Online Character Sheet | mydndgame.com

Atticus' Grandfather, Keval Daine, came to the land as a youth in search of a solid investment for his family abroad. Using what wealth he brought, he established a sizable farm, in the the then, fridges of the City of Hope.  He married Kelly Shale a few years later, and in the years following had two sons, Arimius and Coveden with his wife.  When the far kingdom's communications abruptly stopped, able bodied men were called to the City of Hope to protect her fragile holdings on the continent.  Armius and Coveden answered the call and served as soldiers for many years.  Covedon unfortunately fell in a skirmish near Southport and Armius turned to an adventures life, much to the disappointment of his father.  Kelly died that same year.  When Keval himself also passed, and after many years of successful adventuring, Arimus returned to his father's farm to begin a family and take over the land.  He married later in life, to Gwenith Lohern and had one son Atticus.  Atticus was born during a particularly large star storm, a cosmological event which occurs approximately every dozen or so years, similar to a meteor shower.  On that night, a meteor had struck a distant mountain, igniting the foliage around it.  The fires and smoke around it could be seen burning for days.

Born to a now wealthy farming family, Atticus in his childhood enjoyed a simple life of leisure and study.  At an early age he excelled at reading and studies in history and religion, but because of his cloistered life never studied nature seriously.  By his 10th year he was already beginning to experiment with arcana.  At 16, Atticus won an junior arcane competition in the City of Hope, achieving scores that were competitive with wizards years his senior.  This attracted the attention of the renowned Archmage Helstaf Re'zel who took note of Atticus and who wrote him several times over the following months encouraging his development as a wizard.  

Winning the competition had proven to Atticus his talent was beyond not only his small farming community, but even that of many in the City of Hope. Helstaf's letters offered further insight into puzzles he had been struggling with, spurring his ambitions.  Atticus began to see Helstaf as the instructor he needed to continue to grow in the arcane arts, and he became driven to achieve more.  His talents grew rapidly over the next few months, and Atticus became exceptionally talented with spells involving fire and it's manipulation.  Unfortunately only his inpatients over stretched his abilities and on a night late in his 18th year, while Atticus was experimenting, a ritual he was performing went wildly out of control setting off a chain reaction that obliterated his family's home as well as several others. His family were amongst those killed and his family's farm was completely destroyed, utterly burnt to the ground.  Today it remains a barren field at Atticus' request.

While it was seen largely as a tragic accident, rumors spread of his over ambition and the child protege once hailed as an asset to the City of Hope and all her lands, was marked with shame and became a symbol of the arrogance that had left the city alone in a distant, strange land and estranged from her home kingdom. Helstaf attended the funeral.  Afterwards, Atticus traveled to the City of Hope with Helstaf to begin his formal tutelage, eager to leave his dull farming community and his shame.

Helstaf had been a kind mentor in those days -- strict but encouraging.  He had seen through Atticus' loss, and a bond was formed between them not unlike family.  Thus it became increasingly difficult for Atticus to come to grips with reality when Helstaf began to have "attacks".  What first started as moments of disorientation and confusion, quickly developed into manic violent fits and hallucinations.  Atticus did everything he could to protect his master from those who began to question Helstaf' sanity and practices and who gained a reputation as Helstaf "the Mad".  Eventually a different personality overtook Helstaf and he became bitter, at times violent, and constantly muttering and rambling.  Yet, Helstaf still held an immense amount of power and influence. Using his resources and  possessed by some otherly will, he dragged his studies along with Atticus to the foothills and caves north of Southport to begin a life of seclusion.  In the years that followed, Atticus assisted his Master in various matters, and slowly took over his care.  Through an arrangement with a local ranger, Atticus was able to provide steady food and protection for Helstaf and himself, in exchange for access to his master's writings.  If nothing else, Atticus sees the ranger's curiosity with Helstaf's writings as a boon to help decipher them.

Now at 24, Atticus devotes himself to the protection of his Master and the quest to discover the source of his madness.  By pouring through the many insane scrawling and cryptic journals of his Master he hopes to find an answer, or at least a clue.  But Atticus knows all his answers will not be found in texts, and that perhaps assistance can be found elsewhere. Beyond that, Atticus hopes to one day remove the mark of shame that was placed on him and his master.  Unfortunately for Atticus he as also begun to suffer from occasional hallucinations and confusions, signs his Master had in the early stages of his illness.  This has created an urgent need for Atticus to find a solution, but is something he seeks to hide at all costs, in fear of begin defenseless for himself and his Master.