Alright, so about time I started this....
[spoiler]Isaac had a destiny that was placed upon him before he was even born. His father was well-known hedge wizard, a spellcaster who was loyal to a House without a Lord. His lady mother was a healer, and a witch herself. When the two met, and shortly after married, it was expected that they would bear children with the power born from the blood of their ancestors, who would reap the experience of their parents to become great mages. After but a year, their House had been absorbed into the fiefdom of another lord, who had no desire for competition with his own loyal mage. Told that they had to leave their homes, and the small territory they knew and loved, the couple eventually settled in the hamlet of Springley Downs. Sixteen months later, Isaac was born.
He was a healthy child, lively and full of energy, both of body and of mind. His arcane power was unfocused, but present, and he could perform simple light tricks when he was but two years old. His parents were pleased; though they had little, their talents not being of high demand in the small village, they had hopes that their son would grow as strong and glorious as had been expected. Isaac learned quickly to read, and was tutored by his mother and father shortly after, though he could not draw forth quite yet basic spells. Still, he was young, and it was expected. When his little brother Garet was born, when Isaac was freshly four, their parents were overjoyed, though worried about their ability to maintain two children.
While his parents worked, Isaac watched and tutored his younger brother. It was while they were playing at magic together that the two stumbled upon a nest in the woods, that had seemed abandoned. Garet broke the nest while examining it, and from it came small insects, too tiny to imagine, who swarmed and attacked. Isaac tried to fend them off while his brother ran back to the village. When his mother and father came finally with some of the huntsman, they found him stung all over. Their magic failing to repel the creatures, the hunters eventually used an alchemic dust that killed the swarm, and it was discovered that the insects were parasites that fed off of arcane energy. Analysis and research, though limited, showed that the insects were embedded deep within Isaac, living but dormant. Treatments were all experimental, and all dangerous, and all without even a high chance of success. Isaac was eight.
As the years went by, Garet, who had been saved his brothers fate by Isaac, developed quickly into an impressive mage with natural talent at magic; he was becoming a full-fledged sorcerer, though young. Isaac, his magical abilities still present but damaged, became even more enthralled with the knights he heard tell of from the elders in the village, from his father, who dealt with the hedge knights in his youth, and from the stories he managed to find. He was determined to try and find a way to prove himself useful, even great, like the men in the stories from the age of heroes. But while his family was poor, yet, happy, Isaac knew that the best place to start was at home. He took up work with the blacksmiths both in Springley Downs and in Silverhaven, and earned a small but helpful living as an assistant and apprentice, starting when he turned thirteen.
But that was the same year his sister, Jenna, was born, and it is now almost six years past, four since Isaac's father left to pledge himself to a true Lord. Though his father is away, he tries to send word by bird often to Springley Down, and comes back every year for a short stay to remind his family that he loves them. Isaac's mother works as a healer and resident witch for Springley down, though her services are more towards mixing alchemic medicines and tools for the town and the merchants who come through. Garet is anxious to become a hedge sorcerer, and Jenna's magical blood is flowering under his tutelage. Isaac, meanwhile, has become a fine craftsman, and trains both in magic and in sword. Though no master of either, he has worked to combine the two, in the hopes of making something more of himself, stylized by his own person, towards his own destiny.
Which is good, since he has lately had an odd feeling about his latent destiny. He feels a pull, as if he knows he is soon to leave the town that he loves so well, to make his own way in the world beyond....[/spoiler] Or, rather, that's what I've got thus far. It works his flaws into his story-line, as well as his reduced magical ability and his increased martial work. He's still not focused in either, and it leaves plenty to be done. I also wrote in his local and distant family, with a sister and brother to make things interesting, and a distant father to mayhaps run into and provide direction for Isaac later in the plot.
As far as in-village, he is an apprentice smith, so he must be apprenticed under Big Tor. He has religious studies, so might be he frequents the local church and is in good standing with Brelden. Big Tor might send his apprentice to trade with Silverhaven in his stead, and since Isaac is well-trained and old enough, could be he has been making trips with Squire Mainor when the man goes trading, and that's where he learned his basic sword-study. As an alchemist and witch, it's probable that his mother is friends/professional acquaintances with Romi and Aurua, as well as some of the Elves from nearby such as Deepshadow and Rainfall.
Not to mention, his father pledging himself to a distant lord makes for plenty of flexibility should the party need a wizard, or go travelling.
Whatcha think, DM?
