Just describe your character's backstory.

Anything else?

Nakala didn't exactly live the best life, especially for Deadwood's already low standards. To cut to the chase: Nakala was born a slave in the "kingdom" of Darington. Both of her parents were slaves (A human and a Goliath respectively) that were forced to breed with each other in hopes of producing stronger slaves but without the weaknesses of the Goliath-kind. The second she was born, she was taken away and since then Nakala knew nothing but scrubbing floors, cleaning stables, and preparing food for rich tyrants. It was all a blur for the girl, but she sharply remembers the punishments they would give her if they weren't even slightly satisfied with her performance. Said punishments were either physical or they would deprive her of food and rest until they felt like she learned the lesson. These punishments taught Nakala that she needed to please them however she could, even appearing happy about. Nakala spent her nights with the other slaves, both boys and girls and they would ideate about freedom and the lands outside of Darington. They would interact with each other and share knowledge of the outside world - even food and weaponry that they scrounged up.

This went on for years it felt like, and Nakala honestly felt like it was getting easier. However, she wasn't getting any happier being caged, forced to please these bastards. She wanted freedom at any cost, but her slaves had weaponry and power. Eventually, Nakala gained the freedom that she desired... to an extent. In Deadwood, even the wealthiest man has to budget their money correctly and he had to cut some corners. While he enjoyed having so many slaves clean his manor, he had too many of them and could afford to lose a few. So, he sold off a couple of his slaves, including Nakala, seeing that he can just work the rest harder.

Nakala ended up at the next stage of her life - her lowest and most traumatic point - the gladiator arena. The place where she was forced to fight for the amusement of the denizens of Darington. She was just a little girl, and she was pitted against the very same slaves that she used to play with. She had to produce an entertaining fight, or else she wouldn't get food, and sometimes she had to kill these poor people. She didn't want to do it, she didn't want any of it, but she had to do it to survive.

In time, she honed her skills and became a very capable warrior... especially with her preferred weapon, a spear. She would skewer enemies on its long blade and break them with her brute strength, creating her own fighting style. Of course, Nakala was given the option of buying her own freedom by constantly winning fight after fight... but that would be impossible given the amount of money she made, and the fact that she would likely finally die before she reached that goal. She didn't know what pushed her forward to win fight after fight for the amusement of those bastards.

However, things changed when the Kaimerian Uprising finally began and Darington was in the crossfire in fact. The Kaimerians assaulted the hive of crime and villainy and cleaved their way through the place - naturally, everyone fled the place. Nakala was released by other slaves attempting to get away, grabbed her spear, and ran out the door - but one boy grabbed her spear and threw it to the ground. When Nakala asked him why he told her that the Kaimerian code of honor that permits that they only fight combatants. Kaimerians kicked down the door and saw two children... and told them to flee.

And that's what they did, they fled out into the harsh wasteland that was Deadwood. No clue of where to go, and only armed with what they could find.

They ended up at one of the villages far away from Darington by following the tracks of the other slaves in hopes that they had an idea of where to get. That was when the two were taken in by a very friendly farmer that saw their plight - at the price of helping around the farm. This, for a moment, felt like slavery to Nakala but she eventually came around and worked for the farmer in exchange for food and shelter. This was when Nakala and the boy... the boy that she realized was one of the very boys from the first house she was a slave in. That was when she realized that he never had a name - because they never gave him one.

She named him Rollo.

Nakala and Rollo lived on the farm in peace, getting to know each other and sharing stories about what happened - being relieved that they were finally free. One day, the knights from Orthos came to the village, searching for any willing volunteers to join the fight against the Kaimerian insurrection. Rollo was about to volunteer but Nakala stopped him, telling him that where ever he went, she would follow. They nodded as they both volunteered for the Orthos military. Sending children out to war was nothing unfamiliar in the land of Deadwood, and they were desperate for anyone to help stop the Kaimerian push.

They were sent off to Orthos, barely trained, and placed on the frontlines... probably because the Orthos government saw them as irrelevant and cannon fodder. Against all odds, Nakala and Rollo survived every battle that they participated in. They weren't even war heroes, but they definitely put in their fair share of work in the Kaimerian Uprising... until it was all over and the two were finally trained. Nakala became a lancer, while Rollo became an accomplished swordsman... and most of the time they just fought in the border conflicts Orthos had with Ethos. Or were just patrolling the neighboring towns.

