Traveler Villain Origin

Thousands of years ago, in a world very similar to, yet, largely diverse from ours, there lived a bright, young student living in the monastery at Ecclesia, a majestic cultural center of a city overlooking the sea. Always quick to speak and learn, she never ceased to amaze her instructors. She could often be found searching through every nook and cranny of a thick pyromancing textbook in the library or slaving over a long, well-planned thesis paper on the dragons of the western mountains. This, of course, made it easy for her teachers to know what to expect from her: Nothing but the best. As she grew older, she only became only more focused and determined in her studies.
Soon, the time had come for her to graduate the academy at the monastery and begin a life on her own. Every one of the Fathers knew that she would be able to enter any field she wished without much difficulty. To their surprise, she decided to remain at the monastery and pursue a career doing research in astronomy. Many of the Fathers tried to reason with her and bid her to search for opportunities elsewhere. One of them just stood back and watched as she was pestered by the rest of the priests. He, Father Petofi, knew better than to try and persuade her to pursue something other than what she considered her one and only passion. He was her favorite teacher after all, she wouldn’t take it well if he began to bother her about her decision to stay.
Father Petofi watched her as she came to dominate her department. She discovered many new stars and other heavenly bodies. For this one girl of mysterious origin, who had been found abandoned as a young child, it was a huge accomplishment and the entire city of Ecclesia began to take notice. It began with the King of Courterra, who visited the city to award the girl for her contributions in science towards the kingdom. The ceremony was public and the entire city was invited. Afterwards, she couldn’t leave her house without meeting many coveting suitors. For, as the city had discovered, she was not only blessed with vast intelligence, but also with a gorgeous splendor that seemed to take command of many of the kingdom’s batchelors. She paid no heed to any of them. Her heart belonged to her work and to the monastery that had raised her. For a while it did, at least.
One day as the girl left her home for the monastery, she noticed a disheveled young man sitting near her doorstep. She asked if he was just another suitor. It turned out that he was a destitute man who had been roaming the city for weeks. Full of sympathy, she ran inside and returned with an apple for the man, whom she escorted to the monastery. He was put up in the inn that the priests operated for people of his sort. Despite the young vagrant being in safe hands, she couldn’t help but think about him as she worked seeking out a set of stars that had been recently revealed by one of the observatory’s powerful new telescopes. The instrument was a behemoth brass tube with gigantic mirrors and lenses filling its metallic belly. Despite its size, it allowed the astronomers to easily manipulate its position as they searched the sky with a specially created spell that allowed objects in the night sky to be percieved during the day. The stars that had been, for a while, desperately sought after after a student assistant had forgotten to record their location in the sky were finally found. A closer glimpse revealed small but promising lights in close proximity to one of the stars. Planets.
This was something completely new to the small but experienced group of astronomers and there was call for a celebration. The only other planets known besides their home planet had been Juness and Treypas, the other 2 worlds in the planetary system. Each was known to have intelligent life (whether it was human or not was undetermined at the time) and climates similar to their planet, Liber. The corks were popped (as silently as possible of course, for the priests did not approve of alcohol) and toasts were given to each and every member of the research team. Last, but not least, the girl was honored. She had been an important asset to the research team and they wished to present her with a gift, to which she declined. She wasn’t in any need of anymore special recognition and she wanted everyone to know it. After bidding her colleagues a good night, she quickly left the observatory and went to see the homeless man she had met that morning.
As they sat down in front of the fireplace, the man thanked the girl for her hospitality and kindness. She, in her modesty, said it had been drummed into her mind by the priests to always aid those who are less fortunate. They began a talk which lasted well into the night. Each had vivid, interesting stories to tell of themselves and their experiences. The following exchange of stories and ideas so enthralled the girl the girl that she began to see the wandering vagrant with new eyes. She had never, in her years in the monastery, known someone as worldly as the homeless man, not even one of the priests.
