<char_full_name> was only born about two years ago, at least that's how he looks at
it: he was found in a forest not far outside <major city>, in burned and
tattered clothes, mumbling in a language that was never identified, and
absolutely no memories of anything before that point. His half-elf body is
obviously well-aged, about 90-100 years according to those who work with half
elves consistently, but as far as experience he's new to the world.

He was found by an established dwarven ranger, <Darren's character>. While
hunting with his wolf he stumbled upon this character. While he had seen his
share of people who finally lost it in the wilderness something felt off this
time, esspecially considering his attire. He took him to the authorities of
<major city> hoping they could help him, and answered some questions about
where and how he was found. Later on the woods were searched in that area, but
nothing unusual was found that could reveal this man's past.

Eventually <char_name> seemed to come out of his confused, rambling fog and
settled into confused silence. The guards could see that his damaged attired
was obviously magical robes at one point, so they brought him to
<magical_guild> and knocked on the door. The elderly gnome who answered,
<father_name> eventually became <char_name>'s adopted father. <father name>
was an accomplished and celebrated scribe of this chapter of <magical_guild>
and had enough clout to secure a place for <char_name> to stay. <char_name>
never could tell if <father_name> adopted him simply out of curiousity, a hint
of empathy, or both.

It quickly became obvious that <char_name>'s skills were still intact, as he
would discover that complicated spells took him no effort at all to learn.
<father_name> attempted to catalogue which schools of magic he seemed most
proficient in hopes of contacting a professional in that field that might
recognize him, but this never materialized into an identity. While many showed
interest in his origin, none could place this man, it's as if he materialized
out of thin air.

Eventually the novelty of his arrival wore off, and <char_name> settled into
the work of a scribe and researcher under <father_name>. He excelled in this
work and found that occasionally he could recall historical facts with great
ease and clarity, though attempting to remember how he came by these facts
always slipped through his fingers. His work began to make great movements
among historians, with most considering his wild theories about
<ancient_civilization> to be the manifestations of a madman. Recently,
however, new archeological discoveries in <ruins> started to prove his wilder
theories. While most of the community still consider him a quack, with a few
accusing him of planting evidence to support his claims, he has gained a
sizable following of historians that regard him as a seer almost.

Six months ago, <char_name> began showing strange signs that he was not
completely himself. At first he would simply go blank during conversations and
lectures with no recolection of the time he lost. Later these fits progressed
into actually talking with the voice and personality of another, in that same
strange language, although they always were brief. <father_name> was convinced
that he was in fact two souls trapped in one body, and excitedly carried out
uncomfortable experiments to prove that hypothesis. After many failed
attempts, they were able to coax this shadow out, who was not too happy about
being summoned. They began to attempt to identify the language, but with no
contemporary matches <char_name> suggested that it may be the dead language of
<ancient_civilization>, which had never been heard aloud. Scattered artifacts
containing their strange written language were compared, but without a Rosetta
stone to even translate the written word, these efforts to compare his spoken
language to this text was doomed from the start.

<char_name>'s resolve never faultered, though. Inspired, he quickly became one
of the leading historians of <ancient_civilization>. He convinced himself that
he had come from that past, somehow, and wanted to find any indication of who
he was. He even published a book on the subject, <book_title>. But soon he
exhausted the sparse and often conflicting writings on the subject. It became
clear to him that he would have to visit the ruins himself, regardless of the
risk.

<father_name> supported <char_name>'s enthusiasm hesitantly. He could sense a
change in <char_name>. His fits became more frequent, and now that personality
was speaking in broken common. At first he became excited that he could now
communicate with this entity, but his previous methods of extracting the
shadow seemed to not work anymore. Recently, <char_name> approached
<father_name> in a cold sweat, asking what day it was. He had no recolection
of the past three days. A cold chill ran down <father_name>'s spine when he
realized that he had detected nothing amiss in <char_name>'s behavior, speech,
or mannerisms in that time. He began to fear this other soul: what did it
want, what could it do, and was it angry at him for his previous experiments?

Distressingly, <father_name> suddenly became distant to <char_name>. In a time
when he was more frequently losing time, he suddenly lost the only connection
he had made in his limited life. Strangely, this alternate character never seemed
to do anything but attempt to replicate his behavior and remain undetected for
a time, until important tomes came up missing.

The guild didn't deliberate long before deciding to cast <char_name> out. As
pitiful as his condition was, they could not trust his intentions. He was
homeless with nowhere to go, wandering the streets of <major_city>. While that
was his perception, somehow he never appeared too dissheveled, often would be
wearing clean new clothes when waking up, or be carrying a bag full of goods.
Time became a blur with no meaning to <char_name>. It was obvious his shadow
was free to roam this world, only allowing him conciousness when it saw fit.
Was he somehow involved in the criminal underworld? How many months had
passed? When would this nightmare end?

In one of his rare moments of sustained sanity, he found his way to the house
of a former aquaintance, a human researcher that was fascinated by the power
of the mind and what he could glean from this extraordinary case. At first he
didn't recognize him, but when this apparent ruffian pleaded for help, he
couldn't say no. For a time <char_name> would reappear at his house, but any
efforts to follow his shadow when he snuck out were futile, as he would always
shake their tail.

Eventually <aquan_name> found mention of a cursed artifact pulled from the
ruins. Apparently the woman who had purchased it before had found herself
staring blanking at times, eventually rendering her unresponsive whenever she
wore it, unable to remove it. Obviously distressed she quickly got rid of it,
donating it to the local museum on <ancient_civilization> culture. Through
some greased palms <aquan_name> aquired this artifact, and slipped it on
<char_name>'s neck while he slept.

Surprisingly, it seemed to have no effect on <char_name> except one: the
ability of his shadow to take over was severely reduced. It could no more
affect him than short bursts of insanity or simple tics. However he could feel
it fighting the power of the necklace every day. Afraid he didn't have much
time, he left his aquaintance and signed up for the Empire's efforts to
explore to the West, identifying himself as a world expert on the ruins in
that area. Though they considered his antics concerning, they signed his name
to the contract without much question.