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History: As the oldest child born of Uriel Einar, a minor provincial noble and Samar Alizé, the daughter of a Moonfall shipping magnate, Azra'iel was raised in comfortable splendor on a small estate outside the port city. His parents were absent more than present: Uriel was loosely involved in local politics and ran the trade company he had inherited from his father-in-law and Samar oversaw the Alizé family's small, exclusive antique shop when she wasn't absorbed by (or dragging her husband into) the whirl of the Moonfall society scene. But they at least made an effort to take part in his, and later his sister's, lives. Family breakfasts were a daily occurrence, allowing Uriel and Samar to keep tabs on the progress of their children through their own eyes, as opposed to only the written reports of hired tutors. While they spared no expense for what they deemed necessary for their children, they did not wish to spoil Azra'iel and his sister by granting their every request. If the children wanted something special, they had to earn it; either working for their parents or through scoring excellent marks from their tutors.
Azra'iel was an intense child. He was friendly enough when he was forced to interact with peers and his parent's friends, but he preferred the company of his tutors and books. He was extremely dedicated to his studies and found many topics fascinating. One of his first words was 'why,' and he was rarely satisfied with a brush-off answer. His parents never shied from answering his questions in a logical and thought out manner, so Azra'iel was confused when other adults were so disconcerted by his direct questions and piercing gaze. His appreciation of logic and constant quest for knowledge and truth made him a challenging student, but he and his tutors shared a mutual respect once they got used to him.
Just before he turned nine, Azra'iel got a new tutor who was a younger man than his father usually hired. This tutor arrived with a sword sheathed at his waist, a cocky swagger, and a big grin. He had brought adventure novels along with more classical literature and seemed determined to tease Azra'iel out of being so serious all the time. For Azra'iel, it was like suddenly gaining a really fantastic big brother: and he worshiped him. For the first time ever, Azra'iel spoke up during a family breakfast to ask his father for a sword and lessons in using it. Uriel was secretly thrilled, he had hoped the new teacher would loosen up the very serious Azra'iel; but he still maintained the belief that his son had to earn a sword if he wanted it, because the work would make it would mean that much more to him. Azra'iel had to maintain his high marks in his lessons, had to help his mother carry things around the antique shop, and he had to "help" his father with some of the books at their shipyard warehouse. But, by his tenth birthday, Azra'iel had, to his father's satisfaction, earned himself a fine practice sword, his first instructor in the weapon, and a life-long friend.
Magic was never a consistent trait in either family line and had never passed directly between descendants; it always skipped a generation or two. Azra'iel's power did not manifest itself in an overt way. In fact, he was completely unaware of it's existence until he was twelve years old. An incident involving a loose sword flying toward his little sister prompted a spontaneous summoning of a barrier to protect her from harm. A somewhat shocked Azra'iel went immediately to his father's shipyard to tell him about this occurrence. Having no powers themselves, his parents' immediate solution was to have a magically-inclined friend of the family come visit to assess their son's abilities. She couldn't say for certain what Azra'iel's magic concentration might be, but she was able to guide him through some basic skills shared by all witches over the next few afternoons. She suggested that they might be able to find someone to help Azra'iel focus his powers and learn basics, but recommended he plan to attend the Makai Royal Academy as soon as he was old enough.
The idea of attending a school had never occurred to Azra'iel, he had always had a tutor or two. But, the very idea thrilled him. Saif, the tutor and friend that had brought adventure and fun into his life was contacted and agreed to accompany Azra'iel to Makai and help the younger man start to find his way in the world. Azra'iel was determined: he would go and learn all they could teach him and he would master his powers and master the sword and then... who knew where that would take him?
Inspiration to Protect: Ultimately, Azra'iel seeks to protect those who he feels cannot protect themselves. The deeper one works their way into his heart, the more fiercely he will seek to protect them. He does not specifically look for these souls, they just somehow find him...or perhaps he's just a big marshmallow.
Rylia, his younger sister, could not speak for some reason and was a painfully shy child. But she was endearing and as endlessly curious as Azra'iel himself. He hated seeing her treated any differently because of her lack of speech. So Azra'iel appointed himself her champion; he went out of his way to talk to her, to draw their parents' attention to her if she had news to share, or a request to make. It was his personal quest to keep the younger girl smiling. Even as she grew and started speaking normally, he still sought ways to brighten her days. He worries what will happen to her while he is away at school, but has her promise that she will write every other week, expecting him to write her on the alternate weeks.