Apparently, he was a sand glider pilot from the Khyber Desert to the west. He had been the cream of the crop when it came to pilots. No one was better at navigating through sandstorms and locust swarms than he. This had come to the attention of his manager in the transport company he was employed in and he had been very close to a guaranteed pay raise and promotion to Southern Fleet Captain. This did not sit well with older pilots who, having worked for the company most of their lives were not about to let some young airhead steal their one chance at gaining even more power in the company. Out of greed, they had beaten him and tied him up.
When the young man awoke he was riding in a wagon chained, instead of tied with rope, to the inside with several other people, most of them children and young women. It was obvious to him that he was going to be sold into slavery far away and never be heard from again. Not being able to stand this thought, he formulated a plan to escape, which is exactly what he did, breaking away from his captors and sprinting away across a town square veiled in piercing sunlight. He ran through streets filled with merchants and beggars alike as he evaded the local guard who pursued him, holding their long, curved scimitars to the sun. He ran for miles and traveled many more with merchants, farmers and whoever else would take him. Eventually, he stumbled upon Ecclesia and had wandered the streets and alleys of the spacious city, in search of food and money, for nearly a month.
Walking back towards home, the girl had a new found respect for this young man. This soon blossomed into love, for she admired his dashing figure and intelligence, springing from his experiences throughout the land. She couldn’t work long, looking to the stars, without thinking of him. It wasn’t long at all before she had invited him to come and dine with her at her home. They talked for a while over a lavish meal of salads and steaks and exotic foods found usually far across the desert. The girl still couldn’t look away from the young vagrant, as he talked of adventures among the heat and peril of the duned desert. His callused hands and bristled beard mesmerized her and made his words seem to blur into nothingness in her mind. She only smiled and listened happily to his stories.
Later, as they sat down to wine in front of the fireplace, the vagrant noticed something about her.
"Are you alright?” he asked, "you haven’t talked much all night.”
She was awoken from her trance and quickly said,
"I’m sorry. It’s just that I didn’t want to interrupt your stories. They’re quite intriguing.”
Smiling, he said,
"That's very kind of you. It’s quite refreshing to talk to someone after all these weeks of living like a vagrant. Especially a girl as beautiful as you.”
The girl blushed and swiftly hid her face when she realized what was happening.
Her guest smiled and asked, "Are you ok?”
"Yes. I’m sorry. You’re just too kind,” she said with a smile.
Her guest warmly grinned back. Then, as if by impulse, they both leaned in towards each other and kissed. The girl blushed even more until her face was as red as the sunset.She suddenly felt drowsy and laid her head back. She smiled as she felt his hands take her head and place it on his shoulder. She had never felt such joy, merely being in the prescence of another person. She curled up next to the young vagrant and slept peacefully.
The next morning, the girl happily awoke, expecting to find the young man next to her. What she discovered was a mess in her home. Clothes were yanked out of trunks, curtains and blankets were torn and furniture was turned over, as if someone had been searching for a magic elixir to save their life. The young vagrant was gone and the only trace of him was a hastily scrawled note that read, "I’m sorry.” The girl surveyed the scene with a mournful look in her eye. How could this man in whom she had put so much trust betray her like this? She lay in her room weeping dreadfully. The next day she returned to her work disheartened, but managing to still glow with her usual aura of strength.
Her fellow astronomers watched her as she toiled away quietly, worried that she might have an emotional breakdown. It was agreed among them that, in order for her to return to work as naturally as possible, no one was to speak of the young vagrant ever. Her initial weary demeanor soon disappeared and her work performance became the same as usual. It was thought that everything that had befallen the girl would never have to be mentioned or recalled again. However, in a matter of months, the girl discovered that the vagrant had left another calling card; a child comfortably growing within her. The girl entered another stage of depression, the likes of which her friends and co-workers had not yet seen before in her. Soon after the news of her child had surfaced, she refused to return to the observatory, preferring to do her job within the confines of her own home.