Nakala, at this point, announced that she had fallen in love with Rollo and the two got eloped... however, the life of being grunts sent in as meatshields were not for the two. For months they planned their getaway and scouted out neighboring locations that weren't or were barely mapped out. Then one night; they disappeared in the dead of the night with as many supplies and weaponry as they could. Nobody had a clue where they went, but hell would be to pay if they were found.

It was unlikely since the two retired to one of the unmarked towns... Buruko, it was called. The two finally got married there and then Nakala conceived their daughter: Joko. They lived peacefully in this town, farming, and training, honing their skills just in case - years went by and nothing happened and they got complacent. They thought everything was going to be fine... until the slavers attacked that is. The unmarked towns and locations are a prime target for slavers and they assaulted the village.

Rollo rushed into the fray to fight them off and Nakala took Joko and hid in their home... not that it mattered much because the slavers knew that Joko was in there - having watched the town for a while. They eventually found them, Nakala attempted to fight them off but there were too many and they beat her and took Joko. Nakala passed out, and when she woke up, she saw that Joko was gone... and Rollo was dead.

She fell into a deep depression as she recovered from her wounds, but a passionate rage built up inside of the woman. She was going to get Joko back, one way or another... and the very second that she recovered she grabbed her spear, some supplies, and left the house: straight to Darington. After cleaving her way through the monsters, she made it to Darington and saw her daughter on sale.

However, Darington was full of all sorts of people that would love to someone trying to break slaves out skewered. Then the slaver cut her a deal: Bring him a mountain of gold and he would release her daughter. Nakala was certain that he thought that she wouldn't be able to do it, but she sure as hell would try.

She grabbed an advertisement looking for warriors to go to Exusia and got an idea...

Nakala is very good at cleaning, farmwork, and other things.

Artur was born halfway into nobility, one of the greater lineages of the remaining world, though his father was a weak man. Events conspired against him and, still a boy, he was forced into exile by the murderous daggers of court intrigue where he learned things that a sheltered life amongst nobility would've precluded. Forced to make his own way or starve, Artur lived among pirates and the free companies of the Shattered Isles, steadily carving out a life for himself - but he never forgot his roots, nor did he relinquish any hope of reclaiming what he believed was his by birthright.

Travelling across both the archipelago and the mainland, Artur established a name for himself among the mercenary companies, steadily rising to become a captain in his own right with experience both in the field of battle and administrating an army as the Kaimerian Uprising raged on and the various city-states sought protection from the encroaching threat. He fathered a bastard of his own, though unlike his own forebears he did not abandon the boy - instead bringing him along for seasoning, to see the world and to one day take the place his father intended, for he was a man of ambition and would not be contented with life as a captain forever.

Artur pooled coin, spoke with other captains and, eventually, struck out to form a free company of his own, dubbing them the Bastardborn - a nod to the status which he openly wore as a title. For a time, they prospered and his true goal seemed more achievable than it had ever been before, year by year. Yet again, however, events conspired against him; a contract gone poorly and several greedy opportunists among the ranks led to a betrayal from the men among the ranks. Wounded and left for dead on the shores of New Kaimeria, he was left in the hands of a passing raiding boat who thought to take him as a captive as it moved westwards.

Luckily for Artur, he knew the Isles well enough to recognise an opportunity to escape - diving overboard and swimming for the shore. A few hard months saw him travel downriver towards Exusia, a journey in which he was able to strip whatever he could from the bodies of unfortunate travellers, enough to make his own way - for his ambitious habits stirred. First, he would reclaim the Bastardborn - with interest. To do this, he would need coin and support from the right powers. He would have his swords and spears. Then, a crown.

Artur has sired a child of his own, a boy of almost thirteen years - derided as a bastard's bastard by some. As far as he's aware, the boy is still with the Bastardborn, unaware that the old man is still alive. Artur is fond of him, though to say he's been a loving or doting parent would be embellishment at best.

