About

Enter Khalid, born on the streets. His parents, both homeless and without a dollar to their name, brought the young one into the world one cold September night, swaddled in dirty clothing scraps in an attempt to keep him as warm as possible. His mother, already ill and weak from the colder temperatures and the stress of her pregnancy unfortunately succumbed to her sicknesses, leaving the newborn and his father to fend for themselves. His father, a known swindler and pick-pocketer, did his best to snag whatever he could from those unsuspecting, doing whatever he could to make sure his dearest son was cared for. Luckily for the two of them, one night of pickpocketing proved successful- a small key to the large, looming clocktower their ticket to shelter. The two made do with the cramped living space for years, bedding the cold wooden floors with scrap tarp and old blankets from garbage dumps. In order to make ends meet, Khalid's father took up tinkering, fixing up old trinkets and toys collected from dumps to then resell to the masses for a quick penny. Intrigued with the inner workings of machinery, Khalid became hooked to his father's hip, patiently observing and learning at his side. He even began to toy with his own inventions, even creating a music box that doubled as an antique radio. Their inventions proved to be quite the hit with the wealthier of the town, and through masterful networking and a few gatekept secrets, the two were successful in making ends meet, all the while keeping their living space unknown from the public eye.

Years later, Khalid's father fell ill, leaving Khalid to take on most of the heavy-lifting and selling of their wares. As time progressed, he became the sole creator of everything they sold, most of their wages now being thrown at any doctor that would see his wilting father. Unfortunately, his father did not make it, leaving the now ten-year-old boy to fend for himself on his own. As he grew, the desire for antique trinkets dwindled, Aurelia becoming the main hotspot for wandering traders and exotic wares. Demand for refurbished items sunk, the wealthy and well-off now drawn to purchasing new and modern technology. The sign of the times caused Khalid to pick up stealing as his father had done in his early days of youth, getting him into quite the trouble with the law. Still, Khalid was always able to slip through their fingers and escape successfully into the clocktower, hiding between the cogs of the giant machine until he was sure they hadn't followed. When pickpocketing proved fruitless, Arius resorted to scavenging in trash bins, loitering around garbage dumps until the streets became empty with the arrival of night. One of these nights of scavenging led Khalid to the discovery of a broken, tarnished pocket watch, the hands loose and the dial smashed in. He had taken it home with him that night, spending the next few weeks scouring for materials to repair it with. After some finagling, he was able to get it up and working again. It became his prized possession, the quiet ticking a comforting ambiance to the silence of the night.

One night while Khalid was asleep, a giant storm had entered the area, the roaring of thunder and crashing of house shutters and waking him from slumber. Checking his pocket watch, he had surmised it was around eleven at night. He had wondered why he hadn't woken to the ringing of the clocktower, chiming the hour; so, he slipped on his worn boots and trotted up the rickety stairs to the top of the tower. Upon reaching the apex, he began messing with the giant cogs, trying to figure out just what caused the tower to fall silent. While tweaking the gears, a large bolt of lightning hit the top of the tower, causing large sparks to travel through the tower and jam the cogs altogether. Luckily Khalid had jumped out of the way just in time, and after the bright light had settled, he noticed a strange, spherical ball of light glowing between the jammed cogs of the clock. Upon moving in for closer inspection, the pocket watch in his hand began to spin out of control, the blinding light engulfing Khalid's body and sending him spiraling into nothingness....