Lendias's parents both worked on pirate ships but met and lived in Mediogalti, retiring from the pirate's life to spend time together. When Lendias was born, they considered moving to a safer place to live, but decided against it in the end as they were familiar with the city. This was an unfortunate decision for them as they were both killed in a stupid bit of violence at a tavern one evening while Lendias was still quite young. He barely ever knew them.
Lendias was taken in by an acquaintance of his parents by the name of Vladimir Tengin. Vlad (as Lendias was instructed to call him) was a member of the Red Mantis Assassins and did little to hide that fact. He was very kind to Lendias, treating him as an honored servant, rather than the slave most observers would have assumed.
Lendias admired Vladimir a great deal and attempted to learn as much from his mentor as possible. He learned much of the weapons of the East, which his mentor preferred. He also learned a great deal about many different types of poison and, at the insistence of Vladimir, he developed an immunity to spider vine poison. With this immunity developed, he was able to aid his mentor in the preparation for his various missions with little risk to himself.
Over the years, Lendias was able to learn much of the ways of the Red Mantis assassins. Vladimir kept no secrets from him (as far as Lendias knew, anyway). Lendias was almost certain that he was being trained specifically to be an assassin, although he felt no great love for the group. He was a bit disgusted by the city of his birth and never quite forgave its citizens for the deaths of his parents. However, he respected Vladimir too much to explain this to him, and would likely have followed in his footsteps if given the opportunity.
Fate, however, had other ideas for the young halfling. The mentor and servant had set up many signals to indicate danger was approaching for one or the other. By the time Lendias had reached his twenty-eighth year he trusted Vladimir as if he were a father. When the messenger arrived at their door stating that a delivery of Varisian wine was to be delivered the following morning, Lendias wasted no time.
He thanked the messenger, went to a secret compartment that had his pack prepared for immediate departure, grabbed what money he had laying about and exited his home of 20 years within 2 minutes of receiving his warning. He secured passage on a ship leaving that very day, and sailed away from the only city he had ever lived in that very night.
The assassins arrived at Vlad and Lendias's home early the following morning. They had been instructed to dispatch of the loose ends related to Vladimir Tengin's execution, which involved his records and a slave that probably knew too much. The assassins found no slave and no evidence of a hurried departure, although they were able to secure plenty of documentation that would have proved embarrassing for the assassins. They were simply forced to assume that their information about Tengin's slave was inaccurate.
Lendias never knew exactly what happened to his beloved mentor, but the signal had been clear. Vlad was not coming home, and Lendias needed to get out of the city before the next morning or he would likely be dead. The ship he was forced to sail on was the Jenivere, on its way to Sargava. He had heard that Halflings could live a pretty good life in Sargava, so he decided it might as well be the place he chose to start a new life. He was glad he would not have to be an assassin, but he was certain the skills Vlad had given him would be essential.