Magdalene was born in Foliage, a small isolated settlement towards the southeastern region of Deadwood; While the beginning of her life was relatively peaceful, she was only ten when the Kaimerian Uprising broke out, and her home was one of hundreds destroyed by the Kaimerian invaders. While she was spared by the honorable wrath of the Kaimerians, her parents died in the initial attack, leaving her an estranged refugee along with the other few survivors of her village. As if their village being torched and their people being slaughtered wasn't awful enough, the survivors were forced to flee past Darington, where dozens more of the few refugees were captured by opportunistic kidnappers and dragged into the city to lives of unforgiving slavery.

The very few remaining survivors of her village took up the lives of woodsmen and nomadic hunters, living off of what little the savage wilderness of Deadwood had to offer. When ends needed to be met, they took the role of raiders and even slavers, attacking refugees just as vulnerable as themselves and trading with Darington, the same city that exploited them as they fled for their lives. Magdalene herself saw her uncle turn from a kindly neighbor to a cold and jaded outlaw, once even stabbing a traveler through the ribs when they were a few coins short of his demand. She herself was no stranger to what her people had become, learning to notch crossbows, skin prey, and loot bodies. Her people soon became feared among settlements and travelers in the region, becoming known as the Band of Wolves.

During the war between Orthos and the Kaimerians, the Band of Wolves were opportunistic scavengers, swooping in to raid battlefields, pulling the shirts off the backs of barely living men and leaving them to die in the bloodied soil. They struck a few soft blows of revenge against the Kaimerians, too, killing a few scouts, as payback for their home's destruction. Over the course of the war, however, the Band of Wolves was eventually destroyed, finally disbanding after being lured into a trap and massacred by the Knights of Orthos after one too many battlefield raids on their ravaged units. Though Magdalene and a few others managed to flee with their lives, the remnant was too small to reform, the survivors each going their separate ways after that.

Magdalene traveled northward, roaming around all on her own. She managed to find work on occasion as a fur-trader and huntress, but mostly lived as a lone traveler and petty robber. Eventually, during a trip into Orthos, she heard the news that Exusia was seeking warriors and explorers, for an expedition into the Desolation, and were willing to pay mountains of gold. Tired of constantly surviving and living out in the wilderness, Magdalene was in enough desperation to accept, and set off on her journey to Exusia.

Anything else?

The ticking never stops. The whirring and grinding of gears I cannot see persists no matter what solution I employ. When I try to stop them, my mind slips off unsuccessful. My mind slips off of many things. It is as if my mind is filled with sharp things that cut me when I try to think, but I cannot see the knives. I am locked in a container and I cannot see the walls.

I do not know who I am. I do not know why I am here.

I awoke in a field with dust clouds above me and the remnants of farmland around me. Dried grass and animal bones prickled against my stone. I found words carved into my arm: Number Fourteen. I think that is my name. I do not know how I know how to read these words, but I do. I do not remember learning to read. I do not remember anything. Perhaps I fell in battle in that field. Perhaps I was born there, some cosmic entity’s attempt at comedy to make a stone contemplate its existence...there it is again, the cutting against my thoughts. I do not think I was made to think.

I rose from that field and I traveled, hoping to find answers to my questions. I found nothing but bones and sand. I saw a great fortress between two mountains. I walked its halls, looking for purpose, but I was met with hostility. I am often met with hostility. There was a man there with a great hammer. He meant to kill me. He called me a monster. In the end, he was easy to throw, and then he died. I was no longer welcome in that place. I do not even remember its name.

I met a man on a dirt road who was a spellcaster. He called himself Henrich. He told me some things that were useful to me. I am a golem, a creature made of stone by magic. I was created to serve a spellcaster, but in order to serve them, they must possess a talisman which controls my behaviors and actions. Henrich asked me where my talisman was, and I did not know. I still do not know if it even exists. Henrich had never heard of a golem without a talisman, but he figured that part of my distress comes from this nature. He said there was a place where I could learn more, a place called Exusia, but it is up in the clouds and impossible to reach. He said he might know a person who could take me there. Before we could go, however, we were attacked in the night. Beasts set upon us from the wilderness: large black wolves with teeth so large they couldn’t close their mouths. The wolves could not harm me, but Henrich was killed. I never learned of the person who could take me to Exusia.

