Auctarion

Auctarion was born into a proud family in Senntisten.  Both his parents had been the ranks of Seargent and Intitiate of the Order of Saint Lucien,  and had met each other after years of enacting the will the of the Church of True Faith. His father often told the boy stories upon his return home of the religious conquests they had made in Elven Kingdoms and how they had vanquished heretics and pagans and the like. With the orders disbandment after its various feuds with the Raevir Orthodoxy, his father turned to Blacksmithing and his mother a healer. They ensured their son was educated enough to read and write - through the aid of their religious contacts.  His mother taught him some basics of alchemy, and he often watched his father work the forge.

However, it was not until he grew older that he realised that there was something strange about his parents, and he grew suspicious of there whereabouts whenever he was sent to bed, as he often suffered from ritualistic nightmares. On occasion they would go down to a room within their house , below that of the kitchen - a cellar- which he was always told had a rat problem and not to go down there else risk catching a disease . Many a time he would hear strange sounds and feel vibration in the upstairs at night. When the boy was 11 his curiosity sparked courage- he waited till his parents had gone in, and try to follow them to see what they were doing. His small size at this age meant he did not make much sound - he was able to get past the door without alerting anyone - he found himself in a damp, dark passageway. He allowed his eyes to adjust to the dim light. Finding his way through a snake of low tunnels , he arrived in a central cistern. He could hear chanting, in the voice of his parents! He peered round the corner of an archway, what he saw shocked him; his parents were conjurers, practising dark arts for years under their house! He saw all kinds of alchemical ingredients on shelves- ground bones, various plants, sheaths of skin, skulls and coloured salts. He saw glowing tables with pentagon engraves and runes of all kinds. He turned to flee- but the chanting ceased and through a purple sphere stepped a demonic creature- with dark blue skin, horns and glowing red runes across its chest. It appeared to have hooves and fire simmered in its palms. His mother began to chant more - little did Auctarion know, she was trying to bind the creature to their will,  and his father began to chant too.  The creature let out a deafening combination of a growl and raw that sent objects flying in all directions, shattering cups and pots. His mother and father felt to the floor from the blast, whilst the creature raised an arm, revealing a flaming scythe as if summoned by its own magic. With a fell sweep, it cleaned in two his parents, and turned its large neck towards the boy, it grimaced and began to move towards the archway. He ran for his life through the tunnels, there was no way the creature could fit behind him.  He ran with unwavering fear out the secret door, up through his parent's house and to the outside street, never to return. 

When he had left his parents house he had no other family, he was an orphan, and none of the city guards had believed his story. For the rest of his childhood he lived with other urchins and orphans, doing thievery and pick pocketing for local gangsters. When he had acquired enough gold , he left the city, travelling around the rest of the Kingdom of Marna, finding work here and there whenever he could. He would use his relationship with the criminals he had known in his youth to perform more dangerous heists- robbing stores at night or jewellery out of the house of the rich. Ever since that night his parents were killed practising their own magic, he had a strange calling. He wanted to find out what they were doing and why, and he often fantasised about becoming a wizard itself. He started reading old books about stories of wizards hidden in the world. He would speak to travellers and hear their stories of fabled mages. 

Eventually he heard rumours of a guild in a far away city, overseen by elves, where all were welcome to learn magic from the simplest of spells to the powers of fire and lightening to undo the fabrics of the universe. He set out to discover this place and learn more.........