(Narrator reading Marik’s backstory as if from a book, reading to a child in bed.

Ah, a fitting tale for a night’s read. Tale of adventure and intrigue. It all started in a Bright City named
Elturel. There lived a young bastard child and his family. All but he and his twin sister, Alana, were Full
blooded Trivarians, and so, shunned for his birth. He grew amongst his relatives quick and wise despite
their prejudice. In the dwindling hours of his evenings, he would roam amongst the trees on the near
the edge of the forest. This was forbidden, and he would be severely punished if he disobeyed his
father’s orders. One night as he roamed, he stumbled upon a young human girl. In a twinkling grove, she
sat and cried. He hid from her and spied on her from afar, for she intimidated him with her beauty. But
as he watched her, he could not suppress the great feeling of pity that swelled in him. He decided to
approach her and comfort her. Estira Hallengrad was her name and there started a great friendship that
planted the seeds of love.

Years past and their love was in full bloom. They knew that neither of their families would approve of
such a joining, so they planned an escape. They were not the only one’s privy to this information,
however, as they were being watched all the while. Marik’s father found out about the young couples
plans and called in his son to confront him. Marik was terrified, and rightfully so, for his father had the
power to take him away from the one he loved most. But, to his surprise, he allowed it. His father saw in
this relationship, a way to bridge the gap between the noble families. He also saw this as a way to rid his
sight of an awful eyesore. So, he met with the men of the Hallengrad family and came to a marriage
agreement.

Marik and Estira were happy that their love was no longer impeded by their family’s petty squabbles and
that they would finally be able to be open about their relationship. But this was not to last. Days before
the marriage was to begin, Marik had gotten into a confrontation with her drunken older brother. A
fight broke out between the two, but the people knew that Marik was justified in defence of himself.
However later that night, the brother was found dead with his head caved in. The markings of the
weapon, a hammer showing the insignia of Marik’s noble family. All fingers pointed to Marik. he had
used the love of the noble daughter to get closer to a rival noble family and kill them, or so everyone
believed. He became hunted, the city and nearby forests scoured by vicious men who sought revenge
for their lord’s murdered son. Marik had been framed!

He fled the authorities upon hearing the charges, believing he would not be vindicated. He grabbed as
many travelling supplies as he could manage and escaped from the city. Saying nothing of this to his
sister, Alana, or his beloved. He eventually managed to evade the guards and hunters sent after him.

He travelled far in search of a place to live until he could devise a plan to clear his name. he eventually
settled in baldur’s gate as a simple smith’s apprentice. The dwarven smith, Karillus Heavyset, took the
young Marik in when he saw his skill with a hammer and anvil. What the smith did not know was that
marik had long been trained as a smith and his skills far surpassed Karillus. Marik made a point to never
exceed his master’s creations, to hide away in his profession.

A little over a year had passed and Marik had settled in quite nicely, gathering resources and making a
name for himself as a kindly smith, making tools and repairing the towns equipment for whatever
people could afford.

One day, he heard gossip about refugees coming from somewhere, he did not think much of it until he
heard another mention Elturel. He rushed out to the refugee camp to find out anything he could about
the whereabouts of Alana and Estira…