At least now I have a direction. I must travel to Exusia and find where I came from. Otherwise, I will never be satisfied and this grim pain will never leave me.

Sjalvolki Gorassos has always known the life of a nomad. The Lyrossi Tribe, his birth-tribe, was always on the move in search of new lands and resources within the Deadwood. Sjalvolki’s life revolved around the migration pattern of the tribe. From an early age, Sjalvolki was taught the basics of survival and horse-riding. Without such knowledge then you may as well not be with the tribe. While some may never be able to travel the vastness of Deadwood, Sjalvolki has. From Sorrow Fields to the Bone Sea, Sjalvolki has traveled to many parts of the Deadwood. The search for new resources was the driving force for the Lyrossi Tribe. Trade was highly important as the Lyrossi Tribe became known for their exploits in gathering various parts of artifacts and other things. For Sjalvolki, he was not chosen to search the dead cities and ruined sites but was assigned to cooking. A boring job at first, but a blessing since Sjalvolki never had to risk his life in search of new resources and items. This was early-life for Sjalvolki. He traveled the parts of Deadwood and cooked for his tribe. In time, Sjalvolki’s life would get more exciting, but not in the way you think. Instead, Sjalvolki gained a job of helping the tribe blacksmiths. Over time, Sjalvolki slowly gained an interest in the ways of forging iron and steel. One day, he asked if he could learn how to smith. The smiths gladly accepted the request but that meant more work for Sjalvolki as he had to both cook and smith. How stressful.

Life went on as normal for a good while. Sjalvolki did his duties as a smith and cook, but things would take a turn for the worse for Sjalvolki. The religion of the Sun Elfs, the Sun Cult, had a massive schism. Two different cults soon formed in the aftermath - the New Sun Cult and the Old Sun Cult. The New believed that anyone could be a follower of the Sun God, not just the Sun Elfs. The Old believed that only the Sun Elfs could be the ONLY true followers of the Sun God, chosen by the Sun God itself to be as such. Many tribes fought over this belief and the Lyrossi Tribe was among the followers of the Old. For Sjalvolki, he was among the few that believed in the New Sun Cult. For this, he was banished from his birth-tribe. Taking whatever he could, Sjalvolki had to leave his family behind. While Sjalvolki could have joined a new tribe, the Sun Elf never did. At the age of 60, the time that he was banished, Sjalvolki chose to live on his lonesome. For the latter part of his life, Sjalvolki followed the same migration pattern as his tribe did, while offering his services in cities to pay for food, water, and other costs as he went about his migration. It also during this time that Sjalvolki became more self-aware of himself, and what he wanted from life. This is when he decided that the Deadwood was a sin against the Sun God, neverminding the fact that he also believed that Deadwood was also a hellish place that needed to go away. After finding out about the reward by the Queen, Sjalvolki jumped at the job. He could use the wealth to fund research to restore the land, and he can also figure out what caused Deadwood to be made in the first place.

Anything else?

Azariah Kravchenko was born and raised on Mithras, the child of Karlezek traders. He was told that some of their brethren came to the flying city when the queen invited the mages of Deadwood to Exusia;some of the best and brightest of the Karlezek mages left the cities of their kind to live a life of disconnection from the rest of the world. It would seem that their decision to leave was a wise one, as the world exploded, taking two thirds of the Karlkezek realm with it in the cataclysm. These Karlezek would stay on Exusia, becoming a small but wealthy community of magefolk, traders, and warriors.

Azariah grew up in relative stability within the walls of Mithras, every day of his life being spent within its halls and noble mansions. He was also given the best tutors by his parents. However, it was their intention to marry him off in an arranged marriage in an effort to keep their failing trade afloat.

