Aidan

Aidan Stormcrow was twelve years old when his father went mad.

In hindsight, the Reefolk realized that they had seen the warning signs. Normally steadfast and reliable, Caliban Stormcrow had been behaving strangely for months. He'd grown absent-minded and forgetful and increasingly irritable. But Caliban had lived a hard life, having spent many years as a slave and a gladiator in Gir, so a little irritability was to be expected. Even when his belligerence gave way to sudden bouts of anger and occasional fisticuffs, people dismissed it as a passing mood or the result of strong drink. After all, Caliban had been among them for more than a decade. He'd married a local, built a homestead, raised a family here. So the Reefolk forgave and they forgot . . . until the night Caliban took up the gladius he'd sworn never to wield again and slew nearly his entire family before falling on the blade himself.

It was pure luck that saved Aidan Stormcrow, though some argue whether it was good luck or bad. A traveling minstrel named Dunkirk had stopped at the Stormcrow farm seeking a warm meal and shelter for the night. He discovered Aidan amidst the bodies of his family—the only one with life still in him. Dunkirk knew enough of medicine and of magic to keep Aidan alive until he could get the boy to a proper healer.

Dunkirk delivered Aidan to safety and informed the town watch of what he'd found at the Stormcrow farm. He then went straight to the Inn of the Twin Dawn and told the story again. And again and again, to anyone who cared to listen. His audience kept his tankard full throughout the night, and by the time the Horn of Morning sounded, all of Ree knew in bloody detail what Caliban Stormcrow had done.

Speculations as to the cause of his father's madness have followed Aidan into adulthood. Had Caliban been hexed by the witches in the south? Cursed by the wizards of the Athenaeum? Had he blasphemed against the gods? Perhaps he'd angered Shall when he turned his back on the ways of killing and bloodshed, and the god of murder had decided to reclaim him?

Aidan has spent years ignoring the whispers and rumors and innuendos. He knows the Reefolk watch him with a wary eye, looking for any signs of incipient madness, waiting to see if he inherited his father's curse.

History

Childhood

Caliban Stormcrow's sigil

• Aidan has two prominent scars:
  • A lurid scar that starts on the left side of his neck and ends at the hollow of his throat
  • A thin tracery of lines on his right cheek in the shape of his father's sigil
• There are persistent rumors that Aidan has some sort of family legacy, an inheritance from relations back in Ilren or some hidden wealth that Caliban brought with him. As far as Aidan knows, there is no truth to these rumors.
• Aidan had three siblings: brother Alain and sisters Brigid and Nell. They were all younger than him.
• Aidan's mother was Raina, and her family had lived in Ree for generations. Her parents were gone, but she still had aunts, uncles, cousins, and a brother, all of whom own farmland to the west of Ree. After her death, they pretended very hard that Aidan was of no relation to them. They did it so well Aidan has nearly forgotten he still has relatives in Ree.
• If not for the legal and clerical skills of Lila Pennywash, the Mayor would have stolen Aidan's land from him after his family's death. With Marak's help, Aidan was able to sell the farmland in order to pay for his apprenticeship with the local weaponsmith.
• No one would buy the farmhouse after what happened there, so Aidan reluctantly retained ownership of it. He purposely kept the small plot of land where his family is buried. The gravesite isn't far from his family home, but the house cannot be seen from there, and Aidan is grateful for that.
• "Ruby Eye" Anders was half-bribed, half-blackmailed into taking on Aidan as an apprentice. He had been ready to retire and wanted no new apprentice, especially not one with so much baggage. Marak and the Thieves' Guild strong-armed him into it, but once coerced, he came to genuinely like and care for Aidan. And he's not the sort to do a half-assed job at anything, including mentoring.
• Aidan's weapon training was started by his father and continued by Anders, who had once been an adventurer.

Adulthood

Aidan's Maker's Mark

• Once Aidan's apprenticeship was complete, Old Anders finally did retire, and Aidan essentially inherited his forge and blacksmith shop. Aidan was the only weaponsmith in town, so he did a good trade despite the Reefolk's wariness of him.
• Aidan took on an apprentice himself, a boy named Frederik who had been orphaned during a hex-wolf attack.
• During the most recent Winter Festival, Aidan received an ominous letter from a man named Innes. The letter led Aidan to discover that his father was more than a mere gladiator.
• Caliban was the last surviving member of the House of Crows, the Imperial House of Gir. Which means he was a prince. Which makes Aidan a prince and heir to the throne of Gir.
• Aidan's maternal uncle and two male cousins died during Andaro's attack on Ree.
• After finding a mutagen that would give him the ability to fly, Aidan now has a pair of crow wings, mostly black with a smattering of white feathers. He loves flying.
• Aidan has now met two different time-traveling versions of his father. The younger one told Aidan he was in his seventies, so Aidan no longer has any idea how old his father was when he died. He always thought his parents were in their mid-thirties.
• Aidan also learned (from the older time-traveling Caliban) that he has a half-brother and a half-sister on Earth.
• Due to an unfortunate time travel incident, Aidan no longer has any scars. Or calluses, frown lines, or a tan. His body is essentially brand-new.
• Aidan has learned that he emanates a "chaos field" which alters probability for him and those around him. This explains a great deal of the seemingly impossible weirdness that has been occurring with greater and greater frequency in his life.

