At the start of these tales Villem was a young lad of barely 17, but he already knew he was one of the lucky ones.

Dumped somewhere along the Wolfbend by unknown parents in the month of Arodus, 4689, he was raised by the local Geruillo Sczarni family. However, his obviously non Varisian parentage led to him never being thought of as a true Sczarni and he was instead forced into the dangerous role of pick pocket, doing his best out of fear that his other option might be blind beggar. Still, this was more opportunity for life than most an abandoned babe is given.

His salvation, at least as he sees it, came at age 12 when a pair of rich twins caught him in the act. Of course, it didn’t look quite like salvation at first. Rennis and Elias had dragged him back to Laurelight (mostly just giving him a fright for fun), but as far as Villem could tell he was to be locked in one of those “torture dungeons” the nobles were supposed to love.
However, on the grounds of Renishaw, Merigold (the twins’ sister), came across the trio. After a thorough harange for their cruel torment of the boy, she brought him into the household.

At Renishaw Villem served in a variety of capacities, running errands, tending the horses, serving meals, and eventually even announcing visitors, having quickely learned the mannerisms and speech patterns expected in formal contexts. Over the years Elias and Rennis developed quite a liking for the boy, recognizing their personal part in bringing him into the house. Much to Merigold’s annoyance – she had hoped he might get an opportunity for a new life of his own – the twins liking for Villem largely took the form of bringing him under their wing as a sort of protege. Villem did learn to appreciate the parties and pranks, though he never quite lost the cautious and observant edge that had got him through his years with the Sczarni.

Still, when asked by Elias to accompany him as a squire it felt less like an order than an invitation on a grand adventure by a revered older brother, an invitation Villem could not resist.

Along their journeys, Villem stood loyaly by his masters side, tending to his equipment and providing companionship along the road, but he also grew in his own right. Befriending the foreign mercenary, Sulayne, Villem found new pride in his unfortunate past among the members of the ap-Blutte academy despite his current vocation as a squire.

What’s more, Villem grew in his own abilities along these travels, developing into a able young man of almost 20 years when he was called on to perform his most difficult service as of yet, aiding in the rescue of his master from a terrible beast…