Background: Nathaniel Frost
Being the son of a wealthy noble, who was also a wizard, I had a very good childhood: I never lacked anything, I mostly got my own way and I studied under the greatest teachers, including my father, who started me out on the path of magic.
I didn't have many real friends, since I was noble and the only time I met people considered acceptable to talk to by my par 22322e411w ents was at mundane parties. So I only managed to sometimes talk to some of the servants.
One of them, Ralphie, the stableboy, turned out to be a great character, with whom I enjoyed spending time talking or fighting. Fighting, as in a bit of practice, either unnarmed or with mock blades. Of course he would always let me win, but the whole thing was still very fun.
When finaly I reached the age of 21, my father told me it was time to assist him in one of his greatest experiments yet. I was very excited by this, not knowing what was to follow this venture.
At night, my father, eight other wizards and sorcerors and I gathered in our research laboratory. We cleared the center of the room and there drew a circle with three concentric stars in it, each with rather strange markings in languages which were neither draconic, nor abyssal, nor any pure language, but something very different.my father said it was the language of magic.
We gathered around the circle. We raised our hands to our sides and reached out. As every wizard's fingers touched the others, the very air in the room seemed to become heavier.
As I asked my father, he hushed me quickly and simply said: "Magic is gathering."
Then I looked in astonishement towards the floor and saw that the symbols had started glowing red. And their light seemed to slowly extend down the lines of the stars, finally also encompacing the circle. As the circle's light was complete, I felt an incredible surge of power through my body.
I must have looked pretty scared, because I felt my father gripping my arm well.
And then it happened: the shape pf a horrid demon started appearing in the center of the center. And then something went wrong. The eary shape fading away, but a small, red glow started shining in it's center.
I heard my father screaming something about the demon's heart to the others. Then he seemed to realize something and he turned his head quickly towards me.
It was then that I realized that something was wrong. But my father had told me that if someone were to break the circle, everyone would die. Obviously there was something wrong, but if no-one parted hands, there was a chance that we would all have walked away.
But my father wanted me out of the way of mortal danger. I saw his other hand breaking away from the other wizard's hand. Then the power stored in the circle exploded into a very slow, incinerating ball of fire. Just as it came towards me, I saw my father's free hand coming towards my chest.
As he hit me, I felt like being hit with a sledgehammer. I was thrown back. As I flew through the air, everything seemed to come back to normal and I hit the wall at speed.
I was knocked out and the last thing I saw was my father and the eight other mages being swallowed by the firebal, as they tried to contain it.
And when it had dissapeard, in the center of the fireball, there was only the demon. It roared and dissapeared.
When I next woke up, I was lying in my bed with my mother by my side. She had fallen asleep. She looked as though she had been crying a lot.
Over the next few weeks I recovered from the phisical and magical effects of the experiments.
I remained a bit more with my mother, to comfort her and then I told her I would leave, to find a way to either bring my father back, or at least destroy the demon that had caused all this.
I didn't want to admit that my father was gone for ever, so I left in search, what for, I didn't know.
And so I came to the life of an adventurer.
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