The Past

Vallius was born into a poor farming family. The first child, he was their pride and joy. His parents had dreams of raising great champions who would be remembered as heroes. Vallius' parents decided to give him a noble name, to hopefully spur this on. Unfortunately for all of them, Vallius would not be doing many heroics. When he was very young, he became extremely ill. While he recovered, his ability to walk did not. He was left paralyzed from the waist down, and was practically housebound after that. His parents wouldn't outright admit it at the time, but they were slightly ashamed that their son would not be able to fill the role they had hoped him to and instead poured all their attention onto his younger brother. Most of the rest of his days were spent indoors, as his home wasn't particularly easy to get around and his parents couldn't afford (and honestly didn't feel like buying) mobility devices.

With all this time to himself, he mostly spent it reading or carving figurines. Occasionally he'd stare wistfully outside, considering what could have been. Despite most of his days being dark, his younger brother Arden was a constant shining light in his life. When Arden wasn't helping out around the farm or training, he would be with Vallius. They would often play games or simply sit and talk while Vallius carved. They would fantasize about adventuring together, and make up stories of monsters slain and citizens saved.

Deal

As the two grew older, Arden had less and less free time to spend with his bother. It seemed almost all of his free time was spent training. And his parent's attention went to Arden. As Vallius began to feel more and more dejected and ignored, the fires in his small hearth seemed to dance strangely. These fires would soon take form and offer him something he thought not possible - the ability to walk and adventure with his brother. Not completely stupid, he knew better than to deal with a devil.... but it was tempting. However, Vallius continued to be ignored, Arden put on a pedestal, and those flames teased and taunted him so. It all came to a head when Arden, now 17, told Vallius of his plans to leave home and adventure. He had sworn his paladin's oath and was ready to do some good in the world. Without Vallius. In a fit of desperation, Vallius gave in and accepted the flame's deal.

Aftermath

After accepting the deal, Vallius' legs and tail were amputated, and he was given shiny brand new mechanical ones made specially by his patron. Biomechanical components were also fused into his spine, to help with balance and maybe for the hell of it. While painful, Vallius was determined to make this work. After a bit of trial and error, he was able to walk for the first time in years. Being ignored had it's perks, and he had a bit of time to prepare before surprising his brother. Finally they could fulfil the dream they shared as children. Unfortunately, nothing is ever that easy. As the day of Arden's departure dawned, Vallius decided to surprise Arden and his parents as they were returning from getting some last minute supplies. Not everyone found his new legs and the stink of the hells on him charming. After a heated exchange of words from both parties, Vallius ended up slashed up and stabbed in the stomach and Arden horribly burned on his left side. Depending on who you ask, the instigator is different.

After the incident, Vallius ran. He was afraid. Afraid of what his hellfire could do, and afraid of what his brother and parents surely thought of him. He has never returned to the area, and is terrified to do so. Vallius' brother has since sworn an oath of vengence, and will kill him if he ever does happen to find him. Vallius now spends most of his days fetching materials and magical items for his patron to use in his builds. He never stays in one place very long, and generally keeps to himself. He is plagued by guilt at what happened, and never discusses any of his past.

• Vallius has tried to cover his legs fully in the past. Unfortunately all of those moving parts are a nightmare for fabric, so he gave up on it.
• His legs are a bit loud, as they make ticking/creaking noises when they move. Stealth is not his game
• While seemingly a dick, he is generally the first to sympathize with others in bad situations
• If given the chance, he would reconcile with his family. However he believes he is beyond that