Hideyo

- He/him
- Mage

He grew up as a sage, under the guidance of Volodar. He was brought up with the men learning how to be wise, while the women learned magic, particularly the art of healing. Because of this, it was taboo for a man to learn magic.
But Hideyo didn't care, he wanted to learn magic.
He became acquainted with Chieko, who he later fell for, and together they learnt magic. They would meet under the stars, and she would teach him everything she had learnt that day. Their magic was kind, and it brought life.
Until one day the older sages found out about their meetings, and about what Chieko had been teaching him. They were angry, and demanded they pay for their actions. They were no longer allowed to see each other, and Chieko started learning harder, specialised magic that she would struggle to teach anyone who didn’t do magic full time.
Both Chieko and Hideyo were distraught by this, but that did not stop their meetings. Increased security and scouting limited their time together, and they had to decide now what to do before it became impossible to see each other or escape if it came to that.
They decided to escape and create a better life on their own, together and away from the sages' cruel judgement and rules. 

A week after their escape, things were looking good.
Until one rainy night, Chieko went out to gather firewood. She became distracted by a cowering bird. It had not been able to find shelter, and was drenched from the rain. Right as Chieko lent down to pick it up, lightning struck the ground beneath her, killing her and the bird on the spot.
Back at their camp, Hideyo heard the strike, and fearing its proximity, he ran out, screaming Chieko's name. His worry grew as she did not reply, until he stumbled upon the clearing, spotting the bird's limp body. In front of it lay the shape of his beloved, fried alive by an unlucky strike.
He cried all night, alone and terrified with no one to turn to.

Days later, in the early morning, he buried her body.
Her grave was decorated with her favourite flowers. Hideyo took the last surviving thing belonging to her, the gemmed pendant.
Taking it gently in his shaking hands, he placed it around his forehead, similar to how she wore it. A single lock of her hair sat untouched next to it, which he gingerly placed into his pocket.
He was alone now, he knew that. He always was.
With Chieko gone, the sages having rejected him, and with no friends outside of his old home, he was on his own.
But he didn’t feel sadness anymore, he just felt rage. Rage at the so called amazing gods that took away the one good thing in his life.