Reiner is an Oxana-born Irynian politician who served as Governor from 1018 to 1020, previously serving as District Representative for Parliament Park from 1016 to 1017. He also was a serial killer active for the period between 1014 and 1020. After his criminal activity was discovered, he was summoned to Oxana for trial, convicted, and sentenced to permanent exile. His current location is known only to the Oxana and Iryna governments.
Reiner was born in 998 to unknown parents in an unknown part of Oxana. Lord Peter Argyris was given legal guardianship of Reiner, agreeing to provide food, shelter, and employment to him for the duration of his legal minority.[1] His name at the time was Percy; it is unclear if that was the only name he had used previously. Percy was employed as Lord Peter Argyris' domestic servant, responsible for tasks such as cleaning the Argyris family mansion, running errands, and secretarial work. Although the circumstances of the arrangement's inception were not recorded, it is likely that Percy did not consent to them. People familiar with Percy at the time described him as polite and diligent, but moody and often visibly disgruntled.[2] On Day 8 of Month 1, 1014, the Argyris mansion was discovered to have burned down the previous night. Although only one body was found in the mansion's remains, it was assumed that both occupants of the home, Percy and Lord Peter Argyris, had died in the fire.[3]
On Day 13 of Month 1, 1014, a ship called the SS Harpy caught fire and sank in the Irynian harbor. Iryna PD investigated the incident but found no probable cause for foul play, ruling that the sinking had been an accident.[4] One SS Harpy passenger gave his name as Reiner, and claimed to be a 25-year-old Irynian who had recently graduated from Oxana University's law school. He began a legal career in Iryna shortly afterward, specializing in contract law. At the next election, he successfully ran for District Representative of Parliament Park.[5] He proved to be an energetic and vocal defender of his district's interests, winning him enough renown to be elected Governor after Vincere Rae's retirement in 1017.[6] Reiner's popularity grew further after taking office; he gained a positive reputation for his direct communication style, authoritative leadership, and magical talents.
It was not until 1020 that Iryna PD Inspector Neeka, with the help of anonymous associates[7], connected Percy to the seemingly-unrelated Reiner. People who had known Percy were able to identify Reiner as the same person, even though seven years had passed since they had last seen him.[2] Neeka and her associates were also able to connect Reiner to an arcane instrument known as the Sanguine Dagger, which had previously been owned by the Argyris family.[8] Iryna PD Superintendent Kellen Ridge had been ordered by Reiner to halt investigation into several unsolved murders, all of which were found to have been committed using the Sanguine Dagger. Neeka forwarded the information to Oxana PD, who conducted an independent investigation to verify her claims, then mailed a court summons to Reiner at his residence in the Governor's Mansion. After briefly attempting to evade custody, Reiner agreed to cooperate with Oxana PD. He was given the option to face trial in Oxana for the crimes he had committed there, or to face trial in Iryna for much more serious charges. He chose to remain in Oxana, representing himself in a trial that lasted several months and was followed closely by the public. Reiner was found guilty of arson, manslaughter, fraud, and evasion of arrest; his sentence was exile from both Oxana and Iryna.[9]
Following Reiner's trial, Neeka continued her investigation into his criminal history, publishing a report[10] summarizing her findings. She could not declare with certainty that she had accounted for every potential victim, but she determined that she did not have sufficient evidence to definitively connect Reiner to any other unsolved cases. The victims confirmed by her report were:
There are also additional individuals who Neeka suspected to have been targeted by Reiner, but could not confirm as such:
Neeka's report did not speculate on the motives behind every murder committed by Reiner, although she noted that his victims seemed to be chosen with careful intention. Neeka observed that he gravitated towards victims who were socially isolated, minimizing the chances that their disappearance would be reported to Iryna PD. He often took great pains to disguise his appearance and dispose of evidence, complicating any investigations that were not also suppressed by Iryna PD. His murder rate increased over time, as his political power (and, likely, his personal confidence) grew. Many of his victims had considerable magical talent, although due to the high concentration of mages in Iryna, Neeka was unsure of whether this was a deliberate decision on Reiner's part.
