Background Stories

Alex Steiner

My name is Steiner. I am what one might call an illicit acquisition expert, a professional of utmost repute amongst my trade, I assure you. I was trained by the best Ridica has to offer, the guildmaster of the Thieves’ Guild himself. I had been part of the guild since I was but a boy; my father a member himself, but he was nothing spectacular, unlike myself. The guildmaster saw in me a great deal of potential; he took me under his wing and tutored me in the art of larceny and other things aside. For years I trained, relentless as a ghant, developing my abilities, I became one of the best and went on to better even them, to become the greatest and by none too small a margin either. They had moulded the ultimate thief and as such I was given the ultimate mission: to pilfer those more precious artifacts from the collection of one I might describe as unnecessarily wealthy. But alas, it was a trap. Needless to say I was apprehended and thrown in chains, but there is neither a set of chains nor any prison from which I cannot spring. So I escaped my captivity, though it was not a trip by any means; but lord did it not shock them to find my cage empty of its catch! For not only am I the only one to have accomplished such a feat, but because such a feat was considered impossible to achieve; many have tried the same but all have perished in the attempt. The problem now is the extent of my fame, a considerable sum has been placed on my head by those who had imprisoned me; I am forced to haunt the shadows in the corners of the room, however unlikely it is that I might be recognised, which in itself is a chance that is slim indeed. As for those who have conspired against me, I will hunt them down, with all the considerable power at my disposal. I shall slink into their houses at night and bring forth righteous justice against those who sought my downfall.

The King of Eggs

To be completely honest ain’t much ever happened to me, I was born, I grew up, nothing special, wasn’t a rich family, just me, me mum and dad and me two younger brothers, we weren’t rich or nothing, that’s not to say that we were poor bastards either, no we made our way pretty good, lived on a small farm, grew most our food, I’d worked the earth since I was a lad, in my nineteenth year I left to find work on one of the big farming estates nearer the coast. I travelled for months living off the land wherever I could cause I didn’t have much money, as I was travelling I started seeing the signs, though I didn’t realise it at the time, I kept on going but when I got there it weren’t nothing like I expected, the king’s men had gone through and trashed the place, burnt up all the land because the owners wouldn’t pay the taxes. At that point I just started drifting, I ended up in some dark dank tavern one night, spent me last few coppers on some watered down beer and I sat in the corner thinking of where to go next, all of a sudden some of the king’s men barged in causing a ruckus, I stayed until late that night, watching them, eventually the last call came, slowly people got up paid their tab and slipped out the door and into the night, there were only me and the soldiers left, I was about to leave myself when the soldiers called for another round, the barmen told them to pay their tab and bugger off but you never say something like that to one of the king’s soldiers if you value your life, they’re arrogant bastards, got a god complex the lot of them, comes from running around picking on the weak, gives them a false sense of the power they wield. Well this bartender had just gotten himself in it thick, one of the soldiers pulled out a sword and asked the bartender how much they owed, don’t think they expected what came next, don’t think the bartender did either but he actually named a price, now that sent them over the edge, asking a soldier in the king’s army to pay what he owes is out of line today, I knew I shouldn’t get involved but three armed men against one unarmed butler just ain’t a fair fight. I stood up from me table and told them to bugger off before someone got hurt, it was the wrong thing to say, all three of them came at me at once and I didn’t have anything to defend myself with, so I grabbed the bottle of the table threw it straight into one man’s face, it wasn’t a well made bottle by no means, not smooth and quite thick, the man dropped like a stone, it stalled the other two for long enough for me to react, I picked up the chair I’d been sitting on and threw it at one of the others, it knocked them on their arse and while the last one was standing there like a stunned mullet, I took a few quick strides across the space between us and knocked the bastard flat. By that time the other one I’d thrown the chair at had gotten up and drawn his sword, he came at me with it swinging it like a mad man but when you grow up in the country with two brothers you quickly learn to dodge sticks, swords aren’t any different, I dodged his strokes then in an opening I planted me foot between his legs and he crumpled to the floor, dropping his sword I picked it up. The other one I’d dropped had gotten up and drawn his sword too, he came at me a little more cautious like then his friend, he lunged at me and before I knew what I was doing I stepped to one side and gutted the mongrel, it wasn’t that I meant to do it, just came on instinct I guess, I looked around, the one I’d thrown the bottle at had half his face caved in, and the one I’d kicked in the nuts was still moaning on the ground unable to stand, the bartender came over and stood next to me, gave me a look that said ‘boy are you in trouble’, then he bent down and grabbed the sword from the bloke I’d thrown the bottle at, I held up me on in defense but he wandered over and stabbed the guy still rolling on the ground, he looked at me again, a look that basically said ‘if you’re gonna do something then do it properly, now help me clean this mess up’. I stayed at the tavern that night, woke up the next morning and was about to leave, when the barmen came up to me, he introduced me to a friend, wondered if I could take care of some business for him, I was gonna tell him that last night was a one-time thing before he named his price, I hadn’t got a copper to me name at the moment so an offer of ten silver was hard to ignore. I never meant to enter the assassination game, but damn the pay is good and I’m good at it, or so I’m told, anyway you can call me Eggs, been known as Eggs since I was boy you see, I went to collect the eggs one day, walking into the kitchen I dropped an egg it broke on the floor and I slipped over on it, fell on me arse and every eggs I was carrying broke, everybody laughed and from that day forward everybody’s called me Eggs.

