Legends of Belariath
Lucius
Lucius, last survivor of House Ashgrove of the Kingdom of Ruillahn
Born 560 years ago, Lucius's occupation was set before birth. Being the younger son of an aristocratic house, he was determined not to become a leech on the family's fortune, so he joined the military service. Slowly working hard, he pleased his family and superiors and steadily climbed up the ladder of command, confident and never knowing his world would be changed forever.
Shortly before Lucius's 273rd birthday, he recieved the rank of Commander. A bit surprised, he subtly began investigating the sudden promotion and overheard an advisor to the king commenting on a mounting invasion by the sithians, that grew more and more prominent by the day. Worried, he let this slip to his fellow officers and they stepped up their training, ready for the day, two years later, that their kingdom was invaded.
As the battle raged back and forth, both sides slowly built up for a final victory. Lucius gained experience in the war, seeing death, destruction, lost promise, the obliteration of innocence, and so much more. He grew numb after awhile, and cold. His whole life had consisted of very little besides the military, so after some time, he found it easy to reconcile. Finally, 25 years later, the king's messenger showed up with a very risky tactic. After looking it over thoroughly, Lucius turned and nodded to the messenger, sending a note back reporting that he was ready and eager to finish this long war.
Moving his troops around the countryside, ready to flank the sithians, they gathered their strength. The siege equipment set to take their towers and the men armed and ready, they struck out like a spear into the enemy's flanks, quickly approaching. They had began to tear into the sithians when suddenly, a female appeared amongst them and began waving her hands and incantating. Lucius stopped, surprised by the female, not having seen one before. He dismissed her as a healer and told his men to ignore her and focus on the enemy's commander. The next thing he knew, she pointed her hand to the sky and called forth a dragon.
The result was devastating. His men began to panic and flee, overrunning each other and breaking ranks fast. After that, the other companies caught sight of the dragon and swiftly followed suit. Within three days, the army was broken entirely. Within a week, his homeland would be overrun and destroyed. But Lucius wouldn't get off that easily. He was one of the few who stayed to fight, but was quickly overwhelmed, dragged under a pile of bodies and clapped in irons.
The next century or so remains mostly a blur to him, but from what he can remember, there was terrible pain, there was an occasional flash of a knife or a flog or something even more dire. Afterwards, there'd be healing magic, and the pain would start all over again. The first thing he can clearly remember is the death screams of the sithians as the keep he was a prisoner of was overrun by what could only be called adventurers. Freed from his chains and healed by them, he stepped out into the sun for the first time in 104 years.
After reveling in his freedom, the reality of his situation struck him. His family, friends, and everyone he had ever known before were dead. His homeland had been destroyed. The only people that he knew were the strangers who had freed him. He ended up travelling with them for a little while, helping them clear out dungeons and such. Somewhere along the way, he picked up the bad habit of overindulging in alcohol. Eventually the others left him one night, passed out in a tavern, and disappeared from his life.
After that, Lucius bounced from town to town, doing odd jobs, anything he could to afford the alcohol that would numb his mind and ease his pain. The amount of time he spent drinking was astonishing, a miracle he didn't die from it, as he surely damaged his body and poisoned his soul over the 143 years he spent in a bottle. And then he met her...
In what seemed like a typical, average, inn, he woke up after passing out, to find a young human girl named Marie, tending to him. Blinking and looking up, he saw that they were alone. He looked at her and she gave him a gap toothed smile, then set something on his chest and ran off, carrying a small burlap satchel. Over the next few months, he saw her more and more as she began to follow him everywhere he went. Finally, one day, she failed to show up. He dismissed it lightly, but atfter the third day without seeing her, he grew concerned and began looking around for her.
Finding her curled up in an alleyway, coughing and sneezing and burning up with fever, he sighed softly, then lifted her into his arms and took her back to his room in the local inn. Leaving her in bed, he went and sought out a healer, Leading the man back to his room and slipping a small fortune in the man's hand, he waited for the exam to finish and the healing to commence. The healer seemed a bit surprised because he had thought that the girl had died with her parents in the recent troll attack. When he found out she was alive, he left Lucius with the responsibility of her, telling him that nobody else would want her. Shaking his head, Lucius reluctantly took her in, vowing to dump her off somewhere as soon as she was healed.
The next day, he headed down to the tavern, leaving Marie in bed, and was shocked to find that the bar tender wouldn't extend him credit enough to drink until he'd earned back the money he'd spent on her healing. For the first time in over a century, Lucius was forced to quit drinking. Raging in the grip of withdrawal, he pulled a knife and stalked over to Marie, ready to stab her, but standing over her bed with the knife raised, he had a realization of how far he'd sunk. Dropping the knife, he sank to the floor and wept for the first time since his days back home. Just as he was about to pick up the knife and use it on himself, he felt her arms slip around his neck and hug him tightly, her little voice telling him not to cry, she was alright. That day would mark yet another change in Lucius's life.
Leaving the city a sober man, Lucius took the nine year old Marie with him and set out to find a new home, the small human girl and the tall sylvan elf making an odd couple. Finally, after months of searching, they found a nice place where Lucius got a job as a guide, trapper, furrier, and general woodsman. He took care of Marie and they lived together, happily for 10 years. His birthday that day would be one he'd never forget.
Marie had left the house to go into the forest because she had wanted some berries to make him a cake with to celebrate his birthday. Lucius shook his head and let her go, having trained her in the ways of the woods when she was younger. He grew a little concerned when she didn't return after a few hours. He grew worried when she didn't return when night fell. He grew panicked when she didn't return the next day. When he went out into the woods and found her tracks and the signs of a kidnapping, he grew frantic. Rushing back to his house, he grabbed a few basic items and set out to look for her.
Three years later, still looking he ends up in a small frontier town named Nanthalion. Once there, he decided to settle in and use the town as his base of operations and home. Setting up a camp in the forest, he began to go forth and meet people, one of which ended up becoming his mate, the sylvan elf druid Shalendra.
Settling happily with her, he eagerly interrogates all other travelers for word of his adopted daughter, praying for word of her one day.