Varin Liadon

Portrait of Varin after arriving in Verderauc

"Through all of my travels and time spent settling the folks of Verderuac, I have learned much, and made many friends. The hulking barbarian Mite, who could bring down a great tree that I could stand inside with a single swing of his axe. Hunkey Dory VI, the town’s preacher, who worships a strange god of a chicken. Regardless, he has healed my wounded body more times than I can recall, and has stood by my side against the tide of enemies that have plagued our home. There’s Adrianna, Mite’s fiery wife, who can conjure flame and sorceries from nothing, Charli Engelberg, the owner of the instrument shop, who can be a handful at some times, but is high spirited and nonetheless a boost to the moral of the village people, and there was Kretion, the tavern owner who could conjure magics as well, who recently passed, succeeded by his son Merv, a quick and handy, but often pesky, youth. These people have been my rock over the course of the past few months, but it had not always been this way.

I was born in Evralumeno to a wealthy merchant family. My mother, rest her soul, passed in childbirth, leaving only my father and I. My father Vodrick, being pragmatic, decided to move on quickly from my mother’s death. From what I had heard, he was distraught for the first few months, then seemed to harden and push her memory away. I still to this day know very little about my birth mother because of how fast he had abandoned her memory. He finally found another love after four years. He had travelled to Chagroth, and the great city of Afrenbelu. There, he met a war party that had thwarted a dark-elf ambush, and had taken prisoners. My father decided to “purchase” one as a household servant, a young lady who seemed conflicted about the ordeal that she was a part of. He soon fell in love with the elf, and he proposed, not like she could refuse, since she was owned by Vodrick. A year later, I then had a half sister by the name of Bariell.

Our early lives were better than most. Vodrick didn’t pay much attention to us, as he often was at sea with his fleet of merchant vessels. We were left in the hands of hired caretakers. Szella, Bariell’s mother, was the only one who I can confidently say truly loved the two of us, Bariell by blood, and myself through pity. Otherwise, we were left to our own devices by sitters who only cared how deep my father’s pockets ran. As long as we were not trying to damage property or fatally hurt ourselves, no worries were given.

This lack of attention drove my mind to wander outside of the small manor in Evralumeno. I was infatuated by the king and his guards, especially the regal soldiers who accompanied him. Their honors were cried out by the king’s herald, and I could imagine myself in their shoes, fighting evil by sword and shield, or with the twang of the bowstring, and bringing honor to my home. Most importantly, I wished to be someone that Vodrick and Szella could be proud of. The mind of a child is simply immune to the thought that parents could be so careless with their children, and, at the time, I continued to believe this. My heart was shattered when I was spoken to by Vodrick, stating that I would be training with a scholar of the arcane in Evralumeno.

The scholar himself was pleasant. Malkor, as he referred to himself as, was truly passionate about his work, and in terms of magic and history, so was I. However, I did not care much for the application of magic, or spellcasting, as I was not very good at it. I could remember facts about artifacts and the like, but the monotonous lecturing and practice of spellcasting caused me to only be able to learn basic spells, most of which I could not cast after not studying the notes for a time. I also knew the king’s guard used magic in their swordplay, and often had to fight against magic. I thought to myself that this would be useful knowledge, especially for identifying dangerous artifacts, or beneficial ones. Malkor also had some magic items that he allowed me, and later Bariell, to tinker with.

My heart was officially crushed after constant arguments with Vodrick. Our relationship had turned more and more toxic, until I finally had enough. I ran from home, with nothing but a few rations, some blankets, and a scimitar that I had stolen from my father's collection. I stumbled through the northern wilderness for two weeks, by that point being near death by exposure. Fortunately for me, a travelling adventurer, a dwarf, had stumbled upon me. He nursed me back to health, and as he left, I gave chase. He emulated what I He seemed to not " (Varin Liadon, 1087).