When it comes to the matter of upbringing, mine would be considered quite modest. There was no fear of poverty. No worry about eviction. We had only what we needed and nothing more, nothing less. My parents, Diane and Ludovic LeFer, were considered well-off by Shanton's standards but in the eyes of those heralding the capitols banner, we might as well have been impoverished. We were - on all facets and fact - rather... average. At least that's how it appeared on the surface. Everyone was oblivious to the schemes of the LeFer's and we children were no exception.

Of the LeFer children, there are four. My eldest sister, Aenwyn, was a prodigal child. There were many times I caught myself watching her through glasses of envy when she'd sing and allure the crowds around us. She married when I was still too young to understand what marriage was. Then there was Theobald, the mischievous brother. I can't remember a time when he didn't come home with a busted lip or bloody nose from picking fights with the neighbour boys. There were many tears when he went off to join the militia. I was the third born. I didn't get a chance to know Hubert - my youngest brother - before the coughing death claimed him.

Being the only child remaining at home, I remember shaking with fear when the men in uniform came to take my parents away. There were accusations that they were in allegiance with a group seeking to overthrow the throne. I was older then, barely eighteen, without a coin to my name so I was sent off to live with my mother's sister so as to not burden my older siblings who had begun building their families.

Aunt Odette had no children and had spent the majority of her adult life as a widow. How she came down that path, I never questioned.

From her, I learned many things that my parents would have vehemently forbade. Occultism. Witchcraft. Healing. Among my siblings, I supposed that I had the most unquenchable thirst for knowledge and she nurtured it and treated me as the daughter she never had. Through her guidance, I was able to make a name for myself in this new world and learned how to make money off of my craft. For ten years I saved and when I'd saved enough, I gave my thanks to Aunt Odette before buying my own shack off the outskirts of Shanton.

It is here that I continue my path seeking to fully understand this world of ours and the occults that live upon it.