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☆ Sabien is very reluctant to share anything about his past in Garda. Nobody really knows much about him, except the King and a small circle of his friends, most of whom are dead by the time the canon story takes place.
He grew up as an orphan boy and eventually got an apprenticeship with an accountant, where he learned to read and write. He never stayed anywhere too long, though, and spent his youth travelling until he reached the city of Monfort. There, he discovered that many men had ideas for a better life; he became fascinated with it. He did menial work during the day and spent his nights discussing politics in underground pubs, or attending low-brow shows, including female impersonation.
As the poverty in Garda got worse, his small group of like-minded friends turned into a full-blown conspiracy, landing him in the inner circle. He was very involved, though he preferred to stay hidden and operate the printing press, draw up plans and think about the future with his lover, rather than actually take action. The revolution broke out regardless, though, and Monfort was plunged into chaos within days. Anyone even remotely associated with the revolution was publicly beheaded and their body left in the street. The city began to rot, the people became desperate and fearful; even though attempts were made to storm the estates of the rich, the revolution was disorganized and weak. Fires broke out which burned for days or weeks; people stole from each other and fought over their findings, and the aristocracy itself was left nearly untouched.
Sabien gradually lost most of his friends to execution or simply hunger or sickness. He was heartbroken and terrified, unable to fully process the horrors of a city in ruin. He watched it all unfold and knew he was helpless to stop it, so he discreetly stepped aside and started talking to a lower-level city official about securing passage out of the city. In exchange he divulged what remained of their secrets. The man he'd made the deal with betrayed him, of course, but took pity on him; Sabien's left hand was chopped off on the guillotine instead of his head, and after getting more or less sewn up, he was thrown out of the city with nothing but the clothes on his back.
☆ His tattoos from this time are quite messy, but can be divided into two categories. The aesthetic ones:
- a mermaid on his arm
- a leviathan coming up from the sea on the lower right side of his chest
- minor decorative detailing.
The ones which double as code:
- three stars in the inner crook of his left elbow, signifying that he can be trusted
- an upside down crown hidden somewhere (the meaning is obvious)
- the hanged man (tarot) on his ribs, a symbol of being a traitor to the crown and sacrificing himself to the cause.
