rhys backstory

Rhys Tealeaf grew up in the small farming community of [Name], alongside a fair number of brothers and sisters. His parents owned the local tavern and inn which played host to a number of travellers who were on their way to [City] a few days travel away. Once old enough, the children were put to task helping with simple chores around the inn, but Rhys more often than not shirked his duties to listen in on the occasional adventurers that drifted through town. A bold child, he'd even speak to them when he could get the chance, fascinated by the tales of mystical happenings and strange creatures. But it was the magic users that excited him the most, and the older he got, the more obsessed he became with unlocking those secrets for himself.

It was very much trial and error in those early days as the town had very few resources for a beginning magic-user. Even wringing the tiniest effects out of the universe required immense amount of wheedling of travelling wizards and scrounging for materials. There was so much more out there, he could feel it, but it wouldn't come to him here. He'd heard stories of those who had natural talents for magic, but clearly he wasn't one of them, which only served to frustrate him more. It took two full years of begging his parents to let him go to [City] to seek an apprenticeship and, finally, after realizing that he clearly wasn't set out for the life of an innkeep, they relented and at age 11, he was sent off with a caravan alongside some of his older cousins towards [City].

Before they could arrive, though, the caravan was stopped on the road by military forces who were working to investigate and close an opening to the Underdark. This intimidated most of the caravan and stopped them in their tracks to wait it out... except for Rhys, who only saw opportunity. The Underdark! A terribly dangerous, but fascinating place. He may never get another chance in his life to so much as catch a glimpse of it, so he should take it now. Just a peek. Enough to maybe see a Flumph, at least.

He managed to slip past the at the moment rather sparse forces, who were on the lookout for Drow and similiar, not tiny little harmless halflings. The entrance was in sight, a rather nasty-looking cave that seemed to go on forever, darkness far past what he could hope to see. Armed only with a small knife and a stick with a magicked light at the end, he made his move. And it was only a matter of time before he became lost, the darkness threatening to swallow up even what little light he had as it was becoming harder and harder to tell which direction was up or down or anything.

He was very fortunate, then, that the first creature to find him wasn't a Lolth cultist or some flavor of giant spider, but a minotaur, a member of one of the mercenary groups tasked to scout out the entrance. She was just as confused to see the likes of him as he was, but she managed to drag him out before he could get himself hurt. It was a number of years before the two would eventually become reunited as crewmates, so he only guesses that he somehow lead to her losing her mercenary job. Or maybe she quit on her own. Who knows.

As he was lead back to the caravan, he noticed something in a nearby patch of wood. Sure, he'd nearly died but even then he wasn't about to be deterred. He went to investigate and, hiding there from the military was a Drow girl. Drow females near the entrance to the Underdark would normally be cause for suspicion, but this one wasn't much older than he was. More than that, her leg was damaged and it was clear that she was blind. She definitely wasn't a threat, and after a bit of speaking with her, he offered to help her as much as he could. Wanting to get her away from the military as quickly as possible, he helped her smuggle herself with the caravan's goods, and before long the journey to [City] continued.

Fortunately for Rhys, the city contained just the kind of magical enrichment he'd been looking for, and before too long he found himself some proper education, proving himself to be something of a prodigy. Still being a child, there wasn't much he could do to help the living situation of his new friend, but he did what he could when he got the chance, even pouring over magical texts until he found a way to give her Blindsight.

When Midnight announced her intention to refurbish a boat and start seafaring, Rhys immediately jumped on the opportunity, viewing it as a chance to not only see the world, but finally put his training to real use. It didn't matter to him that many of their excursions might be counter to the law. As much as he'd liked to tell himself he grew out of his youthful recklnessness, it still knew how to make the occasional appearance and drive his actions. And here he is still today, ready to Magic Missile the hell out of some bandits.