Editing Malikhad (section)

== Background == 
Raised in the Aundairan metropolis of Fairhaven, Malikhad enjoyed the academic life of the university district, where his parents worked as clerks. Despite the raging Last War outside the halls of academia, their lives remained fairly insulated an unscathed. From time to time news would come of an old friend's death out there, a political reversal, a new proclamation from the queen . . . the ever-present hum of war in the background.<br>
Due to his academic bent, Malikhad never served on the front lines of battle. He never even thought about a military career - he planned to live a normal academic life like his parents, settle down with his sweetheart and gracefully live out his many years. Of course, life never happens quite that simply.<br>
At the close of the Last War two years ago, Malikhad's family hoped to celebrate with his wedding. Two weeks before the appointed date, sadly, his fiancée Sezara died in a horrible accident - her head and neck crushed when a piece of masonry slipped and fell during construction work on the campus. Malikhad mourned, but he became increasingly uncomfortable as the investigation progressed. The mason had experienced a sudden dizzy spell and lost his balance, but he had no history of disease. The safety line had not been attached correctly, but the apprentice responsible had disappeared. The schedule for the raising of that particular arch had originally called for a morning shift, but it was changed abruptly the night before, and the supervisor could only offer "It seemed like a good idea all of a sudden" as his reasoning - thereby shifting the work schedule to the afternoon, right when Sezara would have been passing by the construction as she went about her customary walk to the topiary for her afternoon meal. Worse still, Malikhad was supposed to be there with her; only the last-minute misplacement of a tome that he was supposed to fetch had held him up from the rendezvous.<br>
All kalashtar know that the powers of Dal Quor would see them killed and their souls scattered and returned to the utter darkness. Malikhad started to suspect that Sezara wasn't the real target in this convoluted "accident."
Shaken by the unusual circumstances of the event, and grief-stricken over the loss of his fiancée, Malikhad shouldered some meager possessions, accepted condolences and gifts from his family, and decided to head away from Fairhaven, perhaps to find some place safer. He wanted to start over, and he wanted to make sure that, in the future, he would be prepared if the sleepless eyes of Dal Quor ever turned toward him.<br>
With the war ended, peaceful travelers had the opportunity once more to move from nation to nation, albeit under some suspicion. Malikhad stayed a few nights here, a month or so there, gradually moving across the continent until he arrived in Breland. There, he took up a minor functionary job with the Morgrave University, working as a research assistant in esoteric topics involving psychic phenomena.<br>
Recently, a strange prickling has made itself known in the depths of his mind. He isn't sure what it means . . . just the sense that something is about to happen, like his spiritual ancestor is trying to communicate to him some sense of urgency.