He knew that this was his eventual fate as their eldest heir, and he had no intention of letting it happen. After all, it was, in his perspective, boring, tedious, and full of intrigue and the danger of assassination in the middle of the night by his own kind. What he wanted was to get to the flying city and be free of all the responsibilities of being an heir while doing whatever the hell he wants. Truthfully, he was spurred on by the mage that he studied under as an apprentice. His master, Harukou, said that life within these walls will get tedious eventually, as seeing the same things again and again was not living. Plus, sooner or later, they will have to reclaim the dead lands; no city will not last forever. No civilization ever does. They might as well go Exusia and then get rich there, and then maybe help to reclaim the lands after that. Sad thing was, Exusia only lets in those that it wants. He was, as such, resigned to his eventual arranged marriage and boring, useless life… until an advertisement showed up in the central plaza of Mithras, telling of an offer for anyone brave or foolish enough to investigate the lands, in exchange for being allowed into Exusia and gain great wealth...

It smelled of freedom.

He is a cook, and is also skilled at celestial navigation (navigating using the stars and constellations).

I am utter shit at backstories and honestly feel like I've hit the broad strokes well so far so I'm going to be brief. First, by mishap or murder, all of Old Mother's children have passed on. She holds a somewhat unique position in her society as a result of this - one of great respect, but also a bit of pity. She occupies something of a communal grandmother role. She serves as dula, nurse, doctor, matchmaker, fortune-teller, medicine-maker, sage, prophet, and seer. Yet not mother. Not anymore. It saddens her, and has left her with something of a hollow. For Kaimerians, there is nothing truly greater than being a successful mother - especially to have a daughter of your own, given their rarity. She had hoped to pass on her knowledge, to see her daughter surpass her in every way, to raise her strong, and wise, and sure. But that did not happen. So much did not happen. In seeing wars won and lost, tribal leaders rise and fall, she has learned much, but arguably gained little. That is what has prompted her to embark on this quest. Her people will survive without her, should she fall along the way.

Anything else?

GOAL
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"Endure. And in enduring, grow strong."

Quite simply put, Croix hopes to spread and preach the word of The One Being wherever he travels. Croix is incredibly strong but he is still one man, by journeying the Deadwoods alongside others he is eager to deepen the reach of The One Truth. It is hard to imagine he can do worse anyway, considering he touts a religion no one in the land has heard of and its followers amounts to just himself.

PERSONALITY
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"Our fires never stop burning, friend. All we can do is temper them. Through hope... And through faith."

Croix is a conflicting and strange presence to get an accurate reading. Most of the time he is quiet yet polite and even friendly. As though he is existing in an alternate world unseen by the rest of the Deadwoods. He is willing to listen, patient even to the most belligerent of people he finds himself in the company of and of course more than eager to discuss the various faiths of the land as well as espouse on his own.

Yet he is also unsettling, Croix has a strange manner about him, a serenity that often makes him come off as detached and indifferent to the horrors that surround him. His hopefulness, while seemingly genuine, can easily be seen by others as denial or rejection of the current state of things. In his mind, The One Being represents change and the current state of the world is merely its endurance as it forms into something new and is not to be frightened, but this is little comfort to those who consider themselves more in touch with reality. This is all to say nothing about him in combat, where he seems to regress into a monster of man, laughing and hollering with joy at the carnage he unleashes. While he can tell apart friend from foe and even strategize and coordinate his attacks when in enough control of himself, he seems to revel in the suffering inflicted upon his enemies.

While he is a friendly and outright optimistic sort regularly, there is undeniably a darkness to him that lurks underneath his warmth, hope and faith.

Croix's birth was unremarkable, a meeting between two members of a Bone Clan no doubt long since claimed by the harsh world. Unwanted by both parents he was birthed and left in the city of Alphos. This, truthfully, should be the were the story ends as life for children in general is not comfortable for most of the Deadwood's denizens yet Croix survived. Adopted, so to speak, by an orphan house in the city. Life was almost idyllic growing up for Croix, his fellow orphans being a motley crew that looked out for one another, something out of a story book really.

As happy stories typically go in the Deadwoods, it ended up taking a dark turn. Around the time Croix became a teenager, his home and friends began to act stranger around him, introducing new phrases and worldviews little by little as he grew older. He learned not to question the wisdom of the people who had so generously took him in yet he could feel himself slipping away piece by piece as information was filled into his head. About the power and superiority of demons and magic over the common man, the inevitability of demonic rule over these ruined lands. By the time Croix was becoming an adult, he was all but indoctrinated into the cult that his caretakers truly were, along with the rest of his brothers and sisters.

