“ | But watching them... makes me feel an ominous premonition of sorts. | ” |
—Retrace LXXIII: A note |
Raymond Nightray (レイモンド=ナイトレイ, Reimondo Naitorei) was a minor character from Jun Mochizuki's Pandora Hearts. He is the ancestor of the Nightray Dukedom, having been head of the family over one hundred years ago before the Tragedy of Sablier occurred. In his era the Nightrays had been long time allies with the Baskerville Clan, and thus when they caused the Tragedy the Nightrays were suspected of treachery. Raymond then became labeled the "Traitor Duke" for the next century to come.
One century before Oz Vessalius's escape from the Abyss, Jack Vessalius caused the Tragedy of Sablier out of a twisted obsession for a woman named Lacie. In the disaster's aftermath, Jack created Pandora and the Four Great Dukedoms to rule over. Raymond had always suspected Jack's deception since before the Tragedy's occurrence and thus posed a threat; as a result Jack made the Nightrays one of the Great Dukedoms to keep a close eye on his enemy. Additionally he intentionally diminished their power by giving them the Black Winged Chain which could not be Contracted and the Door to the Abyss which could not be opened. And so for the following century the Nightrays lived in the shadow of the Vessaliuses. Raymond passed on a deep-seated hatred for the Vessaliuses through the generations that inherited from him. This hatred ran so deep and sinister that it eventually went on to cause the very destruction of the Nightrays, by creating the Headhunter.
Appearance[]
Raymond had black hair, a common trait among Nightrays, which he had slicked back. He also had intimidating, dark raven-like eyes and a black goatee to match his hair. Raymond often wore a solemn look on his face and coupled with his appearance and clothing, made Raymond and Claude Nightray very alike. Raymond dressed formally, often wearing a black overcoat with golden buttons and black pants. Raymond also wore an ascot of unknown coloring around his neck.
Personality[]
Raymond's personality has yet to be explored in depth, though he has been shown to be rather polite when speaking with Oswald. Raymond also appears to value Oswald as a friend, making it clear that he felt that something dark and dangerous would come out of Jack and Miranda's presences at the Succession Ceremony in order to try and protect Oswald and the Dukedom.
History[]
The Nightrays had been close friends with the Baskervilles for a long time, and so whenever an Succession Ceremony was underway, the Baskervilles would be excused from guarding the Door to the Abyss, and the men of the Nightrays would take over. Duke Raymond Nightray spoke with the Glen Baskerville at the time, Oswald, about the Succession Ceremony for Gilbert. He begged Oswald to cancel the invitations sent for the Vessalius and Barma Families, because even though both Oswald and himself had a good relationship with both families, whenever Raymond looked at Miranda or Jack, he got an ill feeling in his chest, though it was mostly Jack who brought this on. Oswald contemplated this, but ignored Raymond's warning in the ends after seeing how much Gilbert himself cared for Jack and wanted him to be at the Succession Ceremony.
Raymond and Jack were seen walking together through the Baskerville estate while the Succession Ceremony was taking place. Jack spots a woman sitting on the ground a short distance ahead of them, and greeted her kindly, asking what Miranda Barma was doing in a place such as the Baskerville estate, hiding the fact that the two had been conspiring against the Baskervilles. Suddenly a disturbance is felt, and Jack questions whether or not the Succession Ceremony had ended. The Succession Ceremony did in fact end, and Oswald was unable to use Gilbert's body as his next vessel because one of the Doors to the Abyss had been opened during the transfer of Raven into Gilbert.
After the Tragedy of Sablier, the Nightray Family name was tarnished just like the Baskervilles, as Jack immediately began spreading rumors that stated that during the Tragedy of Sablier,Raymond had helped the traitors who were attempting to usurp the government to escape the crumbling city. This was due to the closeness between the Nightrays and the Baskervilles. Jack invited Raymond and the rest of his Dukedom to join the Four Great Dukedoms so that they could hold a position above the other nobilities. In reality, Jack only did this to keep an eye on his enemy, and so Jack gave Raymond a Door to the Abyss. Unfortunately for Raymond, Jack gave him the Door which was guarded by Raven, who'd been bonded to Gilbert. Jack knew that Gilbert fell into the Abyss alongside Sablier, and so with Raven unable to contract with anyone else, neither Raymond or the rest of his family could form a contract with Raven. This made it so no one in the Nightray family could form any contract because the contract with Raven had to be completed first. Therefore, Jack was the reason that Raymond and his family were 'forced into the shadows', while Jack 'lead the Vessaliuses into the light'.
Relationships[]
Oswald[]
Raymond and Glen were on good terms with one another, as their families had been close friends for a long time. Raymond begged Glen to cancel the invitations sent to the Barma and Vessalius Families as Arthur Barma and Jack Vessalius made him feel uneasy. Raymond was a trusted friend of Oswald's and so, Oswald mulled over Raymond's warning, the only reason Oswald did not do as Raymond had suggested was because Jack's presence at the Succession Ceremony would please Gilbert.
Jack Vessalius[]
Raymond didn't want Jack at Gilbert's Succession Ceremony, as well as Arthur Barma, as he felt like something wasn't right because of the unease he felt whenever he saw Jack. On the day of the Succession Ceremony, Raymond walked with Jack throughout the Baskerville estate, possibly to keep an eye on him while the Ceremony took place. Jack didn't want his true intentions to get out, so he showed tainted memories to Oz Vessalius that stated that he was close friends with Arthur Barma and Raymond Nightray, as well as Oswald, though this proved not to be the case with Raymond, and Arthur was only being used by Jack to get to Miranda Barma.
Miranda Barma[]
Miranda has yet to interact with Raymond, but upon seeing Miranda, Raymond got an ill feeling in his chest, which prompted him to beg Oswald to cancel the Barmas invitation to the Succession Ceremony, as well as the Vessalius' invitation as Jack made him feel more uneasy that Miranda. When the Succession Ceremony day came, Raymond kept an eye on Jack as they walked through the Baskerville estate, and when he saw that Miranda was also at the estate during the Ceremony, Raymond glared at Miranda, wary of the two. Raymond's unease was justified as Jack and Miranda had been conspiring against Oswald to create a great tragedy.
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
- Retrace XXXIX: Gate of Blackness* (First Appearance)
- Retrace LVII: Humpty Dumpty had a great fall (Mentioned only)
- Retrace LXXIII: A note*
- Retrace LXXVIII: Decision (Mentioned only)
(*) - Denotes that the character did not appear physically, but as a part of another character's memories.
Trivia[]
- Coming soon!