Bastion Duskwalker

## Background

### **Early Years**

Born from a prostitute human mother, Bastion never knew his father. Raised in the brothel, he was beaten and abused by his mother on a daily basis since she thought having a child of an elf would raise her social status and have her leave the brothel for good. When she knew the father would never come, she used Bastion to vent her anger towards and would blame him for her misfortunes. At age 5 Bastion sneaked out one day from the brothel, when his mother was gone and having nothing to eat, wandered the streets. Having never been outside his whole life, the streets of the city which he would later know as Varenhelm filled his eyes with amazement for he had never seen how big the world is, for the only world he knew was in that small dark room, hidden away from others by his mother.

Seeing fruits hanging from a vendor, Bastion instinctively takes it to quench his hunger. The shopkeeper angrily demanded money from him but upon seeing Bastion clothed in nothing but a sack, dirty and bruised from head to toe, takes pity and demanded he leave before he calls the city guards. Bastion then next wanders and sees a group of children around the same age as him. Surprised to see children his own age, he approaches them. The group of children notices him and start reeling in disgust at his appearance, calling him dirty, diseased and disgusting. Looking down at a puddle at his feet, and seeing his own reflection Bastion sees for the first time how different he looks from the other children. Their faces clean and his, beaten and dirty, he sees the other children approaching what looks like their parents. Seeing how these children's parents react to their own children with kindness and love, Bastion reflects on how his own mother has been treating him. The seeds of hate start to nourish within him, for he begins to hate himself, his mother and curse his birth and the world in which he was brought into.

### **Growing Years**

Bastion begins surviving on his own in the streets of Varenhelm, learning how to sneakily steal to survive, trick unsuspecting patrons with scams and false lies. At the age of 6 he becomes confident in his skills, having none of the citizens of Varenhelm know his real identity as he always slips away, always using a disguise. It is at this time his ruse gets the best of him as he tried to con a thief more slippery than him. The thief, interested in Bastion and how resourceful such a young boy was, persuades him to join his band of thieves. Here, Bastion finds a new family and hones his skills, his heart still full of malice. He and his band of thieves would take up jobs to steal, kill, and ruin reputations of rivaling houses for gold. It is during these times did he, his mentor - Callum Harrin, known in the criminal underworld as The Gray Ghost and his band thieves who called themselves - The Black Hand would gain notoriety in the criminal world, as well as those with coin as people who could do treacherous underhanded things for the right price. Bastion would take delight at the destruction he wretched upon others for he never had a care for gold, but to see the damage he caused to others. Though his heart full of hate he did follow the rules of The Black Hand, never one to betray any of them.

### **Adulthood**

Now 25 and a young man, Bastion looks quite handsome and has developed a charming personality, but still, underneath the charm lies his hateful heart. One day, The Gray Ghost tasked Bastion with a simple assignment - eliminate the son of a Dwarf who were rivals with a company of humans over trades of raw silver ores. Having done this many times before, Bastion sets off alone to do the task. Unfortunately, it was an ambush set up by the two companies who secretly were working together to destroy The Black Hand. Forced into hiding in a small remote village of Horstead, Bastion who is greatly injured finds shelter in the local church. Here, he meets a cleric woman who operates the local church -  Vanja Rupeno. Charming his way as usual, Bastion tries to persuade the woman into believing he was a merchant who was attacked by bandits and needing a place to stay. Vanja immediately sees right through his lies and tells him so, stunning Bastion. Not since he was a child had anyone other than Gray Ghost was ever able to pick right through him. Vanja offers him assurance that since this was a church, she and the other clerics of the church will help anyone, regardless.

A few days go by and Bastion receives a coded letter from Gray Ghost, telling him that someone within their ranks decided to out the rest of the group. The letter tells Bastion to hide and to lay low, for there are many who would come to hunt down the members of The Black Hand. Shocked and feeling betrayed, Bastion's heart ignites with fury but knowing he is too injured to do anything nor able to make a move without being discovered, starts feeling depressed for being useless. Having no choice but to stay in Horstead, Bastion becomes annoyed with the local children. Seeing them being blissfully happy gave him a reminder of his own childhood which was filled with nothing but hate. Vanja notices his hate towards the children and questions why does he have so much disdain for them. Refusing to answer, Bastion asks Vanja why there are so many children which she replies sorrowfully that they are war orphans. Children who have lost their parents in the feud of rivaling factions, their parents either conscripted to fight or died from sickness with rising food costs because of the war.

Surprised that most of the children in Horstead are orphans, Bastion questions how they can still be happy even though they have lost people close to them. Vanja then tells him how she and the other clerics have taken them in, trying their best to make sure the children don't grow up feeling abandoned by the world and to hopefully give them some sense of normality. Feeling envious, Bastion ponders if he would have turned out differently if given the chance at happiness like these children, even with such losses to them. Later in the day, Bastion is forced to cook and serve the children for dinner, since Vanja had told him to be helpful in the daily caretaking for staying freely at the church.

```

```