Riga stands at four feet and eleven inches tall at the age of eleven, and the young boy continues to grow like a weed every day; if anything is to be gleaned from the statures of his father and brother, he still has a ways to go until he reaches his full height. His ear-length brown hair is usually messy and, at home, can often be picked through to find pieces of straw from the hay bales on his family farm. Dark brown eyes are deeply embedded into his face, dark eye bags clearly visible beneath them even when he has gotten enough sleep (which is rare).

The boy has a slender but somewhat built frame, having decent strength from chopping wood and carrying loads around the farm, and a round, youthful face with a pointed chin, giving him an almost elfin appearance when combined with his lightly tanned skin. This is negated by the scars that slash over his left shoulder, chest, and legs, though those are only visible in tank tops and shorts, which this nature lover never wears anyway.

Riga is a quiet and empathetic young man whose humble upbringings make him unused to social interaction and lavish surroundings. Koldovstoretz is already a lot for him, so imagine this shy presence on international trips! He is very down-to-earth and extremely loyal, but prefers woodcarving (his favourite hobby) or gardening/herbology to any sort of spellcasting or potion-brewing. Despite having a witch mother, Riga constantly fears that he isn't "magical enough", causing him to shy away from public performance of his magic. Studies in general aren't his strong suit, and he considers himself to be not very smart. #himbo

Kanat Dmitriyev Riga (or just "Riga") was born to a Kazakh Muggle-born witch and Russian magl on April 30, 2015, the second of their three children. His mother, Tazagul Riga, was Kazakh born and raised on a small farm in Ryazanovka, a descendant of the Kipchak people; she was invited to attend Koldovstoretz when she turned 11 in the summer of 1997. There, Tazagul was a member of Group 6, a Potions whiz and a prolific scorer as a Chaser on the school's Quidditch team. Her red hair and stunning bone structure made her somewhat of a heartbreaker, but it was not until she graduated in 2004, landed a job at the Ministry in Rasgorod, and began briefly living in Russia that she found the man of her dreams. Dmitriy Riga was a non-magical farmer living in the area, only three years Tazagul's senior, and Tazagul's job as a member of the Department of Magly Relations meant that she often spent her days convincing the local magly that there was nothing untoward in the area. Unfortunately, Dmitriy ended up being someone she just couldn't lie to.

*I love you →

Dmitriy took it like a champ when Tazagul explained her magical capabilities to him, and the two were married a few years later, in the winter of 2009. Though the Rigas wanted to start a family right away, their plans were dashed at the sudden passing of Tazagul's father, Oljas, in early 2010. Since he had run the farm upon which Tazagul had grown up, and her mother, Anelya, was in no shape to upkeep the fields herself, Tazagul and Dmitriy moved back to Ryazanovka and spent a year or so making the place their own. When they had nearly finished - with some well-placed help from Tazagul's wand - they discovered that she was pregnant with their first child, a boy born in the winter of 2011 and who they named Serkesh. Several years later, Kanat came along as their second son, and he was followed quickly by their youngest child and only daughter, Rayana.

With three children and only one magical relative in known history, Tazagul and Dmitriy were unsure as to if any of their babies would grow up to lead magical lives. As such, Kanat Riga grew up a farm boy in rural Kazakhstan, with an understanding that his mother was different and a knowledge that he might not be.

Raised by his father's steady and patient hand, and his mother's big dreams and strong ambition, Kanat was always the quietest of the three Riga siblings, having a fondness for nature, plants, and animals above all else. He was homeschooled along with Rayana and Serkesh, learning the essentials of reading, writing, mathematics, history, and science, as well as a basic understanding of the magical world in case he were to later be discovered a wizard.

