Introducing the Muses – Ramah Sirhaan

In weeks past, you’ve been introduced to the dark Hunter angst pot, Melakim Fahre, and his kooky womanizing thief pal, Ry Phirunaden. Today, I’d like you to meet his majesty, Ramah Sirhaan, the werewolf Prince and wayward soul…and probably the closest thing I have to a benevolent hero in my stable of rogues and miscreants.

(For all of you waiting on Aurora, she will be the next and last character for this series. Look for her introduction and the end of this series next Wednesday!)

Ramah’s Artistic Evolution:

The Short Bio: Prince to a desert land founded by gods, Ramah lived in the lap of luxury, spending his days in battle for his country, or indulging in the mindless delights of the palace. He was a wild youth until witnessing the public execution of an innocent man made him realize the state of things in his very own kingdom. He began to become more sympathetic to the common folk and grew into a just man at the influence of his betrothed, a free willed noblewoman named Syvillia.

However, when a cry for assistance against a beast that was slaying the populace in the poor quarters rose up, Ramah was the only one of his class who saw fit to take action. When he could garner no support in the matter from the others, he rode out personally to slay the beast, thinking it no more than an animal of some sort. He could not be more wrong after a tussle with the beast left him bitten and infected with one of the world’s oldest curses.

It was the first change into the Wolf in which he slaughtered his caretakers that caused him to flee his beloved country. For, not only had he murdered kinsmen, all werewolves were viewed as anathema in their culture and seen as spiritually corrupt. How could he serve as the future ruler of his country being the monster he had become?

Now, he wanders the countryside, a Free Knight of the Untamed Land, aiding others where he would and seeking to make amends for a life he views as unclean.

The Long Bio: Available Here
Written Stories: Mark of Cahim (Character Sketch) 

What Inspired this Character?

To reveal a dirty secret of mine, he was inspired by taking a fan character of mine from Dragonball Z and dumping him into a fantasy setting. The Saiyan ability to morph became lycanthrope and the debauched vizier to King Vegeta became the debauched prince of a desert kingdom. (Yes I know I’m a COMPLETE dork for liking Dragonball Z in high school…)

Soon enough, however, I found that Ramah evolved from his roots in my mad social experimenting into a character who had a most charismatic presence about him. By all seeming, he was a charming and sensitive fellow who chose his fights carefully, who was calm and understanding, and who could possibly rip your head off with his bare teeth if you knew what triggers to press.

The concept of battling an inner Beast that threatens to sap one of their own humanity and soul was one I found fascination with ever since I was introduced to it in the Vampire: The Masquerade, of which I was an avid player up till my high school years. Even more, it’s fascinating to see how a man put in Ramah’s position adjusts to life anew, whether by succumbing to his base primal urges or the soothing presence and possibility of hope that a very special lady might bring. It’s a paranormal romance waiting to happen and one of these days I may indulge that urge with this character.

In the end, Ramah is destined to succumb to the Wolf entirely as the years pass, but it is not this curse that will define him, but rather how he lives the rest of his years as a man. That is why his name, Ramah Sirhaan, roughly translates to Sublime Wolf from Hebrew and Arabic.

How do you get inspired for this character?

Movies and music, my eternal muse supplements. In particular, Kingdom of Heaven with its vistas of Jerusalem, haunting music, and tale of a morally conflicted character seeking redemption is one of the few that get me in the Ramah mood.

Ramah’s Playlist: Available Here

Until the next Muse, what character do you love who battles with an ‘Inner Beast’? Why do they inspire you? How do you prepare yourself to write or draw for your own creations?

5 comments

  1. ban says:

    i LOVED Vampire: The Masquerade when it was on tv – have the entire series on dvd ๐Ÿ™‚ in fact, i loved it so much it inspired several of my own characters. i’m sure, being a player of the game, (which i knew nothing about) the series fell short to you but that’s how things go … movies, shows etc. based upon books, comics or RPGs never satisfy those who are familiar with the later first. love that last illustration btw – the expression you captured really shows inner turmoil !

  2. Hayley E. Lavik says:

    It takes a lot of confidence to admit fan-character origins. I hadn’t formed the oozaru connection for some reason though, I suppose because I always forget about the early DBZ stuff.

    The aspect of the inner beast with Ramah that I love most is one you actually didn’t mention here. The attempt to control something primal and unrestrained in him always seems to produce incredibly sexually charged rp sessions. I love the raw, barely contained, masculine energy that comes off him and the way he tries to restrain it by doing noble things like wandering off into frigid rivers. Likewise dragging his bloody carcass away from someone trying to help him, and only managing to get about thirty feet away, was very sweet and amusing, but also very raw considering the amount of torment he just takes.

    The conflict of the Inner Beast seems like such fertile ground for exploration of the themes of nature and nurture, man and the wild. And then, of course, it leads into the motif of soothing the savage beast, or embracing the animal within, so there’s lots of fodder to explore and go different ways. A very primal and appealing concept I think, one of those things a lot of people try to tangle out.

    I suppose, after a little thought, that I actually do have an ‘inner beast’ in Dyani Ashwynn, although it almost seems like the wrong term. In her case, the beastly side seems more the human hunter, and her animal side more akin to Ramah’s nobler nature. Heh, and of course there’s Virana, who would definitely have been a barbarian in D&D… and who technically has a beast side as well.

    In terms of fiction, one of Hubby’s characters begs to be dramatized–another one of those characters with origins we’d care not to say. I’ve always found his character’s story arc and progress really compelling, from embracing savage bloodlust and driving himself towards destruction and corruption, to attempting to temper those tendencies, while still unleashing them in combat. He’s the sort of character that wouldn’t view it as a curse, rather a tactical advantage, until his actions brought down some raw tragedy on his loved ones.

    Also I’m curious, knowing your inspirations for Ramah and love of the movie in general, was Kingdom of Heaven an influence in naming Ramah’s betrothed?

  3. Angela Sasser says:

    Ah yes, Kindred: The Embraced. I saw the series long before I played the game. It does indeed leave many of the Sabbat and Camarilla clans out of the mix, but the mood and feel of the politics and characters were right on the mark. I enjoyed that show, and Prince Julian, when it was on.

    That last illustration, entitled Song of Exile, is my favorite of Ramah and the only one I feel that really captures him. He’s been so hard to pin down in art as opposed to his easy expression in writing.

  4. Angela Sasser says:

    Yes indeed Syvillia was named for two strong willed ladies who inspired her, Servillia of the series Rome, mother of Brutus and one of the most graceful older ladies I have seen in such a forceful role, and Sybilla in Kingdom of Heaven, who really inspired me with her air of being a blend of two worlds and free will (at least until she sort of fades into the background in the movie).

    It’s funny to think just how Ramah’s grown so wildly different than his source inspiration and that, to me, is a sign of something golden. I brushed a little on the sexual tension in this post, but I love the way you’ve described it in your comment. He really does want to do the right thing with his logical human mind, but there’s always that evil inner voice that says “bared skin is lovely and vulnerable. Wouldn’t you like to bite it?”

    It’s the logic that makes him turn away at moments like that, which is another aspect of the Inner Beast motif I enjoy, the Logic versus the Instinct.

    Aah and you already know I’d be evilly tickled to see a version of this character who HAS given into the Beast at the behest of another who encourages it rather than tells him he should repress it. He’d be rather happily freed if he ever forgot his ingrained human morality. I’m very much looking forward to seeing how Dyani and Ramah get on once we are able to start that up again.:)

    This character you speak of sounds familiar. Have you told me of this unnamed so and so before?

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