Merc Firewater was born Human parents in a modest fishing village on the outskirts of Cliffsunder. A deep blue Devilborn child whose appearance unsettled the household from the start, his childhood was marked by suspicion and cruelty. His siblings bullied him openly, and his father never fully trusted that Merc was truly his own. Despite this, Merc grew observant and resilient, learning early how easily fear and misunderstanding could shape a person’s life.
As he grew older, Merc began to explore the strange gifts of his devil blood. He discovered an instinctive talent for thaumaturgy and minor Spellcraft, which he first used for pranks and intimidation. He learned to alter his eyes, rumble the ground, and unsettle others without ever truly harming them. In time, he realized that while his magic came easily, control did not. The power felt instinctive and emotional rather than deliberate, surging in response to his mood. Acknowledging both his capacity for harm and his deliberate restraint, he adopted the virtue name "Mercy", a quiet assertion of who he chose to be that also played to his given name.
In early adulthood, Mercy worked alongside his father as a fisherman and seller at the Middlecliff Market. He used illusions and cantrips to draw customers, disguise flaws in the day’s catch, and occasionally manipulate competition to offload inferior fish. These talents brought prosperity, and his family’s opinion of him slowly improved. Recognizing that his abilities extended beyond the docks, his parents gathered their savings and sent him to the Whiteharbour Academy on his twentieth birthday.
At the academy, Mercy found himself out of place. The structured, intellectual approach to magic clashed with how Wild Magic manifested within him. The harder he tried to impose discipline, the more volatile his magic became. One storm-lashed night, burdened by guilt and frustration, he climbed to the academy roof and abandoned formal spellwork entirely. By surrendering to the chaos rather than resisting it, he unleashed a devastating thunderous blast that destroyed his spellbook and confirmed what he already suspected. The academy could teach him nothing.
Mercy left soon after, unable to return home, but by chance met Nessa Nina Quickpick Rumbauld Pennyluck, a former master Rogue. She convinced the budding Sorcerer to join the Whistledrop Crew, where he learned to help fence goods for them with his merchant skills; however, his lack of control over Wild Magic did mean he was not always taken on missions. He was not present for the Ambush At The Whistledrop Hideout, and after the attack, Nessa Nina decided to disband the Crew, leaving Mercy in limbo.
In the year after the ambush, the devilborn had gained some control over his abilities, largely due to the presence of a mentor named Stratus. The Windborn was himself an experienced user of wild magic, and though the source of his power was different, he helped Mercy learn to invoke some of his abilities to cause desired effects.