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Rassilon
Rassilon was the legendary founding father of Time Lord society on Gallifrey.
Much of his early life is subject to myth and speculation, and the time before he created the Time Lords is known as the Time of Legend. In all of his incarnations he is portrayed as a larger than life character who considers himself to be the highest authority in all things. He is judgemental, quick to anger and uncompromising, but his knowledge and wisdom are rarely challenged.
While official accounts portray him as a wise and benevolent leader, other tales portray a ruthless and selfish dictator who stole the credit for his many artifacts and who exploited the deaths of those closest to him.
Rassilon has appeared in several different bodies or incarnations, although it is not certain that these are the result of traditional Time Lord regenerations or other means.
History
In Gallifreyan myth, Rassilon fulfils the same role as Moses does in Jewish and Christian literature. He is the wise lawgiver about whom there are many contradictory myths and legends. The son of a suet shredder, no tales of his childhood have yet been recounted, although it is likely that he was born in one of the three minute cities (possibly Onasti). His birth name may have been Rassil Onasti Prydonius, although his rejection of family names during the Intuitive Revelation makes this attribution apocryphal. He may have been born into the House of Fordfarding, where he was brought up alongside his cousins Peylix and Haclav Agusti Prydonius. As one of the four founders of Gallifrey he is attributed with the creation of the Prydonian Chapter.
The earliest stories of Rassilon establish him as a man of great passions (such as when he won his factotum and manservant Thrift as a prize in a marketpace brawl) as well as being a leading scientist and academic who rose to a position of seniority within Gallifrey's scientific elite. This led to him becoming a political figurehead and leader of the Neo-Technologists, who opposed the rule of the 258th Pythia. As such he is credited with bringing the Intuitive Revelation to Gallifrey, replacing a culture of superstition and magic with an age of science and reason.
During the early days of his rulership, Rassilon maintained an office above the west wing of the Academia Library. Like his contemporary Omega, Rassilon was a stellar engineer responsible for a number of time travel experiments which would later form the basis for time lord culture. Together with Omega and another, unnamed hero of Gallifrey, Rassilon presided a ruling Triumvirate. However, as a figurehead for revolution he found himself blamed for bringing the Pythia's Curse down upon the people of Gallifrey, and found his researches diverted into finding a means of preventing his people's extinction.
There are rumours that Rassilon left no stone unturned in his quest for survival, waging against many races and plundering their darkest secrets. Some say he was marked by the Menti Celesti, Gallifrey's Gods, while others believe he became a vampire. Still others suspect that he went mad. Whatever the truth may be, he returned stronger an more resolute, bringing with him the secret of regeneration. He retired from politics to return to his time travel experiments.
Once in power Rassilon took an active interest in architecture, and was responsible for the commissioning of many iconic landmarks across the Capitol. This interest resulted in the creation of a number of hyperdimensional constructs including the Death Zone, the Foundry and the Matrix.
Collaborating with Omega, he developed the technology that would make his people lords of time. In the wake of Omega's death, Rassilon captured and stabilized the black hole that came to be known as the Eye of Harmony, whose energies used to place Gallifrey at the centre of the Web of Time and to grant the power to travel through time.
As the consequences of Rassilon's actions became clear, Gallifrey was plunged into a series of conflicts across time and space. It is uncertain how many conflicts there were, or with whom, but at the end Rassilon decided to took control of Gallifrey again, declaring himself to be the first Lord President.
During this period - known as the Dark Time - many of the Grand Artifacts were created, and Rassilon's disregard for the opinions of others led to political tensions. Rassilon's last folly was known as the Game of Rassilon, in which time-scooped warriors drawn from all over time and space were pitted against each other to fight to the death. It was rumored that the High Council forced him back into retirement. Moving away from the Capitol, Rassilon secreted himself away in the Foundry for many years, where he returned into his research. Here he developed one last piece of technology - the Matrix - before building his own memorial, the Tower of Rassilon. His rare appearances had led many to presume that he was already dead, and when he eventually disappeared a sarcophagus was placed in the Tomb.
Like the Matrix Lords whose home he had constructed, Rassilon's consciousness lived on inside the Matrix, through which he maintained links with successive Presidents and also with the enlightened representatives of the most highly evolved races of the universe. Keeping a watchful eye upon the universe, he continued to exert his influence through various agents that included Shayde and the Doctor.
Eventually Rassilon's continued physical presence was uncovered by the eighth Doctor and President Romana, who also exposed evidence of Rassilon's darker side - of his crimes against the races of the universe now known as the divergents and of the xenophobic zeal he used to ensure that Gallifreyans were the dominant life form in the universe.
In an act of self-sacrifice, the Doctor banished both himself and Rassilon into the Divergence, an artificial universe built to house Rassilon's enemies. While the Doctor managed to return, Rassilon's fate remains unknown.
The Legends of Rassilon do hint at his final doom. It is said that once, long ago, "one mad prophet martyr journeyed too far and saw the Timewyrm. He saw it in a timeline that he could not be sure of, devouring Rassilon or his shade, during the Blue Shift, that time of final conflict when Fenric shall slip his chains and the evil of the worlds shall rebound back on them in war."
