Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 iramus Oct 13, 2006 17:25:22	I thought it might be helpful to start a thread to share ideas on backgrounds for starting characters. Here are some I've come up with for eight 1st level characters in a Karameikan campaign I'm starting to run next week using Cyclopaedia Rules. Anya Petrov - Female Cleric Of Traladara. Born to impoverished Traladaran homesteaders, at the age of four your family life was shattered when a small band of roaming brigands decided to pillage your small community. The few adult males were quickly put to the sword by the ruthless raiders and the womenfolk were brutally raped and murdered. You owe your life to the quick thinking of your older brother Boris, who managed to sneak both of you out of the mayhem and into the nearby forest. Your ten year old sibling struggled bravely to fend for you both. Fortunately within two days you were discovered by a group of Callarii Elves who took you both under their wing. Assuming that you and your brother would be better off being brought up by fellow humans the elves escorted you both to the nearby village of Zannik, where you were taken under the protective wing of a kindly Traladaran priest named Ivan Kovic. Being brought up under the influence of religion had a great bearing on your philosophical outlook and you embraced the teachings of the Church Of Traladara. As you grew older you took it upon yourself to become a Novice of the church at the age of eighteen. After your brothers shearing ceremony he spent several years as a hired man-at-arms for travelling merchants. Later he returned to the remnants of your original homestead, reclaiming it as his own. Recently you went in search of a missing elf who had been seen entering a supposedly haunted tower a few miles north of the village. Unfortunately the elf was dead but you did manage to rescue a grateful halfling named Halfric Broadbelt and also the former owner of the tower, an alchemist named Albertus, who had been trapped in a magic mirror for many years. These actions led Ivan Kovic to suggest you might serve the Church by taking care of the spiritual needs of any foolhardy adventurers of the faith, hopefully strengthening their religious bonds in the process. Thus you and Halfric decided to set off on the road to the northern town of Threshold, supposedly a haven for anybody in search of adventure. Dmitri Dracov - Fighter. Fathered by a major Traladaran clan leader and born to a mother whose father was the Thyatian seneschal of Baron Desmond Kelvin I, you have been brought up within an environment of privilege. Your father is Josef Dracov, one of the three major Traladaran clan leaders in the Kelvin region. On the establishment of the Grand Dutchy your Traladaran grandfather decided it would be wiser to assimilate into the new Thyatian political order rather than oppose the new regime, a wise move. He persuaded your father to join the military ranks of Baron Kelvin’s garrison and it was whilst working for the Baron that he met his future wife, Claudia Darakin. After fifteen years of loyal service the Baron granted your father a Court Lordship. Your mother has great aspirations for you, especially seeing as both her now deceased father and her husband have both achieved Court Lordship. She is hoping you go a stage further and are granted your own fiefdom. With these hopes for your future prominent in her thoughts she was none too pleased when you announced you were ready to be ‘sheared’. She was hoping you might ignore this traditional Traladaran rite of passage since you are half Thyatian. Your father however was relieved that he didn’t have to approach you himself on the subject of your shearing ceremony. He hosted a great feast in your honour, to which many prominent personalities of Kelvin attended, including Baron Desmond II himself. After solemnly dressing you in basic travelling gear and shearing off the bottom of your cloak he proudly bade you farewell. You set off on your travels accompanied by your friend and drinking partner, the half elf Eltharion. Eltharion - Half-Elf (Stats as an Elf) Born to an elven mother and a human father, you are one of the few half-elves within the Grand Dutchy of Karameikos. Your mother had a passionate liaison with a Traladaran trader, a unison that eventually resulted in your birth. You never knew your father, who according to your mother deserted her for ‘some sleazy harlot’ before you were born. Whenever you broached the subject of your father she always refused to discuss him further so eventually you gave up asking. Your mother runs a smart hostelry in Kelvin known as ‘The Tree Of Life’ in partnership with Sergei Lazarencov, current head of the wealthy Traladaran clan of the same name. The inn is frequented by the more affluent section of Kelvin society and also many elven visitors to the city seek out the place on arrival. Your distinctive good looks have made you a magnet for the attentions of several young Traladaran barmaids in the past and over the years you have developed a flirtatious rapport with Traladaran women in general. Lately however a beautiful young lady named Katrina has had a major impact on your affections and you’ve developed strong emotional ties with her, as yet unconsummated. Unfortunately she is the daughter of your mother’s business partner Sergei Lazarencov and he reacted furiously when he found out about your relationship, mainly because he intends she be married to someone of wealth and prestige, not some “mongrel half breed”. Insulted by Sergei’s comments and astounded that your mother didn’t rally to your side you have decided to leave Kelvin and embark on a life of travel and adventure. To this end you have decided to accompany your regular drinking companion Dmitri Dracov on his journey to Threshold. The player does not know that Sergei Lazarencov is infact his half brother and Katrina his niece! Obviously his mother knows and thats why she is keen that his budding romance be 'nipped in the bud'. I've also given the character a special