History:
Claius was born into the Erlish (YEAR-lish) family on the outskirts of the lands of Renatus. Growing up, Claius never having a place called home; the Erlish family never familiarized themselves with a city before setting course to another. As a result, Claius grew up with little company... no friends, no siblings, no guidance.
His father was a materialistic, money-driven merchant. A man who knew the trade well, he was able to meet the ends of his extravagant wife. Claius’s mother was a woman of reasonable beauty, which came at a hefty price. She demanded all the newest fashion good and apparel, and would acquaint herself with all the noblewomen to each new city they passed. Eventually, their husbands would end up partaking in their trade. In this way, both man and wife were constantly busy, feeding off of each others’ skills in an unhealthy, symbiotic relationship. This came at the expense of Claius’s childhood, and his parents were far from involved in his upbringing. Love, sympathy, restraint... none of these qualities of virtue were taught to him as a child, especially from his guardians. Truth was, neither of the two truly loved each other, nor did they love their “burden” of a child.
Claius grew up knowing exactly what his parents were: sly sycophants blinded by greed and profit. They would always impress on him notions of nobility and beauty. Claius was made to be a perfect doll, another piece on display to further their own egos and agendas. They would have him dressed up and taught etiquette and scholarly arts. While his parents were wealthy, Claius grew up miserable and possessionless. Even his body was owned by his parents, who pulled the strings to their every whim.
But that all changed when the Erlish family were ambushed by bandits along an expedition to Adria. Claius, by then, just rounded the age of 12. Normally, the merchant was very cautious about his travels, and before the incident they never felt threatened by such brigands. As such, they provoked the bandits, stirring up anger from their assailants. Claius watched from the back of the wagon as the men raped his mother, before proceeding to murder both of his parents. He then turned and fled. At first it was just adrenaline, but afterwards, he felt nothing. He didn’t have anyone forcing him to feel sad, or angry, or spiteful. He felt free.
Yet this newfound happiness proved to be short lived. Claius reached Adria after three grueling days, famished and fatigued. As Claius lived the nights alone and directionless, he came to realize that even protection offered by demons was still better than living through a frozen hell alone. He’d thought that his life came to an end just as it was beginning. He thought maybe it was better to just die, and be done with it. Yet, Claius fought to stay alive, stealing from street vendors, and fighting with the rascals and bastards for scraps. For years, it continued like this, and Claius learned to hate the noblemen who destroyed him, and hate the lowborn who fought him. Now in his teens, Claius developed a generalized disgust for mankind, caring only for himself and his own desires. Claius eventually started working as a freelance, spending the day performing various manual work and spending the nights in taverns, drinking and brawling. With this, Claius was able to earn his keep in the world.
Claius murdered his first victim when he was 20. It was a young woman, named Lainey, he had met on one of his late night drinking. He had met her for two days before he killed her, her resemblance to his mother both in appearance and character driving him into a cold blooded frenzy. In that moment, standing over the lifeless figure of the the woman, her garments ruined and accessories stripped, did he realize that she was beautiful--a natural, simplistic beauty that he never before understood in his life. It was at that moment when he started shedding tears, relieved to find something different in the ugly world that he knew it to be. This event marked the start of his search and obsession for true beauty.
Trouble stirred in Adria after Lainey’s body was discovered, and Claius decided to take his leave. Shortly after, he returned to his birthplace Renatus and settled himself there. Over the course of the next four years, Claius landed two more kills in Renatus. One when he was 22, and another at 23. While Claius doesn’t actively search for victims, he has an underlying compulsive nature that hides behind his commoner facade. Claius passes off as a hardworking freelance, but there is another Claius in the shadows--one that is wild, obsessive, and unpredictable.
RP goals:
Claius lives a semi-nomadic life. He moves depending on a plethora of factors, primarily looking for work suitable for him. He is well familiar with travel, and may frequently visit locations outside of his race. (In my current understanding of the lore, he’d most like be interacting with elves and humans). Claius still has these murderous tendencies, which may influence the actions he takes in the line of roleplay. I don’t have any grand visions for the character, so tentatively putting here that his character is prone to change over the course of the RP experience.
