Cal had always had a strong wanderlust, as his parents had when they were young, though he’d hardly ever traveled anywhere. He spent the beginning of his life in the Rajdom of Thyra – or just Thyra, the capital of the Medri Negasi of Seyam – or just Seyam. He’d been an only child, and quickly learned how to read and write, which was the point he truly discovered how much of the city, much less the world he’d not known about. By age thirteen he’d sneaked into many a girl’s home and been chased away from even more, though to his chagrin he’d never actually held onto a lover for longer than a few months. By age 14, he’d learned the basics of treatment for venom related ailments. When his father, a venom farmer, had died been bitten and -despite the doctor’s best attempts and advanced venom treatment developed by the state- had died, his mother decided to move in with her brother at his farm. By this point, Cal had reached his 16th birthday, and was planning on joining the military, but decided to help with the farm instead. He continued this, until -on his 18th birthday- he decided that, in a few weeks, he’d leave to see the world, but during those weeks of preparation, the farm had been raided, and though the raiders had been few in number, they were strong and quick fighters, and by the time Cal had gotten his mother and young cousin, Amaya, to safety and returned, he found his uncle and several others slain, and the barn and house burnt to the ground, Cal wished he could’ve done something, though he wasn’t sure he would’ve survived if he’d not helped his mother and cousin. Cal and his mother decided the best thing to do was to move back into the old house, which his parents had held onto in case something like this happened. He’d spent the next year of his life doing odd jobs in order to obtain mina for care for his ailing cousin. His mother had found a job the year after that, and his cousin had gotten better soon after. Cal’s mother had fallen ill soon after, but unlike Amaya, hadn’t gotten better. it was at this point that Cal decided screw everyone else, that he wouldn’t fight for good or for evil, but for himself, he’d heard that wars were fought better with tongues than with swords, but he knew that a sword could silence a tongue so much quicker. Amaya -now 18- and Cal -now 21- said their final goodbyes to their mother and aunt as she passed, then to each other, before heading their separate ways, neither knowing where they might be the next day.
