S-1308 "Sin"
Backstory
Simon was an unremarkable only child who had his entire life to look forward to, until at the age of eight his parents [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] were hosting a dinner party. While cooking, a heavy cast iron pan fell from a high shelf. When it was about to strike his mother, Simon reached out instinctively and used a form of telekinesis to sling the pan away. This was a shock to his parents, but the visiting family was horrified. They immediately ran to report the incident to the nearest church officials. Witch hunters came and took Simon away, and his parents said their goodbyes. At the time, he was too young to understand this event or even completely grasp the gravity of the situation, but he wouldn't be allowed to see his parents again
He was taken to Nostors Keep, where a ritual was performed in a plain stone room. He knelt on a stone slab carved to look like the Star of the Creator. Eight Fade collectors were positioned at points around the room opposite each point of the Star. As the chanting of the clerics grew louder, he experienced the worst pain he’d ever felt - and ever would have felt to this day. Grey smoke, fog, or Fade, was pulled out of his body from his shoulders and arms, scarring his body with fractal-like branches, spreading from his shoulders and converging to a point on his elbows
He was then assigned the affectionate designation S-1308 by the Church. Afterwards, he was raised at Nostors Keep and was taught for his entire life that his existence was sinful and wrong, and that only a lifetime of dedication to the Creator could free his immortal soul from evil. During this time he was nicknamed by the others "Sin" because of the habit of teachers calling him sinful more than the others, combined with his designation "S-1." Also “affectionately” called Volwitt, a Seftmirian word meaning "Agile," or "Ghost." At the time, this ironic nickname was a jab, with the other kids teasing Sin because of his heavy-footed and clumsy nature. Being trained to be a forward scout for the witch hunters made the mockery all the more painful.
Over time, the mockery drove him to become more adept and focus on his training, learning to quickly and quietly find target magic users and report back to send in the calvary. When he came of age, 18, he was sent with a small group of Witch Hunters to collect a Fade-Born, a kid with magic powers. Fully indoctrinated, he went along - but this collection was very different from his own.
The parents resisted, and the kid, only 4 years old, obviously didn't understand what was happening. Crying, the child let out a deafening scream towards one of the witch hunters, who burst into flames in front of him, her body unfolding and tearing itself apart, bones snapping and blood covering the floor until all that was left was a smouldering unrecognizable pile of meat. A second witch hunter fired a single shot - and the child slumped to the ground. Sin was set upon by the mother, and he defended himself instinctually, impaling her with his rapier as she tackled him, leading to him being pinned by her now lifeless body weight, her glazed-over eyes staring blankly into his face. The father collapsed to his knees over his dead child and spouse, crying and sobbing incoherently. From Sin’s vantage point under the mother's body, he watched his witch-hunter partner walk forward and lower his rifle to aim and execute the father where he sat. Sin’s view of the church and its witch hunters would never be repaired from this moment.
By this point, the remainder of his team had come in from outside and helped Sin to his feet. It would be a two-day journey on foot to the nearest train station to return to the Keep. He'd wait for nightfall, Sin decided. He’d leave. After a day of walking, his party stopped to make camp by the side of the road. Under cover of darkness, Sin grabbed what belongings he had and made to leave - only to be stopped by one of the hunters. The one who'd executed the child, and the father. With a finger planted firmly on Sin's chest, he looked sin in the eye. "If you leave, they'll find you. Apostasy is only legal under the Empire's law, not for the Church. Not for us." He removed his hand and stepped back. Sin didn't look back as he left, knowing that apostasy and being chased were preferable to whatever he'd be forced to do working within the Church.
After some journeying, Sin came to know that there was an entire organization of people who helped save children from the church. and Sin took up this duty for a few months - taking very small groups of young children and using his experience as a witch hunter to navigate around them. After a few successful runs, Sin found himself in Solace at some sort of “celebration," a concept that he'd never experienced during a lifetime within the cold walls of Nostors Keep.
Sin was found one morning by the party, dead of asphyxiation by apparently managing to shove his head up his own ass.
Allies
Solomon Fairbeard, Gunslinger
Proximo Jenkins, Champion
Lies O'Lotte, Inventor
Dylan Sebastian Chad, Ranger
Organizations
Worked briefly with an unnamed grass-roots organization aiming to aid families seeking to hide their children from the church.