Aoleon Vance grew up with family in Aldoria. His father
was a traveling Tutor from Vandregon, and had fallen for
Aoleon’s mother, who played lute at an inn he
frequented. The two of them started a family, though when he
stopped traveling, his income suffered. Though, their
affection for each other was so strong, that not even
poverty could dampen their spirits. They managed to build a
house, and raised a fine son, the dangers of the outside
world a distant fear from inside their warm little
family.
Though Aoleon never new riches, he knew
happiness, learned manners and all manners of things as he
grew. It was fortune in the form of a candle fire, burning
their home, that saved them from the first wave of undead.
They saved what little food and possessions they could from
the fire, and made their way away, spirits dampened, but
brim with hope. They were safely a week’s travel closer
to the coast when the rubble of their home was overrun by
the undead plague.
It was fortune that saved them, and it was
fortune that tore them apart. A simple mugger: a man,
nothing more, armed with a simple dagger, looking for
silver, and desperate enough to spill blood for it. Aoleon
Vance managed to escape the man with nothing more than the
clothes on his back and his mother’s lute. He managed to
make way onto a boat heading to the new continent before
things got insurmountably violent.
On the voyage and for a time after, he traded
lessons and stories for food. Though he was not trained in
any craft, he apprenticed to several shopkeepers, learning
not only the value of a coin, but also how to tell how badly
somebody might want something, or what they’d be willing
to pay for it. Buying from some and selling to others (as
well as a bit of scribe work), he made what he considered a
fortune: he was rarely hungry, and had grown in strength and
knowledge enough to explore his interests.
He owns two scrolls, each inscribed with one of
two words: Faedrun and Mardrun. In the fear that the great
libraries of Faedrun have been destroyed, he plans to
compile as much information about Faedrun’s history, the
colonists who escaped, and their families as he can; in the
other scroll, he hopes to write what he learns about
Mardrun’s history, their inhabitants, and the problems
that plague this land. He has recently made the decision to
forgo his last name, knowing it won’t open any political
doors for him, he hopes at least that it won’t burn
bridges before he even has a chance to cross them.
To achieve these goals, he has begun traveling.
For the past almost three months, he has traveled with the
Brotherhood of Last Winter, sharing meals and stories.
Though they treat him friendly enough, he still considers
himself an outsider, merely a traveling companion. He’s
excited to get a chance to explore the fascinating new
continent, and though he has no idea what’s in store for
him, he knows that he can do good in the world.