Rathma, whose birth name was Linarian, is a first generation Nephalem and the progenitor of the Priests of Rathma, also known as the Necromancers. He is the son of Lilith and Inarius. He is not on good terms with his parents, as Lilith destroyed the rebel angels and demons only to use the Nephalem's power for her own ends, while Inarius believed that the Nephalem should worship him alone.
Rathma is described as tall male, he looks like a person in the age of 40s and his skin is pale white with tall black hair, he wears a rather special cloak. It shifts and moves in response to is emotional state and covers his head with a hood.
Biography
Rathma and the other members of the first generation, such as Bul'Kathos, retained their supernatural powers, although all later generations needed to be trained or discover magic some other way. Many of the firstborn were destroyed by Inarius, who would not tolerate defiance. This prompted Rathma to feign death and flee to a mysterious nether-realm; the realm of Trag'Oul, a dragon-like being who acts as Sanctuary's guardian.
Rathma became the first disciple of Trag'Oul, who taught him to preserve what Trag'Oul called the Balance. Their goal was to keep the balance between the Burning Hells and the High Heavens and prevent either from interfering too much in Sanctuary's affairs.
During the events of the Sin War Rathma worked together with Trag'Oul to make sure that Heaven stays oblivious to the existence of Sanctuary, and to try and limit Hell's influence as much as possible. The two worked alone for some time until they knew about the Ul-Diomed brothers Uldyssian and Mendeln, who both became pivotal in the shaping of Sanctuary's future. Rathma selected Mendeln as one of his earliest disciples. Mendeln and his brother Uldyssian eventually met Rathma and Trag'Oul. Uldyssian, eager for vengeance against Lilith and Inarius, joined Rathma on his journey to the Worldstone to change its inner workings and to free the power of the Nephalem. Rathma and Trag'Oul felt that Mendeln had great potential for helping them maintain the Balance, and Rathma began to examine and watch Mendeln without him being aware. Rathma eventually confronts Mendeln directly, and though the young man remained skeptical at first, he eventually joined forces with Rathma and Trag'Oul and became the second necromancer in history.
Rathma was horrified to learn that the High Heavens had discovered Sanctuary. In his mind, the angels were no better than the demons, as the angels were likely to obliterate the entire planet simply for having demons present.
Rathma was briefly banished by his father to a vast realm of 'nothingness'. This was also the same realm where Inarius had previously banished his former love Lilith to. Only by the combined efforts of Trag'Oul and Mendeln could Rathma be rescued.
Rathma played several key roles during the Sin War. He aided Uldyssian through many occasions. The most important of those is when Rathma teleported to the Worldstone to help him, at which time Uldyssian made his alteration to the stone which ultimately lead to a great rise on power among the edyrem. Rathma also tried to negotiate with his father to cease hostilities with Uldyssian and instead focus his attention on Heaven and Hell, and although the attempt failed he also rallied the remaining living nephalem for the final confrontation between Inarius and Uldyssian on the Grasslands.
Rathma later assisted during the final Battle of the Golden Path, along with the remaining firstborn. After the battle was won, Rathma explained to Mendeln that his time on the world would eventually come to an end, instructing him to train additional disciples so that the Balance would always have dedicated guardians.
Legacy
The Priests of Rathma – also known as the Necromancers – are a mage clan mostly composed of humans which follows the teachings of Rathma and Trag'Oul, created by Mendeln. They aim to achieve balance between heaven and hell and protect Sanctuary.
Rathma knew that a day will come where both he and Mendeln will die, so he ordered Mendeln to search for strong and trustful disciples and train them to aid him and eventually success him.
Unlike Bul'Kathos and Esu whose followers consider them deities, the Necromancers do not worship Rathma but rather view him as a teacher and guider.
Personality and Traits
Rathma is a very calm and rational man. He is not cold or uncaring, he is a good person but he rarely displays emotion and thus comes off as such.