Arvid

Having being raised in the south of Skallheim, Arvid was born to a family who made a living off the land, his mother being a powerful water mage who primarily worked in farming establishments while his father often ventured north, working as a hunter and butcher to both feed his family and make ends meet. Having no royal or noble connections and thus being unable to afford servants, the family were almost entirely self sufficient in their living. Arvid himself would spend much of his time growing up travelling with his father, learning how to hunt and kill, in doing so becoming highly proficient in the use of a longbow. It wasn’t until his 13th birthday that Arvid would be gifted a Water Cruxis like that of his mother in order to learn the ways of becoming a water mage. With Arvid possessing an aether pool similar to his mother’s, it wasn’t long before he took to the teachings of becoming a mage, quickly learning how to harness and control his magical abilities to an exceptional degree. It was around this time that he also began to venture on his own, going on lone hunts to hone and improve his skills. All throughout Arvid’s upbringing his nation of Skallheim was the subject of several skirmishes between its residents and the neighbouring country of Goldrynn, however being that slavery was outlawed in Skallheim, Arvid for much of his life was insulated from the fallout that resulted between those conflicts. This would all change one day at age 14 however as while alone on an evening hunt at the border between Skallheim and Grasslands, Arvid would witness the capture and enslavement of several former Grasslands occupants. Being struck with shock and disbelief, all Arvid could think to do was hide in cover and watch as the newly captured slaves were loaded onto a carriage and transported away, bound for Goldrynn. This day would scar Arvid like no other as for the next 2 years, he developed an intense fear and paranoia that one day slavers might come and take him from his home, his paranoia being such that he struggled to sleep at night, being plagued with fears of being taken into slavery despite the status of slavery being a criminal offence where he lived. This unrelenting paranoia one day however finally took its toll as by age 16, Arvid had made the decision to up and leave the south of Skallheim, migrating and venturing to the distant north of the country while on the way stopping briefly in the Capital to hastily purchase and obtain a Lightning Cruxis using the money he had saved, feeling he would need it for self-defense if he ran into trouble along the way. After a few months of travel, Arvid had finally made it to the northernmost reaches of Skallheim, feeling he would be safe there as anyone would be unlikely to go looking for him in the perilous mountain ranges of the far north.

With his fear of the Goldrynn slavers abated, Arvid would proceed to spend the next 8 years of his life living in the mountains on the coast of northern Skallheim, having come across and befriended a local dwarf clan living and working in the area. Arvid would spend much of his time perfecting his hunting skills, as well as learning how to fight and defend himself using his newfound abilities with the Lightning Cruxis he purchased in the nation’s Capital, being graced with new powers of which previously he wasn’t capable. Over time, he learned how to better utilise his aether pool, as well as how to perform combination magic using the power of both the Water and the Lightning Cruxi he possessed. This was however extremely dangerous as given the propensity for backfires when attempting to combine elemental opposites, Arvid had to be extremely careful in how he approached the use of his combined magic spells, lest he be at risk of severely injuring or killing himself in the process. Progress was ultimately made however as with the passing years he became stronger and more refined in both his physical and magical abilities, with the helping hand of working with the dwarves being more than enough to take care of the physical aspect of his growth. By age 24, Arvid had grown into an extremely powerful and talented mage who could perform an array of both water, and lightning-based magical spells, in addition to the combination magic he had learned along the way. His hunting skills and killing proficiency had also come a long way as the longbow was now his weapon of choice above all other, easily able to locate and shoot down a target from well over a mile away. After 8 years of living in isolation and refining his skills and knowledge, Arvid finally felt that he was ready and able to return to where he had left home. With several months of southbound travel passing in the blink of an eye, Arvid finally returned to the temperate realms of southern Skallheim, stronger than ever to the point that he no longer feared the prospect of one day crossing paths with slavers from either Goldrynn or eastward neighbour Harmonia. Arvid was reunited with his parents for whom no terrible fate had befallen during Arvid’s time in the north. Back with his family and with no signs of trouble, Arvid was free to continue living a peaceful life in the south of Skallheim, remaining in contact with his family while he himself set about establishing a business similar to that of his father’s. Arvid would take up a daytime occupation as a butcher, using his hunting skills to catch and kill game to be slaughtered and sold on market in the Capital. This wouldn’t pick up quite as he’d hoped however as without the reputation of his father’s butchery backing his name, business for the most part would be poor, yielding barely enough to get by on.

It was at this point that Arvid sought a more ambitious approach in order to make a living on his new lifestyle. Still determined to prove that he no longer feared Goldrynn and its cultural practices, Arvid decided to instead take his business directly to the neighbouring country. This immediately yielded significantly better results for his business venture as he was able to fetch a considerably higher price for his product in the settlements of Goldrynn, the cold weather also being particularly helpful in ensuring that his products didn’t spoil after very long. At last Arvid could finally lay his demons to rest as he had found sustainable work in the very place that had haunted him for so long, though never forgetting the magic power he possessed in the event that he would one day have to use it. This also ensured the building of good relations with the residents of Goldrynn, despite his origins being in that of a country that so frequently fought with the frozen kingdom. Soon he could afford to spend his money on some material luxuries such as new clothes, jewellery and study material for learning more about the history of Terra Cruxis, as well as other items for use during his magic studies and practices. Arvid would spend much of his time from this point onwards, travelling between Goldrynn to sell his products and his home in Skallheim to study and learn more about magic and history. Despite his familiarity with the region and its residents, one facet that Arvid could never reconcile was the omnipresence of slavery almost everywhere he looked in Goldrynn. Arvid couldn’t bring himself to look at the slaves wherever he encountered them as although he didn’t fear slavery much like he used to, he remained ever haunted by the fact that it could have been him in that position had he allowed it to be, his empathy for their state being both his greatest gift and greatest curse as it continually hindered him from being ruthless. Though by now he could afford to buy a slave of his own, Arvid dared not fall into that way of thinking lest he become ruthless and cruel like other slave owners, and betray his own ability to see himself in that same situation, had his hand in life been dealt slightly differently. One night however, Arvid once again sought to overcome this vice as he made his way to one of the infamous brothels located on the inner reaches of Goldrynn, where upon he purchased a night’s worth of time with one of the hold’s pleasure slaves. Upon arriving at the designated room, he approached and looked upon the slave with which he had bought time, finding himself unable to do so much as lay a finger on her. She looked weak, terrified and vulnerable, and Arvid couldn’t do a single thing to harm her. The whole time, he looked at her, silently and unmoving. His job here was assuredly done.