Sebastian

"So-called heroes die young. They save a couple people, but the price is never worth it. It's an idealistic, childish dream."

Sebastian of Bremervoord, Witcher.

Sebastian Arturia Ambrose of Bremervoord is a new generation witcher. Son of Duke Agloval and Lady Sh'eenaz. He is also one of the founders of the Raven School, alongside the legendary witcheress, Evelyn Ryder.

Childhood (1262-1267)
Born during the harsh winter of 1262. Sebastian was the son of Bremervoord's proud duke, Agloval and the mermaid, Sh'eenaz. The first few years of his childhood were rather peaceful and enjoyable. That was until his 5th spring, when his mother was found dead. The autopsy revealed two things. First, she'd been poisoned. Second, she was a mermaid. The latter having been somewhat of a secret.

When the information got out, the people of the city didn't know what to think or how to feel. That was until a priest started preaching, claiming that the duke's had been seduced by the "sea witch" and their child would become a vile monster, if the people of the city did nothing. The words of the priest led to what'd later be known as the Bremervoord Massacre.

An angry mob formed. And come morn', they rallied outside the duke's castle. Demanding the head of young Sebastian. The duke wouldn't give in. Too arrogant and proud to realize the danger he was in. His guards urged him to flee with the boy. But he wouldn't budge. Convinced that a group of "peasants" were no threat to him.

A young hooded witcheress entered, the head of a monster in hand. She'd just completed a contract for the duke. Upon receiving her reward, she asked what the racket outside was about. The duke told her what was going on, speaking of it as it were some kind of joke. She then proceeded to leave the castle.

Unbeknownst to the duke or his guards, she snuck into Sebastian's chambers and kidnapped him. Slipping away just before the mob broke into the duke's castle.

Training in the Kestrel Mountains (1267-1273)
After making it out of Bremervoord alive, Sebastian and the witcheress, Evelyn rode north to the Kestrel Mountains. There, Evelyn introduced Sebastian to the lone sorcerer known as Volkan. His lair was tucked away in the northern part of the mountains, hard to see and even harder to reach.

During this time, Evelyn taught Sebastian a number of things. Since he was too young to properly wield a sword, he mostly learnt about botany, monsters and other useful things for a witcher to know.

Evelyn always tried to keep him away from the other children there. He never knew why, until a couple months had passed. One by one, the children kept coming and disappearing. Screams often echoing from the depths of the lair. When he asked Evelyn about them, she told him about how the sorcerer was trying to recreate the Witcher Trials, sadly to no avail. She'd been an exception, as the first and only child to have passed the new trials. The rest usually died during the Trial of the Grasses.

The Choice
Having already had a decent amount of practice prior in both fields, the changes in diet and the intense training, weren't too much for Sebastian to handle. Out of the ten kids who begun on this trial, only two had perished.

Trial of the Blade
This was one of the trials the sorcerer came up with for children who showed great promise. A bit of an extra challenge to see how they'd cope in a life or death situation, where teamwork was rather essential. Their objective was to each slay at least one Kikimore. Out of the eight that had remained in the group, only three survived this trial. Out of those three, only two actually managed to slay a kikimore. Sebastian being one of them.

Trial of the Grasses
Having shown exceptional promise leading up to this trial, the sorcerer had high hopes for this batch of children. Both Sebastian and the other kid who managed to slay a kikimore - Miro - both ended up passing this trial. Sebastian seemed to be holding up alright. Though, the trial really did a number on his body. However, the same could not be said for Miro. His mind seemed to be breaking.

Trial of the Dreams
A fairly large gap was left in between this trial and that of the grasses, since both lads needed time to recover. Miro's state had hardly improved over this time. The results of the trial were just as the sorcerer had expected. Sebastian passed quite easily and Miro's spirit broke, causing him to die midway through the trial.

Trial of the Pendulum
This trial took place shortly after the Trial of the Dreams. The Trial of Pendulum was more dangerous mentally than it was physically. Sebastian was made to take the trial, since his mental state appeared very stable and the chance for his mind to break, seemed very low. Created by the Cat School, this trial was said to improve the mutations that were received during the Trial of the Dreams. The mutations received during this trial would result in the ability to better predict opponents movement. Honing the mind to be able to easily land critical blows and avoid getting struck. Sebastian managed to pass this trial too. However, this was the one trial that almost broke his spirit. As the mutations of the trial invoked a strong bloodlust, inducing a trance-like state, Sebastian grew more hostile and bloodthirsty. This problem would later be dealt with by Evelyn during their time together on The Path.

Trial of the Mountains
Despite the strain of the Trial of the Pendulum, Sebastian still remembered most of what'd happened before the trial of the grasses. Passing the Trial of the Mountains with ease.

Trial of the Forest Eyes
Sebastian was taken to the base of the mountain, blindfolded and tied up. Having until the next morning to return to the lair. He struggled using his senses to make up the mountain. Having grown far too used to utilizing his eyes. He only barely passed this trial, after his second attempt.

First Contract
Sebastian's first contract was to slay a young griffin who'd been prowling the roads to the west, in between Hengfors and the Sorcerer's Lair. He barely managed to slay the beast. Returning to the lair soaked in blood and barely conscious. He'd been injured quite badly by the griffin. Evelyn tended to his wounds and then he spent almost the entire week resting, while his wounds healed.

