of your life.”

Rhein knows his brother well enough to know what he will choose. He sits back in his seat, the tightness in his chest becoming unbearable for speaking at length.

Disconnecting the link, he manages to get it out between hacking coughs, the feeling of nails being driven into his chest. “You’re excused.”

In an instant, the sword stuck in his desk is gone, and Rhein is alone with his paperwork and the mess of ink on the wall and floor. He checks which agents is awake at this time of day - Hawk, Raven, Anteater, Shark. None of whom were specialized to cleaning, so he sends an email to Rabbit to handle it whenever she wakes.

 He wonders if saving his brother is truly worth all the trouble.

"Chairman, here's the files you requested."

this one is cute unlike the other tense wangsty one!!

misc

• His name is pronounced like "rain."
• Out of all the Giles siblings, he resembles his mother the most. Etoile takes after their father, and Cerule is somewhere in between.
• He gives all his agents animal-themed callsigns. His father used a flower theme when he was the chairman briefly.
  • Ramiel = Raven, Cerule = Hawk
• He's incredibly touch starved and hasn't even hugged anyone before. He doesn't own any items that are not directly related to his work or health. He rarely leaves the Lethe compound, only for important meetings, and he's never been to places like the beach or a cafe.
• He is able to temporarily take control over an operative's body and experience things as if he were occupying it, at the cost of leaving his own body completely vulnerable. He has never had to use it before, though, and would do so only if there was some advantage to it, never for some whim or desire to experience the outside world.
• When I say "frail," I mean he has like 1HP and a particularly hard pat on the back could put him out of commission for a few hours. Some days are better than others but his health has been on a steady decline over the years as his remaining lifespan diminishes.
• He can acknowledge if food is poorly cooked or that an injury is painful, but he can easily power through such negative reactions with just his mind.
• Rhein is not even that nice of a person. It's more like, since all of his agents treat him with deference, he respects them back. Against his enemies or people who annoy him, he is extremely calculating and will methodically tear them apart. He's got an asshole streak! In a retail AU he is the type of manager who would slam dunk a rude customer who "wants to speak with a manager."
• In regards to his relationship with his younger brother... these two disagree on a fundamental level. Cerule associates too much negativity with Rhein to ever open up to him, and Rhein lacks the emotional intelligence to handle his volatile brother. It's far too late when Cerule realizes how much Rhein has helped him from the sidelines without any acknowledgement, and how little Rhein was actually involved with his traumatic childhood. It's fortunate that Rhein doesn't understand how relationships should work, or else he would be hurt by Cerule's lack of consideration. To him, it's more like: "That's just how my brother is."
  • However, Cerule is probably the only person who can move Rhein to act in a reckless or emotional fashion. Annoying little siblings are like that.
• In regards to his younger sister, Rhein does not feel the need to watch over her so much as she is a full human, and has a society of humans to rely upon should she need help. (Witches, by comparison, are far lonelier.) If possible, he would prefer that she stay out of the family's affairs entirely. However, once she joins the game, he primes her into being his successor, as he thinks Cerule lacks the leadership ability to become the Chairman of Lethe after his death.
• With his parents: Rhein feels neutral towards his father. He is an unkind, utterly amoral, but not overly cruel man, who tends to act in logical ways that Rhein finds comfort in. He pities his mother for the wasted potential of her mind and life, and views her as a birthgiver than an actual parent.
• His favorite Lethe agent is Ramiel, and it is quite obvious from anyone who observes them. Apart from Cerule, she's the only one who he allows to act so far out of line, mostly because he enjoys her personality. He is invested in her happiness and growth, but it seems like she needs his help less and less these days, so Rhein believes it best that he allocate his time elsewhere.