skill - 'flirt with Traladaran women'. If he suceeds in a roll vs charisma the female is forced to roll against her wisdom, if she fails she has fallen for his flattery in a similar way to charm person. Only one attempt can be made, if the attempt fails the woman will always be immune to further attempts. Farolas and Borric Stonefist - Dwarves. As identical twins are extreme rarities in dwarven society, your birth caused a bit of a sensation within the community of Highforge. Your proud father assumed your uniqueness somehow signified you are both destined for greatness and has geared your upbringing towards the life of an adventure ever since. This situation suits your older brother who is quite happy following in your father’s footsteps as a master stonemason. Your father paid for a weapons expert to train both of you in the art of wielding the war axe to good effect. He also had expensive weapons made, each of you being presented with your personalised dwarven war axe at your sixtieth birthday celebration a few months back. Finally you have decided it is time to depart on your quest for fame and fortune. Bidding your family farewell you set off towards Threshold in search of adventure. Both characters gain a +1 to hit bonus with their Dwarven waraxes. Glynador - Elf You hail from a small elven community in the Radlebb Woods, south east of Rifllian. Your mother died during childbirth when you were young. The child she bore died shortly afterwards, leaving your father to bring you up single-handedly. You have never really been content with life in your community, the mundane routine being the source of your disillusionment. You have always aspired to a more exciting life style and a chance to adventure beyond the boundaries of the forest. Recently you were approached by the village elders who realised you weren’t happy with your role in life. They announced that you could leave with their blessing and they provided you with a modest amount of gold to help you on your way. They are hoping you will one day return and take up a leading role in the community, using any knowledge gained in the outside world to promote the interests of Callarii Elves. You arrived in Threshold several days ago. During a game of cards in a local hostelry you acquired a treasure map that was put up as a stake by a passing merchant. The map points to the location of a supposed cavern complex that was once the lair of a powerful mage. The dungeon is said to be named the Caverns of Quasqueton. You intend finding a group of trustworthy adventurers to help explore the dungeon. Halfric Broadbelt - Halfling. You hail from the village of Verge in Northern Karameikos, your family making a living from a small distillery. The spirit drink produced is known as ‘Shire Fire’, a potent alcohol content and fiery aftertaste making it a big hit with the locals. However, you and your older brother always yearned for excitement instead of the rather mundane routine offered by the family business. Several weeks ago the two of you decided to act upon your adventurous spirit and embarked upon an exploration of a nearby tower, reputed to be haunted. Things turned out disastrously and your brother was killed when you stumbled into the lair of a dozen or so ‘giant’ spiders. You yourself were only saved from an agonising demise by a female novice of the Church Of Traladara named Anya Petrov. You returned home with your brothers’ body and your family was drowned in sorrow. Your father pleaded with you to give up your “suicidal dreams of glory” but you are determined to make a name for yourself, not least out of a belief that your deceased brother Toby would have wanted you to carry on the life of an adventurer. Thus you have decided to accompany your saviour Anya on her journey to Threshold. Kaiser Sosi (Kaiser The Knife) - Thief. Your original name is Victor Kursacovic and you were born into a family of impoverished Traladaran homesteaders. Your father was a brutish bully who constantly beat you from an early age, often with little or no provocation needed to invoke his wrath. Countless times you cowered in fear of another unwarranted assault from your supposed protector. Your mother and two younger siblings fared little better. At the age of eight you decided to run away, heading to the city of Kelvin. With no means of support you had to resort to petty thievery to survive. One day you were caught red handed as you tried to pick the pocket of a man named Josef Sosi, who turned out to be the leader of a group of travelling acrobatic performers. When the kindly gentleman asked your name you lied, telling him your name was Kaiser. Instead of reporting you to the authorities he took you under his wing and you became an apprentice member of his troupe. He taught you how to throw knives with great accuracy and this became your profession within the group. You admired Josef and decided, with his blessing, to adopt his surname as your own. Thus the name Kaiser Sosi, or Kaiser The Knife as you are more readily known. Around a year ago the troupe was disbanded when Josef passed away. You decided to stay in Kelvin and have been earning money putting on the occasional show. Recently you were approached by a well to do Thyatian woman who offered you 25 G.P per month if you would secretly help protect a young man named Dmitri Dracov, who has recently been ‘sheared’ by his family. Under no circumstances must he discover the details of this agreement, as it goes completely against the principles of the shearing ceremony. Dmitri would quite rightly feel ashamed and angry if he were ever to find out. As instructed you followed Dmitri and his half elf companion to Threshold. You are to report on his whereabouts and well being once a month, a message to be relayed via the landlord at the “Merchants Rest” hostelry in Threshold, who will then pass on your monthly payment. Upon completion of his shearing you have been promised a bonus of 500 G.P. Kaiser has special knife throwing ability. In his first attack he can throw two daggers with a +3 to hit bonus.