One rainy afternoon Rewind appeared, slowly walking down the road. He was just one of the many travelers displaced by the constant wars of the time. The weather worsened but Rewind continued to make his slow, trudging way through the town. Finally, an old man by the name of Richard stopped him.
"Son, surely you can't be thinking of continuing to travel in this weather."
Rewind looked up at Richard, his eyes dull. "Yes."
His one-word response somehow embodied a whole cartload of emotions. Moving around the old man, Rewind made to continue on his way; however, Richard placed a hand on his shoulder stopping him.
"Look, if the problem is money, I can pay for a room at the inn for you, or you can stay at my house. My own sons are long gone, so there's plenty of room …" Richard trailed off as Rewind looked back at him, eyes brighter than before.
For a minute Rewind studied Richard as if trying to figure out a complex puzzle. Finally he spoke: "Thank you. You can call me Rewind."
Once again Rewind had only spoken seven words but Richard could tell there was a deeper meaning to them. "I'm Richard; it's nice to meet you, Rewind." Richard stumbled over the name slightly. "If you'd just follow me we'll be dry in no time."
Without waiting to see if he followed, Richard took off adopting a brisk pace; his house was only 100 meters away, and he wanted to get out of this rain as soon as possible. As he reached his house he remembered how slow Rewind had been walking before; he looked back hurriedly. Unable to see Rewind anywhere, Richard sighed to himself; now he'd have to go back out and look for him. Deciding to get his cloak from inside his house first, Richard turned to open his door.
He nearly fainted with surprise to see Rewind standing there just to the left side of his door, his back leaned up against Richard's house and his long black cloak billowing in the wind. Without further ado Richard let both himself and Rewind inside.
The rest of the evening was uneventful. Richard showed Rewind where he could sleep in one of his son’s old room. Then he prepared dinner with both himself and Rewind eating in complete silence. Afterwards Rewind went straight to his bed to sleep, while Richard walked out onto the balcony of his room to think about what kind of stranger he'd invited into his home.

The next morning Richard woke early, he moved around the house with a bustling efficiency, catering to the everyday needs of his residence with practice and calm. Not long after he began, Rewind also rose from his borrowed room. Richard continued with his work, unsure of what to say to the stranger. By the time he finished he was both tired and hungry; moving to the kitchen he found a large breakfast already set out for him, and Rewind sitting at the table; hands folded, patiently waiting. Rewind motioned with his hand for Richard to eat.
"Thank you," Richard said before sitting down. The food was delicious and filling, and before long Richard was finished.
Once Rewind was sure that Richard had finished his meal, he began to speak, "Thank you for your hospitality; it was most kind of you. However, you're probably wounding who I am or where I'm going." Richard made as if to speak but Rewind sharply waved him to silence. "I am a traveler; I have walked many thousand miles and seen a multitude of countries, cities and towns. All the while I have been searching for something but I have not found it. Now, for the first time in many years, I feel a grounding of sorts. If you would let me I would like to stay here with you for some time, I'm not sure how long I will stay but while I'm here I will teach you some of what I have learned in my travels, and I will provide you with money for food and lodgings." Rewind stopped, he sat silently, waiting for Richard to think what he had said and make his decision.
Then Richard smiled. "I will allow you to stay on two conditions, you must promise me that you are an honorable and trustworthy person; and that you will give me nothing, as I have no need of charity."
Rewind also smiled, impressed by the tenacity of the old man. "Of course I only offer my gifts; I cannot force you to take them. However, I cannot promise you that I am honorable and trustworthy, as I myself do not like liars and therefore have no wish to become one."
Richard sighed, he knew this was going to be a challenging time in his life, but looking back up at Rewind his eyes sparkled. "You can stay if that is what you so wish; I always loved a challenge."