The trio of siblings occasionally went on one-on-one trips with their mother to work in Rasgorod, and it was there that they learned of all the wonderful things that could await them if they gained their mother's powers: potions and spells and flight, oh my. Serkesh was the eldest and the most excited about this, followed by the enthusiastic Rayana, but Kanat was content simply to exist in his everyday life: schooling with his brother and sister, then working in the fields or tending the gardens with his father, and perhaps a magical puppet show or story to end the night with his mother when she returned from work. He never wanted to be anything more.

Unfortunately, life had other plans for him. Riga was only five years old, and his brother had just turned nine, in the deep winter of 2020. Serkesh was always the more boisterous of the pair, with less regard for nature and for animals, and he stomped ahead as the two explored the woods that surrounded the back area of their farmhouse on a freezing December morning, sending everything in a mile's radius fluttering or scampering away. Riga followed obediently and quietly, his dark eyes scanning for any sign of animals; he had always had a fondness for the snow-white rabbits and feathered ducks that roamed the area, and by this time most of them had recognised that the smaller boy was friendly and would even sometimes bring food (dried peas, fresh carrot tops, and the like). Serkesh's loud stomping and boasty chattering, however, was severely dampening Riga's ability to befriend the local wild fauna.

A movement in a small nearby clearing caught the younger brother's eye - it was one of those aforementioned rabbits, a small one, probably a youth. Riga's heart ached for it, all alone out here in the snow, and he moved towards it as silently and gently as he could, attempting to draw near without alerting his brother as to its presence. Serkesh was one of those people who was just as likely to suggest catching it and taking it home for supper as letting it go free. He was just inches away, slowly kneeling and reaching out a soft hand, when behind him came a loud voice: "Good job, Kanat, you found foo-" And then, just as energetically as Serkesh had begun speaking, he silenced, just in time for Riga to reach out and stroke the top of the bunny's head with an extraordinarily gentle two fingers.

It allowed him to pet it for a moment before turning tail and bolting into the nearby bush, dislodging a torrential downpour of snow onto the ground. Riga turned to thank his brother for having grown quiet to let him befriend the creature, only to find a horrified Serkesh staring at him with eyes the size of dinner-plates, his mouth moving yet no sound coming out. It took a moment for either of them to realise what had just occurred, and before Riga could so much as say anything, Serkesh turned and bolted much like the rabbit had moments before, sprinting at full speed back in the direction of the farmhouse; the younger brother followed his elder, but he was much shorter and with much slower little legs, and so there was no way he could catch up. Instead, he could only hear his brother's voice fading back in from the temporary accidental magic: "Mama... Maaamaaaaa!"

This magic instance caused Serkesh to begin harbouring a deep jealousy and hatred for his younger brother. Kanat became bullied relentlessly by the boy who had been his best friend for the first part of his life, which stemmed into a dislike of his own name following Serkesh's relentless teasing; "Kanat" sounded like the English word "cannot", which led to lots of "Kanat-read" and "Kanat-write". So studies had never been the young boy's best ability; so what? But what had started out as jealous teasing quickly became all-out warfare between the two brothers shortly before Riga's tenth birthday.

Over the last four years, Riga had grown used to being alone. Never a particularly social creature to begin with, he had lost his greatest friend in his elder brother since his first accidental use of magic had outed him as carrying their mother's magical talent - something Serkesh greatly coveted and Riga definitely did not want. Still, Riga had grown more withdrawn, even from his doting parents and excitable younger sister; no matter how much his enthusiastic magical mother tried to convince him to go on more trips to Rasgorod with her, to see the world that would be his future, Riga's best escape would always be the wilderness.

It had been a hard day, though the weather was beautiful; winter was beginning to fade, and the brightness of spring was on its way, bringing with it the promise of Riga's upcoming tenth birthday. Having found solace in solitude, the young boy finished his schoolwork as fast as possible after dinner, enduring plenty of whispered taunts in his ear about his terrible penmanship and slow reading and inability to pick up English, and received permission from his father to go check the traps in the woods. Normally, Riga hated checking the traps, especially at night - he had never been a fan of the dark - but he was armed with a torch, and none of the bigger predators who might have been lurking in the area would dare come near. Plus, he was in desperate need of some fresh air and therapy in the form of releasing whatever poor, small animal had found themselves caught in his brother's cruel search for the next morning's breakfast.