#2 goobulon Oct 13, 2006 18:49:57	I like these. The half-elf reminds me of a twist I came up with for a pc in my campaign: In Mystara there are no half-elves. Children of mixed marriages are either elves or humans, never a weird mix. That would be fine, except elven children of mixed marriages are sterile to other elves. Elves have a slow reproductive rate anyway, so these 'half-elves' are particularly troublesome. They are generally treated as second-class citizens and encouraged to make their fortunes outside the forest. In elven they are called the "sereghad," the two-bloods. Most of the sereghad become adventurers and wanderers, later in life returning to the forest in honor. While mature and experienced sereghad are welcomed, few are ever accepted completely into elven society.
#3 barons_man Oct 14, 2006 15:12:56	Sorry another set of twins. Goanos Kostov (Fighter), Milos Kostov (Thief) Twins born in Luln to an escaped slave Iryna, who hails from the north west of Traladar. She speaks not of the father except that he was from the Black Eagle Barony. She makes a living as a cleaner in the Traladaran temples. Life has been hard for the family with Milos disposing of the night soil since he was 10, and Goanos toiling in the smiths for a pittance, scraping enough money to get by. Both have suffered from being half Thyatian, with the 'pure' bred children taunting them, for their looks and lack of father. Goanos reacted by fighting all comers, Milos's revenge usually happened from the shadowy depths of the night. They both have a desire to find who their father is and extract retribution for their mothers sake. Recently good fortune favoured the family, when Milos “found” in some night soil a piece of jewellery valuable enough when dismantled to provide money for the poor equipment that only Luln could supply. The Barony is a tough nut to crack, so adventure first, then destroy the slavers, before vengeance can be theirs. Note: These were from some time ago and the campaign has ended. They managed to get to Threshold, some of the B1-9, various X modules, the A1-A4 slavers modules (cursed by Bargle to wear the mark of their father on their faces - Black Eagle). But did not find out about, female slaves or orcs, a wand of polymorph, and subsequent children, and the mad wizard who wanted the Barony to be contested forever when the current Baron was killed.