The cult consolidated their people and resources into a single purpose, their goal to summon and bind a demon to their will. In spite of being a small ramshackle orphanage in Alphos, the cult had grand ambitions of a crusade, led by demons and their own magical prowress, to slaughter or enslave the denizens of the Deadwoods and Exusia to their rule. The idea was that by binding and forcing a demon to submit to a mortal host, not only would that person's physical and mental capabilities shoot up considerably, it would give the mortal access to the demons unknown and strange magic, perhaps even eliminating the need for rituals all together. Each iteration of this ritual resulted in the chosen host simply twisting and contorting to disgusting angles before perishing, in one case outright exploding. But Croix was so conditioned by this point he did not question the horrors subjected to him and his once loving family, until the night where his name was called.

The Cult had failed repeatedly and was growing more and more desperate as their once small company of loyal followers began to dwindle. Croix, by that point being their physically strongest follower left, was ostensibly their perceived best chance at successfully binding the demon to a subject who could withstand it. The ritual began and the incantations murmured in the dead of night, Croix's eyes shut, awaiting either successfully serving his masters yet again or the embrace of oblivion. But something unexpected occurred. As Croix shut his eyes a light engulfed him, a disembodied voice spoke, one that opened his eyes to the lies upon lies fed to him almost since his birth. In what felt like an instant, with information it could not possibly know, the voice unravelled Croix's mental conditioning and awoke him to the truth. That voice was 'The One Being' and it needed a follower to begin prepping the world for what would soon follow. When Croix awoke, it was in the blood of his former family, those that had only ever saw him as either a tool or a fellow disciple. Yet, he couldn't feel any sadness, instead for possibly the first time in his life, he felt hope.

Though his body seemed change from the experience, that he was still alive seemed to indicate The One Being had intervened before it could destroy him completely. Armed with faith, his mind and something rarest of all in Deadwood, optimism. Croix left Alphos and travelled the land, stories began to emerge about a strange mountain of a man in a wide brimmed hat, preaching change and forgiveness as he went.

It was not until word reached him of the expedition organised by the Queen in Exusia that Croix felt purpose beyond merely spreading The One Truth. With this quest he could perhaps understand the Cataclycsm, find out what the world would change into under The One Being, use the gold and status offered by The Queen to even begin a full church if possible. These thoughts invigorated Croix's already unshakeable belief, with a smile he set off. Eager to spread The One Truth in earnest.

The One Truth - In spite of its far reaching consequence of implication, Croix's religion is actually quite straightforward. Croix believes in a deity known as The One Being, one who exists in every form of religion as their god (or gods) as well, merely in a different face and manner. The idea is that The One Being seeks to unite the people of Deadwood in preparation for the world's change into something new after its destruction. Croix believes that, while not strictly benevolent, The One Being exists to facilitate change in the world and all things. Growing them into a better version of their original self or something outright new, and that this process is merely happening to the greater land as it morphs to something better, or at least different. There are other specifics to it but this, above all else, is the 'One Truth' Croix is so passionate in spreading to the world.

Nikaiel was born in Krist (town on the west coast near the Shattered Isles), Dakora to one of the finest con artist, turned pirate, of the Shattered Isles. He made his money conning people in Krist during his youth, before he turned to piracy. His ship, the Forgotten Goddess, was where they learned all the tools in the conman trade. They started off conning people out of their money by pretending to be homeless and starving, but they had to sell the act. No one would feed a child that looked healthy, so whenever father thought it was a good time for them to go out on a con he would starve them for two weeks, then set them to work as a beggar child. They never got much, but it was a lesson learned in how to be someone else for the long game. When Nikaiel was eight their father had pillaged from the wrong ship. A noble woman from Dakora by the name of Lady Deveau, lord of the Deveau estate, and one of the most dangerous lords in Dakora, had a ship transporting money to Darington in exchange for slaves. Their father stole from her ship and it didn't take long for him to get found out. When Lady Deveau caught up to him, she made him pay with the freedom of his crew and his child. She didn't care where she got her slaves, as long as she got them. Nikaiel never saw their father again.

