Tovin Loburg was always hungry for the special power that comes with wielding arcane magic. From when she was just a youngster, all she ever really wanted was to become a mighty and powerful wizard. The local wizard, Ulrin Fin known as Blackfire, who also happened to be the only wizard for miles and miles, was unfortunately for Tovin willing to accept her as his apprentice in spite of her young age, when she applied for the open slot. Blackfire usually had about 5 bright young people as apprentices at any one point, but the tasks he put out to his aprentises were dangerous which meant that a new seat opened regulary. The young ones who did survive their time of apprentiseship became powerfull and in case they left the area when they became wizards of their own, they were bound to become mighty and powerfull as Blackfire maintained contact with them and used them for gaining more power and magic sharing his knowledge with his old aprentises.
Blackfire's reputation among the locals were not good, he was known to be both arrogant and vengetative. But he was the wizard of the area, protecting the human settlements in his area from dangers - though more often than not it were his apprentises that served the settlements. Tovin had no idea what she was apprentised into.
At first Tovin was taught by the elder aprentisses, she hardly ever saw Blackfire and only when she brought him tea or cleaned his study, never professionally. After a year, he spoke to her for the first time since he accepted her as apprentise. He told her that he thought she was ready for the next level.
Sick of using her magic to clean rooms and making tea, she were happy to accept a task that involved much studying. She was given an acient tome written by a cleric of Boccop some 200 years ago. The tome were partly a defence in the use of demons and devils to reach own goals and partly a guide in using magic cirkels and summoning spells. Her task was to argue on an intelectual level against the use of demons and devils. No other apprensise would be allowed to help her.
Two months later, Blackfire examined her. He was unusally friendly and the situation were almost cosy. She argued against the use of the evil beings and he argued for them. And she lost every argument she had come up with as they were reduced to matter of feelings and hence were no longer valid arguments.
Finally she just sat there sipping her tea, convinved by Blackfires arguments that she had been wrong - and that he would no longer have her as apprentise in view of her patetic failure in the intelectual exercise in spite of the two months of preparations.
But he was kindness itself, he smiled and then he summoned three fiendish ravens. The ravens were disgusting but Blackfire just kept smiling and gave her a coin which he told her to flip into the air. She obeyed and he flipped the coin. Then he ordered the ravens to get the shiny thing and the fiends showed amazing flying skills trying to steal the coin from one another making both Blackfire and Tovin laugh out loud.
This is how the wizard introduced the apprentises to the path he chose for them. Ridiculing the gut feeling about goodness and showing the apprentises how foolish they were to fear the magic of evil. Tovin were put on that path step by step, crossing one line after another slowly but surely.
Finally she was allowed to enter any part of Blackfire's stronghold, including his private quarters which included a numerous undead army which Blackfire and his stronger aprentises continually worked to enlarge. Tovin helped out building the army and commanding them, and then one day she was no more an apprentise, she had become a wizard on her own right.
Her path lay before her: she was to be one of Blackfire's commanders when his army grew large enough to attack the proper authorities of the lands and the ultimate goal was to put Blackfire on the throne.
But Blackfire became impatient. He started to use the dead of the surrounding villages and soon after when he could not get enough fresh dead bodies, he ordered his helpers to ensure a steady supply of dead.
In spite of her good head, Tovin were surprised when one day she found the bodies of several of her own townsfolk, including her own mother at the tables in the lab. She just kept sweeping the floor hiding her shock. She did not react either when her mother and the others were animated into the unholy unlife. But this experience reached into her heart and she felt terrible. She cried and threw up and was misserable.
So about a week after, she decided to betray her master. She visited a shrine of Pelor and left a note. Not long after she had a secret meeting with the local head of the Church of Pelor. During that meeting, plans over Blackfire's stronghold swiched hands and a battleplan were developed.
Only a month after, Tovins betrayal were complete as she let in a few members of the royal secret army and a few more clerics of Pelor. Blackfire died and so did most of the apprentises save one, who escaped.
Tovin herself were arrested and later, after a quick trial where she pleaded guilty, she was senticed to a lifetime in jail. The jail were - after a prearranged agreement - a rather comfortable tower in the capital normally used for noblemen. She was allowed to visit her mothers funeral and then she was locked up.
Now, some 20 years later Tovin has been released in celebration of the kings 60 year birthday and abdication in favour of his son, the new king. Tovin is given a small amount of money to get her started on her new life and she is expected to be happy about her release, but Tovin does no longer know the world, she has grown unable to wield her old magic as her skills has grown into disuse in the antimagic field she has spent the last 20 year and she hardly thinks she is welcome back in her village.
So she sets out to become a powerful wizard again, but this time she wants to do better.