Stormy was born on the Dagger River, floating down in a boat little larger then his mother and father. He was born to the union of a man and woman changeling, a woman who loved her heritage, but loved her husband more.
He grew up something of a gypsy, never staying in one place, always moving with his mother and father, always living on his father's lively songs and stories, and the grace of good people or the greed of bad ones. From early childhood, the boy changeling was taught to hide his powers, for his mother told him that people didn't really care for the half-kinds, the changelings and shifters. They were too unusual for a lot of folks to accept. Especially, she told him, when many changelings did bad things, and some shifters were mean and spiteful.
So, he'd always known to hide what he was and what he could do. At times, his talent would come in handy; like when he helped his father with plays or stories, or when he could change into a little boy and beg for money. Simple things that few people took for granted.
When Stormy was barely twelve, he became increasingly curious about his father's magical prowess. Determined to master spells himself, he began to mimic the performances and abilities that his father did everyday, but with no success in completing the magical rituals. Amused by his son's determination, his father told the boy, "Here, let me lend you some of my power," and was astonished when the boy took the offered energy and immediately cast one of his father's spells! Experimentation showed the two that although the boy could take energy from spellcasters, divine or arcane alike, he couldn't actually cast the spells of his own volition. He was forced to sometimes steal the energy from others, or take it when offered freely.
At sixteen, when his father was killed for suspected treason while the family was in Karnath, the furious boy knew what he was to do. Together, he and his mother fled across the border into Cyre, and then further into Breland, the land in which he'd been born. Against his mother's wishes, Stormy joined the Breland forces and began fighting for his life.
For the next six years, the boy had more then enough of war. More then he could handle. When his captains learned of his talents for subversion and trickery, they immediately shunted him into scout-work, spying out enemy positions, sometimes even masquerading as one of the enemy soldiers and using poison. Even spellcasters capable of detecting tricks such as he were no match when divested of their spells and silenced... permanently.
Hating himself and the things he had done were a constant misery to the once jovial boy. With his crimes raw and sickening in his stomache, he began to eat less and lose control over his abilities. This was, of course, intolerable to his commanding officers. And when they discovered what he truly was, his team-mates... people he'd supported for over half a decade, turned on him and nearly beat him to death, leaving him in a rain-soaked gutter by the road to die.
A woman found discovered him there, on the verge of death. She was a cleric and servant of the Host, devoted to the healing of both body and mind. A truly good kalashtar woman named Amendia. With words of kindness, she brought him back to health, and with a heart full of mercy and wisdom, knew of the poison burning in the boy's heart. It took her several long months to lance the wound, and slowly remove the hatred from the boy.
Stormy fell in love with her, with her kind ways and gentle heart. But he knew that her depth of feeling for him was simply that of a person who genuinely cared. With her support, he was able to walk and breathe again, to move through life with a new sense of purpose and faith in himself.
When the war ended, it was like a dream come true for him. Now able to move freely, although hidden in his own way, he renewed his search for magical power and was rewarded one simple morning when he cast a spell all on his own, without having to siphon the magical energy from another person. Over-joyed with this simple beginning, he headed towards Sharn, to visit his mother and experience a brand new adventure. |