As the child of Deveau's thief, Kai was not treated kindly. They became Deveau's plaything; barely clothed, starved, and beaten for the smallest mistakes. Deveau used to have Nikaiel whipped during social gathering just to see how strong their threshold for pain was, and to put on a show for her guest where she waged bets on how long it was take them to pass out. On the rare days she decided to be kind, she had Nikaiel dress in noble clothing like a doll and praised them for their regal features. It's the only reason their face was spared scars and abuse no stronger than a slap. Nikaiel knew not to fight back no matter how much they wanted to, so they kept their head down, did as they were told, and became "loyal" to Lady Deveau, waiting for the opportunity to slit her throat. The moment never came. Deveau a political falling out with a neighboring lord, and the ensuing disagreement lead to her assassination when Nikaiel was twelve. They didn't stick around to be taken as a spoil of war and stowed away on a merchant ship going literally anywhere else.

Nikaiel ended up in Darington hiding and keeping to the shadows, so they wouldn't be taken by a slaver. They weren't on the street long, before they were found by Khym. The augury was an ex-slave that got spoiled by having at least one meal a day, which was more then he got when he traveled with his tribe through the Bone Sea, before he got caught by slavers in Darington decades ago. Khym didn't spend too much time with his master, having been cunning enough to steal coin and gems from the master's own safe, and pretended that the goods were stolen from someone else so he could buy his freedom. When Nikaiel and Khym met, Khym was getting on in years, and wasn't as agile as he used to be. In the time of his freedom, he spent most of it stealing gold and gems from merchants and the rich in Darington, so he never went without another meal again. He was able to get in and out without getting caught. He keeps a low profile, virtually a nobody, no one knowing he's the richest creature in Darington with his basement full of riches.

Khym took Nikaiel in when they caught him sneaking off with stolen goods. They'd been hiding in an alley next to a jewelry shop for the night and just happened to see Khym's escape. Nikaiel was desperate for money, so they could buy food, and thought they could take Khym in a fight, since he was tinier than them. Nikaiel had the element of surprise and was able to take the bag Khym carried. They would've made off with the loot had they not been malnourished and passed out from running. Khym was surprised the kid was able to get the drop on him, since he's usually aware of his surroundings. He took his bag back and would have left Nikaiel on the street, but decided to wake them up and welcome them into his home. Once Nikaiel got their strength back, they told Khym everything, minus details of their life with Lady Deveau. Learning they were an amateur con artist, Khym saw this as an opportunity to mold Nikaiel into his new money maker. Combined with the skills Nikaiel learned from their father and Khym, they became the best con artist in Darington. They did away with their birth name and took up the name Kai. Kai wasn't a slave with a master, but a master of disguise.

Khym set Kai to work, unfortunately spending gold and jewels on temporary crews to help Kai get the job done. Kai never worked with the same people twice, and whatever cut Khym gave them had to be spilt with their partners. Kai learned quick to vet potential crewmates, never tell the crew the entire plan, and keep it to four to five people. Any more than that and shit gets messy. Khym also inducted them into his religion worshiping Khiar-koff. Kai is a devout follower, and often prays to Khiar-koff first thing in the morning praying for their death to be delayed another day. Through the ritual sacrifices, Khym taught them Kisha making. Kai's first few attempts at making kisha failed, but when they finally got the hang of it they made El, a bird-cat homunculus.

After working for Khym for over a decade, Kai wants to branch out on their own, and find riches that'll be all for them and not mostly for Khym.

Kai has plenty of names they use for different cons. And when they introduce themself to people, it's always a name on the long list of aliases. If their enemies ever found out their true identity they'd be in trouble.

*Most of the worldbuilding about Auguries in my posts are by Maxx.

Unlike many in Deadwood, Ari does not have something they’d consider a tragic backstory. They are a mushroom, and there are only so many bad things that can be done to mushrooms without attachment to even their own kind. They have nearly reached middle aged, which for them is enough to count as having a decent past.

Ari spent the first two years of their life growing in thick piles of rotting wood, before emerging as a much smaller version of themselves. From there they spent time alone, learning how to survive in the harsh environment and having more than a few close scrapes with death. This made them more focused on survival, having a one track mind towards staying alive. It was from this their interest in poisons came, since they themselves weren’t poisonous to scare away everything that might try to kill or eat them.

