Rayn is a character in Jak X: Combat Racing. She is a low-profile but highly operative crime boss in the combat racing scene of Kras City. She inherited the family business after the death of her father, Krew. She is also a skilled racer, having partaken in the Kras City Grand Championship herself.
History[]
Before Jak X[]
Little is known of Rayn's early life. Her father was Krew, and her mother is unknown, making her one of many characters to have a father with no apparent mother.[a] She once implied that she did not know her father at all,[3] though it is later revealed they had somewhat of a relationship as they established a grand scheme to win a combat racing championship, as well as Krew's statement that he wished he could give Rayn a hug for her continuation with his crime legacy, saying "Like father like daughter, eh?"[4] Rayn also stated that her father taught her the philosophy of survival of the fittest.[5]
Jak X[]
Prior to Krew's death, he and Rayn devised a plan to beat out Mizo in the next Kras City Grand Championship. They needed the best team available, therefore Krew invited some select contacts from Haven City to a reading of his will after he died. Rayn was instructed to offer the group, which included Jak, Daxter, Keira, Torn, and Ashelin Praxis, a special vintage wine as a means of toasting to his will. She was to pour in her glass first for no more than three seconds, which would allow her to escape the black shade poison given to the others.[6] Krew would then deliver a message via a prerecorded hologram, revealing to the group that they had been poisoned and must win the championship to receive the antidote. Rayn acted shocked and upset, to which Krew had a timed "Sorry dear" response,[7] which was architected to allow Rayn to gain the trust of the group.
Rayn thereafter acted as a guide throughout the championship, providing the crew with equipment and information, the former of which had been supplied by her father. Ashelin all the while remained very suspicious of Rayn,[8][9][10][11] while Jak remained sympathetic to her, as he too lacked a close relationship with his father, Damas, who had also died.[12]
Back in Haven City, Rayn went through some of Krew's old things, and found the decoder to his will. With it, she discovered his journal, in which he described a deal with Mizo that would require the loser of the championship to cease their gang operations. Rayn claimed she did not know anything about it,[13] though she could not help showing her strong desire to beat Mizo and ensure he held up his end of the deal,[14] suggesting she may have been behind it. In fact, Rayn decided to join the racing team starting with the Grand Prix of the Blue Eco Cup (during which she raced the Javelin X, then the Firebat after that).[b] Despite the fact that Jak had been performing exceptionally well, she did not want to "leave anything to chance."[15]
At one point in the game, G.T. Blitz revealed that Jak was behind Krew's death. Rayn responded with shock and disenchantment with Jak and stormed off, saying, "I'm used to taking care of myself."[16] It is unknown if Rayn previously knew of this and was being disingenuous (though it is possible she orchestrated the bombshell in order to further rationalize her own participation in the races).
When Jak finally beat Mizo, winning the Grand Championship for Krew, Rayn revealed that "this whole thing was designed to flush Mizo out", and that she and her father had tried to identify the crime lord for years, before realizing it was actually G.T. Blitz.[17] Discovered and exposed, Mizo attempted to escape his end of the deal and ran off with the antidote. After a chase that ended in Mizo's impending doom, Mizo told Jak that Rayn is even worse than he is, but Jak appeared to doubt Rayn's betrayal.[18] Mizo turned out to be truthful however, as the group later found Krew's holographic message to Rayn in which he described their plot and how to avoid being poisoned like the others.
Rayn afterward called a meeting with all crime bosses in Kras City, asserting that she now ran the town, commenting that her father was "too soft". However, she told her contact to not harm the group, saying that they were her friends, although they probably no longer were (hinting that she left Krew's holographic message on purpose) .[19]
Characteristics[]
Appearance[]
Rayn is a tall, slim human female with amber eyes and dark blue hair pinned behind her head in a pleated bun with a red band and chopsticks. She wears two pairs of golden earrings and a thickly braided necklace studded with golden, egg-shaped stones. For casual wear, she wore a three-toned olive-green jacket, held closed by a large belt, and white bell-bottom pants with a thick green stripe that runs from her hip to her ankle. She also wore blue, sandal-like high heel shoes. Her racing attire was similar to that of a horseback riding garb: a green topee, a matching long-sleeved jacket, rounded goggles, open-fingered racing gloves, jodhpurs, and brown knee-high laced heel-bottom boots.
Rayn's sex appeal is as indicative of her appearance as her personality, with most of the males in the game seeing no reason to doubt her ambitions, allowing her to manipulate the group. Ashelin, however, an equally provocative female character, knew better. As Rayn's betrayal is made clear, a short banter between Torn and Ashelin demonstrates this, Torn remarking "Who woulda think?", and Ashelin replying with "Well, if you'd all been thinking with your... heads."[20]
Personality[]
Rayn comes across as well brought-up, properly mannered, and seemingly naive to her father's evil ways. The two share a similar vernacular, both having English accents and tending to end frank sentences with "Ah well." Rayn's graceful carriage and affected innocence imparts a kind and optimistic air, though she also allows outward determination—and angst on occasion.
In reality, Rayn is very cunning and independent, calling her father "too soft" as a crime boss and willing to race for her own team as to leave nothing to chance. Immediately after becoming the de facto kleptocratic authority of Kras City, Rayn called a meeting with all crime bosses, asserting that she now ran the city and implying she would be much tougher.
Despite her ulterior motives, Rayn legitimately grew close with her race team, seeing them as friends and calling off the death threats, even after her betrayal was made clear. She even had the decency to leave behind her father's journal for them to find and learn that she had always been in on the plan to poison them; though not enough decency to personally confess she had manipulated them all along.
Notes[]
- ↑ Jak's father being Damas, Keira's father being Samos Hagai, Ashelin Praxis' father being Baron Praxis, and Ximon's father being Osmo.
- ↑ If the game has been completed, Rayn will also appear with the Firebat during the Green Eco Cup.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Jak X: Combat Racing, character statistics
- ↑ Jak X: Combat Racing, credits
- ↑ Jak X: Combat Racing script § "Krew's diary"
- ↑ Jak X: Combat Racing script § "Photo finish"
- ↑ Jak X: Combat Racing script § "Deathmatch 3"
- ↑ Jak X: Combat Racing script § "Photo finish"
- ↑ Jak X: Combat Racing script § "Poison toast"
- ↑ Jak X: Combat Racing script § "Poison toast"
- ↑ Jak X: Combat Racing script § "The first race"
- ↑ Jak X: Combat Racing script § "Back in Haven City"
- ↑ Jak X: Combat Racing script § "Can we trust Mizo?"
- ↑ Jak X: Combat Racing script § "Krew's diary"
- ↑ Jak X: Combat Racing script § "Krew's diary"
- ↑ Jak X: Combat Racing script § "Can we trust Mizo?"
- ↑ Jak X: Combat Racing script § "Mizo offers a deal"
- ↑ Jak X: Combat Racing script § "Jak's dark secret"
- ↑ Jak X: Combat Racing script § "Mizo's Identity"
- ↑ Jak X: Combat Racing script § "Mizo's end"
- ↑ Jak X: Combat Racing script § "Photo finish"
- ↑ Jak X: Combat Racing script § "Photo finish"