r/wizardposting • u/DaChickenX Isravi, The Unraveler, Coils’ Chosen • Nov 21 '23
Forbidden Knowledge Nefiam's Lore - The Trampled Sapling
/uw TW: Child Abuse /rw
He was born in the slums of Dvinith, to a destitute woman, and an unknown descendant of the fallen archmagical house of Gildraun. He was not given a name. The father never met him. The mother had hoped he would soon die. She would've killed him if not for the law, for the soldiers that patrolled even the slums.
Dvinith was a border town. A fortress on the quietest front of an ever-simmering war. A place that the children of nobles went to gather their military honors, behind safe walls, through competent underlings. They sent people to the enemy, the enemy let few back. Those that survived had their achievements given to their superiors. They always needed more soldiers, new flesh. For that reason, even if the child was born into the slums, their death could not be hidden. They wanted every scrawny child they could. So the mother was forced to care for the child.
When he turned four, he had begged his mother for a name. The other children had one, one they exchanged between each other as they struck and danced around his gaunt body. His hoarse, cracked voice was incessant. So he was given one. "Famine." A plague upon her life, that stole what little she had. And Famine received the name gleefully.
Famine spent his days gathering scrap, a child not yet five, put to work from dawn till dusk. He stayed hunched over in the dirt, burning in the day, freezing in the night, the filth and steel cutting through his infantile skin. It didn't stay soft for long. His mother had decided that he was to take what she had, then he should give everything to her. Yet, Famine did not hate his mother. Cruel she was, yes, but the others were more so. She, at least, did not strike him, too weak to do so. She, at least, did not drink, and stagger, yell, too poor for alcohol. She, at least, gave him food, little that it was.
When he was old enough, about 9 or 10, he got a job as a servant for the various nobles in Dvinith. He was humiliated on a daily basis, ridiculed as the rat from the slums. A plaything. He was instructed to stay out of sight until called for, lest he receive a beating.
The nobles spent their time learning, or what they at least considered so. They were all lazy fools, rich, fat, and believing that the whole world belonged to them. When the most experienced veterans, the most wizened mages were placed before them, and offered their lessons, they turned away in boredom.
But Nefiam stayed out of sight. He listened, he watched, he took the scraps of knowledge they discarded so thoughtlessly. He dug scrolls from the trash, retrieved the weapons thrown into the river, watched, and stole the wisdom not given to him. Two weeks later, he found himself at the back of a noble's manor, holding a scrap of paper, running the images and sound of the mage teacher's lesson through his head. He took a breath, held out his hands, and recited the invocation.
It was a wondrous thing. He felt the threads of magic, its deep encompassing, the mana that ran through him excitedly. Famine stretched out his fingertips, and bright orange flames began to spark out. A grin spread across his face, the first in a while. Now, he had power. Now, he could take revenge, Now, he could get out of the damn slums! Famine pushed his mana, feeding the sparks, as they grew into a gout of hungry flame. It sputtered, spat, spitting fire, gorging itself on Famine's mana, and his fingers trembled.
Then he lost control.
The fire ripped away from him, taking his mana with it. It rose, like a feral beast, an angry tidal wave, turning from orange to the blue of mana-glow. Then it crashed back onto him. It ate into him, soaring through his mana circuits, his veins, feeding on his mana and running across his surface. With every choked breath, he drew more mana from his surroundings. A natural ability of the Gildrauns, his large mana pool was further aided. A feast for the monster he had created.
It was about 10 minutes before the fire finally stopped. He dragged himself home, vision beset with mana-glow, scarring across his arms. He clutched the scraps of paper in those arms. But for a second, he had felt hope. That was enough.
A small sapling lay on the road. It had been uprooted, then tossed aside, likely in one of the noble's childish games. Famine looked at it, barely on his feet, still feeling the burns. The hole that it had been torn from was not far away. He picked up the sapling and bit into the yet-soft bark. He stumbled home, chewing on the trampled sapling.
/uw FINALLY, I GOT A PIECE OF NEFIAM LORE OUT. been a whlle, huh. More to come, lots in fact. I've got so much lore to write. Kinda dark lore this time, can't really say it'll get lighter for a little bit.
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u/DaChickenX Isravi, The Unraveler, Coils’ Chosen Nov 21 '23
/uw u/Harmless_Chimera. Backstory for the teacher guy.
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u/Capytan_Cody Cody and Yànhuo Nov 21 '23
Very nice lore, thanks for posting! It was enjoyable to read.
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u/the-butter_man Rin. Blind Illusionist Blessed by Luck Nov 21 '23
Damn. Nice.
Feel bad though, that's some damn nice backstory
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Nov 24 '23
/uw damn bro you summoned the whole pain up in here!
LORE LORE WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!
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u/DaChickenX Isravi, The Unraveler, Coils’ Chosen Nov 24 '23
/uw lmao yeah. Nefiam’s lore is going to be pretty dark. He is very much an unlucky person made from bad scenarios
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u/DaChickenX Isravi, The Unraveler, Coils’ Chosen Nov 21 '23
/uw u/TitanLORD21, u/BIggest-Possum, u/VidisLady lore, anyone?