Although she regularly sent her fellow astronomers reports of her findings, they could not help but wonder about what the girl was doing in the confines of her home. None of them had ever seen her in such a state of depression. Some feared that she was searching for ways to kill her child as quickly as possible. Others thought that she had turned to the narcotics procured in the lower west district of the city for comfort. Some tried to visit her and were happily recieved, though they could not help, but suspect that something sinister was being done inside her home. The house had an ominous, chilling aura about it. It was a freezer with a corpse hidden among the steaks. The girl was also acting strange. Despite her best attempts to cover it up, it was very obvious that she was hiding something from the world; Something that she would possibly kill over.
Several months passed and nobody ever came or went from the girl’s home. However, in the ides of fall, a message was sent by page from the house to the monastery. The priests, who were awoken by the page in the early hours of morning, were stunned to hear the message. The girl had made an important discovery and had requested the presence of the Dieu a Choisi at the time of her announcement. The Dieu a Choisi (doo ah shwa-zee; French for God's chosen one), or Choisi for short, was the supreme religious leader of the land. He was said to have regular contact with God and be blessed with many magnificent powers. No Choisi had visited the monastery (or Ecclesia for that matter) for over a century. This would be a momentous occasion for the Choisi to visit on such short notice. For him to learn of a wondrous, scientific discovery from one of the brightest minds in the city would be such a blessing. The priests wasted no time in sending a invitation to the Choisi’s cathedral in the capital.
One chilly day in December, a telegram was recieved from the Choisi. He had responded to the priests’ letter as soon as he had laid hands on it. He was currently enroute with his convoy of desert skiffs and would be arriving within a day. The priests were surprised upon seeing this. The Choisi, they had heard, was a peculiar man, but having them prepare an entire city for his arrival in a day, was unthinkable. They set out alerting the masses of the Choisi’s approach. Banners were hung, the streets were made spotless and the monastery was decorated inside and out for his arrival. All that was left to do was to ask the girl when she would like to present her discovery to the Choisi.
Father Petofi was sent to the girl as a gesture of goodwill , whose intentions and current mindset were currently unknown. No one had seen her for months. Many feared her to be dead (they did not know the real reason for the Choisi’s visit) and others speculated that she might have become psychopathic. When he arrived at her home, he was surprised. There were no lights on and the house looked like it had been abandoned for many years. The willow trees framing the door were rotting where they stood and the house was covered in vines. He warily knocked on the door and was beckoned inside by a eerily quiet voice.
Later, as the Choisi sat at the top of the stairway to the cathedral, he eagerly awaited the arrival of the young astronomer who was to tell him of her amazing discovery. He could hardly believe that on her own, one could make a discovery so monumental, that it needed to be announced to the kingdom. He speculated about what this breakthrough could possibly be. Suddenly, he saw the crowd creating a path for a couple of figures who he couldn’t quite make out amongst the sea of faces. When they reached the steps he saw Father Petofi leading a cloaked figure with a hood through the crowd. Surely, this wasn’t the girl who wanted to share her discovery with the world, was it? They ascended the steps together and after exchanging a few quiet words, the cloaked figure stepped toward him and removed her hood.
She was as beautiful as the stories claimed her to be, but something seemed amiss. An unusual aura in her eyes made the Choisi skeptical as to the intent of her announcement of the discovery. Her hands looked as if they belonged on a woman years older than her, with their wrinkly bony construction and cracked, weathered nails. She seemed nervous, but eager to share her research. The Choisi would not make her wait any longer. He beckoned her to share her discovery. The girl leaned in and told the Choisi something he wished she hadn’t. He immediately summoned his guards and had her arrested.
The girl lay in a dungeon awaiting her fate for several weeks. The Choisi finally decided to publicly pardon her and upon her release she disappeared for a period of time. A month later she resurfaced in a small community not far from Ecclesia preaching her radical new discovery, the theory of a solar system, to a few intellectuals who had become her followers. She was promptly arrested by the King’s soldiers and taken to the capitol at Regulus, Courterra. After being reprimanded harshly in an elaborate trial, she was asked if she had any last words for the world. The girl, this time as crazy and hideous as a city beggar, replied, "For its ignorance, nothing shall come to this world but unimaginable horror and tragedy. One and all shall pay dearly.” After saying these parting words, a shadowy veil suddenly appeared behind her. She stepped inside of it and was never seen again.