Family Lineage

Aidan's Mother

• Raina Olorin was the previous Mayor's Daughter, and during her tenure, the Thieves' Guild was a force for good in Ree. She initially had a cooperative relationship with the Mayor's office, but when Koril the Baker was elected, that all changed. Koril was selfish and corrupt and cheated many Reefolk out of their land and property. Raina opposed Koril at every turn, and he hated her for it.
• Raina may have had jinni blood, though half the families in Ree make the same claim, true or not.

Aidan's Father

• Caliban was a prince of Gir and was not, technically speaking, human. Neither is Aidan.
• Caliban ended up with the Kiran Ark Key after attempting to save a group of orphans from a hag. The hag had possession of the Key, and during their struggle, it was somehow activated, pulling Caliban into Sanctuary.
• In Sanctuary, Caliban met Sitha. They shared a few adventures in the worlds that Sanctuary touches.
• At some point, the Kiran Ark Key malfunctioned, sending Caliban forward in time to meet Aidan and his companions in the Pillars. From Caliban's perspective, it was his first experience with time travel and the first time he'd met his future son.
• Caliban was returned to Sanctuary through the interaction of the past and present versions of the Kiran Ark Key.
• At some point, some version of Caliban traveled into the past, where he tried to change what happened to his family in Gir. However, his interference only made things worse. In the new timeline he created, the entire Imperial family died, except for him. This is the timeline that Aidan was born into.
• Caliban traveled forward in time again to save Aidan and his companions in Obsidian. He was forced to abandon Sitha in Sanctuary in order to arrive at the correct time.
• Caliban spent some time on Earth and fathered Pete and his twin sister. He informed a shocked Aidan of this fact as they fled the dragon attack on Obsidian.
• Caliban must have made at least one other time jump to an unknown future point, because he mentioned having read four of the five volumes of Ashtir's journals.
• Ashtir knew Caliban. They had adventured together several times, once in the North. Aidan hasn't yet had the opportunity to get details of those adventures out of Ashtir.
• When Caliban was done with his travels through time and space, he sundered the Kiran Ark Key, giving half of it to an elven knight named Andaro and traveling into the South to hide the other.

The House of Crows

House of Crows Family Crest

• Crow, the first of Aidan's lineage, was created by Selsus the Scorpion, one of the remaining Roga.
• Selsus created seven "children", naming each one after a corvid bird. She took her own blood and that of seven different dragons and made her children using the Sigil species as a blueprint.
• Aidan's dragon ancestor was called Rysel.
• Including Crow and Aidan, there have been nine generations of Aidan's family.
• The children of Selsus are quite long-lived, though their lifespans grow shorter with each generation. Aidan himself will live a mere 600 years, though he will remain in his physical prime until close to the end of his life.
• Selsus placed a curse on her children which was intended to prevent them from harming one another. The curse would only be triggered if they killed a blood relative. This didn't stop Crow from murdering one of his siblings while they were still children. Somehow, the fury of Crow's murdered brother caused the curse to become a bloodline curse, affecting Crow's descendants as well as Crow himself. As a result, every male member of the House of Crows is at risk of eventually going mad.
• The chaos field that Aidan generates may be a result of Selsus designing her children after the Sigil, who were infamous for having the same trait.

Connections with Other Characters

Player Characters

• Gerrin: Unbeknowst to Aidan, Gerrin has taken an interest in him and his story. Like the rest of Ree, Gerrin is waiting for Aidan to go mad. Unlike them, he wants to find a way to use it to his advantage.
• Bran: Bran's mentor Tomas was once Captain of the Imperial Guard in Gir. After the coup, he was thrown into the Arena along with the Imperial heirs and any else High Command considered a threat. Tomas was the first opponent Caliban marked with his sigil, which allowed Caliban to spare Tomas's life in the Arena. He and Caliban were good friends, and when Tomas escaped Gir, he learned all the martial skills he could with the intention of going back one day to rescue Caliban.
• Marak Bolduum: Marak is Aidan's strongest connection in Ree. He cared for Aidan during his recuperation, and afterward helped Aidan sell his family farm for a fair price. Marak also strong-armed the local blacksmith into taking Aidan on as an apprentice. There may have been some blackmail involved. Marak was the investigator assigned to look into the murder of Aidan's family. The tragedy only furthered Marak's disillusionment with local law enforcement. Marak found that several incidents involving Caliban Stormcrow had been ignored or covered up. If they hadn't, maybe the entire Stormcrow family could have survived.

NPCs

• Pete Johnson: Aidan's half-brother from Earth

Downtime Stuff & Other Goals

• Suggest rescuing gnome from Shizar lich for diplomatic reasons
• Ask the goblins to take a look at cognizance crystal gauntlet and figure out what else it can do if fitted with different crystals
• Come up with a way to restore Lila's lost youth
• Arrange limb replacement for Dunkirk via psionics or technology
• Buy a Detect Scrying item?
• Put together a timeline of Caliban's life; talk to Ashtir, Sitha, & Ebenezer
  • Questions for Ashtir:
    • Do all of the Girish Houses have long lives, or just the Crows?
    • Tell me about the "foreign" wife one Crow emperor brought home.
    • Can you tell if I have jinni blood?
    • What was your adventure with Caliban in the North?
  • Locate the sword that Bran gave to Caliban
  • Get details of family history from Ashtir
• Talk to Mayor's Daughter and/or Marak about Raina & look into family records

Correspondence

• Letter from Innes
• Letter from Dr. Nathu
• A Gift from the Drudge
• Prime Sorcerers