Demetrius Ramses "Doc" Livingstone was born... somewhere. Nobody knows where, exactly, or if they do they aren't saying. Doc appeared in a basket on the doorstep of a seedy Quanlo orphanage some 50-odd years ago, and as he grew older his dwarven lineage became quickly apparent. Sadly, nobody wanted to adopt a dwarf and Doc spent his entire childhood at the mercy of the orphanage's cruel proprietor, Draven. The man was negligent at best, and downright abusive at worst. He barely fed the children and what little food they did get often consisted of cold gruel or week-old bread, hard as a rock. Consequently, Doc spent most of his formative years roaming the streets and alleys of Quanlo scrapping with other youths, picking pockets, and begging for coin & food to make life less miserable for his fellow orphans and himself.
By virtue of his dwarven strength, Doc quickly ascended the ranks of the street scrappers and established himself as a defacto leader amongst the street kids and orphans. Even though Doc wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, he soon realized that his position as alpha dog was tenuous, especially as he grew older and started catching the attention of the local criminal underground. He realized he needed someone to watch his back, so he decided to ally himself with a fellow orphan who was also a long-time resident in his orphanage. This person, Peter, was a handsome young (human) boy who had suffered a rather pronounced facial disfigurement at the hands of some unknown fiend as an infant. The entire left side of his face was scarred and his left eye was a dead, unseeing, milky-white orb. Despite the circumstances of his upbringing and gruesome countenance, Peter was easily the happiest, most positive person Doc had in his life. Nothing could wipe the smile off his face, and he was always ready with a jest and a hearty laugh. Peter and Doc were around the same age, had been at the orphanage approximately the same amount of time, and thought of each other as brothers.
Peter was a devout follower of Apollo, and his unflappably positive attitude was infectious. He soon convinced Doc to abandon his scrapping, begging, and petty thievery in favor of earning his coppers through busking. Peter had managed to whittle himself a crude set of Pan pipes, which he would play while Doc told stories and sang poems for passers by. Several years went by and and the brothers did pretty well for themselves. They became fairly well-known and even talked of becoming bards and taking their show on the road. Draven, however, had other plans. Unbeknownst to Doc, Draven maintained several connections to Quanlo's criminal underworld and had been keeping a watchful eye on the young dwarf's development. One day, Peter was suddenly nowhere to be found. Doc looked everywhere in Quanlo that he knew his brother liked to go, but to no avail. Upon his return to the orphanage, Draven pulled Doc aside and informed him that he would now work for him, and that Peter would be held captive in some secret oubliette to ensure Doc's cooperation. Doc was furious, but had little choice in the matter as Draven made it abundantly clear that any insubordination would result in severe punishment... for Peter.
And so, Doc became Draven's unwilling thug, performing collections and torturing people as directed. Several times he balked at Draven's orders, but he kept his brother's crude Pan pipes as a constant reminder of his motivation and always did as he was told. One night on his way back from a particularly gruesome "collection", he overheard Draven speaking to someone through an open window. Doc stopped to listen and quickly realized they were talking about him, marveling at how effective he was as Draven's enforcer. The strange voice asked how Draven had managed to command such unquestioning loyalty from the dwarf, especially in light of the unsavory acts he was made to perform. Draven replied, "Simple. I took his brother 'hostage' and told him to comply or else his brother would pay the price. Luckily, he has no idea that I just killed the little bastard and dumped his body in the woods for the wolves!" Both voices laughed heartily as Doc's blood boiled. He thought of everything he done in the name of Peter's safety and flew into a rage. He kicked in the door to Draven's office and before anybody could react, he grabbed a letter opener from Draven's desk and flung it into the stranger's left eye before grabbing Draven and choking him so violently that he felt his neck snap under his grip.
Doc packed his meager possessions and fled Quanlo that very night, having recognized the stranger as the son of the local magistrate. He decided to spend his life as a living tribute to Peter and so became a paladin for his brother's god, Apollo. He vowed to live his life in opposition to those who would do evil and bring darkness, and to spread the goodness and light that was so abundant in Peter. Doc would live out his days honoring his fallen brother in all things.
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