Arbreth ‘Q’ Matthews was born in Shekland, Shekland. Matthews was a leader of the terrorist organization the Jaerian, and lead perpetrator of the Q Riots. The nickname Q came from the first anonymized report about Matthews. As was standard at the time the report anonymized all parties involved with single letters, Q was used to signify Matthews, and the name stuck. It is unknown if he is currently alive as the information has been kept form the public since the end of the Q Riots.
Early life
Matthews did not have a stable home life. His parents had originally worked manufacturing and labor jobs, but as the recession hit they instead turned to crime. By the time he was finishing high school much of his area of the city began to dilapidate, and so to did the conditions at home. Both parents took to alcohol and drugs, while Matthews began shooting amateur porn, and doing bar bets including back-alley fights, gambling, and “stunts” to help them pay the bills. Eventually his parents kicked Matthews out, and had him charged for assault after an altercation at home. He then dropped out of film school fully, and worked various jobs in labor, being a pharmaceutical test patient, and retail jobs.
Post-recession
A few years into the recession Matthew’s parents had lost the house. The nature of their deaths is unclear as no investigations were launched, but it appears to have likely been a double suicide. No known records are available, but shortly after this Matthews himself was contacted by a representative of the bank and he claims they coerced him into accepting their debt. Often called “will extortion” Matthews had unwittingly agreed to accept their debt when he acknowledged the existence of his parents final will. At the time it was illegal to force someone to accept a family debt, however if they did accept it in any way they were on the hook for it.
With Matthews now being forced to pay a second mortgage on a foreclosed and (unknown to him) demolished house he quickly spiraled downhill. Matthews had contracted spinal cereaphelosis from working labor in factories without proper protection from chemicals. With the additional debt he could no longer afford the medication to treat it, including the anti-psychotics. 6 months after being stuck with the new debt Matthews broke into the employee’s house who got him to sign the papers and burned him and his family alive.
Activism
Matthews began to get in trouble with the law frequently. Though he was never convicted of the murder of the employee and his family, he was convicted of dozens of assaults, batteries, trafficking, extortion, sexual assault, arson and various other crimes. After spending time in online forums Matthews started the Jaerian. Named after the Zarathem spider-god.
An illustration of Jaerian (unknown artist)
The Jaerian’s initially worked as a roaming militia engaging in armed attacks on construction and demolition groups working in foreclosed areas. Many neighborhoods began openly sheltering and aiding the group in their efforts as it was seen as a way to keep their houses from banks and investment firms. The group dawned masks similar to what is worn during some traditional fire festivals, and much of their symbology and messaging had ties to Zarathem religiosity.
This approach also included wearing bright colored hoodies and bright weapons. During one of the scheduled demolitions as the Jaerian intervened a mother and her child were caught in the crossfire. Publicly this was blamed on the militia fighting the Jaerian, however forensic evidence after the fact confirmed the shots came from a Jaerian rifle. However it was too late, with this loss as the catalyst the Q Riots began to take shape.
Post Q Riots
Matthews was caught after an explosion collapsed a portion of a building on his leg. He was found by emergency crew afterwards and was detained. Once his identity was confirmed Matthews was put under gag order and imprisoned, meaning his message could no longer be shared and his status is currently unknown. He was able to get one final message out before they identified him condemning the Kliever model, however the communication was cut short, so his opinions on the matter were never fully captured. After he was taken in the Jaerian fell apart as an organization. It is currently unknown where Matthews resides and if he is still alive. Civil rights groups and various activist groups have been fighting for details, however legally only his family are required to be informed and he no longer has any.