Sandoval's story
Background story on Sandoval the Elf
Note for the reader
There are two things you should know.
First of all, Sandoval is a trickster. While he couldn't possibly be considered
a typical 'bad guy', his methods of achieving his goals can seem... unorthodox.
He likes to move in the shadows, exploring the boundaries of 'good'. Keep this
in mind while reading his story. Secondly, Sandoval suffers from a memory
impairment. His past is cloudy to him, so do not assume that everything written
down here is known to Sandoval. He is certainly vaguely aware of everything
that happened to him, but many details have gone missing. He is strongly driven
by his feelings and instinct, and seems to be getting more focused as his
memories slowly come back to him.
Chapter one -
Early childhood
Sandoval is the second son of Yanitor and Rylynn. Besides his older
brother Leoric, his mother gave birth to a daughter several years after
Sandoval was born. This daughter was named Aelanor.
Sandoval grew up in a typical Elven enclave. Life was good. His parents
owned a shop that managed to generate enough income to support the family, even
though customers came on an irregular basis. Sandoval's parents sent him to
school in order to learn to read and write, and learn the necessary skills and basic
magic use. However, it turned out he wasn't very well suited for school.
Reading and writing seemed nearly impossible to him, let alone learning to cast
any magic. He caused many an accident in magic class, until his teacher gave up
on him because it was far more likely Sandoval would wound his fellow
classmates than actually learn to cast any spell properly.
Besides a (far) lower than average intelligence, Sandoval wasn't exactly
motivated. On many days he skipped class. Instead, he would explore the town.
Not by walking, but by climbing from tree to tree, roof to roof. He would often
go unnoticed, and got to know the enclave better than any other Elf. On other
occasions he would venture into the woods, crafting hunting equipment and
whatever else he could use.
As Sandoval grew older, he started staying away for days on end. He stayed
alive by hunting and gathering. His now well-developed proficiency with the
bow, his favorite weapon, combined with his natural talent to go unnoticed helped
him to stay out of trouble, or if necessary fight his way out.
Of course,
Sandoval's parents were not happy with these developments. They would often
tell him he should be more like Leoric, who learned the salesman trade from his
father, and they would accuse Sandoval of turning himself into a Wood Elf,
which shouldn't be taken as a compliment. In fact, Sandoval admired the Wood
Elfs, and felt happy adopting a similar lifestyle and being alone in the
forest.
Ultimately, his
parents decided this could go no further, and moved into a town as far away
from the forest as they could find. Since getting an education seemed
impossible, Sandoval was told he had to help out in the store Yanitor bought.
Since Leoric already knew the trade, and was becoming quite smug about it,
Sandoval ended up doing all the menial jobs, while being bullied by his older
brother. His only friend now was his little sister Aelanor. Sandoval soon fell
back into old habits, disappearing for days even though he no longer had access
to the forest he loved so much. Instead he stayed in town, mostly the parts
where he wouldn't be noticed: the slums. This is where he got involved with
thieves and other shady figures, and he needed all of his wits to stay alive.
Luckily, it turned out Sandoval was more successful out on the street than in a
classroom.