Theophraxis Backstory - Part Two

The following is the final part in a set of blogs about Theophraxis, the gnome gunslinger I play on Time2TableTop's Dungeons & Dragons 5e  The Infinity Tower live stream. This story picks up where the previous blog left off. Enjoy my ramblings and catch us every Tuesday night 6:30PM Pacific time on Twitch.

The Story Continues

If you recall, Grand Ol' Tree was a gnome burrow full of life, hard work, harder play, and deep tradition. It thrived for centuries until orc armies laid waste to it.

It's all too common for tightly knit communities decimated by war to scatter across the lands, their populations never to be reunited. This was not the case with the Grand Ol' Tree burrow. In fact, the terrible event only strengthened the bond among its survivors. As a community, they escaped to Tregeria. When they resettled, they did so together. They called their new home New Grand Ol' Tree. This wasn't some misplaced nostalgia for a lost land. It was a deliberate declaration of their solidarity and strength in such a dark time. Folks even drew parallels to the original founding so long ago. That was worth some comfort at least. It was in this spirit that what might be called a "normal" way of life began to reshape itself within the tunnels and upon the surface of the burrow.

Several years later, Theophraxis Tinkestro ala Mastrenordan Regalio Plinartee the Sliverbrow Winterfoot of the Underroot (or "Theo" for the non-Gnome folk out there) was born. His older sister, Theadosia Clericestro ala Maistradanta Regalia Plinartree the Sliverbrow Winterfoot of the Underroot ("Thea" for those lacking the patience to recite a full gnome name), was, to put it gently and without judgement, displeased. The nature of sibling relationships are never guaranteed. Some are a wonderful blessing. Some are pragmatic. Still others are bitter. The relationship between Theo and Thea began with resentful rivalry. Thankfully for the parents (and, let's be honest, the rest of the burrow), that did advance all the way up to mere chaotic ambivalence by the time both were more or less adults. But that's getting ahead of things.

By all accounts, Theophraxis was an intelligent, energetic child who enjoyed inventing new ways of getting into trouble when the old tricks became a bore. His chief companion in these misadventures was almost universally his sister. It was a simple fact of burrow life that if Theophraxis was up to no good then Theadosia was nearby as an accomplice, a victim, a warden, or some combination of all three. Interrogations would be needed to suss out the truth.

As Theadosia grew older, her brother's mischief lost its luster and she began to pull away from him to focus on becoming a cleric instead. Theophraxis took this as a betrayal and doubled-down on his unruliness. When he was old enough, his parents quickly sought out apprenticeships for him hoping someone might be able to provide guidance to their son. He was accepted into these readily enough. He possessed a raw talent that masters found promising. He was kicked out of each of them in turn; tinkering, smithing, cooking, carpentry, rifleman-ship, brewing, and even gardening. The complaint was always the same. He lacked focus, even for a gnome. Worse, he refused to work beyond what came easy for him.

No one was more annoyed by Theophraxis' behavior than his sister. She had become a skilled healer as she watched her brother bounce between apprenticeships like a loose cog in a defective gearbox. Eventually, she took it upon herself to use her influence over him. She directed him toward behaviors she felt would be beneficial. She did this with such finesse that she often convinced him these ideas were his.

Those efforts started to pay off. Theophraxis subjected himself to the unbending will of Holgar Grandhammer, the most dreaded of master smiths. (Theo did manage to bend his master's will all out of shape though.) He allowed himself to be sucked into the limitless obsessions of Lemming Geargrappler, a master tinker with genius few dared to understand and an apprentice-fatality rate pushing the envelope of what was acceptable. (Theo outlived that master to everyone's surprise.) Theophraxis even gave in to his sisters insistence that he volunteer for tunnel defense. (It was an uneventful stint hardly worth mentioning.)

In the grand schemes of gods, none of these efforts mattered. You see, the orcs had found their way to Tregeria. They came down out of the north, sweeping through the lands just as before. Nothing could stop the horde as it flooded the burrow, killing and destroying with a rage that no survivor has forgotten. It didn't take long before the burrow collapsed under fire and earth. When it was over, New Grand Ol' Tree was gone. It's people we're finally scattered. There would never be a regrouping. 

Theophraxis did try to help during the fight. He tried to put to use what he'd learned. But he failed. His friends were still cut down. His neighbors were still murdered. He was nothing against might of the orcs.

He doesn't recall many details of the early days after the burrow fell. He found his parents, dead. He remembers that much. He never found his sister. He heard stories, of course. These gave him hope to continue. There was also the guilt, a pain deep in the roots of soul that blamed him for the burrow's demise. That is what pushed him into leading a small group of refugees (a baby handed him during the battle, a few children, a few elderly, and a badly wounded artificer) away from the destruction. They wandered hungry and sick for days before stumbling into East Keep. There they found other refugees from other battles. He and his charges were directed to a small gnome enclave. Its burrow wasn't much more than a cellar but it was a palace given the circumstances.

Theophraxis used this time to collect his thoughts, morn his loss, and assemble some sort of plan to find his sister. He also made a promise. He would never again shirk his responsibility. The consequences were simply too grave. Nor would he ever allow another community to be wiped out of existence. No one deserved to lose their home. He would give his life to keep that from happening.

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