Influence
Rassilon almost single handedly established the traditions which were followed by Gallifreyan society since the fall of the Pythia. Perhaps by stealing credit from his peers, Rassilon was largely responsible for his own legend, presenting himself not as the short man he was in reality, but as a giant of great stature whose actions are central to the creation of the Time Lords.
Oaths are sworn in his name, having been corrupted into curses and profanities such as "Rassilon's Death!", Rassilon's Ghost!", "Rassilon's Rod!" and "For Rassilon's Sake!" .
Festivals such as Rassilon's Flag Day (the Gallifreyan festival of liberation from the Pythia's regime) are celebrated, whilst the symbols of Rassilon - the Gallifreyan Owl (his totem animal) and the Great Seal of Rassilon - are revered and represented, along with his visage, in many forms of traditional architecture.
The finest wine on Gallifrey has come to be be known as Rassilons Red, so-called because it may have been his favourite.
His legends have inspired the birth of several Rassilite cults and religions. To the Eremites he is Urizen the Architect – the blind man who measures and quantifies his dung, while deep in the lower levels of the Capitol the secretive Cult of Rassilon the Vampire worships a version of Rassilon who defeated his enemies by becoming like them. Many secret followers of Rassilon act as his agents on Gallifrey, ascending to take their seats among the Matrix Lords when they die.
Another Legend involving Rassilon is that of the Other, a member of the ruling triumvirate also known as Rassilon's Cat. The greatest legend of his legends lies in the mystery of his death, and the belief that he achieved the secret of perpetual regeneration - true immortality unfettered by the restraints of Gallifreyan technology.
| Created by | Robert Holmes; portrayed by Richard Matthews & Don Warrington |
| Gender | Male |
| Age | 3.5 billion |
| Species | Gallifreyan (Time Lord) |
| First Appearance | The Five Doctors (first mentioned in The Deadly Assassin) |
| Native Time & Place | Gallifrey, Year 0 onwards |
| Aliases | Arsilon; As Ra; Ras or Rass; Urizen the Architect |
| Occupation(s) | Solar Engineer, Leader of the Opposition, Founder and Lord High President of the Time Lords |
| Membership(s) | Neo-Technologists, The Council of Higher Evolutionaries, The Matrix Lords, The Time Lords |
| Affiliation(s) | The Doctor, The Kro'Ka, Omega, The Other, Rassilon's Cat, Shayde |
| Enemies | The Divergents, The Doctor, The Great Old Ones, The Pythia, Thrift, Vampires, The Yssgaroth |
| Known relatives | Haclav Agusti Prydonius (cousin), Peylix (cousin), Quennesander Olyesti Pekkary (nephew), Susan Foreman (last scion) |
| Base of Operations | Gallifrey, The Matrix and The Divergence |
| Other Appearances | Remembrance of the Daleks (novelisation), Legacy of Gallifrey, Gallifrey Chronicles, Cat's Cradle:Time's Crucible, The Tides of Time, The Stockbridge Horror, The Final Chapter, Seasons of Fear (off-stage), Neverland, Zagreus, The Next Life, Interference |
Rassilon has appeared in several different bodies or incarnations, although it is not certain that these are the result of traditional Time Lord regenerations or other means.
The Five Rassilons
| The First Rassilon | Rassilon the Vampire | President Rassilon |
| Matrix Lord Rassilon | Rassilon Reborn |
History
The earliest stories of Rassilon establish him as a man of great passions (such as when he won his factotum and manservant Thrift as a prize in a marketpace brawl) as well as being a leading scientist and academic who rose to a position of seniority within Gallifrey's scientific elite. This led to him becoming a political figurehead and leader of the Neo-Technologists, who opposed the rule of the 258th Pythia. As such he is credited with bringing the Intuitive Revelation to Gallifrey, replacing a culture of superstition and magic with an age of science and reason.
During the early days of his rulership, Rassilon maintained an office above the west wing of the Academia Library. Like his contemporary Omega, Rassilon was a stellar engineer responsible for a number of time travel experiments which would later form the basis for time lord culture. Together with Omega and another, unnamed hero of Gallifrey, Rassilon presided a ruling Triumvirate. However, as a figurehead for revolution he found himself blamed for bringing the Pythia's Curse down upon the people of Gallifrey, and found his researches diverted into finding a means of preventing his people's extinction.
There are rumours that Rassilon left no stone unturned in his quest for survival, waging against many races and plundering their darkest secrets. Some say he was marked by the Menti Celesti, Gallifrey's Gods, while others believe he became a vampire. Still others suspect that he went mad. Whatever the truth may be, he returned stronger an more resolute, bringing with him the secret of regeneration. He retired from politics to return to his time travel experiments.
Once in power Rassilon took an active interest in architecture, and was responsible for the commissioning of many iconic landmarks across the Capitol. This interest resulted in the creation of a number of hyperdimensional constructs including the Death Zone, the Foundry and the Matrix.
