Sho not only grew up without any major ailments, but, further, he displayed incredible reasoning skills. His mind was so sharp, his memory so good, that he was taken in by Horc Stairm, a mage with whom his father had once travelled. Horc had recently retired from his days as an adventurer, and was more than happy to mentor the boy.

However, as his studies progressed, he became more concerned with his father, who was growing thinner and weaker by the week. He began branching out, not only studying magic theory, but also studying the human body, hoping to find something about how it functioned to either prolong his father’s life, or eliminate the disease altogether. Cadevers were procured and dissected, herbalists were paid for tutelage, and alchemical mixtures were experimented with (sometimes using himself as a test subject, as well as losing a few pet birds this way). Ancient tomes were poured over, far away lectures were attended, and advanced research into necromantic magic was done in order to better study the nature of death.

Nevertheless, shortly after he came of the day when Horc could teach the boy only little more, Rizeton Gonnel passed away. His mother, overcome by grief, turned to a religion that taught that the endurance of pain and privation were virtues. Sho was shocked by her conversion to a religion that sought to ease pain by making death a standard for the living, and the two found little advantage in conversing or corresponding. He let her drift out of his life.

Sho continued his studies into death, wasting, and aging. During his studies, he had come across many questions. Why must men grow old and die? Why is it necessary? He now seeks a new goal for his research: immortality. Or, at least, a type of life that cannot be ended by mere age and disease. He studies what it means to be healthy; what it means to die, and what it would take to live longer and with less sickness. This knowledge is his passion.

In the meantime, there is a problem of income. Having inherited his parent’s home (now turned into a library and laboratory of sorts), he takes on odd jobs, occassionally writing books for sale to colleagues across the sea, and occassionally offers his services in medicine. Usually, what studies can be done are done only late into the night, and he often closes his books at the first light of dawn. Recently, he’s been studying tales of ancient artifacts more and more, hoping to find one that may at least prolong his life in search of his ultimate goal.

What will he do should he achieve his goal? That, he is unsure of. After all, he reasons, he’ll have plenty of time to consider that should he achieve that day.

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