Harsh and coarse as the sand, Jiri was determined to be the best at everything from an early age, even if he had to hurt others or fight dirty to do it. The fear of weakness and ridicule drove him so strongly that he had few friends, in fact, other boys his age were often afraid of him, and this suited him just fine. Over the years he clawed his way to the top and spent over a decade as a High Advisor to the sarkan, a position that he flaunted and occasionally abused. (He didn't really have any friends as an adult either.)

But rising to power is one thing, keeping power is another matter. Some of the villagers began to suspect he was gay- they never were able to prove it, especially as he took a young wife to keep up appearances, but the rumors only added to his ugly reputation. By the time he was in his late forties it became obvious Jiri's advisor days were numbered. His warped sense of pride would not allow him to hand over his title quietly, so one night he did an extremely stupid thing: murdered the younger man who was set to replace him.

His crime was discovered, of course. It didn't take long. If he had been a different member of the village Jiri surely would have been executed, but after some deliberation the other advisors sent him to wander the desert in exile. Whether this sentence was more merciful, or less, is up for debate.