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Though in recent years the chaos caused by the Bleeding had begun to subside and a fairly widespread blanket of apparent peace had started to settle over the land, the elven territories of Sil-Elaine sat under the unsteady rule of the Court of Dusk. For many, life was impoverished, life was suffering, life was simply pain– a life not worth living. For his birth mother, such was her lot in this sad excuse for an existence. And yet…she wanted more for her son, so she gathered what small amount of wealth and supplies she could and made her best effort to stray far from Sil-Elaine, ending up in Daravin– more specifically, Verant, in Boghadar. Was this much better? No, but it certainly was different. A fairly withered soul by this time, she was starved near death, been struggling to sustain eating for two, being pregnant and all.
In her travels, she was swept away in the torrents of life that often overtake those who are powerless. She ended up a slave, though pregnant and sickly, she wasn’t considered very desirable given the risk of her expiration in even giving birth in this state. It also appeared that the slavers themselves weren’t too keen on doing much to try and revive her health, concerned as they were with the potential of wasting resources. Thus, she was given a cheap price and offered to the various shades and colors of buyers within Daravin.
By pure happenstance, she lay huddled in her holding chamber, very obviously pregnant, as a couple cloaked in black robes, shimmering purples and blues chanced by her when looking for cheap labor. It was early Wither at this point, cold beginning to creep in and biting at all three figures, plus the many others locked in that particular holding chamber. The couple in question that deigned to arrive on this day were none other than Sebastián and Sophia Socorro, second son to House Socorro and his wife. The disheveled woman and her unfortunate unborn child were only noticed by the two for one very specific reason: Sophia had become infertile before she was ever able to conceive. The two were desperate for a baby, and though Sebastián could easily find another wife, he loved her too much to leave her for this reason. Some of the other ways to acquire a baby that were more…fashionable, so to speak, did not really appeal to the couple, either. It was evident from the appearance of the woman that she was Sil’norai, elves with deep magical roots. Though members of the Entente rarely opted for adoption, much less under circumstances like this, the two cast gazes at each other in silent agreement. Even though words were unspoken, their plan was born on this day. The two of them purchased this woman and kept her under the guise of keeping her as a house maid.
Other members of the house and its staff were quite curious as to exactly why the pair had acquired their new silvery elven slave, given that they didn’t need any additional housekeepers at all. Plus, this woman was quite pregnant and malnourished, what labor could she really provide for anyone? At the same time, the couple offered no explanation. Given their standing within their own house and the roles that they played, many were none too pleased with this development, but nonetheless powerless to do anything about it. The ones who could evidently didn’t care and were content to let the two do as they pleased in this regard. The pair fed their new acquisition quite well along with giving her additional care and support, though the intent of this was not for her own sake– they wanted the baby to be born as healthy as it could. She was stabilizing well, and the pregnancy was going smooth, all things considered.
Days marched ever onwards and it was now mid-Rime. The woman had appeared to be on the verge of giving birth for quite a few days by now, and the couple appeared to be watching her with bated breath. It was the 17th, very early in the morning, when the time finally came. Her birth was appearing to be uneventful…at first. Sophia approached the doctor in charge of her care, whispering poison into their ear, and then leaving the room. Nobody knows what words were exchanged other than those two, but when the time came, the baby survived and the mother did not. People started asking questions when the couple immediately laid claim to the baby, it being extremely clear that it was not a result of their own copulation. Once again, those with the power to do anything about their choices turned a blind eye. They wanted a baby, and now they had one, who cares where it came from? That was their thought process, much as it grated on the nerves of some others. After all, the standard stipulations of offspring were yet still required– mark them young, make them strong, or cut loose the fraying strands from your family’s tapestry.
Sophia and Sebastián adored their newfound son. His beautiful, pearlescent skin and soft, silvery hair. The cute features, those dreamy little tattoos lacing all over his skin, particularly beautiful filigree adorning his face. They doted on him at every opportunity, and though they had high hopes and magnificent dreams for the boy’s future, they nonetheless feared for the day where they would mark him, terrified of the possibility that he could perish. The two of them viewed this son as a gift from the Gods, and they felt that if he did die, it would’ve been their fault. They did what best they could do to prepare him, feeling immense pressure given the illegitimate circumstances by which they came across him, as well. They could tell many hoped for his failure, hoped he would die so that this oddity would cease to exist and they didn’t have to think about it anymore. However, much to their chagrin, the child lived through the process of receiving the mentalist’s mark, at the young age of only three. It is hard to imagine what it would be like to go through each of the five Reverie’s tests as a child that young, what their mind would form, what they would see in that coalescing mess of colors, memories and dreams…despite this, at the end, the young boy opened his eyes, confused and disoriented, but mind and body intact and new mark permanently etched upon his palm.
