or the most part, Farelse is a very disagreeable person. He likes to be alone-- preferably with a tome to study by candelight-- rather than entertain others. When he does interact with living beings (as opposed to the sheath), everything he says is laced with snark and insincerity. He's not afraid of sounding condescending or brash, and quite frankly, like an arse. Farelse hardly gets to such a point with people due to the sheer lack of friends he has accumulated, but if he were to let his guard down and enjoy the company of another, his attitude would not change all that much. He would still act in the irreverent and sometimes pretentious way that he normally does, but now it would just be expected that his companion finds it endearing in some way. He can soften up emotionally when the circumstance arises, which may be another reason as to why he could find his way into someone's heart.

Part of the reason for his behaviour is a defense mechanism that protects him from being seen as gullible, an easy target to manipulate, or as a person that's worth bothering. Another part of it is his genuine lack of knowledge pertaining to how to act around others. He's used to being isolated from both people his age and those older than him and has never had much of an oppurtunity to learn of social rules or customs. He's aware that what he says may bother or upset people, but to him, he would end up doing so no matter what he says, so why filter it out?

eemingly abandoned as a newborn, Farelse was recovered by a very religiously-driven village-- a Senaen Circle-- when they found him near their grounds. When he was discovered, both of Farelse’s pupils were large and the yellow-orange that is currently prevalent in his right eye was present in both. His hair was a much lighter white, yellow colour and his skin was similarly radiant and glowing. To the Circle, this was a frightening phenomenon, since the child betrayed their basic worship: darkness. So, they believed that it must be some test from their worshipped deity, Senae, and that they must exorcise the light from the child. So, Farelse was immediately put through rituals and cruel teachings in an attempt to “extinguish his ever-glowing light.” This treatment persisted throughout his adolescence and still affects his mindset and outlook on life today.

When he was still young (and before he would've been able to remember his original appearance), a binding spell was successfully performed on him, indicated by the runes across his body. This caused his left iris to decrease in size and become completely black (with it being unclear if he still functionally has a pupil, despite retaining normal sight). His skin desaturated to a more “normal” tone, lost its glow, and his hair darkened like his eyes. This also led to half of the potent primordial magic present within him to be sworn away in the spell.

Farelse was not allowed many pleasures while being monitored by the Circle. He spent most of his time chained in a dark, cold, featureless cellar. Whenever he was granted "freedom," he would retreat to the Circle library or to whatever elder that was open-minded enough to let him listen to them. To distract himself from his raging mind, he would research and divulge in various topics. Eventually, he learned of the sheath and how many were able to interact and manipulate it. This became his lifelong passion, his lifelong goal. The promises the sheath offered were far too tempting, far too out of his small, miserable world. Along with his studies on whatever sheath-related literature he could get his hands on, he managed to acquire a level of mastery over his natural-born powers. They would often manifest as a soft, ever-burning flame that resembled the colour of his eyes. For a while, this was the only magic he wielded, since he did not have access to actual sheath-infused tomes or other conduits. Even so, this caused him to revere and heavily value the power of tomes and conduits as he read more and more on their potential. And so, he was completely consumed by his interest in greater wisdom and knowledge.

With time, he began to pray and attempt to reach out to various primordials (Kelopis, Cahfe, Jeliyande, etc.) because of his devastating loneliness and powerlessness. He yearned to share his interests with someone, to confide his suffering in a being that could potentially do something, that could potentially care. He’d share the fruits of his research with them, unaware if they were listening at all, hoping that maybe it would earn him favour, praise, attention, or some other solace-- something. With age, he ceased this practice, deeming it to be “an immature and pathetic cry for attention.” He scorned the primordials in his adulthood, believing that they had done the same to him.

Despite his potential, he never turned his abilities against the Circle. Firstly, he wasn’t all that powerful during his time amongst his captors. He researched and researched, but with no access to tombs (or other conduits), he could only rely on his own magic, which would often fizzle out when he was subjected to the fear he felt around the Circle's inhabitants. He was also far too afraid to protest against the Circle. It was all he’d ever known. For a while, he thought that it would be no use to rebel; what would he do afterwards? He’d be alone. He’d have the wrath of Seane aimed right at him, if it wasn't already. So, he deemed it better to just accept the suffering, as he was accustomed to.

Around the time he became of age, the zealous Circle was victim to a bandit attack (at least, that’s what Farelse thought it was). Farelse was able to slip away during the commotion and has been wandering around Gracecoast ever since. Farelse didn’t really decide to run off during the attack, but instead felt forced to because he was so terrified of what would happen to him if he stayed. He felt that he’d get cornered and die, and not even necessarily by the attackers. Maybe the Circle would finally fully turn on him and kill him right then and there during all the excitement. Even though Farelse had his soft flame to defend himself, he was certain he’d still end up failing, as he was destined to do.

Due to the way he was treated, he came to believe that he was a horrible creature, an abomination: something to be ridiculed, belittled, and torn apart. His outward attitude is reserved, harsh, blunt, and a bit cocky (though this cockiness comes from a sense of false confidence). He was most definitely not taught adequate social skills, so he expresses himself in a very mean-spirited way due to how he feels about himself and the world. The Circle’s view of his existence only worsened his perception of himself, since they made him feel like a potential symbol of faith rather than an individual person.

While travelling, Farelse realised how little he truly knew about the world. He had been sheltered and abused by the Circle, unaware of much beyond the type of knowledge he would research (which was rather restricted to texts regarding magic, ancient cultures, and other families of information that have nothing to do with “the real world”). This only added to his struggles with navigating on his own, since not only was he a frustrating person, he also (functionally) had no idea what was going on. For a while, at least.

During his travels, he realised that, due to the nature of his upbringing, he has learned how to be quite stealthy. The only weapon he could truly call himself proficient in would be daggers or knives; any type of a small, concealable weapon. Since his youthful years, he has come into the posession of various tombs, which enable him to properly interact with the sheath. He has developed an intimate and intense connection with it since then. Even his inability to socialize eventually came to aid him in his travels, since it worked as an effective repulsor. He can deceive others quite fine, but fails to meaningfully persuade (he’s far too snide) or intimidate (he’s pathetic-looking) others. He relies on his magic, stealth, and repellant personality to get him through life.

As for his name, he has had three of them throughout his life. The first one was the name his mother referred to him with, however brief the time they had together was. The second is his current surname, Solum-Mal. For the most part, the Circle referred to Farelse as this, which properly described him in their eyes. Farelse has forgotten the former, and with a lack of other options, kept the latter as part of his name. Perhaps it was even a hidden, subtle expression of his own self-hatred; to never allow himself distance from his dehumanising origins. The origin of the name Farelse was also from the Circle, though it was a more informal remark infrequently deployed by its inhabitants. It caused him less pain and grievance to hear than his chosen surname, so he decided it fit to be his name for his new life. It almost felt wrong for him to make his own name, to give himself the power back over his identity and personhood. It was easier to keep what he was given.

Despite his physical distance from the Circle and his still-present hatred for its inhabitants, he hasn’t stopped secretly desiring their cold comfort. After all, it’s all he’s ever known. He’s made so few meaningful connections since then, and so he still only has the dynamic he had with the Circle as a basis for what relationships are supposed to be like, to feel like. He’s trying to move forward from his past, but he struggles to accept the harder parts of that process. He distracts himself with his research and hopes that one day he’ll actually enjoy being alive.