Seth al-Rawaz is one of the few Heartland Lesser Catfolk in Redpride Village, and has become known for his guile and manipulation. He strikes a diminutive figure especially among the larger beastfolk of the village, and is widely regarded as cowardly and underhanded. Nevertheless, he is a respected advisor and Chancellor of the Chief Afzal Jabbar and later Chief Faiz Jabbar due to his keen political mind and more cautious manner, balancing out the advice of more impulsive figures such as Erastos Ironhoof.
Rawaz the Ripper
Seth states he was "half raised by" Ghazar the Black, a vicious warlord in the south of The Beastfolk Heartlands, and Seth was one of the founders of the Blackened Bastards. When Ghazar's father exiled him from Duxanos, Ghazar, who was greatly angered, plotted his revenge, employing Seth as his wetworks man to get around his exile. On his wedding day, Ghazar's eldest brother Mohir was found walking through town towards the altar flayed alive, bleeding out shortly afterwards in his fiancé's arms. The incident became known as "Mo the Skinless Groom" and is told as a horror story in the Heartlands to this day, usually with blame placed on "Rawaz the Ripper". At the funeral, Ghazar launched an attack with a host of mercenaries, killing his parents, murdering many of his half brothers, and keeping several of his half sisters as concubines. Ghazar declared himself Warlord of Duxanos, and began assembling an army.
Seth served faithfully for nine years, until Ghazar and Rawaz the Ripper finally had their disagreement. Seth had been harbouring objections to the increasingly brutal and unhinged requests of the Warlord, when Ghazar crossed a line and told him to murder a rebel leader's children. Instead, the former Ripper had them smuggled to safety, and went to ground himself in the Great Desert and later Redpride Village, having left several false trails leading to both Equinos and ]">The New Republic of Bēti. It is rumoured that Seth took a large part of the warlord's treasury with him.
Even after the defeat of Ghazar at his last stand at Duxanos, Seth remained in Redpride to escape his unwanted legacy and lead a more peaceful life. He buried his torture implements, and only dug them up for Moirin Mhic Macdha in the events of A Gathering Storm, in which his past is revealed.
A Gathering Storm
In A Gathering Storm, Seth is seen as a loyal but cunning advisor to Afzal, often suggesting more careful courses of action than his fellow advisors, and being suspicious of several other characters. Though he initially annoys her greatly with his sarcastic manner, Dimitra Adamos eventually warms to Seth, and he is named Godfather to her son Darius Ironhoof. Seth has an unusual relationship with Xil Wrenlow, both flirting with him and scheming against each other. He prepares to torture Moirin Mhic Macdha, but is spared from having to do so by her execution. Seth suspects something is wrong with her false resurrection and researches it, using a series of grimoires that he studied when he had to assassinate a Master of the Grand Order of Wizards who thought he could set up his own kingdom in The Beastfolk Heartlands. Seth is present for the Duel at Stubborn Rock and witnesses the death of his friend Afzal, protecting the Shimmersword when fighting broke out over the Threefinger Spear.
Seth continues to work in Redpride Village, helping to manage the village with the new Chief, Faiz Jabbar, in his infancy.