Backstory of Desmond

                DESMOND

Here is an outsiders summary of the Dhampir Sorcerer Desmond.  Very little is known of his origins.  Although Desmond  never met his father he could deduce that he was a vampire and that his mother had escaped his enslavement.  Desmond and his mother lived seculed in a small farm cottage in Kandrovia.  He was very young when the cottage was discovered and raided by the blood slavers.  His mother attempted to hide and protect him but the raiders were to many and she was killed in the act.  Her efforts proved futile as the slavers burned the cottage, drove him from hiding and captured Desmond.

They drug him chained and shackled for many days north towards the desolation.  When one night, while in camp at the Northern Mountains of Kandrovia, the encampment was condemned.  The god Vecna massacred the encampment leaving many bleeding in agony while the rest fled in horror.  Vecna came across the Dhampir child chained to a nearby wagon and decided to spare him.  Reaching down Vecna touched the child’s forehead rendering him unconscious.  Desmond awoke, unshackled, to the moans of agony of injured slavers.  Something came over him.  His starvation and the carnage of blood overwhelmed him.  He ascended upon the injured slavers feeding on one after the other until the blood turned cold. 

This began a period of Desmond’s life where he drifted in and out of reality.  In the woods he survived in a blood fever state devouring anything that came near.  Many years past as he grew older and stronger.  He learned to survive, track, hunt, and co
ntrol his blood fever.  After years of practicing control over his urges he became curious with the cities and people.  He had become very lonely in the woods. His only companion was his carbuncle, which didn’t seem to understand him and didn’t speak.  Also, people had quit traveling to his woods as rumors of a forest demon had circled amongst the towns.

 

He traveled to the cities and watched people and how they interacted.  Sometimes he would venture into the towns and sit in the markets and listen conversations.  The nobles and rich became most intriguing to him, as they could get whatever they desired by the way they spoke and their mannerisms.  Desmond began to practice what he saw.  He would go to town and attempt to persuade vendors to contribute him items, or private clubs to give him exclusive access.  Mostly he failed but eventually he became quite skilled in his approach.  With each failure he would learn new tactics for success. 

Life continued on like this, hunting in the Outlands and practicing social games in the towns, until he reached young adulthood.  On an overcast afternoon Desmond was in town attempting to convince another youth to let him borrow a violin.  When he laid his hand upon the kid’s shoulder the kid instantly believed Desmond was a long lost friend.  He handed over the violin to him without a further question.  Other strange powers began to emerge:  He could speak to people without talking, with a wave of his hand he could create illusions, and he could change his appearance to any form he wished.  His social games in town reached a new level.  Confidence radiated from him.  With his power he could obtain anything he desired. 

However, the arrival of these powers were not all pleasant.  Desmond began to be tormented with visions.  Every time he would venture to sleep he would be fouled with hallucinations of powerful vampire lords and demons.  Sometimes a dragon in the shadows would visit him and guide him with his powers and questions.  As he grew to adulthood his powers grew along with the nightmares.  Night by night he would see towns burning, people massacred, vampires standing above thousands of shackled slaves, and demons of grotesque form destroying the very ground they walked. 

It was in the midst of one such vision that Desmond was abruptly awoken.  A group of town advocates had come to purge the woods of the forest demon.  He was locked deep in a vision when they managed to tie him against a nearby Alder.  They took turns beating him while he remained helplessly strapped against the tree.  He was sure he would die.  As he drifted in and out of consciousness he could feel a knife pierce and tear into his left shoulder.  The pain made his blood surge and he cried out in agony.  However, the scream of agony was answered by a dark voice speaking in Draconic.  His blood surged again making Desmond feel as if he had caught fire.  His mind came back into focus and he could see emanating from his hands incendiary bolts of energy.  The energy leapt from assailant to assailant torching each one leaving nothing but charred corpses.

                Desmond spent several weeks in his camp recovering and contemplating.  He could feel something awakening within him.  There would be no escape from his visions of the past and the desolation.  He wanted revenge for his mother, he wanted retribution for his life of seclusion but most of all he wanted freedom from his nightmares.  He decided he would leave the woods and travel north toward the desolation.  Desmond would travel to Thyne to seek information about the blood slavers, and when powerful enough he would confront his visions and free himself.