Many months passed, and both Richard and Rewind grew closer together almost like grandfather and grandson – but there was always distance between them. Every day Rewind would disappear early in the morning, only to reappear in the afternoon; each day he laid down a gold piece and a pile of food on the kitchen table. While Rewind was gone Richard’s life was the same as before Rewind had arrived: he made food and performed household chores; sometimes he would go out shopping. Richard never touched the money on that Rewind left on the kitchen table, he did however use the food that Rewind left to cook Rewind's portion of dinner every night. When both Richard and Rewind were at the house it was time for the daily lesson.
At first Rewind had taught Richard some things about cooking and housework that would make Richard’s life easier. However, as time progressed Richard had begun teaching Rewind things as well; every afternoon they each taught each other one specific thing, until one day Richard ran out of things to teach. That afternoon when he saw Rewind coming home, he walked up to him telling him to mind the house while he was gone.
Briskly walking through the town Richard felt better than he had in ages; his mind worked faster and his muscles felt as lively as they had when he was thirty. Still, he worried about what he was going to do, he didn't have anything to teach Rewind and while he knew that Rewind wouldn't mind, it still mattered to him. Finally Richard decided; he knew it might cause problems but he did have one more skill he could teach Rewind, and while he had left his swordsmanship behind years ago he still knew that he could do well enough to teach. Quickly stopping by the smithy, Richard chatted in a friendly way with Tom the smith, before leaving with a large, wrapped bundle that he carried in both arms.
When he reached his home he was surprised to see Rewind waiting for him; without speaking, they both moved down to the house basement that they used for the lessons. While Rewind stretched in one corner of the basement, Richard unwrapped his bundle – inside were two steel swords, two blunted iron practice blades, and two wooden training swords. Looking up at Rewind Richard spoke "I have one last thing to teach you. Although, the teaching will take many, many lessons and many more hours of practice. Then Richard’s mouth dropped as he saw what Rewind was holding.
The sword shone; it looked expertly forged, made from well-tempered steel, and in the hilt was set a large sapphire. It was without a doubt the most beautiful sword Richard had ever seen. "I was wondering how long it would take us to arrive here." Rewind spoke his voice soft and easy. "I'd almost given up hope of ever doing this."

Over the course of the next year the lessons continued; the only difference was that Rewind no longer went out anymore, he dedicated all his time to teaching Richard not only the sword, but also magic. Richard in turn taught Rewind everything he himself knew of swordsmanship, and by the end of the year a strong bond of friendship had grown between them. Then one night after the daily training, as both Richard and Rewind sat down to eat, Rewind brought out something for Richard – it was a necklace made of shimmering silver, and crafted so that it seemed made up of many individual strings of silver, and a gleaming sapphire hung in the centre. Most amazing of all was the inscription: the sapphire itself had been inscribed with text that Richard now recognized as magic, ‘The Crest of Friendship’.
Upon seeing the gift, Richard burst into tears. "I cannot accept this," he began to stammer, but Rewind would hear none of it, pressing the gift into Richards hands.
"You have been both my student and my teacher, and as much as I hate it, I will soon have to leave this place, so before I go please accept this gift of mine. For I still have one last gift to give: my story. I was originally just like many other teenagers of my homeland; I grew up dreaming to one day be in the king’s elite guard. Unlike most of my fellow daydreaming children, though, I actually made this dream come true. However, after several years in the guard I grew uncomfortable; from my position I had learned that the king of my country was corrupt and bigoted. Therefore, after much soul-searching I decided to leave the guard and my home country. I decided to travel and pursue my other dream, that of becoming a Mage, a scholar and a philosopher. I traveled for many years, learning all I could about the both magic and the nature of all things in the world, and pondering what their deeper purpose might be. Those times were simple, but still some of the happiest I've lived through. I lived off the skills I had learned in the guard, by employing myself as a mercenary or sometimes as a scribe. On my travels I picked up many useful skills, some of which I have now passed onto you. Finally, I found myself back in my home country; the corrupt king had caused the land to fall into civil war. Even though there was nothing I could have done, I blamed myself for the collapse of my homeland; I had left it to pursue my dream rather than stay and try to fix the problems I saw. As such I joined the rebels fighting the king and helped them to overthrow him. However, the new leader the rebels placed into power turned out to be just as corrupt as the one before, and even more power-hungry. Unable to do anything, I watched as my homeland was destroyed from within, and I vowed never again to act without first thinking through the consequences. I then set about resuming my travels and that was when you found me."

