Character History
Hearing about the outlawing of violence, Kynier's parents, Regnier and Alena, moved to Nyka for a safe environment for their family. By the time they fully realized that such a claim had no real enforcement Alena was already pregnant, and leaving would be too dangerous. Regnier worked as a tailor, though the boldness of fashion in Nyka was a challenge to his methods, he managed to have a steady clientele. Alena was a mid-wife, and was able to keep the baby healthy. But the delivery was very difficult, and after Kynier was born his parents decided not to have any more children. Regnier and Alena talked of leaving shortly after Kynier's birth, but with a child to care for they couldn't get enough money to comfortably afford moving.
In his early childhood Kynier made a self discovery. While the other children had imaginary friends to converse with, theirs would eventually disappear, but his didn't. His friend had no tangible form, but manifested only as a voice. When he spoke it was a like a whisper from someone directly behind him. His friend's name, Hashimer. Hashimer always had the best stories; tales of great magic, adventure, and slaying monsters. Kynier loved the stories so much he would boast about them, leading to strained friendships. Overall, Kynier was a bit of a loner as a child and eventually learned to keep was Hashimer said to himself.
When he was ten years old he began to get into fights with older boys. Most of them he would lose for obvious reasons. But that was what happened in Nyka, and Kynier aspired to be one of the Monks when he was old enough. Hashimer encouraged him to train and get stronger. So Kynier would run, climb, jump, flip, and roll around the city to get stronger. And the disappearances became more frequent around his home. Regnier and Alena were getting increadibly scared to continue living in Nyka. Once they learned Kynier wanted to join the Monks they decided they had to leave. Kynier cried and claimed he hated his parents. If he could not be a Monk then he had no idea what he sort of man he would become.
"Your anger is wasted, little one. There are many more things you can be than a simple Monk. But you won't see what they are if you don't leave Nyka." Hashimer said.
Before the season ended they had left Nyka with a caravan headed for Syliras. Many of the travelers were tradesmen claiming to have goods from all over the world. Kynier spent time with each of them to see their wares and hear their stories. Hashimer discredited many of them, dulling Kynier's view. The person that was of most interest was an Akalak mercenary guarding the caravan, Fritren. His large body, long ears, and dark skin were fascinating. But it was Fritren that first told Kynier about Akajia and how the darkness was something to embrace instead of fear.
"Humens has been scared of the dark since before sun rise in sky. Without fire they stumble and cannot see. But few learn that being darkness is best. Everyone see man next to fire. Not every see man in night. With Akajia's blessing even you could see through shadow. And many monster hunt from shadow. Become a strong hunter, or stay a weak Human." Fritren told him.
Each day Kynier would travel next to Fritren asking about where he was from, stories of Akajia, and even learned a few phrases of Tukant. But before the caravan reached Syliras it was ambushed by slavers. Fritren charged the attackers and Kynier ran back to find his parents. But the attackers had quickly set fire to many of the wagons and killed many people. Kynier can still remember the smell of smoke and blood. It felt as though he had searched the entire caravan twice before he found his father lying on the ground. Both sides of his clothes had been soaked through with blood and he had an unending stare of horror in his eyes. Terrified of dying Kynier crawled away from the fire, smoke, blood, and death. Reaching the top of a small hill he looked back.
Many men were gathering a few survivors. Their cries were constant no matter how much they were beaten and told to be silent. Kynier watched as they were chained together, wishing there was something eh could do.
"Be still and silent. Or you'll find that chain around your neck." Hashimer said.
The slavers left with their prize. Only then did Kynier crawl back to the smoldering embers and fly infested scene. Most of the people he had spoke to were dead in the grass. He found his father again and his legs lost their strength. For several bells he just sat there staring and getting sick.
"Get up. Or be dead just like him." Hashimer scolded.
Uneasily Kynier stood up, the nausea from the foul air made his movements sluggish. But he went to what was left of each wagon in search of food and water. Very little was left to be scavaged. But during his search he found Fritren's body. The Akalak had been cut several times and shot with four arrows. A half dozen dead slavers had fallen around him. Kynier thought if it had been night Fritren would've been victorious. Maybe. But still in its sheath on Fritren's side was a short sword. Kynier looked around and couldn't see any of his other weapons. Perhaps if he had managed to draw the small blade he could've saved himself. Kynier unfastened the sheath and took the short sword. Drawing it out the metal looked different than regular weapons. The blade was cold to the touch and a darker hue. Sheathing it and strapping it to his waist Kynier decided it was time to go. He did not know were to go, but he knew he would have to protect himself on the way.
