Eugene Roe History

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Eugene was born in Hyrm-Chel , his mother was a Church of the Mother missionary. She was from Gallura originally, and after converting to the faith following a visit from missionaries en-route to the swamps, she traveled to Karandia to learn more. There, she became a priestess of the faith, and returned to the southern part of the continent to carry out her mission.
She had been in the swamps of Hyrm-Chel, leading a small mission on the southeastern coast for several years when Eugene was born. She never spoke directly about his father, and Eugene never met him. She would often relate that the Mother works in mysterious ways, and it was not theirs to understand how trials can lead to blessings. Eugene, in his adulthood, came to believe that his father was a crewman from one of the passing slaver ships - as they sometimes set-to near the mission, and could be hard to manage when high on a successful voyage (and their allotment of rum). Eugene can find a kernel of anger in his heart about this, but it never rages too hot, as his mother would never confirm the tale, and, she was always at peace that Eugene was the blessing that followed her trial.
Throughout his upbringing he was exposed to all that his mother did: hunting and gathering food from the swamp and sea, making and maintaining clothes and equipment, and interacting with the people of the swamps. She was an excellent cook (of both foods and medicines), and was a natural at building and maintaining relationships with the people in Hyrm-Chel. Her ministry was sought-after, as was her magik.
Despite her great skills, it was (perhaps by choice, more likely by belief alone) beyond her ability to bring Eugene into the faith as a fellow minister. He showed an aptitude for some of the magiks that she displayed, though it was never from The Mother that his skills arrived. Instead, he from an early age seemed to intuit the flow of magik in the body of man (and some beasts), and was able to bend it towards a more rapid healing.
In his early teens they traveled to the Karandian capital, where she made the request that Eugene be enrolled in the seminary. He was turned down at the time, as the class was already quite full, and he was both older than others and further behind in academic achievements. This tested his mother more than Eugene, as he hadn't really come around to the idea of living in Karandia for several years - the swamps were just becoming a fascinating place for him (as had the daughters of the nearby reptile hunter).
Eugene came of age in the swamps, helping his mother as she grew older. His peaceful soul was at-home in the bayou, and he never thirsted for the grand adventure for which most young men yearn. He had several relationships with other children his age over the years, but nothing ever settled in, mostly because few others were content with a life in the swamps.
This past spring, his mother passed away after a fall. She lost her footing moving from skiff to dock near their home just before the mid-winter, and broke her hip and upper leg. Their combined magik and skill knitted the bone, but the shock to her aging system was too great, and over the following months a rattling cough settled into her chest, and she slowly faded. She knew that her reward awaited, and the conviction of her faith buoyed Eugene somewhat - at least while she was still there to reinforce it.
After her death, the Church sent another to replace her at the mission. Eugene was offered a role if he wished to remain, but all that he was and all that surrounded him made the memory of her passing too bright, and too painful. He decided that perhaps here, nearing his fortieth year, he should step outside into the world, to see if there was another place to make his home. The swamp had been their home, and, now without her much of its charm had fled.
Packing up his few belongings, and what of her medicines the new Missionary would allow, Eugene headed towards the coast, and then southeast down the beaches, heading towards the nearest port in Nost’Kare, figuring that Kessid or Kura’stan would be a good spot to start writing the next chapter of his life. He had a fair purse of coin, saved up over the years of living frugally (and without many opportunities to spend).
Finding passage off to Kessid was fairly simple, though the cost of two nights at a common room in Sueche’s market, and the fare, just about wiped out Eugene’s coin. The price of things was shocking, to say the least.
The trip to Kessid was uneventful, though on the second morning they sailed past the outlet of the winding creek where Eugene fished and washed for most of his life. It was a strange feeling, looking over at the freshwater mingling with the sea, the wall of green mangroves behind. It was only a week since he’d left, and already the sense of ‘home’ was fading. Turning his eyes to the west, the sun over his shoulder and the offshore wind heaving in the sails...Eugene felt sure of his choice.
Kessid was all that he remembered of it, though he hadn’t been to the city in nearly two decades. There were more people living near the edge of destitution - Eugene learned of the migration of the Lindorans from chatter on the streets. He also learned that as a result, a job that pays a wage is nearly impossible to come by in Kessid. After a few days spending the last of his money while looking for work, he heard of a new Church of the Mother in Low Town.
There he met several of the priests, and was given bunk space, a bread and water allotment, and in return cleaned and straightened around the building and its storehouse next door, and was occasionally asked to help bring comfort to those in need.
 (Still to add: Fire brings many casualties, Roe impresses the Abbess, she sends him on the mission.)