Caelum's story starts far before his birth.
 
In the capital city of Hydrus, in Vespmar, there was a half-elven woman by the name of Loralei. She was a beautiful woman - blessed with talent, wit, and a face so fair that her suitors even included the somber Edric Drake. But she wanted more. More than any of them could give her.
 
Loralei performed a ritual one night, summoning the god of fire himself, Asmodeus, to her. Though even she was shaken by his ferocity when he appears.
 
"Speak, mortal." His voice rumbled like thunder.
 
Loralei swallowed, at a loss for words for but a moment.
 
"You are one of the gods who refused to swear the Compact and can walk the mortal plane. I crave a greater purpose than mere mortals can give," she threw herself at his feet. "Whatever you ask, I will give it to you."
 
For a moment, nothing happened. Then the god laughed, great and terrible. He put his hand beneath her chin and lifted her up.
 
"And so you shall have it," he promised amusedly. "You shall have your power. In return, you will lie with me and bear my children. My followers will raise these children to fight for me and obey your commands."
 
Loralei nodded, her stomach tied in knots, and the god took her to bed that night. It was not soon after that the life of her first-born, spawn of Asmodeus, began to grow inside her belly. It is at that time that the pyromancers, followers of Asmodeus, found her in the city and took her away to a hidden place within the forest to give birth to a child she named Valdis, for he would bring death to his enemies.
 
As the child grew, he was taught in the ways of Asmodeus by the pyromancers, and trained in his rightful place of rulership alongside his father. His mother bore two more children of the divine's: Sidero, who would bring the wilds under her control for her father's will, and Isidore, who will lust for his brother's position.
 
Valdis was but four years old when he was taken on a journey by a small group of the followers of Asmodeus. It was only three days into their journey when they were attacked by one of the many beasts that roam the Ophidian Forest. The priests were scattered and Valdis was defended by one until her last breath, but then the beast and Valdis stood, staring each other in the eye. The beast lunged forward and struck at the boy, but was stopped by an arcane barrier. A man with dark skin stood at the edge of the clearing, holding the beast at bay. He struck the beast down and came forward to talk to Valdis, though he spoke in a strange tongue that the young boy did not understand.
 
The man gathered up the child and took him back to Hydrus, entrusting him to the care of a couple there by the name of Atrament. They called the boy Caelum, though he did not speak the common tongue and instead hissed in Infernal, breaking cookery and setting fire to blankets as he lashed out in confusion and fear.
 
It was nearly a year before he knew enough Common to communicate with his foster parents, and had at this time largely forgotten the horrors of the pyromancers' care. But he was but a child, and children are drawn towards inner warmth, rather than the fire of the Dark Lord. He chose to stay with the couple, and they became his guardians and parents. They raised him attending The Great Church in Hydrus, and tutored him until he could attend a school in the town. Tieflings were hardly unusual in the town, though some of his infernal characteristics did set him apart from the others of his race and he was ostracized by the other children. He spent much time alone at the cathedral, particularly by the shrine to the god of death, Mormekar. As time passed, Caelum came to ask his parents of the man who saved him.
 
They told him that it was a man by the name of Lucien Arnat, a drow member of The Order of Kindred. The Atraments had a daughter who had joined the order, but had fallen to a beast similar to the one who attacked Caelum all those years ago. The order had pledged to protect the couple in their child's stead, and in turn they opened their home to the victims of the forest. That is, until Caelum was delivered onto them. Caelum begged his parents to allow him to join the order, and, despite their misgivings, they brought him before the order.
 
The order's leaders accepted the young man, placing him under the tutelage of Azual Tyrlilth. Azual was a tough teacher, but fair. He has taught the young tiefling as best as he could, and Caelum is soon to take his own vows to the order...

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