I hail from a land across the Eastern Sea, a land called Gruudland, populated much the same as Cosrin. Only there, many of the same beasts that we slay daily here live in the cities, even ruling some of them. From one of these cities I was born, a city named Grim Bones.

Now Grim Bones was a large city, but it wasn't the beautiful Moorgate we live in here. Nae, Ol' Grim Bones, as we called it, was a dark, dreary place, whose main businesses were the Great Smelters, where they melted the ores that came from the Nameless Mountains north of the city. This caused the sky to be constantly covered by smog, making it a very dismal place indeed.

My mother was the daughter of a basketweaver, her name was Fiella. Though she was extremely beautiful to behold, she was still a commoner, and as such, she was forbidden to mix with the upper society. Many men still came to woo her, and soon, she was the most desired object in the city. One Suitor among many, a strong young smith named Korrick, caught her eye, and the two soon fell in love. The wedding was announced, and plans for it soon began.

Unfortunately, one of the many admirers my mother had was a mysterious servant of the demonic city ruler, named Valourian Toreador. Unknown to everyone, Valourian was a Master Vampire, and extremely powerful. Still, Fiella was a commoner, and though he desired her greatly, his master, the Demon Xiox had forbidden any mixing of the classes. In his insanity, Valourian vowed that he would have her, or no man would, even if it meant the disfavor of his master.

The day of the wedding, all went well, and the two were married blissfully. No one seemed to notice the cloaked figure in the back, or the evil glare he cast the two as they left the dirty little chapel. Nor did anyone notice when this same figure followed the couple as they traveled to Korrick's small cottage on the outskirts of town.

Later that night, as the figure sat behind the walls of the nearby toolshed, another figure, flying by magic alone, landed and approached him. "You have don well, Sirrus, and for serving me thus, I will not kill you. For now. But you must stay and watch as you son dies by my hand." Grinning evilly, Valourian left Sirrus, Korrick's father who had dissapeared the day of the wedding announcement, frozen by his spell of control, and entered the cottage silently.

Inside the cottage, Fiella was preparing the bed for the night, awaiting Korrick's return so they could at last share their love. All of a sudden, she heard a strangled cry, and a loud crashing from the living room. As her heart skipped a beat, she raced into the other room to be confronted by a grizzly site: Korrick, limp and white, was being drained of blood by a tall, powerful looking vampire. As she entered, Valourian turned from where he had finished off Korrick, and moved towards Fiella. "Now, at last my darling, you will be mine. Muwahahahahahaha"

Outside, Sirrus was finally able to free himself from the spell the Vampire had placed on him. He silently approached the cottage, knowing that after hearing those screams coming from inside, his son and new daughter-in-law must surely be dead. He waited, silently crying in the shadows, for Valourian to leave, and when he finally did, he entered the cottage fearfully.

As he had first suspected, his son lay motionless on the floor, still and cold as the grave. Sirrus slowly moved into the bedroom, where he found Fiella bleeding from several wounds, but amazingly enough, still breathing. He could only guess that the vampire had gorged himself on Korrick, and so was unable to finish off Fiella completely. Knowing that to bring her to the local hospice would simply make it easier for the fiend to find her the next night to finish off his handiwork, he gently carried the wounded woman out of the house and got on his horse, riding of to the nearest monastery he knew of that could help her.

Nine months later, as a baby boy was born to the young woman, Sirrus vowed he would take the boy and raise him to bring vengeance upon his father, the vampire. Fiella, for her part, Had completely blocked that night from her shattered mind, instead insisting that Korrick had died in an accident at the refineries. The monks, not knowing any different, supported her and hid her from the devil that had assaulted her.

As the boy got past the first two months of growth, Sirrus snuck into his nursery and stole him away in the night. He would not learn the skills he would need in this Monastery, he needed stealth and finesse. And so Sirrus carried the young lad to a local friend of his, a master thief named Shadow. "Take this boy away and train him in your arts, Shadow, I beg you." As Shadow agreed, Sirrus Said " Tell him his name is Toreador, Son of his father, and he owes that fiend a Blood Debt. And tell him this story, as I have told you."

With that, Sirrus departed, and seeking a rooftop, he flung himself off to his death, crying out "My son, I join you now!"

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