Backstory: Felix Arceneaux was born to a middle class family in a small city-state, living on the 2nd floor of a little general store. They weren't exactly the most well-off, but it was cozy, and Felix liked it. At 23, he would join the citizen militia as both a front line fighter and scout after tensions with another city-state caused war to break out, his home state needing as many able men as possible to fight against the enemy.
War holds a cruel grasp over those who participate in it, and Felix learned this very quickly. Every day was a battle; sometimes mental, sometimes physical. A fight to stay sane, or a fight to stay alive. Marching amongst soldiers, or standing amongst the last few alive on a war-torn field. Solace was only found in his dreams on a rare night of sleep and the lingering taste of a cigar. An hour felt like 2 years, 2 years felt like an hour, and suddenly the war was over. The constant smell of iron had dissipated, the sound of magical projectiles and arrows whizzing overhead no longer polluted the air, and no more bodies had to be buried in mass graves. It was over, and Felix could finally return home to his family.
But the hands of fate decided to puppeteer destiny differently.
"A man cannot step into the same river twice, because it is not the same river, and he is not the same man.”
-Heraclitus of Ephesus
Felix stood at the gate, looking past the walls and into the city. A child playing with his dog. A couple walks by, holding hands. An alleyway cat stretches languidly after a long nap. It was all so… peaceful. Almost like mere days ago, the grass was not stained red. He walked down the streets, listening to the idle chatter and taking in the sights until he came to his parents’ general store, his mother dusting the doorstep. She looked at him with a glint of familiarity, but it was like he was a stranger to her, giving Felix no more than a friendly little wave and then returning to her duties. Thus, beneath the glow of the moon, he left his parents some of the money he got as a soldier, and slipped away into the night. He didn’t belong there anymore, perhaps he could find peace another day.
And so, Felix headed for the New World to join the Explorers’ Guild. Will he be forgotten as just another man with a sword, or will he become something more? Only time will tell.