Backstory

Gene never really had the freedom to know himself. Everything in his life had been decided for him; his profession, his future marriage, his inheritance of his father’s struggle to be seen as an elf. These demands, this never-ending goal of meeting his father’s expectations and earning his approval, spurred him on at such a breakneck speed that there was no time allotted to question if the directly he was hurling himself in was, in fact, what he himself wanted.

This began to manifest unconsciously in recent years as Gene was reaching a point of success where he could bask in his accomplishments and feel a sense of security. A successful envoy traveling the world and earning the respect of those both at home and on the road he was beginning to hold some disdain for his father. It was dawning on him that, perhaps, of all the elves for whom he fought to convince he belonged among, it was likely his soured old man that would never be able to let go of what he was, too ashamed of his own heritage to accept another half elf as if doing so would drag himself farther down the social ladder. 

And so, as his approval clearly would never be completely won, Gene began to test his boundaries. Instead of throwing all of his efforts into business matters he began to let his curiosity lead him, often staying away on diplomatic excursions longer than anticipated in order to see the sights and returning home with various trinkets that were little more than expensive paperweights. He convinced himself he enjoyed such bobbles, or maybe he just enjoyed trying his father’s patience upon his return. Either way these souvenirs were… something. If he had traded all his time and effort into becoming successful and wealthy, then that money should be able to offer him something in return… In an effort to find meaning in what he had sacrificed he took to spending frivolously, receiving a small bit of momentary satisfaction at owning some new exotic treasure before quickly finding it boring now that it too had been claimed. Similarly this behavior extended to physical relationships as well, occasionally crossing paths with someone new and enticing and using his charm to secure them both a night of fun that more often than not left him feeling empty. Over the years he had a handful of companions he held for some period of time because… this was what people did, no? But just like the trinkets he collected he had his taste of intimacy and while it filled the void momentarily from time to time overall he found the results lacking. At best this was just one more way to poke the bear that was his father, who oh so kindly reminded him regularly of the engagement that had been arranged before Gene had even been old enough to sire children of his own.

If anyone asked, Gene was happy. But who would ever have any need to ask? He was successful, wealthy, betrothed to a beautiful elven woman, and traveled the world. How could he not be happy? He’d convinced even himself. After all he had no alternative concept as to what a happy life looked like.

From the outside he presented himself as a charismatic diplomat, but his reasoning behind his choice in occupation was not particularly noble. Orchestrating negotiations between races was a natural course for a mixed-raced individual such as himself. At times he wondered if his father steered him in such a direction so that he would see less of him, though Gene could not say he cared much either way. Negotiations offered him the chance to flex his tactical skills, and in that aspect he quite enjoyed his job. To him it was all a game, an act, a carefully orchestrated plan of donations and acts of goodwill, of an appropriate amount of flattery until he got what he wanted. It was exhilarating, knowing the wellbeing of nations hung in the balance, and this high filled this unknowing emptiness inside him like no other. At the end of the day the needs of his people and others were merely talking points, the poor or starving merely statistics to feed his own agenda. He cared very little for them. Fortuned favored only a select few, and he was firmly in the favored group.