Arawn's story begins with his father. Or, really, a few generations previous, when the heir to the Surtova line wandered off one day, and never returned. Just eleven years ago, however, his descendant returned. Xanthos Surtova walked in to the castle at Port Ice with his wife and young son, providing documentation and evidence of his lineage, including a signet ring owned by his ancestor. Of course, his mere existence would have caused an upheaval in House Surtova and Brevoy in general. Xanthos' lineage meant that he was the rightful head of the House, and thus the rightful regent of Brevoy. Considering the chaos that the country was in the midst of, such a revelation would have been disastrous. Xanthos, though, desiring the best for the House and his own family, proposed a simple deal. He would not claim the throne, and thus not disrupt the frail power structure of the Brevoy nobility. In return, however, his son would need to be named heir, and would take the Dragonscale Throne when he came of age.
Noleski reluctantly agreed, both to avoid upheaval, and to take pressure off of himself to provide an heir to the family. In secret, though, he and Natala used the deal to buy them the time needed to find a way to discredit the true heir and thereby retain the throne. When Arawn hit puberty, and his magical abilities appeared, Noleski and Natala's search took a different tack, and they struck paydirt. Spies they had hired to investigate Arawn's lineage found a journal belonging to the lost Surtova heir, Arawn's ancestor. The lost heir, it seems, had been kidnapped by the fey, and kept for years before being rescued, inexorably, by a Lillend Azata, with whom he stayed for several years afterwards. After hiring a wizard to look into the source of Arawn's magical abilities, it became clear that his talent was born of the latent energies of the First World in his blood. After preparing the evidence, and just a year before Arawn would have been set to come of age and take the throne, Noleski and Natala called Xanthos and his family before them to offer them a new deal. Thanks to the "corruption" of the fey and the "pollution" of the bloodline it represented, Arawn was unfit to lead the family, much less rule the country. Their new deal was simple: If Xanthos and his son would drop their claim, they would be allowed to continue to live in the luxury that nobility afforded, and their "taint" would never have to be revealed.
They lied, of course, and as soon as Xanthos accepted, they spread the news, via their agents, to key members of the nobility. Within a month, every noble house knew of their shame. The family was disgraced, stripped of all of their holdings and their titles. Arawn was furious. Not only had Noleski and Natala taken away his birthright, they had taken his title, preventing him from marrying back in to the nobility. And his father had LET THEM. Berating Xanthos for his cowardice, he disowned his father and his name as soon as he came of age, taking on his mother's maiden name and setting out on his own. He vowed revenge, vowed to reclaim his noble birthright, and to destroy House Surtova if and when the opportunity presents itself.
And so, when the Swordlords put out the call to investigate the Green Belt, he applied. Exploration expeditions usually led to new settlements, and new settlements need Governors...
