Excerpt from a Garlean Missive:
A known sympathizer to enemies of the Empire, this savage uses his heathen magicks to heal and shelter our enemies. He establishes clinics and frequenty migrates to avoid our agents. He is also believed to be responsible for the disappearance of at least two assets based in Limsa Lominsa. Target is to be executed on sight.
Found wandering in the Twelveswood in the form of a midlander child, Dylan told the people who found him that he belonged to a nomadic tribe of Eorzeans who renounced the ways of magic and abandoned him for showing such talent. In truth he was not a native to Aldenard, but actually hailed from Golmore Jungle, east of Dalmasca. Growing up, he played the part of a young lad only beginning to tap into his mystical potential. The reality was that however much Dylan was holding back to sell the lie, he was capable of much more than even he realized.
At age 16, Dylan joined the Conjurers' Guild in Gridania to follow his passion for helping others, but his time with the group would be short-lived. Dylan caught his fiancée taking advantage of the Garlean conflict, who had been experimenting with the Nymian plague in hopes of returning infected Garlean prisoners of war to spread the disease unchecked. Horrified by her actions and left with no other choice, Dylan acted to save the prisoners but was forced to use his magic to take the life of his fiancee, making her his first kill. The Guild succeeded in covering up the wayward conjurer's actions, but Dylan could no longer abide a cabal that couldn't atone for its own actions. He set out on his own, taking his medical skills from city to city as he helped the downtrodden.
As the war with Garlemald raged on, Dylan found that many more of his patients were refugees, slaves, and defectors who were fortunate enough to escape. Over time, Dylan brought these people together as a community and formed a network of clinics spanning the known world devoted to the protection and elevation of those who suffered beneath Garlemald's boot. The formative years were tough, and Dylan frequently found himself at the sharp end of a Garlean assassin's blade, but with his considerable magicks and tactical foresight, he often kept one step ahead by keeping his operations mobile. Although Dylan no longer takes an active role in leading these clinics, he is still held with great reverence and his words hold much influence.
In his time as a physician he met Souhei Teo, a Seeker who was also a deserter from the Ul'dahn army. The pair were a true whirlwind romance, constantly saving each other over the years from the threats of their past. After years of fighting and evading certain death, Dylan finally decided it was time to devote himself fully to Souhei and build a better world for his sake... but before he could set out on this task, he needed to tell Souhei the truth. The whole truth.
Dylan dispelled the decades-old glamour, and his true form was revealed. Gone was the rugged Midlander man Souhei had always known, now replaced by a tall, softer Viera man with towering ears and deep, pupil-less green eyes. The revelation drove Souhei away and into the arms of mage-hunters who had been hunting Dylan since he was a child, their fervor renewed now that they could sense him again with the glamour dispelled. The hunters drew Dylan out by threatening Souhei's life, then ending it before the Viera with a swift stab to the Seeker's heart.
In that moment, Dylan's world went dark... and then the real world did too.
When Souhei awoke days later, he found Dylan at his bedside stroking his hair with the softest smile. The Seeker inquired about the hunters and his fatal injury, but the Viera simply dismissed it all, repeatedly assuring him that everything was now okay. Since that day, Dylan has spent many nights locked away in his study, pouring over ancient tomes and forsaking meals and company as he delves into unknown veins of research, trying desperately to understand what may have happened the week prior. As his studies took harder turns into the obscure and unknown, the Viera began to experiment with his newfound powers, ones which he could no longer discern if they were learned or inherited. The world began to sink deeper into despair as the war with Garlemald reached its peak and, fearing for Souhei's safety as well as the tides of immigrants flooding his clinic, Dylan decided to take his most drastic step yet. Setting forth on a months-long journey he came across an uninhabited island in the Sea of Jade, more than large enough to satisfy his goal of creating a sanctuary settlement. Still, despite there being no signs of life on the island there was undeniable proof that someone once resided there…
The Viera began to spend less time at home, less time with Souhei, as Dylan's plans and grand designs consumed his every waking thought. Preparing a place for people to settle, but now he had to send a message to the rest of the world.
"I offer you sanctuary… find me in the Sea of Jade…"
With no followers or powerful allies to his cause, Dylan took to the battlefield on his own as both angel of mercy and sorcerer of chaos to make his mark. From razing squadrons to spiriting away innocent civilians , Dylan's power was impossible to ignore… just like the stories that began to spread among the people. But no matter how strong he became, he was still one person; he couldn't be everywhere all at once. And so came the time for him to recruit and empower allies of his own to aid in his quest. Though his plans were still in their fledgling stages, the island community that Dylan envisioned flourished in leaps out bounds, with many coming to its shores as they searched for a new home. Though the population seemed to overwhelmingly be men who were persecuted for who they were in their home nations, it didn't stop the island from quickly creating its own sense of shared community and harmony. Some pursued industry and trade as they had before their arrival, others in magical studies, while the majority simply lived peacefully in pursuit of their hobbies (NSFW).
Unfortunately, trouble did eventually come knocking. But rather than the island being in danger as Dylan had long anticipated, it was his own mind that would come under siege. His experimentation and rampant use of his power began to erode the trust of Souhei, his partner whom he'd set out to protect with this endeavor so long ago. In the dark of night Souhei departed the island, leaving the Viera a tear-stained note of apologies, loving affirmations, and promises to maybe one day see him again. The letter left Dylan wounded and agonizing in a way that even Garlean missile fire couldn't accomplish. Desperate to reign in his pain so that he could throw himself into governance without distraction, Dylan cast one more spell that would prove his undoing. Calling upon eldritch forces he tried to purge his memories of Souhei… but instead flashed a beacon through the invoked void and drew out a voidsent. The demon threatened to take not only his entire mind but his power along with it. Desperate, he broke the ritual part way through and caused a backfire effect which fragmented nearly all of his memories, and was flung through time and space to a shore unfamiliar to him.
In the months that have passed, Dylan (now going by ‘Red’ since he'd lost even his own name) has been wondering the continent of Tural, making his way as a nomadic healer while he tries to piece together who he was and where he's supposed to be.