Orphaned by fate in his infancy, the story of Cassian the Wise begins in tragedy, but through divine providence and a bit of luck, the young Aasimar was able to use his adversity to his benefit and grow all the stronger. 

Born on a clipper ship in the midst of a roaring squall, Cassian lost his family before ever making landfall. His father, upon seeing Cassian’s coppery-red skin (that could be mistaken for shades of brown in certain lighting) assumed his wife had either been unfaithful or was in covenant with some being of the Abyss. Over the course of the voyage he was driven mad by this prospect and it is believed that he threw himself into the depths of the sea out of fear of his own child, although there were no witnesses to this. His mother was a kinder, gentler soul but she could not handle the rigors of childbirth in such a tumultuous environment on top of the grief of losing her beloved husband. She passed in peace in her bed after entrusting Cassian to the ship’s captain who promised to take care of him. 

The captain brought Cassian to the local orphanage once their ship docked, where he would spend his formative years. Unfortunately for young Cassian, those years were anything but peaceful. He rarely speaks of this time, but he can clearly recall being ostracized as his skin, which could previously be mistaken for brown or even bronzed by the sun, became more prominently coppery-red in his adolescence. By age 15 his eyes took on a distinct luminosity which evoked a feeling that could only be described as having the divine stare into your soul. His fellow children at the orphanage were not very subtle or very kind when pointing this out to him, and at its worst point some of the teasing became physical. Cassian, a gentle soul by nature like his mother, did not like conflict with his peers so he sought refuge away from the city. Called again to the sea, Cassian stows away on the biggest ship he could find at the port, praying for a better situation anywhere else. 

Cassian feared his stowing away would cause a much bigger fuss than it did, but luck was again on his side. He was discovered by one of the ship’s passengers who decided to vouch for his presence and even offered to adopt the young Cassian. With no reason to decline such a generous offer, Cassian joins the mysterious stranger on his journey back to his manor where it is revealed that the man is a scholar of magic and mysticism. Furthermore, upon laying eyes on Cassian for the first time he was able to infer his origins were in the divine, not the demonic and knew he had great potential as a wielder of magic. The two spend years upon years studying training together, but due to the long Aasimarian lifespan, the master eventually passes on, leaving his student behind to carry on his legacy. 

Cassian spends the next 60 years in his former master’s manor, while on occasion, travelling to other monasteries and manors to learn more of magic and his origins in the divine. Now aged 80, Cassian felt he had learned every bit of information that his master had left behind and knew it was time to start his own legacy. 

Cassian now spends his days travelling from city to city, seeking out large repositories of magical information to further his knowledge. On one particular journey, he finds himself on a new ship with a group of would-be future companions, thus leading us to the events of our story…