Born Kōta Matsumoto (松本康太), an Atharim hunter in self-imposed exile due to his sister’s discovery that she is a channeler.

After six years travelling the Custody, he has insisted they journey to Moscow seeking the Ascendancy’s promised asylum.

He uses the moniker Reaver.

• A B O U T •

Kōta is tall and strong. He wears his hair long, and maintains a neat beard cut close to his face. Unlike his sister, he does not care to fit in. He dresses well, and has an amenable disposition with strangers. Most find him easy and compelling company.

Although he has a strict internal moral code, which foreigners might find strange, Kōta has long since diverged from the teachings of his youth. He bears no great guilt for this, for he places his love and loyalty for his sister above all other duty. The inherent contradictions in protecting a channeler his oaths have sworn him to purge for the good of humanity do not seem to bother him. He does not hunt channelers unless he has a reason, but does not baulk at killing a human if he believes it is the right thing to do.

Kōta loves animals, and has a fascination in particular with those most dangerous and exotic. He dabbles in trade, and liberates those he considers ill treated, which on occasion causes he and Chihiro trouble. One of his greatest regrets is the necessity to leave his goshawk Yua behind when he and Chihiro fled Japan.

• A T H A R I M •

Kōta’s strict childhood always chafed. He was a diligent student, but also something of a miscreant. When Chihiro was born when Kōta was nine years old, he loved her instantly.

2040s revelation that those of god descent might be found within the remnant itself shook him badly. Though the strict tenures of honour were ingrained into his soul, he began to doubt. He did not fear taking his own life, should such be necessary, but the idea of losing kin to such an indiscriminate disease filled him with fear.

Though he already dabbled in the illegal animal trade, particularly of exotics, he began to foster connections amongst the Yakuza in Osaka. Even then, perhaps, he was starting to search for ways he might extricate himself from his life.

Chihiro’s spark on Mount Atago was the catalyst that pushed him, with no regret, towards action. He did not question the pull of his own heart. She was not evil, and he could not see her die.

When he returned home to relay news to family and clan of Chihiro’s death at the hands of the onmoraki, he sought permission to leave Japan. It was not granted, and thus he fled.

• T A T T O O S • & • S C A R S •

Kōta’s tattoo is fairly simple, featuring two entwined snakes, one of them a skeleton. He has not had it recovered, and its easily enough hidden. He has no other tattoos

He has an array of various scars, both from hunting and from his work with birds of prey (and other animals).

It’s not uncommon for him to be sporting some fresh injury.

• S K I L L S •

Kōta is skilled with the traditional katana and wakizashi, and trained in various martial arts. He is competent with the yumi also, favouring the larger daikyū. His size and strength make him a formidable opponent. Though he employs modern tech for defence and armour, when he can get his hands on it at least, he prefers not to use firearms.

He is also confidant with handling animals of all kinds, but particularly knowledgeable about birds of prey. Kōta facilitates trade, and also consults on training and care, this being the main source of their legitimate income. Unknown to Chihiro this has included the procurement of supernatural trophies for collectors, and sometimes ingredients for supposed arcana. He refuses to provide live specimens.

• E D U C A T I O N •

His training afforded him an extensive and rigorous education, and he is a well learned man. He tends to rely on Chihiro’s encyclopedic knowledge when they encounter unfamiliar creatures of the supernatural variety. Growing up, he always favoured the practical, for he is something of a thrill-seeker, preferring to learn through experience rather than through books.

• C O N N E C T I O N S •

Kōta still fosters some Atharim connections, despite Chihiro’s shunning of the life. He has links with the Yakuza. Though Kōta is unaware, he has also had contact with members of the network.