Hailing from the island nation of Ciramaen, Damian Sol is the youngest member of his family. He is also the only surviving machinesmith that exists on his planet. Ciramaen is a breakaway nation from the continent-wide nation of arcane magic users known as Nimgraen. On the planet of his birth magic is everywhere, but with the exception of winter witches (as in the archetype), spellcasting ceases to work during the winter months (no one knows why, but the prevailing theory is that magic comes from the sun and the lack of sun weakens the forces of magic on the planet; this did not have any effect on permanent magical creations, such as magic items, which only further confused the issue).
The founders of Ciramaen argued that the people of Nimgraen should turn away from magic and develop technology. As a majority of the nation actually worshipped magic, they were laughed out of court. Leaving the continent, the engineers and technologists of what would eventually become Ciramean eventually found a island that would support their burgeoning nation. Thus did they spend the next century or so building a powerful nation. Without the interference of magic, Ciramaen flourished as a culture focused on learning and technology. They extended the human lifetime, created horseless carriages, and flying machines that used hot air to fly.
While there were many powerful technological companies in Ciramaen, the most powerful was easily Sol Machinaeworks. Founded by Damian's grandfather Aeril (pronounced Earl), Sol Machinaeworks produced most (over 80%) of the nations defensive machines (war gliders and firearms were the biggest selling items).
It was during this time that the government of Nimgraen discovered that the malcontents that they had dismissed had created a nation that could seriously threaten their security. Thus was an expeditionary army raised, and the nation of Nimgraen went to war. It was also during this time that Damian's father, Aedward Sol, discovered that the lingering spark of creation that his family's dynasty was built on was actually a form of magic. Unsure of what to do with this information, The family was having a meeting when the walls of their house began to melt.
As one of the wealthier families in Ciramaen, they were first targeted by battle mages of Nimgraen. Even though Ciramaen managed to repulse the attackers, for years it mourned the loss of one of it's most powerful families. They were not, however, all lost. Damian was in the basement in his lab when he house was attacked, and his legs were crushed under a fallen pillar. When rescuers from the government arrived, they took him in and helped him construct the greatest weapon his any member of his family would ever create: The powered armor known as The Hunter.
10 years of brutal war after the death of his entire family, Damian strode out in his Hunter armor and brought death to the commanding officers of Nimgraen. He would not attack innocents, but soldiers who survived encounters with him took to calling him the Black Ghost, due to his ability to appear seemingly at random and strike down the greatest leaders from among their number before drifting back into the darkness.
For Damian's part, he exulted in the fact that in the hunter armor, he could walk again.
During the closing days of the war, Damian and his hunter armor just vanished. No one seemed to be able to find him. It's as if he never existed. This became the most closely guarded secret of the war.
