Overview
Ren Wuye is the former shard wielder of Tianlei and the predecessor to Jin Leiyun as Tianlei's chosen. He once defended Thundermarch with Tianlei's lightning shard, then withdrew into Stormpeak and left his nation exposed during Jin's youth.
Powers
Ren wields Tianlei's lightning shard and bears its lightning mark. During the Shaoying-Thundermarch War, he descends from the sky, shatters cosmic and divine barriers, kills hundreds of soldiers in a single strike, and incinerates enemies with lightning. Ren retreats from the battlefield in flashes of lightning beyond Garrik's reach.
History
Garrik and Astrid seek Ren and Tianlei during the Shaoying-Thundermarch War because Garrik wants answers about Malverand and Eremion. They meet Isaac, and Ren leaves the battlefield before Garrik can reach him.
Decades later, Ren has withdrawn from service, and his name carries disdain across Thundermarch. Rumors at Cloudrift Temple put him in the Celestial Palace, living comfortably. The nation's border cities suffer, and his inaction feeds Jin's anger after Stormbrook and Cloudrift fall. Ren had once been a great wielder. Hesitation and fear later overwhelmed him. Feng Raoyun also accepts blame for Ren's collapse because he gave Ren everything he wanted while Ren hid, drank, and let the nation fall.
Ren is drinking in a Stormpeak inn when Jin kills him with a lightning-charged air blade. Tianlei offers Jin a pact immediately afterward, making Jin Ren's successor. After Ren's death and Tianlei's disappearance, Jin becomes the new shard wielder; Thundermarch later mostly reunites under Feng Raoyun.