My first memories as a child were of watching an army of undead laying siege to the walls of Mulsantir. Of the smell of rotting flesh of the monstrosities unleashed against us by Thay. The cries of warriors on the wall, the commanding voice of my father Karnu among them. I don't know how long I stood near the wall, staring wide-eyed at the men and women above, trying in my young mind to process the brutality of what was unfolding in front of me, before my twin sister Atmea dragged me back home, away from the violence. Even then, she was the more sensible of us, I suppose.
When the attacking forces were finally dispersed days later, my father told us solemnly that our grandfather Lunbad had given his life protecting us. And that, I think, stuck with me more than anything else that came of that battle. Ever since, I have been left with the question – why? Why should he have been killed, a man whose sole drive was to protect his family and his home? Why did these horrible Red Wizards need so badly to take from us what was ours? And, perhaps most of all, why did we never try to take the fight back to them?
I asked this question countless times growing up. I asked my father, I asked my sister, I asked the Wychlarans of our town, and nearly anyone else who would listen. The answer I always got was one advising of defense and temperance. I was called fool many times for wanting something so simple as to demand justice for those who have always hated and oppressed us to their own ends.
And so, when the time came for my sister and me to leave on our respective Dajemma, I began my pilgrimage frustrated with my people and eager to meet others more committed to the pursuit of justice than they. To this end, I decided I would travel as far from my home as I could, largely out of bitterness and rebellion. Waterdeep seemed the natural choice, being at the opposite side of the continent, being highly and diversely populated, and – from what I'd always heard – having a strong sense of law and justice.
When I left on this journey, my father sent me off with my grandfather's greatsword. Immediately, I found myself building a strange connection to the weapon, and through it, the world around me. This new found power was exhilarating, and so I set about seeking out other items through which I could channel it.