Graduation
Spring 1279. Sebastian had completed all the trials and graduated. Making him the second witcher of the new generation and one of Volkan's early successes. Due to the second Conjunction of the Spheres, witchers were in high demand. Therefor, he set out on The Path right after graduating.

Beginning of The Path (1279-1280)
Having been rather isolated from the world for the past 11 years, Sebastian wasn't sure what to expect. Evelyn had kept him somewhat up to date on most political affairs and such, but he hadn't seen things with his own eyes for a while. He headed to the nearest city to find a contract.

During this time he spent on The Path, he mostly stuck to fairly easy contracts. Avoiding the contracts describing monsters he had no knowledge of.

Later that year, during winter. He returned to the lair. Staying there throughout the entire winter. He spent most of his time studying and training, as well as, occasionally helping the children. Just as Evelyn had once helped him.

Personality
"You have the eyes of a monster, but the heart of a true hero."

Evelyn Ryder

He's said to harbor a hatred against heroes, but this isn't entirely true. He merely dislikes the posers and those that are far too self sacrificing. He generally values his own life above the lives of others. Naturally, his profession require him to risk his life. But the way he views it, he's risking his life to make a living, not save people's lives. Though, he does occasionally risk his life for others intentionally. Namely, when people he's close to are in trouble.

Sebastian doesn't care much for laws, he simply acts according to his morals. As well as, somewhat following the chivalric code and the witcher's code.

Reserved and quite cold, but fairly polite towards strangers. A bit warmer towards those he's close to. He struggles showing certain emotions, such as compassion. Likely due to the mutations and conditioning he received during the trials.

He enjoys solitude and peaceful surrounding, often found resting in a tree or meditating alone on a riverbank. He's generally a very calm and simply takes things as they come. Drinking with friends is also an enjoyable pastime of his.

Most his allies hold high respect for him and his abilities. He's commonly commended for being an exceptional commander and a good mentor.

Religious Beliefs
Sebastian doesn't care whether there is or isn't a god out there. He considers it, a matter that simply doesn't concern him. That being said, he does harbor a strong hatred against the Eternal Fire. Having witnessed first hand on many occasions, just how merciless and unjust the organisation really is. He believes most humans use their so-called god, as an excuse to carry out heinous acts. Regardless of all that, he views a lot of religious customs and foolish wastes of time, or unnecessary hindrances. This includes the likes of knightly vows and such. Simply put. He does respect people's customs, but he doesn't think highly of them.

Ambitions
Sebastian is rather contempt with where he is. He simply desires to continue training witchers at the Raven School and serving the continent as a witcher himself. That being said, he is rather drawn to the idea of having a wife and children. Though his love life is rather miserable, the children of his school are like his own.

Notable Bonds
Evelyn Ryder - Sebastian views her as an older sister and his mentor. There is no one on the continent he respects more then her. After all, she was the one who saved his life back in Bremervoord. Despite his love for her not having been a mutual feeling, the two are still very close as friends. Some even mistaking them as a couple.

Rielle Donnadieu - She was one of the first people to graduate from the Raven School under Sebastian's tuition. Since she hardly got past The Choice and nearly died in the Trial of the Blade, he thought of her as an incompetent weakling. However, over time she began showing more and more promise. She was trying her best to improve and after a while it started to show. At that point, Sebastian knew he'd been wrong about her and started showing her the respect she deserved. By the time she graduated, the two had become quite good friends.

Appearance & Attire
Sebastian stands slightly taller than most. His figure is quite lean and muscular. His body covered in countless scars. The most notable one being, a large one across his chest, which he got during his first contract fighting a griffin. Most consider him to be quite attractive. His silky long hair, contributing nicely to his slightly gruff, well-toned appearance.

He's rarely seen outside of his witcher armor. That being, a custom set of Raven School Armor, made to holster more daggers. He also wears different cloaks depending on the area he's in. Sometimes even opting not to wear a cloak at all, when he ventures into hotter lands. However, he generally spends most his time in the north. Mostly in the Amell Mountains where the Raven School is located. When there, he usually wears a winter cloak, as it can be very cold in the mountains. When travelling the rest of the north, his preferred choice tends to be a simple hooded black cloak.

Weaponry
Though Sebastian is a master swordsman, he generally uses daggers instead of a steel sword. Naturally, he uses a silver sword for slaying monsters. But for humans, he has a dagger strapped on his lower back. As for the dagger strapped on his chest, it's a hunting knife used for taking the heads off monsters. He also has three throwing knives strapped to his left leg.

His hunting knife is somewhat of a memento for him, as it was a gift from his parents before they were killed.

The silver sword he uses is part of the Raven School Set.

Abilities
Sebastian possesses all the regular witcher abilities, as well as the advanced mutations he received during the Trial of the Pendulum and such. He's also known for having exceptional swordsmanship and stealth. His alchemy is also worth mentioning, as it's above average. The use of signs however, is most certainly not a strong suit of his. He's only somewhat proficient using the two protective signs, Quen and Heliotrop.

Trivia

 * There was a time when Sebastian was lovestruck by Evelyn.