And the Villain Backstory
Alvrith Chur was born a bastard, the son of a minor royal cousin and a alehouse keeper that sometimes supplemented her income with prostitution and petty theft. His mother, Desphina, kept his birth a secret but also kept the signet ring the noble had paid for her services with (just in case) and raised Alvrith without telling him his true origins. Desphina was a cruel and demanding woman and treated Alvrith as much like a slave as her own child.
When Alvrith was nine years old, a traveler died in their flophouse and Alvrith went through his possessions before Desphina could discover the body and take what was valuable for herself. The boy discovered that the traveler was a minor magician and Alvrith secreted away his spellbook and reagents. He was a precocious boy and he could read a little, so over the course of the next few years he taught himself magic from the pilfered spellbook.
By the time Alvrith was thirteen, Desphina was destitute and wracked with illness. In desperation she reached out to Alvrith’s father and attempted to blackmail him for what to the noble would have been a pittance. Instead he sent a pair of thugs to the house to kill Desphina and Alvrith. They succeeded in the former but Alvrith used his newfound magical abilities to kill his attackers. He stole the gold they had been paid up front for the murders, set the alehouse ablaze, and went out in search of his fortune.
Alvrith survived by skullduggery for a while, but one day attempted to rob an old man who would turn out to be the Master of the King’s Library and also unofficial Court Wizard, named Bretoth. Bretoth took pity on Alvrith and mistakenly believing there was good in the young man promised to teach him “real magic.” Alvrith accepted and played the part of the studious youth for a few years until he was able to kill Bretoth in his sleep (making it look like a simple heart attack) and take his place as now-official Court Wizard.
Alvrith -- now Master Alvrith the Wise -- served as Court Wizard and eventually Vizier to three generations of rulers of the Autumnlands. Every year, he extended his power and influence. He eliminated those that were his rivals, especially those that would warn the royals against him, and he installed ministers, generals, commanders of the guard and other important officials that were loyal to him, rather than the throne. Alvrith was cruel and vicious and vengeful, but also patient and shrewd. By the time those few nobles loyal to the royal family and the throne were aware of what he truly was, it was too late.
Alvrith murdered the entire royal family except the young Princling Heath, who he installed on the throne. But no one fails to see that Regent-Arcane Alvrith Magus is the true ruler of the realm. Surrounded by loyalists and sycophants, Alvrith is finally free to exert his wicked will over the whole of the Autumnlands, with none left to fight him.
Alvrith Chur was born a bastard, the son of a minor royal cousin and a alehouse keeper that sometimes supplemented her income with prostitution and petty theft. His mother, Desphina, kept his birth a secret but also kept the signet ring the noble had paid for her services with (just in case) and raised Alvrith without telling him his true origins. Desphina was a cruel and demanding woman and treated Alvrith as much like a slave as her own child.
When Alvrith was nine years old, a traveler died in their flophouse and Alvrith went through his possessions before Desphina could discover the body and take what was valuable for herself. The boy discovered that the traveler was a minor magician and Alvrith secreted away his spellbook and reagents. He was a precocious boy and he could read a little, so over the course of the next few years he taught himself magic from the pilfered spellbook.
By the time Alvrith was thirteen, Desphina was destitute and wracked with illness. In desperation she reached out to Alvrith’s father and attempted to blackmail him for what to the noble would have been a pittance. Instead he sent a pair of thugs to the house to kill Desphina and Alvrith. They succeeded in the former but Alvrith used his newfound magical abilities to kill his attackers. He stole the gold they had been paid up front for the murders, set the alehouse ablaze, and went out in search of his fortune.
Alvrith survived by skullduggery for a while, but one day attempted to rob an old man who would turn out to be the Master of the King’s Library and also unofficial Court Wizard, named Bretoth. Bretoth took pity on Alvrith and mistakenly believing there was good in the young man promised to teach him “real magic.” Alvrith accepted and played the part of the studious youth for a few years until he was able to kill Bretoth in his sleep (making it look like a simple heart attack) and take his place as now-official Court Wizard.
Alvrith -- now Master Alvrith the Wise -- served as Court Wizard and eventually Vizier to three generations of rulers of the Autumnlands. Every year, he extended his power and influence. He eliminated those that were his rivals, especially those that would warn the royals against him, and he installed ministers, generals, commanders of the guard and other important officials that were loyal to him, rather than the throne. Alvrith was cruel and vicious and vengeful, but also patient and shrewd. By the time those few nobles loyal to the royal family and the throne were aware of what he truly was, it was too late.
Alvrith murdered the entire royal family except the young Princling Heath, who he installed on the throne. But no one fails to see that Regent-Arcane Alvrith Magus is the true ruler of the realm. Surrounded by loyalists and sycophants, Alvrith is finally free to exert his wicked will over the whole of the Autumnlands, with none left to fight him.