#4 iramus Oct 06, 2007 17:21:50	Some more character backgrounds - two clerics of Traladara, two dwarves and two elves. Ivor Romanov - Cleric of Traladara. You hail from the capital Mirros/Specularum. You are one of seven children born into a life of poverty. When you were young your father was involved in an accident whilst labouring in the docks, an event which resulted in the loss of his right arm. He had to resort to begging to provide income to feed the family, an act which he felt deeply degrading. Your mother died giving birth to her seventh child. As soon as your three elder sisters were old enough they found menial work to help support the family and somehow you all struggled through. You were sent out to beg from an early age along with your two younger brothers and baby sister A kindly cleric regularly gave you a few coppers when he passed by and one day he offered you a placement as an acolyte of the church. The offer of food and lodgings alone was enough to persuade you to accept. You soon embraced the theology of the church and have spent the last five years carrying out menial tasks for the organisation around the capital. A few months ago you were offered a placement in Threshold due to the unfortunate demise of one of your religious brethren there. You didn’t really want to go but felt obliged. Thus you set off for Threshold by boat, leaving your family behind. You are hoping to return to Specularum in the near future and as well as donating a 10% tithe to the church you also intend sending a regular supply of money back to your family to help relieve them from their poverty. Serge Abramov - Cleric of Traladara. You were born into an impoverished Traladaran family in Specularum. Your father has spent his entire life earning what he can doing backbreaking labour around the city, which gave him just enough to rent a hovel and put bead on the table. All you’ve ever known is poverty, never even having enough for a pair of shoes. You have two sisters, one a year older and the other three years younger. At your Shearing Ceremony your father presented you with a small amount of money that he had been saving up over the years. He is hoping that you will return wealthy enough to look after the family. The Church Of Traladara had always held a fascination for you as a child and once sheared you only had one goal in mind, to join the clergy. You were accepted into the ranks of the church and have spent the first twelve months doing the work of an underling in the capital. Recently you were offered the position of an Acolyte of Traladara based in the northern Barony of Threshold, a post you readily agreed to take. You have finally arrived in Threshold after taking the weekly boat journey from the capital. Drogber and Gimli Ironfist. You are first cousins, both hailing from the Ironfist family. The Ironfist’s, although renown as the most disruptive and boorish members of the Stronghollow clan, comprise a core element of the security sections of the Dwarven Highforge community and thus are tolerated despite their flaws. Gimli is the son of Dumzil Ironfist, a seasoned adventurer who, when drunk (which is a regular occurrence), has the most viscous of tongues. He also had an unhealthy appetite for gambling, a vice that has seen him lose most of the fortune he gained whilst adventuring. Thankfully this compulsion seems to have abated somewhat. Dumzil has aspirations of setting up a mercenary unit made up of family members, a scheme that could well provoke the ire of the majority of the Stronghollow clan if ever put into practice. With this goal in mind he has persuaded all the younger members of the family to set out on the path of adventure, where they will hopefully gain valuable combat experience and wealth to finance his grand schemes or die trying, a premise that Dumzil seems happy to gamble upon. Thus the two of you have been told to head for Threshold, a town which is a haven for budding adventurers such as yourselves. Quantrell. You are a Callarii elf who always yearned to venture into the lands of humans and other races. Upon reaching adulthood you embarked on the ‘Wanderers Path’ and the chance to adventure in the world beyond the Radlebb Woods, your sanctuary since childhood. You intend spending many years interacting with other races and cultures so as to understand their wants and desires. You feel this experience will benefit yourself and your fellow clansmen. Wanderers are honoured as heroes in your own culture but also treated rather warily by forest elves who do not understand this wanderlust. You hope that upon your return your knowledge will be put to good use by your people and you also harbour a desire that it might levitate you to a position of high importance within the elvish community. Allanador the Vengeful You are a Callarii elf who has embarked on the ‘Wanderers Path’ and the chance to adventure in the world beyond the Radlebb Woods. Wanderers are honoured as heroes in your own culture but also treated rather warily by forest elves who do not understand this wanderlust. You originally hail from the Dymrak Forest but your home village was destroyed many years ago by a roaming goblin war band. Your father and many other brave warriors were killed defending your home. Fortunately they did not die in vain, as their heroic defence allowed most women and children time to escape the carnage. Although you were one of the lucky ones to escape you attained a severe injury from a goblin attacker that affected your constitution in later life (Con = 6). Your mother settled in the safer Radlebb Forest to the west and later remarried. You aspire to eventually rid the Traladaran forests of all humanoids, in vengeance for the destruction of your home.
