-Pygrado is, or at least thinks he is, a trainee in the dreaded Red Mantis Assassin's Guild. The Red Mantis is the most feared Assassin's Guild in the land, operating in the shadows of fear and mystery. Pygrado is a decent assassin, for being new at it, but completely missed the part about fear and mystery.
-Pygrado's mother was a wood elf from the North, his father was a artisan who sculpted jewelery and ornementation from wood. Pygrado was always a strange child; he was friendly enough but just a little detatched.
-The turning point came when, at the age of 12 an assassin (of unknown hiring) slipped in through the chimney and fired a poisoned blowgun dart into his father's back, killing him within minutes. Pygrado's mother wanted to leave Silverkeep immediately, but Pygrado had seen something that inspired him. An assassin: someone totally in control of their lives and the lives of others. Someone who demanded respect; someone whose every action was with purpose and clarity. He had found, he thought, his true path.
-When Pygrado's mother fled the city in grief, Pygrado slipped from her and sought a mentor. He found a member of the Red Mantis Guild, who was sufficiently impressed by the kid's tenacity to take him under his wing.
-Pygrado learned the skills of a Red Mantis Assassin, skill with lockpicks and a bow, skill with disguises, stealth, distractions, and skill with the signature dual sawtooth sabres of the Guild. What he never managed to learn, somehow, is that assassin's don't usually advertise, or that most folk dislike the idea of an assassin walking publicly. Somehow, he never got across the idea that introducing yourself as an assassin is a poor decision.
-Despairing of Pygrado's lack of subtlety, his mentor informed him that it was time to learn on his own no, preformed some bogus ceremony granting him the status of trainee, and cut him loose, expecting him to not last long on his own in the streets. So far, Pygrado has survived two years and 9 hits.
