Gregor, his father, was a tradesman, and wanted Erdin to follow in his footsteps, dreamed of it even before Erdin was conceived. Perhaps a wiser man could have realized the folly of expecting the scion of the degenerate house Vheist to grow into an honest laborer, but he fell in love with one of their daughters, Auna, and their connections ensured his ongoing prosperity. As his father prospered, Auna secretly groomed their son to claim the name of Vheist and usurp her family’s patriarchal line of succession, in the name of her dark goddess, Urgathoa.
Even before he was born, Erdin was given every advantage his mother could squeeze from the hidden church of excess, the most potent: a visitation of a vampire upon his pregnant mother. Erdin’s birth months later brought grief to Gregor, and joy to Auna, a rift that would define his childhood.
The majority of his time was spent in the dark manse of his maternal family’s estate, learning history, manners, and the finer points of the family politic; time with his Gregor was rare, and only strengthened Erdin’s repulsion against daylight and honest labor.
Soon after Erdin was old enough to begin attending the secret services of Urgathoa’s church, his vampire progenitor, Berus Varga, took a keen interest in mentoring the boy. Auna disapproved of any tutelage outside of her preview, but Varga’s station within the church trumped any objection she could put forward. If anything, the church leadership saw Varga as Erdin’s second father, and eventually so did Erdin.
Auna, despite her reverence for the Pale Lady, had little experience in the necromantic arts or martial prowess, gaps Varga was only too happy to fill in Erdin’s education. With hundreds of years of experience, Varga’s knowledge brought Erdin out of the shadow of his squabbling family and into a greater understanding of the world and his place in it, above the petty mortals inhabiting it.
Auna, grew desperate as Erdin embraced Varga’s philosophy, and attempting to reclaim her son for her own machinations, betrayed the secret church to the clergy of Pharasma. Not a day later, the entire congregation was put to flame, save the most powerful or paranoid. Vargas was slain, his ashes swept away.
Erdin was by turns distraught and furious, made it his life’s work to uncover the traitor that killed his “true” father. He turned on his mother; she did not last long under his interrogation. After throwing Auna through the window, Erdin proceeded through the rest of the manor and put the house of Vheist to the spear.
Erdin Varga no longer maintains any ties with Urgathoa’s faithful, or with his biological father Gregor in Karcau, focusing instead on increasing his personal prowess, traveling Ustalav and investigating rumors of necromantic power. Recently, he has encountered a member of the Whispering Way, and is intrigued by their teachings.
