Felis was not born on solid ground but amidst the bustling sky-lanes of Yrdde, his cradle the gently swaying deck of his family’s merchant airship, The Silkwind. Born into a long line of Cat Chimera traders, his childhood was a vibrant tapestry of bustling port cities, clinking coins, and the intoxicating aroma of exotic spices and rare silks. He learned the art of negotiation before he could walk, his small hands mimicking his father's gestures as they bartered with dwarven merchants for finely crafted tools, charmed Imperial officials with honeyed words and discreet bribes, and subtly inflated prices for wide-eyed tourists eager to acquire souvenirs from lands beyond their sheltered world, ensuring his family name remained one whispered with respect on traderoutes spanning every corner of the sky-sea.
He absorbed the rhythms of the sky-sea’s trade winds – the ebb and flow of supply and demand, the dance of risk and reward, the art of turning a blind eye to the less-than-legal origins of particularly valuable cargo. He wasn't simply raised, but meticulously crafted into the heir of his family legacy.
His education was an apprenticeship, a blend of practical skills picked up amidst cargo holds and shipyards - identifying rare spices, deciphering merchant codes, maintaining ship engines – with more formal lessons in etiquette, languages, and even a touch of swordsmanship, though they all seemed a bit of a waste of his time. After all, Felis found, it was the mind far more dangerous and profitable than any skill with a blade or cannon could provide.
When his parents, growing weary of the sky-sea's relentless demands, retired to the quiet comfort of Sanctum - a choice that baffled Felis to no end - he inherited command of The Silkwind and its associated trading ventures. He embraced this legacy, transforming his father's somewhat reputable business into a far more flexible enterprise.
Recognizing that the greatest profits often lay in the shadowy corners of the sky-sea world, he established connections with smugglers, informants, and a variety of Chimera clans that thrived on the Empire's periphery. His ship, rechristened The Shadow Claw as a testament to his ability to navigate both physical and social shadows, became synonymous with rare, often illicitly acquired, goods, her hold as vast as his ever-growing ambition.
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