Nicholas is the only character (and my main) who I have any attachment to, so here goes nothing. I try to stay as close to the lore as possible, without referencing the main story.
Before becoming a rather well-known captain in certain circles, they were a young engineer with a dream, literally!
They dreamt of a place called “Magius”, where they were a hero and a staunch defender of a city called “Ironport”. Unfortunately, the dreams stopped one day, now reduced to daydreams and an imaginary place where they could live out their “previous life”. Maybe Magius was real, or maybe it was a prophecy, but soon they found out that it was simply more than what they thought previously…
When serving on a ship as an apprentice of an old shipbuilder, pirates attacked late at night! They slaughtered the captain in cold blood and demanded treasures and cargo. The old shipbuilder and the rest of the crew refused, leaving them to be tortured.
Nicholas, afraid of the pirates and what they will do to the crew and their teacher, remembered an old tale from their grandmother. Long ago, there was a magic user in the family, a person who was lost to history, but beamed with potential and power… They decided to be brave, and freed their teacher, who was tied up. Together, they faced the pirates with weapons and their strength, they seemed to be winning, until the pirate capitan finally showed up. Long story short (because this post is already wordy enough, let’s be honest), Nicholas awakened their hidden power and helped his teacher with defeating the pirates.
The crew was safe, the cargo was safe, extra loot was gained, and new opportunities opened for the young Nicholas…