Old Rex
Crime Boss
Old Rex is the criminal overlord of Le Scaglie, a powerful criminal syndicate with reach across the ManyRealms. From his secret lair in the Blue Bayou, Old Rex manages massive smuggling operations between various realms, supplying other criminal organizations and even entire nations with weapons, supplies, troops and intelligence.
In the ancient Lothairian language, which pre-dates modern Sennzian by thousands of years, Le Scaglie roughly translates to English as “The Scales.” Le Scaglie is not to be confused with similar meanings in other languages, such as Italian, from far-away realms such as Earth. Many of Sennzia’s words bear a striking similarity to languages in the mortal realms.
The fairies that dominate Sennzia are created from the wishes of mortals and therefore often speak mortal tongues. In Sennzia, however, Le Scaglie does not simply means chips of food, nor does it translate necessarily to the scales of a fish or reptile or scales of measurement or the scales of justice.
In Sennzia, Le Scaglie refers to smaller “scales” which form a unified whole, each piece overlapping in a manner such as to protect the other. So a tile roof might be Le Scaglie, protecting the interior from rain. A phalanx formation of overlapping warrior’s shields would be Le Scaglie. Obviously, the literal scales of a reptile are also Le Scaglie, which explains its use by the mostly reptilian agents of the criminal organization of the same name.
There is a saying in Sennzia that goes, “The Scales Provide,” which can be prefaced by almost anything. Need protection? The Scales Provide. Need weapons? The Scales Provide. Information? The Scales Provide. Whatever it is… The Scales Provide.
Baby Rex was hatched in the Blue Bayou over 500 years ago to a normal mother alligator. It quickly became obvious that he was not like the other hatchlings in his brood, however. Within a few days, Rex had grown to more than twice the size of his siblings and started making some very strange sounds from his mouth.
It took just three weeks for Rex to grow to the size of a year-old alligator. By then, his mother had separated him from her other hatchlings. At one month old, Baby Rex became adventurous and wandered out of the nest on his own, where he was almost eaten by a blue jaguar. Rex was saved by a carnival showman named Kethremal. Kethremal was a fairy who quickly deduced that Rex was different from other alligators.
Kethremal took Rex in and taught him to speak, then put him to work as a performer in his carnival show. Over the next year, Rex became exposed to Kethremal’s criminal dealings. He learned to lie, cheat, steal and manipulate people into surrendering their money of their own free will. Though he missed his mother, Rex viewed Kethremal as a father figure and willingly stayed on as part of the roadshow. Rex became something of a star.
His new fame earned the attention of Rex’s real father, however. One night, after the last show, a gigantic alligator crashed the carnival camp. The massive talking beast introduced itself as Valen from the Realm of Drazzenmoor. It warned the carnies to surrender his son to him or be swallowed whole.
Kethremal was not about to let his star performer go so easily, and challenged the massive beast. The fairy showman was eaten on the spot, the giant alligator crunching down on his bones and splattering blood and wings across the camp. The violence of the encounter traumatized Rex, but to avoid having his friends in the carnival murdered similarly, he came out of hiding and surrendered to his father.
The next few months were some of the worst in Rex’s life, as his father forced him to commit brutal and violent acts against the sentient residents of the Bayou. Rex did what he could to protect the people, but his father was ruthless. Rex learned of the culture of the realm of Drazzenmoor, where only the strong survive.
Rex eventually found a way to escape his father’s control. He formed Le Scaglie initially to protect the Bayou where he grew up, but came to see that the nations of the realm were corrupt. They could not be trusted to protect the people or provide for their needs. He expanded, establishing the culture of the organization of today.
Old Rex does not see himself as a crime boss, though his activities violate many laws. He sees himself as a provider and protector who shields his allies from harm and protects people from the harshest of elements. Rex’s friends are given whatever they need: The Scales Provide. His enemies, however, discover the rule of Drazzenmoor: they do not survive.
Become a Shadow