They spent time learning poisonous mushrooms, non sentient and otherwise, by experimentation - on creatures that might eat it or themselves, since it couldn’t kill them. It was around age six that they gained proper contact with other Myconid, who were normally very solitary from each other. Ari themselves wasn’t particularly against talking to others, but had also seen no reason to seek them out. They were lucky to not be killed on sight by the group of Myconid, mostly of the non poisonous variety and much more aggressive as a result. However they were still relatively young and the leader took an interest in them, so they ended up joining them. Thanks to this her ability to learn about poisons grew: the others in the group would often end up killing poisonous Myconid which gave her something to study.

It wasn’t a great way of life, but it wasn’t bad either. She lived with them, moving through the sprawling rotting forests for Myconid had no permanent home, with the goal of just surviving and finding a good place to set down her spore. Nothing monumental happened to change this opinion, only a sudden realisation that there had to be more to life. This was brought about by no longer having to think about survival 24/7 thanks to being in a group, and having time to consider other things.

This feeling was what caused them to set out, leaving the dead wood forests that spanned Deadwood and found out about the news from Exusia from word of mouth. It sounded like a much better option than constantly living just to survive, so they set off to Exusia to join.

Ari is just a random name they chose because they liked the way the letters sounded together.
Ari is a type of mushroom called inocybe geophylla / earthy inocybe.

Kymir was born in a brothel to one of it's workers. Her mother kept her existence a secret for as long as possible. At least enough time to save up some money. Her mother used all of the coin she had to bribe an orphanage to take her. There Kymir was raised under constant supervision. Kymir grew to learn to obey the denmother's wishes and to perform basic chores. She also made friends with the other orphans, and grew a close bond with two boys of the same age. The three were inseparable. They grew wise to the ways of the world together and discovered that they were to be sold to the slavers when they came of useful age. Desperate to avoid that way of life, the three escaped the orphanage at the age of twelve.

It was a hard life outside of the orphanage. Kymir had to keep herself hidden as best as possible. She kept her hair short and wore a hat to hide her ears. It would be easy to be overlooked if she appeared to be a human boy. Kymir and her friends made their own little niche in the world in an old abandoned watch tower on the city limits. They kept each other safe and learned basic hand to hand combat. They even stole weapons to use as well. By the time the three of them were seventeen they'd mastered the streets of Darington.

While Kymir was happy with this meager way of life, the eldest of the three, Mikhail, wanted more. Day after day he'd return to their home late in the night. Each night with different scars. Kymir quickly realized that he was volunteering to fight in the gladiator arenas. She and the youngest, Daxion, oleaded with him to quit. Not only did the gladiator arenas represent the violence in this city, they were also a trademark of the slavers. Kym couldn't believe he would participate in such a horrible place. Yet Mikhail showed no signs of regret. He told them he was saving the money to get them out of the city. He made promises to them, but he never kept them. One night Mikhail never returned.

Kym and Dax had no reason to believe he was coming back, so they continued on. The bit of peace the two found together was short lived, unfortunately. Dax was confronted by one of the gangs within Darington a year after Mikhail disappeared. They gave him an ultimatum. Either he would join their ranks and have their protection, or he would be handed to the slavers. It was obvious which choice he would make, but women were not allowed. Kym had to stay behind, but it meant that Dax would be protected. So she told him to go.

Now that she was on her own, Kym had no reason to stay in Darington. It was getting harder to fend for herself now that she had no other support. Dax's visits were growing less and less frequent. She knew that soon he would disappear too. So she needed to disappear first. Kym packed up the small stash of coin Dax had brought her, stole the last bit of rations she could, and snuck out of the city.

After a long journey, Kymir arrived in Alphos. While at first she was hesitant to trust the people of this city she soon learned that it was far more kind than Darington could ever hope to be. She found comfort in this city all on her own. The freedom was intoxicating. Kymir established herself quickly. She made new friends, taught herself new things, so many things, and discovered a joy for life. Sure, the city was dangerous in some places, but Kym could handle any fight that came her way. She even took down a group of slavers lurking in the city. She'd tell anyone, if they asked, that "they ran for the bone sea so fast that you can still see the dust trail they left behind!"

Kymir is ambidextrous.