Ilium Ruuge

Born the only son to an ailing mother, Ilium's early years were fraught with hardship. He grew up in the slums of Leoth, an island kingdom with strong ties to ancient deities of light. Growing up with nothing meant he quickly learned to survive the harsh streets of his home country, developing his own personal fighting style developed from a young age to incapacitate larger foes. Though not a very strong fighter, his resourcefulness is what allowed him to keep his head attached to his neck, and it's what allowed him to survive the Djuran invasion that decimated Leoth. The Djuran war ships came in the middle of the night, a surprise attack that left the island defenceless and vulnerable. Thousands were slaughtered as Djuran warriors flooded onto land, their strong army and fearsome aquatic beasts making short work of Leoths feeble defences.

Luckily, he managed to sneek onto an evacuation ship, watching in horror as Leoth burned and the Djuran flag was hoisted high into the sky. The impenetrable city of light, had been obliterated in mere hours by the invaders, marking the first of the many kingdoms of the isles to fall. Though he felt no love for Leoth, the island held his mother's grave, and he would do anything to return to her, including joining the Western Isles remaining forces.

He trained rigorously at the academy, showing little promise other than his craftsmanship. He couldn't fight toe to toe with the rest of the academy's students, and quickly moved away from the regular sword and armor in favor of weapons that better suited his 'dirty' fighting style. Despite his poor performance in all aspects of combat other than archery, Ilium somehow managed to hatch the egg of the shadow Drake, Nacht, a feat that brought skepticism from many of the noble houses who doubted a common man could ever partner with a Drake.