Xavaros came to Korvosa fifty-seven years ago to study at the prestigious Acadamae of Wizards. Still a young elf of only 70 years, he bid farewell to his family in Kyonin and journeyed to Varisia with hopes of unlocking the secrets of arcane power and one day becoming a powerful archmage. Quicker to learn than most of his fellow students, Xavaros rose quickly through the Acadamae ranks at the head of his class. But with the confidence brought on by his success, Xavaros grew arrogant and made enemies within the college among the students and the staff alike.
In the 6th year of his education, Xavaros was returning to the Acadamae grounds from a play he had attended near the waterfront when he heard a scream from a nearby alleyway. Rushing down the dark alley, he called forth a cantrip to light up the scene and saw a fallen man lying in a pool of blood and a young thug with a dagger dripping crimson bent over the body. Dropping his blade, the thug hopped a nearby fence and ran off into the darkness as Xavaros rushed to the fallen body and attempted to stop the bleeding. As he was applying pressure to the wound, he was startled by a gruff voice from behind and a firm grip pulling him upright. Before he had a chance to react, the Korvosan city guard had him up against the wall and under arrest.
As if being covered in blood with the murder weapon at the scene wasn't enough, it soon came to be known that the victim was an Acadamae student by the name of Vance Dorset who had been a rival of Xavaros, despite the elf being oblivious to the young apprentice's existence. In addition, a local street vendor came forth who claimed that he had witnessed Xavaros and the victim arguing in the alleyway before Xavaros pulled out a knife and stabbed the man in the chest. Things were looking quite dire for the wayward elf indeed.
For months, Xavaros sat alone in his cell while the slow cogs of the Korvosan justice system set themselves in motion. In his solitude, he tried his best to meditate on his studies of the arcane, but every time he closed his eyes all he could see was the face of the man in the alleyway. While Xavaros rotted in this dank cell, the real killer was still out there. As he dwelled on this thought, he came to the revelation that the killer must be the one responsible for the witness coming forward. Clearly the merhcant's story was a fraud and the one who would have the most to gain from Xavaros going to jail was certainly the real killer himself.
As it turned out, Xavaros was right. The killer, a young up-and-coming criminal by the name of Gaedran Lamm, had been supplying Dorset with the narcotic shiver to sell to the students of the Acadamae. When Dorset came up short with a payment, Lamm put a dagger through the dealer's heart. At the time, Lamm was concerned that his association with Dorset would come to light and that he could be implicated in the murder. Fortunately for Lamm, Xavaros' intervention gave him the perfect patsy to frame for the crime. With a bit of pressure applied to an old fishmonger that owed him money, Lamm even had an eyewitness account of the murder.
Everything was falling into place against Xavaros as the trial approached until the old fishmonger fell ill and died during the harsh winter. With the chief witness for the prosecution dead, the evidence against Xavaros was declared circumstantial and not enough to warrant a death penalty. Nonetheless, all signs still pointed to him as the killer and Xavaros was sentenced to fifty years imprisonment for the murder of Vance Dorset.
What would be a life sentence to a human passed more easily for the elf. Lamm's face still haunted his dreams, but after ten years of good behavior he was granted access to the prison library and passed the remainder of his sentence buried in books. As the years passed, Xavaros went on to read through the entirety of the prison's collection and eventually befriended a guard who brought in books from outside the prison to sate Xavaros' thrist for knowledge. In addition to more conventional studies, Xavaros made inquiries into the identity of the man who had framed him and was rewarded with stories of a new crimelord in Korvosa fitting Xavaros' description and a name: Gaedran Lamm.
Now, Xavaros incarceration has come to an end. For the first time in fifty years, he steps into the streets of Korvosa a free elf. As he moves through the city in an effort to begin a new life, one task remains unfinished for Xavaros before he can truly start over. He knows Lamm is still out there and he will not rest until the old man pays for his crime - with his life.
