I started life as most Tieflings do, dreadfully. When I was only three years old, my parents were attacked for nothing more than their appearance, and driven out of their home. They fled to the city of Lindholm with me in tow and attempted to make a living there, but again, they were attacked and discriminated against simply for their appearances. It wasn't as if we had made a pact with Asmodeus, our ancient ancestors had - but everyone treated us as if we might suddenly start murdering at any moment. When my father was arrested for theft, my mother had to take up his job in order to care for me, and soon became gravely ill. The priesthood of Selúne took us both in, but it was too late for my mother, and then suddenly, I was an orphan. The priesthood looked past my little horns and short, pointed tail, and raised me as one of their own. As I grew up, I continually became more mischievous, oftentimes creating trouble for myself, and I was dragged back to the temple by one of my ears by a priest far too often. They never threatened to kick me out or have me arrested though, and always stood up for me. They were the best surrogate parents I could have asked for. Despite that, when I turned 15, I decided it was time to head out on my own. I knew I wasn't cut out to be a priest, and I knew I would only be a burden to them. I knew I would likely excel at thieving, so I went and found the Thieves' guild of Lindholm, and convinced them to let me join. I left a long letter thanking the priesthood for everything, and just disappeared one night.
The guild took me in with open arms, and the leader of the guild, Tachus, took me on as his apprentice. He was impressed by my natural talent for stealth and sleight of hand, professing that he felt I could become a great thief with good training. I lived, breathed, and slept the guild for five years, gaining respect through those years. Eventually, I gained a reputation throughout the city based on my moniker, "The East Wind". My parents always used to tell me frightening stories of the East Wind, the terrifying force that laid waste to all in its path, seeking out the unworthy and plucking them from the earth. I adopted the moniker as a memorial to my parents, and I felt a rush of pride whenever I heard city folk shudder and claim, "There's an East Wind coming..."
When I turned twenty, Tachus promoted me to Salar – second in command. When I was promoted, I was given an apprentice, Kieran. Kieran was just a human, around her age, and mainly just a normal person. Despite this, he interested Eurus – for one, he didn't recoil in fear when she introduced herself, and secondly, he didn't complain to Tachus later about her being his mentor. He was also a relatively skilled thief, on our first outing he successfully managed to pickpocket the captain of the guard. For the next ten years we were excellent thieves, always partners, and inseparable as friends. Eventually Kieran rose through the ranks and Eurus promoted him to Ansalar – third in command. We quickly became the best thieves in all of Lindholm, and possibly in all of Laham. Every citizen feared the East Wind and the thunder it brought with it – we were on top of the world.
Slowly, however, we were becoming bored with the standard jobs, they were just too easy. We would finish a job perfectly and still be so bored that we turned to drink and frivolous spending. We decided during one of these nights that we needed a job that was more challenging. The only more challenging place that we could steal from was that of the royal wizard. His mansion was enormous, prickling with magical traps and wards, as well as having a full staff of guards. We started planning the job, staking out the mansion for months, monitoring guard rotations, and locating the majority of the traps. We knew that if we pulled off this heist, we would have certainty that we were the best thieves in all of Laham.
When the day of the heist came, we were confident, prepared, and surging with excitement. The thrill of the heist was one of our favorite feelings, and we rode this high throughout the job. Everything was going smoothly until it came to our escape. Because of the loot that we were carrying, we needed to leave the mansion using a different route. We were leaving the compound using a secret door to the basement, when we mistakenly triggered a magical ward. Bells rang out throughout the mansion and we bolted, running toward the river that bordered the mansion. Suddenly, nearly all of the mansion guards were upon us, and we were forced to drop a bag of loot each in order to outrun them. We made it to our escape boat and shoved away from the bank, quickly receding into the night.
Only when we were halfway across the river toward freedom did I realize Kieran was bleeding. One of the guardsmen had landed an arrow, between ribs on his left side. I rushed to his side and ripped one of my sleeves off in order to bandage the wound. I slowly realized the amount of blood was not normal, that the arrow must have been poisoned, and Kieran was fading fast. Tears overflowed onto my cheeks as I realized the inevitable, and Kieran reached up to brush them away.
"Please don't cry, Eurus... We succeeded. People will still fear the East Wind," Kieran held his hand on the side of my face; continually brushing away more tears with his thumb.
"Kieran, no, I can't do this without you – I...," Words were impossible as my throat closed with emotion, and I leaned into Kieran's palm against my face.
"You can, Eurus. You've always been the better thief. I only wish I'd have the chance to see you become even greater. You must know though, right? You know I love you," He looked at me with such emotion in his eyes that I think I felt something shatter deep within me.
"Kieran, of course – I... I love you too, I-," I barely choked out the words through the tears, but as soon as he heard them he let his eyes slide closed, and a smile appeared on his face. Quickly thereafter his breathing slowed to a stop, and I screamed my grief into the blackness. Suddenly my whole world felt empty, as if he had taken it with him. As we washed up on the opposite shore, other members of the guild intercepted the boat. Seeing Kieran's body, they froze – I lifted it in my arms and pushed past them, barking a quick order regarding the loot from the heist. I took his body to the guild and built a pyre for him in the main hall. Other guild members attempted to help me, but in my grief I could accept no help and shoved them away. By the time the pyre was finished, Tachus arrived on the scene and saw the state that I was in. I lit the pyre silently as Tachus gently put a hand on my shoulder. It was the contact of my mentor that broke me – the dam broke and all of my grief washed to the surface. I wept into his shoulder until the pyre was only embers, and only then did I retire to my quarters.
For the weeks following, I was inconsolable. I blamed myself for his death, insisting that if I had been better, if I had only known more about the mansion before starting the job, I could have prevented this. I knew that, despite what Kieran said, I could not go on in Lindholm. Every street corner held a memory, every bar a night of debauchery, all of them featuring Kieran. I couldn't live every day being haunted by his memory, being constantly reminded of my failure. I realized eventually that if I wanted to be able to live my life, it would have to be elsewhere.
I set my sights on the largest city on the continent, and for the second time in my life, I left a note and disappeared into the night.
"Brace yourself Cirrane, for there's an East Wind coming..."