Adreccam Surtova was a man of great self-loathing. His father Madarav, second cousin to King-Regent Noleski, had always viewed his son and heir as a great disappointment. Adreccam did not possess the great subtlety of mind that was the Surtova's birthright, and Madarav feared greatly for his tiny fief's future should a half-wit inherit his seat. Madarav was granted a small holdfast to the south of New Stetven ten years ago, a gift to a fellow Surtova for his role in the Rogarvian Plot. The lands were poor, but they once belonged to House Rogarvia, and Adreccam could still remember the smug smile of satisfaction on his father's face when he first entered the keep.
At age ten, Adreccam made the horrid error of proclaiming in anger that his father was no Sirian Aldori, and that perhaps a bit more boldness and little less conniving would help in raising their family in King-Regent's Noleski's esteem. Adreccam had grown up on stories of the Baron Aldori, and he secretly wished that he had been born a Rostlander. In a final tantrum of spite, Adreccam told his father just that. Madarav promptly disowned his son, shipped him off to Restov, and bade him live out his fantasies to the fullest. If Adreccam showed his face back home, it would mean his death.
Adreccam was not the wisest of Brevic citizens, and he quickly discovered that he was not up to the task of making it on his own in Restov. He was abducted into a disreputable thieves' guild, and subsequently kicked out when he was found to have no talent for con games. He was reduced to begging and petty thievery, proclaiming to passersby his noble heritage, and usually getting a kick in the ribs for his trouble. Every day, though, he sauntered up to the great palace of the Aldori swordlords, and applied for admittance. And every day, he was refused with a laugh and a shove. Undaunted, Adreccam practiced the Aldori sword-forms with a stolen blade in a hidden garret above a brothel -- at least, he imagined they were Aldori sword-forms. Through the years of street-fighting, pointless duels, and unthinking bravado, Adreccam slowly emerged as a dangerous and slippery swordsman; a man compensating with blinding speed for what he lacked in finesse. He quickly found employ in numerous mercenary ventures.
When the call came from the swordlords of Reslov that they were granting charters to able-bodied men willing to tame the Stolen Lands to the south, Adreccam knew his time had come. In one fell swoop, he saw his opportunity to not only gain the attention of his childhood heroes, but also to redeem himself in his father's eyes. Surely, in no time at all, he would swear the swordpact and carve his name into the history books, right alongside Baron Aldori. He could only hope that his birthright went unnoticed…