#5 iramus Dec 11, 2007 18:47:03	Eight more character backgrounds for your perusal. Gideon Wellhausen – Acolyte of the Church Of Karameikos You hail from a prosperous Thyatian homestead that lies north of Specularum. As a child you were heavily influenced by the strong religious beliefs of your community. After your ‘Shearing’ ceremony you travelled to the capital and successfully petitioned to be ordained into the clergy of the Church Of Karameikos. You recently achieved the title of Acolyte and your church superiors nominated you to organise a mapping expedition on behalf of Lord Alexius Korrigan. You have spent the last couple of weeks assembling a party of adventurers to accompany you on your mission to map the wilderness region to the west of Verge, a small village in the north of the country. On arrival in Verge you are to report to Sir Retameron Antonic and present him with the official sealed document you are carrying. Elouise Letchcov – Female Magic User You were born to Traladaran parents living in Specularum. Your father is the caretaker at the Guild of Cartography. After many attempts he finally managed to persuade one of the guild members to take you on as an apprentice. You didn’t disappoint and soon learned the intricacies of the profession. Your employer realised you had more potential then mere map making and he introduced you to a mid ranking member of the Magicians Guild named Ella. She was suitably impressed and offered you the chance to study magic under her tutelage, a position which you eagerly accepted. After two years of study you are now ready to put your skills to the test in the world beyond the walls of the capital. You have accepted an invitation to join an adventuring party being assembled by Gideon Wellhausen to map a wilderness region north west of Verge. Olindell and Dathanador – Callarii Elves You are cousins and members of the ‘Fetelis’, a small order within the Callarii who share a belief in empowering the mind through the study of riddles and puzzles. This order often serves the role of strategists and tacticians. This group also studies the social aspect of warfare. They emphasise alternative means to defeat an opponent rather than direct physical combat, the use of magic being one such means. They also prefer non lethal method of disabling a foe if at all possible. (Double X.P awarded for any foe defeated without resorting to physical hand to hand combat). You have been given the task of venturing into the outside world to acquire new spells or magical items that will be of benefit to your order and the Callarii clan as a whole. ‘Prince’ Mikhail Molotov – Thief You are a 'Prince' of the Vistani clan of the Darine, coming from the Molotov family, a prominent sub-clan. The rest of his sub-clan are currently prisoners of Baron Von Hendricks, having wandered into the Halag area soon after he took power. You were born in captivity, son of the 'King' of the Vistani. You recently fled the Barony after the death of your father and your goal in life is to free your people from the clutches of the Baron and be crowned 'king' by the tribe. To this end he has taken up company with a band of adventurers to sharpen his skills in stealth and combat until the time is right to wreak vengeance upon Baron Von Hendricks. Thoric Fireforge – Dwarf Fighter You come from the dwarven community in Highforge, a member of the Fireforge family of blacksmiths. Your family does not approve of your career choice, seeing your penchant for ‘gallivanting around’ as not befitting a dwarf. You intend to make a name for yourself beyond the confines of the Highforge community and have recently set off on the path of adventure and whatever fate awaits you. Valmir Karsocov – Human Fighter You were born and brought up in Specularum, the capital of Karameikos. Your mother is a Traladaran commoner who had an affair with a Thyatian born soldier in the Duke’s army, who promptly ended the romance upon finding out that your mother was pregnant with his child. Your mother later married a native Traladaran man and had two daughters. Your step father brought you up as his own son and took pride in your ‘Shearing’ ceremony, giving you what little money he had managed to save up as a parting gift. You used this ‘nest egg’ to equip yourself for the adventuring career that lies ahead. Romulus Londinian – Human Fighter You hail from the Barony of Kelvin. Your parents ventured there from the capital when you were a newborn. However your father was killed in a street brawl with a local Traladaran when you were still an infant, the culprit being tried and hung for the offence. Your mother ended up setting up home in the poorest part of the city and you endured lots of taunts and abuse from the local Traladaran children throughout your childhood. Luckily you were handy with your fists and over time you were gradually accepted by the locals, earning grudging respect for your toughness. Since your ‘Shearing’ ceremony you have been working as a doorman at a smart hostelry named ‘The Tree Of Life’. A few weeks ago your employer, a female elf named Miranda, asked you if you would try and locate the whereabouts of her son Eltharion who appears to have gone missing. He was last heard of in the Threshold region where he had joined a band of adventurers known as ‘Quantrell’s Raiders’. You travelled to Threshold and were told the group were last seen heading towards Verge. Thus you have travelled to this village in the hope of finding out what has happened to Eltharion and thus gaining to 500 G.P reward offered by Miranda.
#6 slashnull Dec 13, 2007 15:11:38	Great stuff, I think I'll use some of these guys as handy NPC's IMC!
