When Caliban was five years old, he was essentially kidnapped. The young one was taken in by a 'kindly old man' who told him he could see the future and that Caliban was too important to die. He didn't understand what the old man meant until three days after he had been taken, when his village burned to the ground and the old man brought him to an overlooking hill to see. This convinced the child that the old man could indeed see the future and had saved his life. Though he asked constantly why me, why not my family, why not other people, all he was ever told in answer was that he was special
Caliban was brought up by the old man and his wife and he lived a good life, where he was taught traditional medicine and how to make tea and how to sew and how to pray. Then one day the old man's wife died, and Caliban, remembering something he had been told long long ago, went back to his old village to find some special flowers that were said to bring peace to even the most tormented heart. He wanted them for his grandfather - the old man. Well imagine his surprise when there was the village, all up and running, fine as day. And imagine the villager's surprise to see him, the spitting image of his parents who had made the sacrifice of their son to keep the village from the wrath of the Burning One
The young noodle was chased from the village by vaguely familiar faces, and when he returned the old man was very angry with him for leaving. So he explained he had gone to find the flowers for grandfather and he was sorry, he just wanted grandfather to be okay because grandmother would not have wanted them to cry. So the old man asked if he saw anything strange and he said well, yes actually. I saw the village, and all the people were there. They didn't seem to like me very much though. And so the old man explained that he was special because he was the only child a parent was willing to sacrifice to an old god to keep countless others safe.
But doesnt that just mean I was unwanted? Caliban wondered. Not at all, countered the old man. It meant that out of all the children the god could have demanded, you were the only one special enough to be taken. So Caliban continued to live and be taught by the old man, who eventually gave him three special keys and told him to gaurd them well. He was the keeper of them now, and was trained in all the things he would need to know to uphold them. He understood how to heal others, how to be hospitable, and how to mend broken things.
The old man died the next day, and for several years he lived as he had always done, taking healing medicines to a cart hauler who would come up and accepting only spices and a few other small odds and ends unavailable on the mountain in exchange for the precious medicines. He had a few visitors who came looking for the old man and he helped them in the old man's stead, essentially taking the old man's place. No matter who stopped by, they were given a full meal, a warm bed, a full breakfast and a parting tea.
Well one day, a group of bandits visited. Despite them being bandits, Caliban fed them and gave them beds, before retiring himself. That night, Caliban's home was ransacked and he woke up tied to his bed and gagged. It took him several months to rebuild but then he went back to doing as he had always done. Then, the bandits came back. Though he recognized them, he let them in once more. He fed them, and gave them warm beds. That time, he tried to stay awake but they had drugged his drink while he was getting seconds. He came to and saw the face of the man who saw fit to violate him that night, so he was blinded, and robbed again - this time of more than just property.
A year and a half later, Caliban had adjusted to his blindness and was still living as a hospitable healer in the mountains when the bandits came a third time. Unable to see them, he invited them in and fed them. This time, the bandits only got as far as the nearest town when they and everything they stole burst into flames. The villagers, recognizing the birth of a new burning one, searched the scorched thieves and their artifacts. Then one by one villagers brought something up to Calibans home, to replace what was stolen. When he woke up, it was as though nothing had been put out of place. He knew, however. It was a very good replica of his home, but he knew the chips and wears on all of his things, and these things all had different chips and wears. He never spoke of it and the villagers stayed silent as well. Since then, Caliban has only once called on his power as the Burning One to defend himself.
