Rafael
Born in the Cortosian Free City of Feiara, Rafael came up as the son of a local Baron.
Though his father had title and his family held some acclaim, the wealth they held had been supremely depleted by the time Rafael was born. Though far from destitute, the families titles meant very little within the walls of Feiara, and in truth they were more ordinary citizens than any sort of nobility.
No sense of bitterness clung to either Rafael or his family because of this however. They embraced their lives and the city they lived in. Using what was left of their meager wealth to operate a large tavern in the center of the city. Popular among the locals and foreigners, it was here that Rafael met his first real soldier.
Becoming enamored with the idea almost immediately, Raf signed up to join one of the Free Companies as soon as he turned eighteen.
For the next ten years Rafael campaigned with one Mercenary Band or another. Joining the likes of the Sacred Star, Faen El, The Blazing Lions, and even the Crimson Wrath. He bound from one group to another, never staying for more than a season of campaigning before moving on.
Sometimes it was at a simple whim, though towards the latter half of the decade it became clear that something else drove him. Almost as if he were leery of spending too much time in any one place with the same people, and sometimes even leaving in the middle of the night.
Open, gregarious, and happy, Rafael was always well liked in whatever company he joined. Only darkening when someone asked him of his time with the Bloody Crows. Never speaking on what occurred during his tenure there.
It was during his time with the Blazing Lions that Rafael found himself on the borders of Anirian Territory. There, after an utterly vicious campaign, the young man was captured by the Army of the North. Quickly after he was sent to a prisoner of war camp in the southern reaches of Anirian territory.
It was here that Rafael found his now beloved companion Tulio.
After spending nearly five months in the camp with relatively decent treatment, Rafael was set free. Granted Amnesty by the new Republic, the young Cortosian immediately set about getting back to work as a Mercenary. A task which he found brutally difficult.
With no work to find, and passage back to Cortos expensive, Rafael resorted to thievery. Both to live and to stem the tide of his curse.
Though a exceptionally careful, his tenure as a petty criminal eventually came to an end when he was captured by the local Guardsmen. Not for an accusation of theft, but for the murder. A crime which Rafael vehemently denies.
Chirathrope(Werebat)
Infected during his time warring in Cortos, Rafael is what is known as a Chirathrope, or put more simply; a werebat. Similar to, though distinctive from Lycanthropy, Chirathropy is a disease that after infecting a host turns the victim into a horrific beast resembling a large mutated bat.As with lycanthropy, there are dozens of origin stories for this disease. Some claim it is a curse of hags, some say a blessing of the Goddess Mallia, and still others say it is nothing less than a natural phenomenon. No one is quite sure, though over the millenia it has spread to all the corners of Arethil.
Chirathropes are about as common as werewolves and other creatures of the same nature.
Unlike their wolvish cousins, werebats are not transformed by the turning of the moon nor any other celestial phenomenon. Instead it seems that a Chirathropes transformation is entirely based around the scent of blood. Though each has a different tolerance, with enough blood any werebat can be thrown into the frenzy of their transformation.
Werebats when transformed are incredibly strong, agile, and impressive flyers. They monster within is an extraordinary predator and most often aims to kill and carve until it's hunger is sated. Interestingly, once transformed Chirathropes tend to show more intelligence than their Lycan cousins. Not only barbaric killers, but clever enough to even use tools.
Though not entirely recorded by scholars, this fact has made some people say Werebats are far more malevolent than their other cousins. While a werewolf might hunt, a werebat chooses to kill.
Having suffered under this illnes for nearly a decade now, Rafael has come to understand and find the usefulness within his condition.
He is both stronger and faster than most ordinary men, and his senses are far more attuned. Though he does suffer from light blindness and generally tends towards being a night owl.
Over time and Rafael has also managed to bring his disease under a small semblance of control. Using a variation of several poultices, the young Cortosian has managed to repress and even control the beast that lurks within him. Though this has had an aftereffect that when the creature within does find a way out the result is usually far more violent than it ordinarily would be.
Tulio
Found on the outer extents of an Anirian Prisoner of War Camp, Tulio is Rafael's loyal companion and best friend. A pup of unknown origins, Raf has spent the last year training this little hound to be the best and most loyal companion a man could wish for.Incredibly intelligent, and quite hyperactive, Tulio seems to be having a consistently great time with his werebat master. Perennially unbothered by his owners condition, the young dog has shown to be intrinsically important to the young Cortosians life.
Armored with plates Rafael found after his stint in the Prisoner of war Camp, Tulio serves as companion, squire, and pack-horse.
Rafael often claims the dog is descended from an ancient line of hyper-intelligent canines. Capable of understanding and learning far more than any ordinary dog ever would. Though many have tried to disprove this statement by pointing out when Tulio is licking a nearby wall, or rock, or cow who might be his new best friend.
