My life has always been a hard one... I was born of a strange family; my mother was pure-blood Altene, and my father of equally-pure Iridinian blood. My mother's name was Tzigone Shilmarae, and she had come from a strong mercenary-soldering family. My father was Zaknafein Do'Urden, he was also of a strong soldering family, he was an officer in service of the Republic. I also had and Elder brother by the name of Gorgontis.
While my Father would be off on his duties, me and my Elder brother would stay at home with our mother, and she would educate us in the ways of Altene that we lost anywhere else in the Republic. Me and my Elder brother were very close to our mother, and her loss from us was grievious. It happened when I was aged at 5 years old, still too young to get much understanding of the world around me and its principles. I had noticed that my mother was starting to get a bit larger then she was normally, and of course, my childish curiosity put itself into play, so I asked my Elder brother what it meant.. I remember the conversation that changed my life perfectly:
'Gorg','I had asked my Elder brother,'W'y is mum bee-c'min so big lat'ly? Did she eat too m'ch of Mrs. Dreyson's pasties again?'
My brother chuckled at my childish nievety as he answered, 'Of course not, you know very well she hates the stuff... She is having another child, a new baby will be born in our family.'
'Wha'? Anot'er kid for me to pway wit'?' I had beamed at the thought.
Then suddenly my brother's face grew grave, and I knew something was wrong. 'Wha'sa matter, Gorg?'
His face reeled in pain as he said this, 'It's just that ..well.. mother wont live past this birth, it will be too much for her.' He took his stave and broke it against a nearby tree in rage.
Then it hit me, like a Horse. I felt the warm tears begin to stream down my cheeks, I burst out crying at the thought of losing the dearest person in my life, my mother. I burst out in rage, and ran off, not knowing where to go, I just kept running... A few hours of this went on, then the cruel darkness of night fell. While looking through the bustling streets of Iridine, trying to find my way home, I bumped into a tall, rough-looking man wearing a Long, white hooded cloak with a black streak bordering it over one side. He grunted as I bumped into his gut, i cowered in fear from him. Then he smiled and chuckled at me, offered his hand and hauled me back to my feet. I decided to walk by him through the streets of Iridine (this was still during the time when hoods were legal, so we got no trouble from constables). After a while, I noticed a small object in his hand, constantly disappearing then re-appearing within his palm. I gazed at this inquisitively, and when he noticed my interest, he decided to teach me this little trick, so I could amuse myself....
That's when my life as a thief began... I will not go into deep details about that time, for it is the worst and darkest of my life...
Anyways, after awhile, the man returned me to my home and we parted. When I walked in, I almost fainted; the birth had happened. I saw my brother and Father close together, and they looked as if they were about to cry, then I saw why; There was my new baby brother, Elrik, gently sleeping in a small bunch of blankets nearby on the floor, and also nearby, was a priest bending over the dead body of my mother.
My father now raised us, and although he did a good job of it, and was a great father, it was nothing without our dear mother. It went on like this for about 10 years.. My Eldest brother parted from our house, to go start his own life as a man, so me and my father were left to raise the young Elrik.. At his tenth birthday, our mother's deathday, My father decided to train him in the lore of the gladius, as a swordsman. That same day, he had gone off for a patrol with some fellow officers, and was murdered by Brith 'The Butcher'..
Word had gotten to my Eldest brother, so he came back to raise Young Elrik. It went on like this for 9 years, I secretly trained in my thieving skills; and after about 3 years, I left off to live on my own, sometimes coming back to see my brothers. What ended those 9 years, was when Gorgontis went off for one of his routine hunting trips, and was killed by bandits in the Salinae Marshes.
By this time, my brother was 'of age', so he took care of himself, and I did the same for myself. We rarely saw each other, and it's the same today, I still blame him for my mother's death, and lothe him.
Now, I spoke of the beginning of my thieving life, I refuse to say the middle, but I'll say how it ended.. I was out grabbing from a few nearby people, when suddenly, a large man bearing a long, serrated, Boison gladius, started to beat me like I'd never been beat before. That took a lot out of my pride and soul, so I decided to quickly forget all of my dark ways, it was not worth the price of life.
That's pretty much where I am Today, but who knows about tomorrow?