Jack was born a little over a century ago, the son of a less-than middle class elf man who had recently wed a half-elf woman. Though over half of the blood running through his veins is elf, Jack may as well be full-blooded elf in genetics. It didn’t take long for Jack’s intellect to begin shining bright at a very young age. Solving problems of both pure reason and of retention became not only something he excelled at, but something he thoroughly enjoyed. Though he wasn’t a prodigy, he was far advanced in any studies he was given, even in comparison to the elven children his age.
As Jack grew into school age, his less than muscular build paired with his habit of humiliating his peers intellectually made him the target of much bullying. While Jack couldn’t find a way to fight back, he became adept at avoiding the hits thrown at him. He wasn’t incredible in even these aspects, but his uncanny ability to predict the movements of others and understand them even better than the person making them made dealing with his peers a little easier.
As Jack aged into his teenage-elf years, he slowly gained the respect of many of his peers. The bullying slowed and he began to be recognized for his raw intellect, though it was by this time that his lessons bored him to the point of not caring. Instead, he practiced with the rapier. His quick thinking and ability to fool others easily made up for his less-than-warrior-like strength, instead focusing his abilities on speed and reflexes. Eventually, it became his pride and joy.
It was at about this point that Jack gave up on his lessons altogether, which won the heavy disappointment of his family who simply couldn’t understand Jack’s disinterest. When Jack turned eighteen, he left his parent’s residence to make it on his own. He would make money with the many skills and the vast knowledge he had picked up throughout his years and prove that he was some sort of exception to the rules his parents had laid out for him. He used what money he had saved in that time to buy a chess board, a rapier, and some adventuring gear with nothing more than a shirt of chainmail that had been passed down to him from his father’s elven side, but not before spending a month or two traveling from place to place looking for a place to start his scheme. One such scheme involved a particularly embarrassing trek in the desert, but Jack doesn't like talking about that particular adventure.
Even after this, though, Jack itched for more…
