Astrophel Argentum/Lore
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Childhood
Astrophel cannot remember where he actually came from.
Since he was a very young child he wandered about Tírr with no biological family to speak of; or if he did, he had no idea who they were and where they went. He had always been all alone, fighting fang and claw for survival in the cold and unforgiving streets; learning how to fight, how to steal, how to hide, how to hiss, how to spit up blood and push himself off of the ground when he fell. Because nobody was coming to help him, he had to do it himself.
This is also how he learned how to heal. His aspect manifested through sheer desperation for survival, healing himself with his own hands so he could live to see another day. The kindred’s methods weren’t perfect however, he had no idea how to use his powerful aspect properly and no one to teach him so it would cause him more harm than good when used. He limited his use of self healing to life threatening injuries and even so he would still suffer the consequences of it.
Life on the streets was brutal, everyday he faced the harsh reality that he was always in danger and one small slip up might cost him his life. As he got older it got harder, people around him stopped seeing him as a pitiful small child who they could throw scraps at to make themselves feel better and started treating him like a cumbersome preteen stray whose mere presence was an inconvenience. There was no such thing as security in his life and he lacked any older figure who could give him guidance and safety. Phel often wondered how long he could make it.
Despite how unfair life was to him from such a young age; how much pain he had to endure and how many terrible things he had to accept as the norm; Astrophel fought to remain hopeful that people weren’t inherently terrible and that there was kindness in the world, even if it wasn’t directed at him. But hope becomes a fragile thing when faced with the cruelty of those around him and Phel starts to grow colder, wary, bitter and angry. Very angry.
Becoming an Argentum
The kindred spent a total of twelve years of his life surviving like this. Until on Crevasse 19 of 1192 he gets gravely injured on his left shoulder and in his panic to heal the injury ends up freezing himself. Luckily he was saved by Sigvard Argentum who took the young boy to the clinic he shared with his wife Natasha Argentum, there he was given the time to recover and offered a place to stay. Once the Argentums take him under their wing they teach him how to better control his aspect as well as a multitude of things related to medicine to keep the boy’s mind and hands busy.
It takes Astrophel a very long time to feel the slightest bit safe in their presence; constantly waiting for them to hurt him or change their minds and kick him out for one reason or another, for them to notice he’s more trouble than he’s worth; but through their steady efforts he begins to be hopeful again and feel like he has a place to belong to. The Argentums grew very fond of the boy and in 1193 they officially offered to adopt him as their child. Phel has no idea what to make of that, wary that it might somehow be a trick and feeling completely out of his depth as he doesn’t know what it’s like to have a family or how to be a son. Still he accepts, and thus Astrophel Argentum is born.
Adapting to his new life is incredibly difficult and doesn’t come without its stumbles, but Natasha and Sigvard are dedicated to making him feel safe and comfortable, letting him take his time to adjust to the new environment and trying their best to understand their son’s struggles, fear, anxieties and peculiarities. Astrophel grows to be a very humble and honest man with a kind heart, yet stunted in various aspects of his life due to his earlier upbringing. But he is nothing if not hardworking, taking those shortcomings in stride and putting in the effort to slowly improve himself, always backed by his parents unwavering support.
Career Path
Nurtured by his parents, Phel, who always had an inclination for healing magic, develops a passion for helping people in need as he feels it’s in his nature to heal those in pain. This eventually leads him to follow medicine as his career path of choice and in 1203 he leaves to study at Education Division Academy in Eversun. Despite his struggles to understand the theoretical parts of the field as well as his slower pace of studies and his anxieties about being in a new environment around so many people he doesn’t know, he graduated with impressive marks in 1215 and became a doctor. Still, he feels slightly dissatisfied with his life while working in his family’s clinic.
The answer for his dissatisfaction comes with the realization that he feels frustrated at not being able to heal people sooner. He decides that while his purpose is to heal he isn’t meant to stay indoors in hospitals or clinics, he’s meant to be out helping people as soon as they get hurt or even preventing them from such. Astrophel applied for the Contingency Division in 1219 and only one year later, in 1220, he was accepted.
Guild Days
Now an on-call doctor at the Contingency Division, Phel finally feels satisfied with his place in life and has earned a certain amount of respect and trust from his peers due to his reliable nature, even if he does intimidate people sometimes. His skills and experience are so valued he is even recommended to work in collaboration with the Outerworld Division during their excursions. During one of those excursions in 1228 is when he meets Jaina Ryder, a bright young woman who lost her parents when her home was corrupted by law. They quickly grow very close and attached to each other, developing a strong familial relationship.