#7 CmdrCorsiken Dec 13, 2007 22:57:11	Here are a couple from my own recently started Mystaran campaign. Makedon Tolarev - male human fighter The older of two brothers born to a Thyatian father and Traladaran mother in Specularum. Father ran a tavern near the docks and was assisted by mother who handled the fiscal side of the business. He was constantly exposed to the rough & tumble life of sailors on shore leave. Even as a young lad, Makedon had quick reflexes and a good arm. He took every oportunity to pick up pointers in various styles of swordplay from the varried tavern patrons. His natural combat skills were put to good use as he had to occassionally get his little brother out of a few tight spots among the seedly alleys around the port. Kalestin Tolarev - male human rogue The younger of two brothers born to a Thyatian father and Traladaran mother in Specularum. Like his older brother, Kalestin spent a great deal of time with the tavern's multi-national patrons. Unlike his brother, he preferred to observe from the shadows, possessing a knack for stealth and eavesdropping. It didn't take long for him to discover that some of the little tidbits of information he overhead were worth money; and soon he was contributing to the family income brokering information across the docks. Despite the two years between them, Makedon and Kalestin decided to be 'sheared' at the same time. Having spent a great deal of their youth watching the comings and goings of ships from many distant lands carrying goods of wonderous variety, they decided to investigate the possibililty of starting their own import/export business. So, they signed on to a Minrothad merchant vessel heading to the Isle of Dawn, earning their passage by working with the crew. Now, with a mixture of wide-eyed curiosity and youthful confidence, the brothers Tolarev are in West Portage ready to explore their options at the crossroads of two mighty empires....
#8 CmdrCorsiken Apr 17, 2008 19:43:17	It's been a while, so here are a couple more from the same campaign. Astra Dar'yah - female human rogue Life in an often disputed border city has never been easy. Twice in Astra's young life, her home (along with her parents' business) has been destroyed by the armies of Thyatis and Alphatia. Events like this are common to the city of Helskir, at the northern tip of the Isle of Dawn. Most adult residents have lived under both empires at some point in their lives, with some having seen more than one change in 'ownership.' This also means that few people there are particularly loyal to either empire and just try to make their livings as best they can. Having watched her parents rebuild their small boat and tackle repair shop -- twice -- Astra wanted no part of this 'deadend life' as she called it. She has no intention of just allowing others to run over her. Not that Helskir is a boring place to live. It is, after all, a fairly busy port city with strong trade in various types of fishing and the many businesses that support such industry. Vessels from hundreds, if not thousands, of miles away frequent Helskir's port. The problem is that both Thyatis and Alphatia want the taxes that such industry generates, so they frequently fight over it -- with all the people whose work results in those taxes being trampled over by the conquering armies. Heck, for the last several take-overs, they haven't even bothered changing the local ruler, Lord Eruul Zaar. With the most recent Alphatian occupation, Lord Zaar finally expressed his disgust with the situation and declared Helskir's independence, from BOTH Thyatis and Alphatia. While Astra viewed this as the right thing to do, she also found it frankly stupid to try. This was the final straw for the young woman. The axe is going to fall on Helskir and Lord Zaar soon, and she would just as soon not be there when it happens. She tried to convince her parents to leave, but they are leary of trying to restart their business in a town that already has established propieters in the same profession. At least in Helskir, they have their regular customers which keep them well fed and mostly comfortable. So, with their 'concerned' blessing, she set out on her own, headed south to find out what adventure might be found elsewhere on the Isle ... or maybe, beyond.... Gralim LeGris - male human paladin When he was barely three, he was brought to the main temple in the city of Corunglain, at the far northern border of Darokin. A caravan returning through the Broken Lands from Glantri found a wrecked and ransacked wagon just off the trail, with the little boy hiding under the debris. It was assumed that orcs had attacked and captured (and likely later killed) his parents. There were no obvious clues about where he came from or where he was going, so he is not even sure where he was actually born. The church took you in and raised you, as they often did. There are about twenty orphans being raised by the church at any given time. Until he learns otherwise (unlikely, in his eyes), Corunglain is his home. Due to the city's militaristic culture, the primary diety at the temple is also rather militant theologically. There are other dieties that figure strongly into Corunglain's citizens' faith, but the city's location and history lead most people to revere Halav. Through the temple's training, he has learned the arts of combat as well as devotion to the church's cause. Now, he is on the Isle of Dawn, several hundred miles from home, because the church believes that if he is to truly grow to be a champion of good, he must successfully defeat evil in all of its forms. A few months, or even years, travelling the world should prove most enlightening for him. Further, one of the priests at the temple revealed to him that when he was brought to them, he knew a few words in both Thyatan and Alphatian. The priest also used a mirror to show him what appeared to be a tatoo of a small flame on the back of his head just at the hair line. The priest explained this is possibly associated with a group of people in Glantri, called the Flaemish, who once claimed to have been 'abandoned and betrayed brothers of the Alphatians.' Now, going to Glantri to investigate would this would be suicide (as ALL religion is illegal there), so Gralim is hoping, despite the long odds, to find some clues about his origins in these Alphatian lands....