Backstory

Syd’s parents died when he was young — one of many families broken during Myrador’s years of upheaval. He survived as a street kid in the Verdant Forest region, learning quickly that nobody listens to orphans.

A wandering performer took him in — someone calling themselves the 12th Prophet of Verimoss, keeper of dreams unspoken. The Prophet wore a patchwork cloak, played music, and spoke in strange mangled proverbs that somehow made people listen. Syd believed every word. He thought he’d been saved by a genuine holy person.

As a teenager, Syd witnessed something dangerous — a crime, a conspiracy, something that would get people killed. He reported it. The authorities arrested him instead. A street rat pointing fingers at his betters. He was sentenced to hang.

His mentor arrived and delivered a “divine vision” of Syd’s innocence. The crowd believed. They released him.

That night, the Prophet confessed everything. There was no Verimoss. No lineage of prophets. The whole thing was an elaborate, well-meaning fraud — a costume that made people listen to someone they’d otherwise ignore.

The truth Syd spoke hadn’t saved him. The lie had.

Syd took the mantle. He calls himself the 13th Prophet, though the “12th” may have been the first. His mentor vanished shortly after, leaving only the cloak, the journal, and the question of whether any of it was ever real.

Now he travels Myrador delivering “prophecies” that give voice to those being silenced — especially children. Because he remembers being the kid nobody would listen to.

NPC Connection

The Prophet Before Him — Syd’s mentor. Name, species, and current status left open. Disappeared roughly two years ago.