Collaborating with Omega, he developed the technology that would make his people lords of time. In the wake of Omega's death, Rassilon captured and stabilized the black hole that came to be known as the Eye of Harmony, whose energies used to place Gallifrey at the centre of the Web of Time and to grant the power to travel through time.
As the consequences of Rassilon's actions became clear, Gallifrey was plunged into a series of conflicts across time and space. It is uncertain how many conflicts there were, or with whom, but at the end Rassilon decided to took control of Gallifrey again, declaring himself to be the first Lord President.
During this period - known as the Dark Time - many of the Grand Artifacts were created, and Rassilon's disregard for the opinions of others led to political tensions. Rassilon's last folly was known as the Game of Rassilon, in which time-scooped warriors drawn from all over time and space were pitted against each other to fight to the death. It was rumored that the High Council forced him back into retirement. Moving away from the Capitol, Rassilon secreted himself away in the Foundry for many years, where he returned into his research. Here he developed one last piece of technology - the Matrix - before building his own memorial, the Tower of Rassilon. His rare appearances had led many to presume that he was already dead, and when he eventually disappeared a sarcophagus was placed in the Tomb.
Like the Matrix Lords whose home he had constructed, Rassilon's consciousness lived on inside the Matrix, through which he maintained links with successive Presidents and also with the enlightened representatives of the most highly evolved races of the universe. Keeping a watchful eye upon the universe, he continued to exert his influence through various agents that included Shayde and the Doctor.
Eventually Rassilon's continued physical presence was uncovered by the eighth Doctor and President Romana, who also exposed evidence of Rassilon's darker side - of his crimes against the races of the universe now known as the divergents and of the xenophobic zeal he used to ensure that Gallifreyans were the dominant life form in the universe.
In an act of self-sacrifice, the Doctor banished both himself and Rassilon into the Divergence, an artificial universe built to house Rassilon's enemies. While the Doctor managed to return, Rassilon's fate remains unknown.
The Legends of Rassilon do hint at his final doom. It is said that once, long ago, "one mad prophet martyr journeyed too far and saw the Timewyrm. He saw it in a timeline that he could not be sure of, devouring Rassilon or his shade, during the Blue Shift, that time of final conflict when Fenric shall slip his chains and the evil of the worlds shall rebound back on them in war."
Influence
Oaths are sworn in his name, having been corrupted into curses and profanities such as "Rassilon's Death!", Rassilon's Ghost!", "Rassilon's Rod!" and "For Rassilon's Sake!" .
Festivals such as Rassilon's Flag Day (the Gallifreyan festival of liberation from the Pythia's regime) are celebrated, whilst the symbols of Rassilon - the Gallifreyan Owl (his totem animal) and the Great Seal of Rassilon - are revered and represented, along with his visage, in many forms of traditional architecture.
The finest wine on Gallifrey has come to be be known as Rassilons Red, so-called because it may have been his favourite.
His legends have inspired the birth of several Rassilite cults and religions. To the Eremites he is Urizen the Architect – the blind man who measures and quantifies his dung, while deep in the lower levels of the Capitol the secretive Cult of Rassilon the Vampire worships a version of Rassilon who defeated his enemies by becoming like them. Many secret followers of Rassilon act as his agents on Gallifrey, ascending to take their seats among the Matrix Lords when they die.
Another Legend involving Rassilon is that of the Other, a member of the ruling triumvirate also known as Rassilon's Cat. The greatest legend of his legends lies in the mystery of his death, and the belief that he achieved the secret of perpetual regeneration - true immortality unfettered by the restraints of Gallifreyan technology.
Architecture of Rassilon
| The Grand Hall of Rassilon | The Foundry |
| The Panopticon | Rassilon's Rampart |
| Rassilon's Star | Rassilon's Wheel |
| The Tower of Rassilon (Tomb of Rassilon) |
The Great Artifacts
| The Demat Gun | The Great Key |
| The Great Seal | The Rod of Rassilon |
| The Sash of Rassilon | |
Inventions of Rassilon
| Bastards of Rassilon | Bowships |
| The Foxtrot of Rassilon | The Legacy of Rassilon (Regeneration) |
| The Matrix | The Profane Virus of Rassilon |
| Time Scoop | The Web of Time |
Lesser Artifacts of Rassilon
| The Black Scrolls of Rassilon | The Coronet of Rassilon | The Harp of Rassilon |
| The Horns of Rassilon (Sign of Rassilon) | The Key of Rassilon | The Loom of Rassilon's Mouse |
| The Ring of Rassilon | The Other Ring of Rassilon | The Runes of Rassilon |
| The Seal of Rassilon | The Star of Rassilon | The Sword of Rassilon |
Edicts of Rassilon
| The Directive of Rassilon | The Equation of Rassilon | The Game of Rassilon |
| The Laws of Time | The Pact of Rassilon | The Rassilon Imprimature |
| The Record of Rassilon | The Rule of Rassilon | The Scrolls of Rassilon |
| The Seven Strictures of Rassilon | The Triumphs of Rassilon | |
Latest page update: made by Metabaron
, Sep 8 2007, 2:50 PM EDT
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Edited by Metabaron
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3 words deleted
view changes
- complete history)
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