Richard was shocked by the story, and by the gifts Rewind had given him. Both he and Rewind spent the rest of the night talking of more trivial things and making jokes, before bidding each other goodbye and settling down to bed. In the morning Rewind left, he promised to one day return and spend time with Richard. Richard knew that right now he couldn't leave his village but he swore that the next time Rewind visited he would leave to go travelling with him. The bond they shared was that of not only teacher and student, but also of father and son.

However, it was several years before Rewind found his way back to the village, and when he did what he found there shocked and saddened him. Soldiers had come through recently, burning the village to the ground. Rewind hurriedly set about trying to see if anyone had seen Richard; finally one boy told him that he'd seen Richard stalking after the soldiers as they left. Thanking the boy, Rewind hurriedly set off following the soldiers’ tracks. The chase took several days and by the end of it Rewind found himself in the country of Ridic; the soldiers were in the employ of some local lord. However, Rewind wasn't sure if they had acted on orders, or if they had just tried their hand at some banditry in their free time. Rewind resolved to set about finding out the truth of the matter, and his loyal friend.

Supreme Overlord

Come, listen, to all that is my lifetime. Born on the ninth day of the first moon in the 12th year of King Raymus, in my parent’s manor house on the outskirts of Squidgehollow; I am the senior son of Brathun and Gintara, eleven years the elder of my twin brother and sister Sajse and Jasje. Mine was a simple upbringing; I did all those things a child should do, assisting my parents with the farm, looking after – and occasionally clashing with – my little brother and sister, growing, learning about this world an my place in it. I had friends in Sqiudgehollow Main – good, loyal friends – though at times dull, too comfortable with their lives to bother looking to the horizon, to the boundless possibilities offered by the world. I always dreamt my life would be different to that of those around me, somewhat more grand, I was restless in Squidgehollow, I came to hate the happy and contented look on the faces of the people, how could they live like this without wanting more, I would be damned if I was to my families legacy a small but fertile plot in some backwater village.
Some may think it arrogance, but compared to all those I had known I considered myself ‘special’ or ‘different’; now maybe it started as by-product of my parents being too encouraging and seldom critical, but it did not stay that way; at first I didn’t even realise what I was doing, I just passed it off as coincidence, but eventually I began to take notice, I became aware of some form of latent powers that were surfacing within me.
I became obsessed with my new found abilities; I trained in secret with whatever time I could steal away. By my 19th year I had become an adept at their usage, I was eager to show the world my powers to awe and amaze, and maybe to some extent horrify; I decided that during the Pearl Moon Festival I would give Squidgehollow a performance to remember and what a performance it was; I will always remember the look on their simpleton faces when one of their own showed such that they thought impossible, their gasps a mixture of awe and fear. At the conclusion of my performance, while all were still stunned to silence I announced my imminent departure from Squidehollow, as I left the only place I had known in search of the new. I amused myself with thinking on the dreams such simple farmers would have tonight, of me in the heat of battle, leading some great force or against some fierce beast, my powers great and terrifying. An amusement only as I, Xerias, took my first steps towards excitement.

