Atlas Rivera

## Early Life

Atlas Rivera was born on the outskirts of the village Reninadine to the human mage Rhea and the fethren swordsman Ivas. The Rivera family consisted of four people, including his mother’s familiar, Fenya. They lived a simple, but happy life, with his mother and Fenya working on the fields, and his father going on trips with the local village hunters for meat and extra coin.

By the time Atlas was a toddler, Ivas had passed away. While too young to understand the concept of death, he knew something had changed in their lives when his mother became quiet and he began to spend most of his time with Fenya. They told him that his mother was sad that his father was gone, but Atlas didn’t understand why they didn’t just go look for him if she missed him so much. Eventually Rhea began spending more time with him again, even if she was often tired, she told exciting stories that he would later play out with Fenya, instead of the way he used to with her.

Within a couple years, Atlas played with Rhea once again. Her stories having influenced his adventurous spirit, Atlas insisted on learning the skill sets of his parents. Rhea often relented to his pleas, unable to resist her son's enthusiasm. They used small training weapons, carved from wood, and attempted basic spells, given that both guardians were magic users. By this time, Atlas’ wings were losing baby fluff and he was strong enough to glide small distances. He practiced by jumping off small ledges and often wished he could try more, but Rhea was hesitant to let him even do that much. They were able to agree he could try more as he got older, but Atlas was impatient and occasionally snuck off with Fenya to make use of their abilities.

The Rivera family continued to live with little complication for years, until the day Atlas noticed an unusual group near their home. When asking his mother about them, she ushered him inside their house, along with Fenya. As he got bored waiting for her to come back, Fenya told him about the importance of listening, especially to his mother in these situations. Of course, Fenya knew that wasn’t something that would work for long, making a promise that if they showed him something secret, he would behave. With boundless curiosity, Atlas agreed. Watching them eagerly, Fenya took down the curtain rod and revealed the half that was hidden behind a bookshelf, the blade of a halberd. Fenya explained that this was their weapon from their days of adventuring and how they used it to keep his mother safe. Fenya said that now they would use it to keep Atlas safe, if anyone bad were to come near him.

After much too long with no sign of Rhea, Fenya searched the general area, Atlas trailing closely behind. Without any clues, she, along with the group, had seemingly just disappeared. It had gotten late, and with Atlas obviously tired, the two headed back home. During the trek back, Atlas asked about the group, wondering if they had come for Rhea’s help in a quest. Fenya hesitated before halfheartedly agreeing, trying to leave his optimism intact. They spent more time in the village for a while, Fenya deciding it was safer to be around other people more often, than alone at their home like they had before Rhea’s absence.

Fenya taught Atlas much more about self-defense as he grew older, along with necessary skills to survive like they had when adventuring. He became especially good at navigation, able to figure out and remember locations with ease. Atlas’ flight abilities, like most fethren, was swift and agile, crossing long distances quickly without difficulty. With the skills of both his parents and Fenya, Atlas had grown into a competent adventurer.

## Recent Life

Finally an adult and confident in his abilities, Atlas knew he was ready to get started with his own adventure. He spoke with traders that passed through Reninadine, learning all he could about the regions to the South. There were four specific places he knew his family had never explored: Xadia, Okutoro, Iuxum, and The Kingdom of Astos. Atlas decided on Xadia as the first destination, considering it was both the closest and seemingly safest, he knew it would be easier to convince Fenya that way. With everything completed, Atlas brought his plans to Fenya.

After his success in convincing Fenya, Atlas was ecstatic. He never had the chance to truly explore the world outside of his home, sure there were the occasional short-term trips for training, but never something of the scale Atlas planned. He hoped for the chance to help people during his travels, the same way he heard Rhea always had. Perhaps someday he would even learn something of her fate.

## Present Life

After a long journey South from Reninadine, Atlas and Fenya find themselves near the North-most border of Xadia. With their first destination in reach, Atlas could feel his energy revitalizing. Neither the stories nor the trips from his youth compares to seeing the world with his own eyes. Even from the border, Atlas can tell Xadia is going to be much different from anywhere he’s been before.

## Personality

Atlas was always excitable and outgoing as a child, never much considering the risks of his actions. While much hasn’t changed on that part, he has learned to consider his safety more often through Fenya’s influence. His stubbornness, however, has only grown stronger with age. This isn’t always seen as a negative trait, for someone as ambitious as Atlas, it is often seen as persistence.

Atlas is deeply loyal to those he cares for and would do anything for them, especially Fenya. He aims to be helpful towards others as well, sometimes fearing he may be a burden. Despite the insecurities he feels from his past, Atlas generally has a confident persona.