Cagliostro's was born to a pair of loving Elven parents in a fairly large city several legions away from Ustalav. His father was an instructor at the local mage college, while his mother was a commander of some esteem within the ranks of the city's military. Froom an early age in childhood, Cagliostro was instructed heavily in both approaches to life. He was taught the way of the blade by his mother, and the way of magic by his father. His life was somewhat...cloistered, as a result. When his nose wasn't in a book, he was training with the other soldier's; and when he was not with the other soldier's, his nose was in a book.
Despite that cloistered life, Cagliostro began to get somewhat of a reputation as being a man who could get things done. As a typical 'adventurer' he would do small tasks here and the soldier's or wizards now and then and always to his patron's satisfaction. Similarly, he had a rather impressive record at the military academy as well with a near undefeated sparring history. It was this dedication to the task at hand which made him a perfect pawn in a much larger game.
Towards the end of Cagliostro's training, Cagliostro's city went to war with another city-state for reasons Calgiostro had very little interest in and a few days later one of his combat instructor's approached the Elf with a matter of the utmost secrecy. The man claimed that the city had been infiltrated by spies who were going to undermine the city from within leaving them helpless before this enemy who would soon be at their gate. The man was conscripting Cagliostro, and some of the other top students, into immediate service to bring an end to their sabotage before it was too late.
Nobody thought to ask why the man was enlisting the help of mere cadets as opposed to the regular soldiers. But even if they had, it would have been a futile question to ask as the man had an answer on the tip of his tongue about how there was no way to know how high the conspiracy went and only the lowest level could be trusted.
At any rate, Cagliostro was given his first command. There were six of them, including Cagliostro. All of them were formidable swordsmen and all of them had promising futures within the city's military. The man who conscripted them gave them an address and informed them that everyone who was in that establishment was to be executed for espionage.
The unit complied without issue. They assumed since the order was coming from a higher up, all that moral talk had been considered and that this was the only course of option left. And so, they went to the address, and they killed everyone inside. Most of them were males, and they varied in terms of races. Technically speaking, the operation went off without a hitch. It wasn't until the group was heading out that something happened to catch Cagliostro's eye -- a piece of gold was shimmering from the inside cuff of the shirt of one of the men killed. Cagliostro bent down to investigate it and his eyes widened in horror: a sparrow. The mark of their own secret police force. He checked a second body, and found the same golden sparrow pinned to the cuff of their shirt. Cagliostro called out for the others to stop, but it was too late.
A dozen arrows flew through the air and struck all of Cagliostro's comrades in vital spots: hearts, necks, etc. All of them dropped, no doubt dead and Cagliostro dove for cover behind a wall as a second volley of arrows were loosed upon him. A voice form outside the building ordered that Cagliostro surrender and face trial for the espionage, high treason, and murder or he would be killed where he stands.
Cagliostro cursed as he realized they had been set up. Why, and to what end...he couldn't say. All he did know was that at trial, he'd be found guilty and sentenced to death. Similarly, if he didn't surrender, he would be killed for 'resisting arrest'. Could he fight his way out? Doubtful. A dozen arrows means at least a dozen soldiers. There may be more, but without going outside to get a better look, there was no way to be sure. And going outside to look was not really an option as he'd be shot dead on sight. Which left only one option: he pulled out a scroll of paper and spoke the words upon it and then gestured at the wall before him. A moment later, a fireball erupted from Cagliostro's outstretched hand, and the wall at the rear of the building exploded outwards which was immediately followed by Cagliostro charging outwards.
The two soldiers covering the rear of the building had been caught unaware by the fireball and were still somewhat staggered by the blast, an advantage Cagliostro took. With all the grace one would expect from an Elf, Cagliostro drew his two bladed sword and, in one seamless movement cut both of the soldiers down as he ran. He ran for miles first; and then for days; a week; a month...at which point, Cagliostro lost track of time and simply ran.
Whilst Cagliostro ran, he happened upon a robbery in progress. An elder man was being held at the mercy of some bandit thugs, six of them. And though the scene had nothing to do with him, Cagliostro felt somehow...compelled to act. With a terrifying scream, the fighter emerged from the shadows as, in one blow, he cut down two of the bandits and had raised his blade to fell a third. The third managed to parry the unexpected blow, but Cagliostro used the countering momentum to spin his blade and score a lethal hit with the but end of his sword.
It was at this point the other three bandits elected to charge Calgiostro not unlike how he had charged them. The first to reach him, however, was immediately cut down by Cagliostro's blade as he smoothly pulled the blade out from chest of the man he'd impaled on his blade and proceeded to score two devastating hits on the man: slashing upwards with the butt end of his blade first, and then a devastating slash across which beheaded the man in a shower of blood.
The remaining two bandits got into flanking positions but before they could take advantage of their position, Cagliostro immediately went on the offensive, effectively creating a series of seemingly random whirling blades as he moved, focusing the majority of his attack upon the one before him, and using the rear end of his blades to keep the one behind him off-balance and 'guessing' about where the blade would go next. It wasn't long before the one before Cagliostro was felled under the relentless onslaught of blades which left only the one behind.
The bandit ran; Cagliostro let him. And just like that, the event was over. The elder man Cagliostro had saved introduced himself as Professor
Lorrimor of Ustalav, and promised he would never forget these events. The man insisted that Cagliostro accompany him back to Ustalav where the professor would put him up at the local inn free of charge for as long as Cagliostro wished to stay there. Cagliostro, initially, refused the offer, but the man insisted.
That was nearly a month ago and while the professor had kept in close contact with Cagliostro for much of that time, of late, the professor has been silent. The Elf assumed this to be a sign that he had overstayed his welcome and as he was gathering his gear to depart Ustalav, a messenger arrived summoning him to the Professor's funeral and the reading of the will. Although he didn't know the man all that well, Cagliostro felt as if he owed the man at least his presence at the funeral. After all, the man had put the Elf up in this inn for sometime now. Whether or not he intended to stay for the reading of the will was a separate matter entirely. Nevertheless, Cagliostro would attend the funeral at least and then go from there.
