Sylvio was born in the outskirts of Al-Faiz to a pair of wandering traders, Omori and Rania Kaviri. This pair had formerly been practitioners of medicinal arts within Al-Faiz, operating their business on the street for anyone who could not afford proper treatment. When they were discovered to be conducting questionable experiments on the sick that they would try to take care of, they fled the city to stay out of the hands of any law enforcement.
Sylvio was born after Omori and Rania had fled Al-Faiz, and so he grew up with only his parents for interaction as they wandered through the desert sands. Sylvio was very inquisitive for his age, and began to study under his parents tutelage, staying up late and pouring through the few books that the Kaviri family had brought with them, including the fables and stories of Magic.
Sylvio, two months after his 14th birthday, awoke one night to the sound of panicked shuffling and low-talking voices that didn't match either of his parents. His parents were not in the single tent that they had shared for the past twelve years, so Sylvio stood himself up and walked outside, and felt his heart skip a beat. His Parents were both sitting in the back of a wooden cart, their arms tied behind their backs, and surrounded by unknown men. Sylvio gasped softly, which drew the attention of one of the guards, who turned from his work to realize that there was an unknown boy standing in front of him. He turned around, knocking on his chestplate loudly to alert his crew to pay attention, before taking a slow step forwards. The whole crew turned their eyes to Sylvio, as Sylvio trembled in the entryway of the tent, frozen in place.
Sylvio was calmed by the guard who had spotted him telling him that his family was going to Al-Faiz, for they had committed crimes that they needed to repent for. Sylvio, still in shock, obediently climbed into the cart and left with the mercenary band for Al-Faiz.
An Impromptu trial, held in a makeshift courthouse, was held for the Kaviri family later that day. Sylvio had been told part of the truth from his parents, but he hadn't known the full scale of what they had done when they had worked inside the city. So, to be told that his parents had purposefully dissected many people all over themselves while they were still conscious was enough information to send Sylvio straight into an anxiety-attack. Omori hopelessly disputed these claims throughout the trial, but Rania broke down and told the court that their goal was to see if they could find a physical manifestation of the "Soul" within these people, keeping them barely alive in order to search for such a thing without resistance. When Rania was asked why they would do such a thing, she only shook her head and mumbled nonsense, before pleading for the trial to be over.
With a confession from Rania, both her and Omori were swiftly judged as Guilty, and sentenced to 26 years in prison.
Sylvio, as the last remaining member of the Kaviri family, was given the option to enroll himself into one of the orphanages within the city, or to seek refuge elsewhere. With Sylvio being left all of his parents possessions, he chose to leave Al-Faiz, telling his parents that he would come back when their sentence was done. Sylvio packed his one bag, nearly falling over from the weight of it all, but stayed standing, before heading back into the desert surrounding Al-Faiz.
For the next four years of his life, he lived day-to-day, just like his parents did, never thinking too hard to keep the loneliness and depression out of his mind, simply hunting for small lizards and birds for food, and collecting drink in any way he could, wandering through the dunes. One day, he stumbled upon a small pond in the deep valley of one of these dunes, with a small palm tree growing out from the middle of the water. The water looked more clear than anything Sylvio had seen before, and he figured this was a relatively safe place to stay, so he set up camp nearby and tried to fall asleep.
He awoke from his dreamless sleep to realize he was kneeling in front of the pool, his hands dug into the sand. He looked to his left, to see a vulture dipping its beak into the water, taking a long drink. Looking to his right, Sylvio saw more animals of different kinds, all relaxing and drinking by the water. Shocked, but too groggy to express his emotions, sleepily turned his gaze to the palm tree in the middle of the small pond, which pulsed softly. The palm tree had grown in size from small to a gargantuan tree, glinting with gold along the grooves imprinted on the trunk, and silver-embroidered leaves hanging from above. Sylvio, almost out of pure instinct, reached his hand forwards, dipping it into the cool water and planting them on the soft sand underneath. Looking to his left once again, he saw the vulture staring at him, its eyes looking much more intelligent than before. After a few moments of eye contact, the Vulture spread its wings and leapt off the ground, beating its wings to the same rhythm that the pond was pulsing too. Landing utop one of the tree’s frail branches, which somehow held the bird sturdy, the Vulture turned it’s gaze back to him. Sylvio suddenly felt immensely sick, as his mind was forced to collapse onto itself, with one word ringing from the Vulture’s gaze.
"Drink"
Sylvio's psyche was momentarily shattered, as he plummeted forwards into the pond, and upon contact with the water's calm surface, he awoke from his dream. He panted heavily for a few minutes, sweat dripping down his body, before slowly wiping his hand across his forehead. After staring at his wet hand for a moment, he gave is a cautious lick, realizing that he wasn't covered in sweat, but clean water. Rushing from his tent, he stared at the pond with the small palm tree, exactly the same as it had been yesterday, with no gold or silver anywhere upon it. And floating upon the water's surface was a single feather, slowly spinning in circles. With a shaky hand, Sylvio plucked the feather from the water, staring at it for a moment, noticing the thin lines of silver and gold along the center of the feather. And after a long moment of staring, he strode over to his tent, placed the feather gently into a side-pouch of his bag, before beginning to gather his things. He had to see what more there was. He couldn't be content with living alone, and not seeing everything there is to see in the world. And most of all, he felt overwhelming excitement, as he was sure that he had just witnessed real Magic for the first time in his life.
