Master Alric
Alric has spent his long life gathering knowledge and secrets, not from libraries, but from the heart of forgotten temples and crumbling cities. He sees a world poised on the edge of renaissance, but bound by savage creatures. Civilizations rise only to be consumed, their knowledge and progress wasted. If he could gather enough power to control the monsters, he could change the world for the better. After all, anything is possible with Ember.

After countless expeditions in dark labyrinths Alric has collected scars, gained an apprentice, and grown old. Faced with dwindling time and his life’s work incomplete, he began to experiment with Ember transfusion. Alric steeped himself in the essence of magic in an effort to prolong his life, but he had little success until the discovery at Torchlight.

The Ember vein below Torchlight is richer than any remembered, and the Ember’s special properties gave Alric hope. He could almost hear it whispering to him as he manipulated it, telling him the proper way, promising that he was nearly there. By the time he sensed the corruption, it had already taken root within him.

Cursing himself for a fool, he set off for Torchlight in search of a cure.

Syl
Last-born of a noble house, Syl ’s early life expected both too much from her and not enough. As a child she escaped political lessons to explore nearby ruins, and it was there that Alric found her. He had never wanted an apprentice, but Syl had potential he could not ignore. She understood the magic of Ember intuitively, and her curiosity mirrored his own. Syl’s family released her eagerly, and her true lessons began.

She drank in his knowledge and the world opened up before her. She learned to defend herself with the power of Ember, and to look deeply into the past. As Syl studied the remains of civilizations, she could see patterns. Sometimes a small thing would have made the difference, a push at the right moment to save them from ruin. While Alric seeks the power to change the world, Syl seeks the wisdom to guide it.

Alric had been absent for two years when Syl finally received a message calling her to Torchlight. It was not unusual for her and Alric to spend months apart before meeting to share their discoveries, but he had been missing for far too long. Relieved, Syl and her companion Brink began their journey to Torchlight.

Brink
The man who calls himself Brink was once a mercenary before he met his “business partner” Syl, who proposed an interesting arrangement for him. While she was extremely capable in discovering ruins, unlocking their secrets and avoiding the traps within, Syl wasn’t particularly interested in the treasure they contained. Her interest was more in the books, tablets and scrolls within. By contrast, Brink was able to protect Syl as they moved through destroyed areas, with the promise that he’d be able to take as much treasure as he could haul. This arrangement worked well for the duo, and when Syl received a summons to Torchlight, Brink went along in search of adventure as well. At the very least, heading to Torchlight could provide a new quest for Brink and Syl to embark on, new treasure to acquire and a place to spend the newly acquired loot.

The Overseer
The mysterious entity known as the Overseer has spent decade after decade raising the dead for his personal purposes within the mountain that overlooks Torchlight. Years before the town was created, the Overseer attempted to wield Ember to communicate with his ancestors, but was not able to do so with his numerous experiments. Instead, the dead that he raised were only mindless and violent. However, the Ember he used completely sapped his sanity and his mind, twisting the Overseer even further. He’s rumored to still stalk the crypts and ruins beneath the mountain, seeking the way to restore the intelligence to the dead that surround him.