Merik Felstaff's father (Corgan Felstaff) was a fire Genasi (half efreet, half human). He was also a holy warrior of the Church of the Eternal Flame, who worships Kossuth the Lord of Flames. His mother (Valairen Telsten) was a cleric of the same order. Valairens father is a high ranking church official. Because of their worship of Kossuth, her father thought it a great honor to wed his only daughter to a being descended from the elemental plane of fire. Merik can lay claim to the fact that a family member has been in the church for over ten generations.

Meriks father acted true to his heritage. He was impulsive, quick to anger and fiery. Being a warrior, he baulked at the thought of his son as an academic member of the clergy like his grandfather. He instead sent him to warriors training. There Merik learned sword play, logistics and battlefield tactics.

However, his mother insisted that he attend ceremonies and holy days at the church. His grandfather (Varuk Telsten) took Merik under his wing and showed him the internal workings of the church. He also taught him reading, writing and arithmetic. Some of Meriks fondest memories are of tallying up all the tithes to the church late into the night with his grandfather in his study. After age twelve, Merik started attending the church run academy three times a ten day and warrior training three times a ten day.

Meriks family was in the upper-middle class for Iriaebor (the city of a thousand spires) in the Western Heartlands. Because of his mothers position in the church, they lived in one of the smaller spires on the church grounds. His mothers main service to the church was to assist local architects with levitating support stones. The specially carved blocks of stone have a permanent enchantment of levitation cast on them. They are required to keep the tallest spires from toppling over under their own weight.

While the finer arts (reading, writing and arithmetic) were harder for him to pick up, he had a knack for military tactics and logistics. He especially enjoyed all the history and religious lessons. He loved learning about the church: The different branches, leaders and orders that changed and grew throughout the years. Merik has a pleasant way about him and makes for enjoyable company. Because of this he made many friends in his class and was well liked by his teachers and mentors in the church.

While Merik truly enjoyed his lessons at the academy, he excelled at warrior training. He was physically strong and fairly quick. He particularly liked swordplay and took to it like a fish to water. His father always attended his warrior lessons and often joined in sparing matches with his son on the practice fields. He found that in the heat of combat he could clear all else from his mind and live purely in the moment.

t the age of fourteen, Meriks childhood was suddenly cut short. His mother was traveling to Sembia on a mission for the church. When they failed to report back, Meriks father entrusted him to the church and his grandfather and went east to investigate.

It's been four years and the only word was a simple and short message that arrived a month after his father left. It stated that his mother was dead, along with the entire party. That was it. Nothing about when he'd be back, where he was going or who was responsible. Nothing at all.

Meriks grandfather took the death of his only daughter very hard. When a few more months had passed and no more news was forthcoming, Meriks father was presumed dead. That is when grandfather stopped coming to see Merik. Merik overheard one of the priests say that his grandfather could no longer look at Merik without seeing his dead daughter.

With the loss of both his parents and the withdrawal of his grandfather, Merik had only his god to turn to. He began to truly study and understand the teachings of Kossuth:

• Reaching a higher state is inevitable accompanied by difficulty and personal pain
• Expect to be tested and to rise to the challenge, no matter what difficulty and pain it brings
• Those fit to succeed do so
• The reward of successful ambition is power
• Kossuth sends his pure fire to cleanse us all and tempura our souls so that we can achieve a pure state
• Those above you have proven their service and deserve your service
• Guide others to Kossuth's pure light so that he may reforge all life into its essential form

Merik continued his studies, both with the sword and with the powers that Kossuth began to grant him. He began to partake in the fire walking rituals that all acolytes must endure. While he believed strongly in the church and would do whatever he could to grow its power and influence, he had to escape his grandfather's indifference and memories of his childhood among the spires of Iriaebor.

When Merik turned eighteen, he prayed for guidance from Kossuth and decided to take a sabbatical. His grandfather joined him in his morning prayer the day he was set to leave. He spoke of Kossuth and his teachings. He said that he could feel the power within Merik growing and knew Merik would return to the church when it was time. He told Merik that he had prayed to Kossuth and been told that Merik must not attempt to find or follow his father, as only a quick death waited down that path.