The first trap right behind the house, mercifully, was empty. The second was, too. At the third trap, a bit deeper into the wilds, Riga found a tiny bird with one of its legs caught; it was not too badly injured, though, and he was quickly able to free the little creature, which squawked gratefully up at him before flapping off into the shadowy branches. Traps number four and five were devoid of any animals as well, but it was on trap six that he discovered a gruesome scene: the trap triggered, but no prey remaining within. Only a thick smear of blood on the wet ground nearby, visible only just above the melting snow.

Riga felt sick to his stomach. Serkesh's traps had caught something, all right, but a predator had gotten to it before he had been able to free it.

If his stomach was tied in knots after the sixth trap, the seventh made it begin turning cartwheels. This trap had also been triggered, it was clear, but had been torn apart; rope and small parts littered the clearing, as if whatever had been caught had flown into a rage in order to free itself. None of the cuddly prey animals Riga so loved would have been able to do such a thing, and it was suddenly obvious to the nine-year-old that he was not alone in the woods. As if agreeing with him, the torch in his hand sputtered, sending shadows dancing in the thick trees surrounding him. Were they grey wolves, which tended to avoid the family farm after an incident with the chickens and Tazagul's powerful spellcasting a few years prior? Or particularly strong red foxes? A lynx or polecat?

Whatever it was, the young boy was too scared to risk checking the remaining three traps. Armed with the knowledge that he had at least saved one poor bird, Riga turned to return home, only to hear a rustle behind him in the bushes.

He whirled, immediately, his teeth chattering, perhaps from fear and perhaps from the cold. "Wh- wh- who's there?"

The low, throaty growl that rumbled deep in its chest was his only indication, but it was enough of a warning. Riga dropped the torch, his entire body sparking with fright, and he turned to run, sprinting only two steps in the direction of the farmhouse before he was caught. The pain bloomed almost instantaneously, first in his leg and then his chest and shoulder, as gleaming white teeth and sharp dark claws tore through delicate flesh like he was naught but a rag doll. A tinny, loud sound wailed both nearby and very far away as Riga writhed, trying fruitlessly to ward off his attacker, and only after the wolf had turned and left - leaving a mangled body drowning in the snow, scarlet blossoming around his limp form - did the young boy realise that the sound had been him screaming.

He continued to scream until Rayana found him, sent out by their parents to bring him back in after what they had assumed was an abnormally long walk in the woods, like he usually enjoyed. Certainly, though, the young Riga would never take a walk alone in this section of the local wilderness ever again - at least, not during a full moon.

Now, slashing, puckered scars mar the left side of his chest and shoulder, extending about halfway down his bicep; his legs also bear the distinct impressions of cutting teeth, though he is easily able to cover all of these with his usual Koldovstoretz uniform.

Suddenly, the bullying became much more severe; calls of "monster" began to echo through the farmhouse as his teenage brother, clearly a Squib at this age, grew even angrier and more jealous. Seeing the festering tensions between their two boys, Tazagul and Dmitriy attempted to save the brothers' relationship; Tazagul's deft hand at potion-brewing made it easy to calm the young werewolf during the full moon, though Riga did hate to choke down the disgusting Wolfsbane every month, which made it easy for him to stay at home. When he was invited to attend Koldovstoretz shortly after his eleventh birthday, that was the last straw, and Serkesh stopped speaking to his younger brother entirely. Though Riga had no desire to attend a wizarding school and would have much rathered staying home and continuing to work on the farm, his parents made the difficult decision to send Riga away to Koldovstoretz so that he could learn to appreciate the gift he had been given and also to put some space between the brothers in the hopes that such distance might begin to repair their relationship.