Dai

After a rough start as the son of two traders, endlessly trekking between settlements and outposts for a living, a pretty scary run-in with raiders left Dai with a couple scars and inspired his parents to bring him to the relative security of the great city of Murad. This was a relief to young Dai, who'd spent much of his life hidden beneath the shade of the caravan's fabric roof, as his black fur sucked in the heat of the sun far more readily than the yellow fur of his parents. The large network of underground tunnels and buildings in Murad would allow him to live life a bit more normally.

Their work meant that they couldn't stay, so instead they brought him to Murad University for help. Offering his services as an errand boy, Dai was accepted into the university, where he cleans, brings cups of coffee to lecturers, and studies in his downtime. Dai discovered pretty quickly that he had a deep fascination in the magic arts, wanting to become a great mage someday. He aims to join the university full time once he's old enough.

One of his closest friends is a little elf owl he found as a chick, seemingly abandoned by its mother. He raised the chick himself, using the university's vast library of knowledge to learn how to care for it. The chick grew up to be a cheerful, sassy character, almost always found sat on Dai's shoulder. His name is Oki.