Dúrland is a half-orc sorcerer who had a rather poor start in life. He ended up in the pirate port of Riddleport, after being shunned by his friends and family in his native city of Magnimar.
Life was hard enough for Dúrland in Magnimar. He cannot remember his parents, who died when he was quite young. He is the youngest of four siblings. After their parents died, they all had to work in a Magnimar glassworks shop. Until Dúrland came of age, it looked as if his destiny was to be a rather unremarkable glass maker. Needless to say, that is not what happened.
Soon after reaching puberty, things took a dramatic turn for Dúrland. As so often happens, Dúrland became the target of young human toughs wanting to beat up local half-orcs. Like any young half-orc, Dúrland did not not shy away from these fights. He usually got a drubbing, though, as he is not nearly so robust as many half-orcs.
One day, though, Dúrland underwent a terrifying transformation during one of his many drubbings. For reasons unknown, Dúrland's fingernails suddenly became claws the size of knives. All the youths involved fled in panic. Including one badly wounded by Dúrland's claws. Unfortunately for Dúrland, the reaction of his siblings and friends was not sympathetic. They too were all terrified of Dúrland and soon shunned him. Before long, he was living on the street. Without friends or family.
Despite all this, he did not react violently to the world around him. He just wanted to be left alone. Somehow, he was able to make is way to the notorious freebooter port of Riddleport. Despite the notoriety of Riddleport to outsiders, it was a good choice for Dúrland. He was just another face in the crowd, not a monstrosity avoided by all. Surprisingly, he found employment in glasswork in Riddleport. Sizable amounts of broken glass from plunder finds its way to Riddleport, and can be readily made into useful and even artistic glassware.
With the number of Sorcerers and Wizards who visit Riddleport, it was only a matter of time before an arcane visitor to Riddleport stumbled upon Dúrland and recognized his own talents. One such visitor was a Varisian sorceress named Lurdazzia stumbled upon Dúrland while looking for local glassware for her potions and such. Lurdazzia, as it happens, was also a member of the Dark Archive faction of the Pathfinder society. She saw some real potential in Dúrland and took it upon herself to help train him focus his talents, and to induct him as a fledgling member of the Dark Archive.
Dúrland begins his adventuring career with mixed feelings. He is still wary, if not downright paranoid, after his experiences forced him out of Magnimar. However, he is grateful to Lurdazzia and the Dark Archive for giving him more purpose in his life than making glassware. He still has no idea how he came by his powers. He probably never will. Nor does he have any grand ambitions for the future. But he does have more optimism about what the future holds for him, now that he's no longer a shunned gutternsipe in Magnimar.
