Raju Pandora
| Biological | |
| Full name: | Raju Pandora Guardia |
|---|---|
| Born: | September 10, 2297 AD (14 WR) |
| Birthplace: | Pandora |
| Sex: | Male |
| Race: | Human |
| Hair: | Brown |
| Eyes: | Gray |
| Height: | 6'0" |
| Weight: | |
| Personal | |
| Marital Status: | Husband of Elektra Pendouris |
| Family/Relationships: | {{{family}}} |
| Religion: | Elementalist |
| Title: | Prince of Pandora, former Crown Prince of Guardia |
| Nicknames: | |
| Hobbies: | |
| Known skills: | Can invoke some of Undine's magic; trained in sport-shooting and bowhunting as a courtly diversion |
| Favorite color: | |
| Inspiration: | |
| Motto: | |
Raju is the only son of the late King Margayya Pandora. He is the second-born child of Margayya, after Nalini and before Naraya. He never existed in the main Kupopolis timeline; complications at birth required a C-section delivery, which at the time was a very risky procedure (given the state of medical technology in the Web prior to the discovery of the Gate dimension). In Proper, Raju does not make it; in the alternate universe timeline, he does.
As Margayya's only son, Raju was pampered and spoiled rotten. His sisters hated him, and he returned the sentiment (in the form of pranks and practical jokes that seem to occur only to young boys with sisters). Like Naraya, Raju was tutored in Undine's Mana Magic, but he was a slouch in his studies. He was only ever able to manage a few of Undine's defensive spells -- but as these were usually sufficient to get him out of trouble, he was disinclined to trouble himself by learning very much more.
One of Raju's favorite activities growing up was bowhunting. His father would take him on sporting hunts every summer and winter: during summer they would go to the Ice Country, where Margayya maintained a lavish hunting lodge on embassy grounds, and they would spend winter in the Upperlands. He is decent with a bow and arrow, but only under sporting conditions. If there is one thing Raju is not, it's a fighter.
At the surprise birthday party for his father (the "Pandora Project"), Raju met Elektra Pendouris and was utterly captivated by her. She was a strong, magnetic young girl -- and she was a Princess, which meant she wasn't lower class, which Raju had been taught was a very good thing to look for in a lady. So he knocked her up and was forced to marry her. Though that pregnancy ended in miscarriage, the two remained together, and Raju permanently moved to the Kingdom of Guardia -- even going so far as to take the name "Guardia" after his own family surname.
Both in Pandora, and in Guardia, Raju has cultivated the image of a foppish playboy. He is always impeccably coifed and dressed to be photographed, and attends all the right parties -- even if his wife isn't there. Despite the image, Raju is intensely loyal to Elektra. She is just about the only person in the Web that he would risk pain and death for -- Well, wait... how much pain are we talking about here? Like, twist-my-arm kind of pain? Nothing that'll leave a mark, right? And you'll stay away from the face? Hang on. Let's just clarify a few more things about this "pain" topic...
In the year 2323 AD/40 WR, Franklin Yeats' Tasnica moves into Pandora as an occupying power. The royal family is ousted, accused of being "Guardian sympathizers," and the Tasnicans go about putting in place a Tasnican-style (and Tasnica-friendly) Republican Government. Raju works with ZAPS to help members of his family and other Pandoran dissidents to escape the Tasnicans, but this maneuvering is uncovered by E-CID and very few members of the Pandora family actually make it to Guardia.
Raju remains in Guardia, alongside Doan and Elektra, until the Fall of Truce, when he, his father-in-law and his wife escape with Malcolm Quinn into the Kupopolis timeline.
