Born of evil and begetting evil.
Can we make our pasts a lighter shade with a few extra coats?
When I turn around to look behind me, all that I see is gray.
Little black scorch marks on the floor, each for a soul.
I paint them on my skin to keep them alive.

Janus Carrux was born to two slaves in the city of Cerak At'Thul, who had conceived the child without the consent of their owner, Cassius Carrux. He was confiscated shortly after birth by Cassius and raised as his son. Janus grew up in the slave city, never in extraordinary need thanks to his wealthy father. Regardless, he did disapprove of the slaving lifestyle. He would often sneak extra food to those owned by his father, including his birth parents whom he never learned were such.

During his private studies afforded to him by Cassius, he began to show an aptitude for magic. Seeing an opportunity to leave the less-than-lovely town of his birth behind, he became an apprentice at the Trastus Academy For Magic at age 17. His life at the Academy was largely uneventful, although he did marry a young colleague during his graduating year. After his graduation, he opted to remain at Trastus to become an Instructor and Professor, having displayed a prodigious aptitude for Illusion magic. It was said that his Illusions were so convincing, he could make an illusion attack someone, and they would truly feel the pain.

Of course, consistent use of such powerful magic is dangerous. Every year Janus returned to teach his class, he seemed to grow more and more bizarre. He began stitching runes into his cloak. He would speak at length about his 'Mother', and all the advice she had been giving him. He would often become lucid, sitting in his office and telling himself wild tales about Arethil, tales that couldn't be true. He would speak of events from history, claiming them to be lies and falsities put forth by those pulling the strings behind Arethil's society.

Janus' colleagues knew that he was losing his mind. His own wife left him out of fear, causing him to delve even further into his work to hide away from his pain. Despite this obvious decline, Trastus Academy was faced with a catch-22: They were losing popularity against the larger, more well-known magical universities. The allure of learning Illusions from Janus Carrux was one of the only things that kept new apprentices coming into the school. If they wanted to keep Trastus Academy alive, they couldn't afford to push Janus away.

Then, the worst possible scenario took place. Everybody's nightmare came true one morning.

Janus Carrux murdered an entire Apprentice Class in the middle of his lecture.

The Trastus Academy for Magic couldn't survive such a tragedy. It shut its doors less than a fortnight later.

From that point on whenever anybody approached the old Trastus building, be it to apprehend Janus for his crime or out of mere curiosity, they would be attacked by powerful Illusions. None dared step foot near the Academy.

But now, The Trastus Academy for Magic is empty. Janus Carrux has disappeared. Those in the surrounding wilderness and cities claim to have seen a man who matches his description. One who calls himself self "Orion"