Born into a middle-class family, Thomas Talboh is the second of three children. His father was a moderately successful merchant in the city of Vasir. His young life was largely uneventful; he made friends in the city and established contacts within some of the influential families of the middle-class. At the age of 18, he was approached by a strange old man who wanted to speak to him.
Thomas agreed, and the old man revealed himself to be a lesser mage. The mage revealed that Thomas possessed a strong affinity to elemental magic. The old man then offered to teach Thomas in the ways of magic. Over the next three years, Thomas secretly learned to command the elements; he could manipulate existing sources, or he could tap into ley lines to create new sources. His power wasn't great, but his potential was. After his three years of training, the old mage was discovered and had to flee from the town. Without his mentor, Thomas was forced to practice his powers on his own, and he ended up exploding a house, getting discovered in the process. Thomas stole a bit of money from his father's chest and fled to Galam.
Thomas spent a bit of time in Galam, but found that it was very difficult to advance his power in such a paranoid town. He made a couple of friends, but simply could not find time to train with so many eyes fixed on him. Before long, he caught word of some mercenaries from Vasir who were looking for him, so he decided to flee even further to the city of Talama. Now low on funds, and knowing that his friends were his greatest asset in the past, Thomas knows that he has to make friends in Tamala if he wants to avoid fleeing even further, which he can no longer afford.
Thomas enters the city and tries to establish contacts among the middle-class and lower nobility while also asking about the latest rumors.