Aric grew up an only child and a bastard. Taunted and shunned by his mother's elven fellows for his tainted blood, Aric was born an outcast. At an early age, Aric's mental infirmities manifest in the form of a preternatural infatuation with death. Aric's mother Ndressa, was, for her part a steadying and loving maternal influence in Aric's young life. Certainly aware of, but ever dismissive of Aric's quirks, time and again she stood up for her odd young son. Aric never knew his father, who was a shadowy and enigmatic character from his mother's past that she spoke of only haltingly.
When the jests and off-handed aspersions tossed at his mother became too much to bear, the pair relocated to Sen's Pass, a small settlement within the province of Ustalav. There Ndressa took up work as a scullery maid. At 16, Aric, who's 'unique' mental state had prevented him from ever pursuing a traditional education, joined the local provincial militia in an effort to support himself and his mother. At first, Aric seemed well-suited for a life of soldiery as he quickly displayed an easy skill-at-arms and progressed swiftly through the ranks. It was during this time that Aric's psychosis evolved, however. To men in his company, he seemed to be in possession of two, distinct personalities. One was the quiet yet tough and hard-driving soldier they had come to know and respect. The other was a dark, brooding, almost sinister manifestation of Aric's repressed inner-self. While unsettling, many of his peers were willing to overlook Aric's ostensible 'craziness' because of his undeniable talent for dealing death to their foes. During this time, Aric earned a reputation for being resolute in the face of insurmountable odds.
On one mission that involved escorting supplies to a remote encampment, Aric made a lifelong friend. The brilliant Professor Lorrimor and two of her aides were riding in a caravan full of goods necessary for them to continue field research they'd been conducting outside of Sen's Pass. It was on this short journey that the caravan was ambushed by a band of raiders. Rather than flee like many of his fellow militia men, Aric stood fast and fought off the bandits as they tried and failed to overtake the caravan. Seven raiders fell at his hands before the rest fled like cowards. For his bravery, Professor Lorrimor considered himself forever indebted to Aric.
Not long after this event however, Aric savagely beat a superior. Accounts differed as to why Aric perpetrated this heinous act, but none argued that he was responsible. Least of all Aric himself. As punishment, Aric was sentenced to life in the military stockade, but due to Professor Lorrimor's influence, he was instead sent to a sanitarium in Ustalav's capital city, Caliphas. There, rather than Aric's psychosis being treated and mitigated, as the Professor had hoped, it instead accelerated, further deteriorating his addled mind. It was also during this time, that Aric adopted the tenets and beliefs of the Church of Pharasma. His lifelong fascination with death was finally given meaning and he embraced his new faith with the fervor of a true zealot.
That was three years ago. In the last several days, Aric was informed of Professor Lorrimor's death. He subsequently escaped the confines of the sanitarium where he had earned a reputation as one of its most dangerous and mentally unstable patients. He is single-mindedly fixated on saying goodbye to one of his only true friends and will stop at nothing to carry out this act.