The boy’s triumph managed to shift the opinions of some who disapproved of his membership in the family, as they were wont to disrespect this development. Many were still on the fence of this illegitimate son, but given how much magic was respected, they had to hold their tongues over the years. His magical talent was undeniable, and in the subsequent few years he spent most of his time learning to cast alongside musical arts and the various social and political skills one needs to exist as an Entente. Even in such early stages of his youth he was painfully aware that his existence would always be, to some degree, cutthroat in that regard. Despite the nature of the Entente and how it usually bred competition, the young boy never really wanted to partake beyond being an observer. He was quite nosy and enjoyed meddling in the affairs of others, but only to such a degree that he would be considered a bystander. This young Sil’norai simply enjoyed playing music and learning to cast, while being entertained by the petty dramas and conflicts of those around him.
As he grew, he did often find himself wondering about the nature of his origins, with myriad questions on the subject. His parents told him absolutely nothing, despite him knowing he wasn’t naturally theirs, and what he did find out wasn’t actually through them. In hushed whispers, he heard the stories about the woman who gave birth to him, but naught more. He only really started to think about these things around the age of twelve or thirteen, having been blinded– maybe distracted, more– by the whirlwind that was his life up to that point. That, and his parents were overall very loving of him, doing their best in whatever ways they could think of to both nourish his growth…but also just keep him happy. Though the creeping curiosity was growing louder, a boy of this age had little power to really wander and go out looking for such answers, so the questions remained as such, gnawing every so often at the back of his mind.
In his teens he found his interactions with his peers to often be strange, given the fact that his appearance amongst his human family shifted drastically as he grew…ever taller. Even the taller humans would only reach mid six feet, his growth continued up until roughly six-foot-eight, near the end of his teens. Though aware there were races of which were taller than he, he spent most of his time amongst people he towered over. Lithe in figure and with soft but distinct, beautiful features, he was rather popular with those his age as he floated through his teens. Despite this, he rarely gave anyone the time of day, finding his interests in others to be…somewhat lacking at this point. He excelled in most of his studies, finding himself more interested in the academic, magical and musical than the social from ages ten to about twenty.
At about age fourteen, the boy heard more than just whispers of another form of magic that interested him, that of Bane. The concept utterly fascinated the young, fledgeling mentalist, thinking about all the possibilities it had on its own merits. However, for the moment, he wasn’t very well acquainted with any known Ferriers. That, and being a child, he didn’t quite feel it was his place to badger anyone at the moment for their time. Plus…taking on another mark would put his life at risk, and he had only just begun to live it. Nonetheless, his interest in that field of magic would be maintained well into the future, up until he’d end up making the decision to act upon it.
When he became an adult, he found himself ever more curious about the affairs of others. In these upcoming years, he was rather more willing to socialize to quite a bit higher degree compared to his more bookworm-like attitude in his teens and early childhood. Many sought his attention and his affections, for myriad reasons– he found sifting through them somewhat overwhelming, vexing, even, but used their interest as a way to glean ever more information about others. Some came to him genuinely wanting to try and forge a relationship, some just wanted sex, some were trying to manipulate him to trip over members of his family, some just wanted friendship, and others wanted to hurt him personally. Whatever the reason, however, given the nature of his social class, they were ever and always interesting, therefore he often entertained most of those that approached him, but kept his guard ever vigilant when it came to those he would allow close to him.
One reason of note that people found to flock towards him was his race. Sil’norai weren’t directly rare, though their numbers had been extremely thinned some years ago in the epic tragedy that was the bleeding. However, in company of mostly humans, they looked on at the prospect of his long life with awe, curiosity, and perhaps most poignantly, jealousy and desire. Many would covet those extra years, so many would come to him, trying to play the strings of his heart just so in an attempt to undergo the Arlaed with him. It never worked. Once he found out that this was often someone’s intention when trying to court him, he reacted with trepidation, extreme caution and the complete lack of ability to fully trust anyone who so much as mentioned the concept of romancing him.
Through his twenties, he found himself much preferring to remain socially distant from others, growing colder to strangers. The people he was closest to always remained his parents even during this time, mostly entertaining relationships with others as a form of self amusement, but not wanting to become too attached. This was a given because of the bloodbath not very well hidden underneath the surface of the Candor. He was quite happy to allow himself whatever pleasures came along, but always careful, ever cautious. This attitude was shaped after years and years of watching fellow Entente engage in both subtle and unsubtle wars with one another, watching blood as it flowed in deep, crimson rivers from house to house.