anteayer | 001| backstory

( de ilusión también se vive. )

The Darkest Vigil stands as the most destructive period in the history of the Fifth World. From the mass murders perpetuated during the Black Christmas to the wanton destruction caused by the Hours of Grendal, those fifty years still serve as a stark reminder of how coexistence between mortals and supernaturals was next to impossible in so many countries, and that no place was truly safe.

While he was fortunate to have not lived that time in its entirety, one event still shaped Gray to who he is now.

Gray was born to Armando and Yolanda Magallanes - the second of three children to a well-off family. His sister, Rowena, preceded him as his older sibling, while his brother, Isidro, came into their lives two years later. Growing up, they were raised to not only be hardworking and responsible in what they do, but to also treat others with dignity and respect, regardless of who (or what) they were. This made Gray and his family more accepting of supernaturals than most, especially since his mother was one herself.

Gray's father was a decorated general in the Mexican Army, whose frequent meetings with Taskforce Valkyrie's operatives over the course of his career only served to deepen his resentment for a conspiracy that had more or less caused the deaths of many of his loved ones during the Black Christmas, in particular his older brother.

His mother, on the other hand, was a Changeling of the local Dawn Court, who had done her part helping people fleeing the States move safely through the country. While her husband was often away on deployments, she did her best to look after their children while managing her own responsibilities to her Court.

As a child, Gray stood out in more ways than one. On one hand, he was hailed as a genius, and excelled so well in his academics that he ranked at the top percentage of his class. However, he was also shy, keeping to himself and seldom airing his thoughts and feelings to others, except for his family and a small circle of close friends.

There were other things that made him different, though, things which his friends and family would identify as a kind of 'sixth sense'. He had an uncanny knack for keeping track of time, and could do things with great timing, and even count down seconds like a clock if he were to put in the effort. He also seemed to have exceptional luck, and more than once he has had moments where the odds fell in his favor. Then, there were the dreams, which grew more frequent and mysterious as he got older.

Many wondered why this was the case. Some whispered that he may have been Touched, while others chalked it up to higher powers. Even Yolanda was troubled, and would voice to her husband her suspicions that their son had somehow gotten a part of her fae nature.

The truth, though, would only be clear much later in Gray's life, when the Darkest Vigil was reaching its end.

At the age of 13, Gray was heading home one night with his best friend, Jaime Salazar, when they were accosted in the streets by a group of masked men and women - Grendal operatives who were intent on staking their claim on Mexico. And to do that, they would hit the country's political and military leaders through their loved ones. Gray and Jaime (whose father was a politician with anti-supernatural sentiments) were targeted for that, and they were promptly abducted despite putting up resistance.

In the days that followed, Grendal began killing their hostages dozens at a time - to force the Mexican government to yield. Each victim died slowly and painfully; the horrors that they were put through plain to see whenever their bodies turned up. And this only worsened as the body count rose.

In the end, only a few captives remained, and Gray was slated to be among the next dozen to be killed. Yet when Grendal operatives came to drag him away, they were caught off-guard by Jaime managing to free himself and come to his defense. Yet despite his efforts, the fight ended with him being overpowered, and Gray could only look on helplessly as one man raised his gun, and riddle his best friend with bullets...

What happened next was so sudden wouldn't remember. And it would be a week later that he'd find out, when he woke up at a hospital to find not only his parents by his bedside, but also several men and women in blue coats that marked them as hunters of Netsach.

It was this same blade that had rescued him and the other surviving hostages, but they had arrived to find several of their captors had been killed - aged to the point of death by Gray as his newly manifested powers stabilized. However, they were unable to do anything to keep Jaime alive, and he died begging them to get his friend home to his family. In the end, the survivors were taken to safety, with Gray drawing the notice of both Netsach and the Pleiades as a newly awakened Banisher.

Had the circumstances been different, Gray would have been brought to New Atlantis, both so he could be protected, as well as be given the proper training in his magic. However, his father vehemently opposed it, and stubbornly held his ground on the matter in spite of what had happened. Unable to convince him otherwise, the hunters left, leaving a traumatized Gray to try and cope on his own...

Nearly four years would pass before Netsach entered Gray's life again. By then, he had managed to move on from the incident, and had thrown himself wholeheartedly into his studies to graduate with the highest possible honors. It was clear that his experience had changed him. He was driven, now, and very intent on doing good work and making a real difference for others.

However, his relationship with his father had slowly strained with time. The incident had made Armando more protective of his family, and he had first put his children through self-defense classes before later teaching them how to fight himself. He was especially hard on Gray, pushing him to keep straining his limits and go as far as he could.

For Gray, this need to meet his father's expectations was something he came to resent. And it had only gotten worse when he learned that his father was pulling some strings to keep him from being able to study abroad.

Things would finally boil over, though, when representatives from the Pleiades stepped in, and visited the Magallanes home to extend an offer to the young man. Not only would he be given training in the basics of his magic, but he would also be sponsored in his continuing education.

It was a golden opportunity, but one that Gray nearly lost as Armando argued against it. But in the end, after what was to be the worst argument between father and son (and the last time that they'd talk for a great length of time), Gray left his hometown of seventeen years in the company of the representatives, to begin his training in earnest.

The next four years would see Gray train briefly at the Heartspire of New Atlantis, before being sent to Balamb Academy in the Falner Estate when he expressed a desire to become a hunter. During that time, he would ease into his growing potential as a mage, and put great effort into refining his abilities and preparing himself for his part in the Vigil.

All this would culminate to a quiet meeting at the edge of the Dragon's Pool, where Gray would be Measured by no less than one of the Malice Kings...