Brendothatsme

I was born in the swamps of Aqis - hell on Earth - where existence is nothing but kill or be killed. The trees kill the sunlight, the frakhound kills the man; everything in Aqis has evolved for death – my people included. We were once a great race who ruled over endless lands with an iron fist and powerful magic; we thought ourselves unmatched in strength … but we were wrong. Eventually our lands spread to border that of Henestia, an ancient land where ancient men tread; our armies attacked theirs and were utterly defeated. The Henestians ruled that ours was a cruel race that held to exterminate or subjugate all those weaker than ourselves. Their armies pushed us back over the lands we’d conquered; and when we reached the ends of those lands they pursued us still, intent on our destruction. We were forced to take refuge in this land of swamps and mires, where none other would dare to tread. Many of those that entered were sucked into their depths, others were killed by the creatures there, still more by the toxic plants and air – but a few of us survived and evolved.
I was born to these survivors, the descendants of those few hard and bitter people. Our bodies have become immune to the poisons of the plants and animals, our blood runs thick with the stuff; our eyes adapted to the utter darkness under the trees, sharpening beyond that which is normal; our hearing too improved; and our reflexes were heightened to near precognition – all in an attempt to stave off the death that awaits within the marshes. It was not only our bodies that evolved though; in the darkness of the swamps my people learned a new kind of magic. A dark, black, forbidden magic, that which poisons both user and recipient. As I said, poison means nothing to my people, for we are immune to its effects, but to others we can poison their bodies and their minds, and with our poisons running through their veins we can bend them to our will as we did when we were kings.
I was always considered powerful. It is tradition amongst my people that upon surviving to the age of five a child is abandoned in the swamps, and there they are to survive until they find their way back to the tribe. It is a trail of constant assault: you cannot fall asleep, you cannot even become tired; if your eyes or ears are not alert you will die; if your reactions are not as lightning you will die. The dark is filled with uncountable dangers, and if you survive the ordeal you are placed amongst the tribe by means of that which you overcame, that which you killed. Some kill nothing more than a frakhound, these people become the servants; others like those that had killed a scorkooma become heroes among men; but yet others still, others like me who face down a draknor – we become kings.
But there can only be one king; when The Ruler found out what I had accomplished he ordered my death within the hour. I was only five, and yet he saw me as a threat to be extinguished. He ordered the tribe against me; I was strong, but even I couldn’t handle such overwhelming odds – not then at least. I escaped capture and certain death by fleeing to the dark core: a place in the swamps where even my people would not entre, and for good reason. It was the worst kind of hell, an endless torment without respite, but I survived through the pure power of the hatred that surged through my veins: they would pay, they would all pay.
I don’t know how long I spent in the dark core. I had not counted the days or years, but when I emerged I was no longer a boy and I was stronger than ever. I returned to my village in the middle of the night and slaughtered them all – every man, woman and child. I slit the throats of those who dared to sleep, and those who dared to wake I ripped to pieces. Some may argue that while I survived in the dark I became more animal than man, incapable of mercy, or sympathy, or any other kind of emotion other than a pure blinding rage. But even in my rage I saved him for last; the king who had driven me to the core like the Henestians had driven us into Aqis. I had something special planned for him. As I stood before him soaked in my people’s blood I called it forth from the deepest part of the swamp, I had bent it to my will so completely and utterly that we were of a single mind and a single purpose – revenge. The draknos leviathan crashed through the trees of the swamp and levelled my former home; at over two hundred metres long it was inconceivable that such a monster had escaped our attention for so many years, but I had found it and I did not simply kill it; I broke it, as proof that I was the true Ruler.
As I set my pet onto him he screamed like a bitch, and as my draknos leviathan sawed him in two with its rows of razor fangs, my rage vanished to be replaced with nothing; a cold, empty, nothing. I looked around at the destruction I had wrought, and decided there was no reason to stay. I left the swamps of Aqis behind and entered a strange new world of light, of wind; a world where no dangers lurked. It was so different from my own. I travelled for a long while, but I eventually found a village. I couldn’t speak the inhabitant’s language – my own was no doubt some ancient throwback to the long distant past denied us – but these people were not Henestians. I stayed in the village; though most people tried to avoid me as much as possible, I learned of their tongue and their metal pieces; of their necessity and a way to receive them. I was hired to hunt down others and bring them back dead or alive to those who gave the metal pieces. I was good, really good; and that apparently is what drew the attention of the King. He promised me as many metal pieces as I wished if I would hunt down the magic-born and make sure none were left standing in the end.