Paxton was born to an unmarried, poor, nomadic couple who made their living in the serpentwoods of Atlas, scouring for those rare, expensive items that the most dangerous forests of the unmarked world seem to be full of: priceless nuts, saps, and even exotic creatures of all shapes and sizes. These items would be painstakingly gathered, often alongside countless stings and gashes, and sold for a measly price to the traveling merchants whom they would find on the few roads leading through the forest. Paxton was an extremely bright child, and helped with his parent's gathering until he was 13, when both of his parents fell ill and died after handling a particularly vicious dire rat.
They died dirty, miserable, and in pain- and these deaths haunt Paxton every day. Paxton only escaped the brutality of Atlas by chance- he fixed the wheel of a struggled, scared, but fabulously wealthy merchant who traveled through his jungle on a laden cart with the objective of supplying the Kaz’Ulrah army in the Third Atlas Coalition War. The grateful merchant allowed Paxton to work alongside him, and soon discovered that Paxton held an unusual talent for bargaining with the tough dwarves. Upon the defeat of Kaz’Ulrah and subsequent slaughter of his dwarven allies, the merchant was forced to flee Atlas, and there Paxton found his ticket across the sea to Arcas as a deckhand. Paxton’s experience in the filthy jungles of the east created within him a burning desire to create a better life for himself- moreover, Paxton believes his miraculous escape to be a sign from a higher power. Paxton, as a young man still working with that same wealthy merchant in the ports of Arcas, is confident, loyal, and ambitious. He is determined to manifest destiny, and become the excellent man that the universe desires. He has developed a knack for winning friends and influencing people, and he uses that charm to cast a spell over many people he meets. This allows him to gain special priveleges and escape from tough situations with examples of social maneuvering that most others would find impossible to replicate. However, his deathly fear of dirt and grime often leads men to view him as physically weak.
