Fade had a tragic childhood, being born among refugees and landing in Doskvol with no relatives or support. They fell into an orphanage and quickly learned to take care of themselves, sneaking and keeping out of the way of the bigger children. They were never big enough to win a fight, but they were quiet and quick and nimble. They were recruited as a look-out by one of the many child-gangs that run the streets of Doskvol and learned to love climbing up to the tops of buildings and perching there. It wasn't long before Fade began stealing on their own. They knew Darmont from childhood as one of the bigger, meaner kids in the orphanage; it's no surprise that he joined up with the Bluecoats, the biggest and meanest gang in Doskvol. Meanwhile Fade drifted from gang to gang, never quite finding a home until they were burgling the temple of the Transcendence Record. Rather than reporting them to the Bluecoats, though, the cult leader (William's father) just talked to Fade and eventually let them go. Fade returned to the cult again and again to talk and eventually grew to like the sense of belonging and family, even if the more esoteric aims of the cult never seemed comprehensible. When the crackdown did come, Fade was one of the adherents who escaped and was contacted by William to reform the cult.