The day was nearly over and he still hadn't found his mother's body. Kynier wanted to stay and keep looking, but Hashimer warned of predators coming to eat the dead. With tears in his eyes Kynier set out in a direction, he did not know which. And for three days he traveled alone before eating the last of his food. Each animal he saw he failed to catch and kill with his sword. His skin burned from the sun and the feeling of filth all over himself diminished his spirit. Kynier lost track of the days he was so hungry. Until one morning he woke up and a man was standing over him. He thought it was a dream, the way the man just stood over him with a smile. "You look like you'd kill for some breakfast," he said.
The old man held out a strip of dried meat with... one of his five arms! Kynier scurried away but the man just laughed. "Boy if I wanted to hurt you then you never would've woken up." Kynier rubbed his eyes. He was not dreaming and the old man actually had six arms, but one of his left arms had been cut off at the elbow. In his right... hands... he held a staff with silver engravings and a glass orb at it's end. "My name's Bourin. And I'm on my way to Syliras, which is two day that way. Unfortunately, I seem to have packed too much food. Would you mind coming with me and helping me eat it?"
"Go with the wizard. And learn what you can."
Kynier took the dried meat and ate it quickly. It did not settle well in his stomach, but Bourin said nothing about his ravenous appetite. As they traveled Kynier told the old Eypharian about Nyka, the caravan, and the attack. "Hmph, an unfortunate tale. But the gods can be as kind as they are cruel. I can just enough strength in these old arms to guide one more student." He smiled down at Kynier, "Would you like to become a wizard?" Kynier was unsure about being called a wizard, but did like the idea of learning magic.
Two day passed and they reached Syliras. Bourin had a house there, large enough for two. The rest of the space had been filled with tools and even a few books of the arcane. For the next ten years Kynier lived with Bourin and trained in Reimancy, Auristics, Voiding, Shielding, and Glyphing. The training for Reimancy was the worst. Bourin had cut Kynier in several places over his body and extruded a vapor that he called res. The vapor entered each of Kynier's cuts and he felt fire and lightning coarse through his body. Bourin summoned his res from Kynier body and ignited it with fire. A few days afterward Kynier was able to begin creating his own res. Bourin taught him to focus on fire first, because it would be the most useful to a novice.
The worst part of his training was during his dedication to Auristics. Remembering what Fritren had said, Kynier attempted to see in the night without light. The strain of each aura numbed his senses and filled his mind with absurd thoughts. Bourin examined Kynier's aura and was relieved to see no permanent damage had been inflicted, but Kynier's concentration for the next 7 days was likely to be diminished. So Bourin spent the following season focusing on lessons about overgiving.
During his time with Bourin, Kynier also became a believer of Akajia. Having seen that strength and strength in numbers were not enough to save a person, that stealth and precision would have a better chance of survival. In his later years he learned what he could about slavery as well. Discovering that Sunberth had an open slave market, and was rather lawless, a vision began to form in his mind. There was no mistaking that his mother had been taken as a slave. And he wanted to do something about it, even if indirectly. If he could he would abolish it. When he told Bourin about this plan the old man said nothing for a long time. "Sunberth has many old scars caused by magic. If your mind is set to it then you best learn how to use that short sword you've always carried. It will serve you better than openly casting magic when your life is in peril."
Bourin understood a little about fighting and helped. But the years were taking its toll and each day they spent a little less time on Kynier's training. Finally, the day arrived when Kynier would leave for Sunberth. Bourin just looked at him and said, "One man has two ways of making change. First, a short dramatic affair that will most likely ruin him. As well as making a change that could be detrimental to your cause. Second, a life long path of careful decisions that may yield no results. But others can join you on the path and continue walking after you have stopped. Think carefully about everything you do in Sunberth. The people will hate you because of what you can do. So don't let them see what you can do until the time is right."
In the spring of 515 AV Kynier left for Sunberth. The people he travelled with asked about his purpose to moving to Sunberth. "Just looking to make an influence on the city." They made it to Sunberth despite a few attacks from the creatures of the open lands. The first year was very difficult. Most of his money went to purchasing a decrepit building to call home. Scrapping for jobs he managed to keep himself fed and to furnish his home. But all the while he learned what he could of the workings of Sunberth. Rumors went around about The Night Eyes and how they were disrupting The Daggerhand. Kynier spent the next two years learning what he could about them and determining what the truth was. Hopefully soon, he could become part of The Night Eyes' network.