Lucian had been a Commandant of the Concord of Reason. When the Republic of Lumeroy rose in defiance, he was among the first to take up its cause. Farmers, guildsmiths, scholars, and freedfolk rallied beneath the banner of the One, armed with black-powder engines and artificer-wrought tools meant to break the monopoly of inherited magic.

Lucian led his companies through battles lit by spellfire and the thunder of engineered artillery while serving alongside Lumeroy's earthworks and field-forts. He gained command by merit rather than birth; he maintained his soldiers' composure in the face of chaos, boosted morale with Concord marching hymns, and established himself as the rock his soldiers could rely on when the lines faltered. He thought the Republic could actually change the world during those years.

When the Coalition descended and the crowned sorcerers united, that hope vanished. In just a few weeks, the last campaign destroyed Lumeroy. Concord banners were set on fire in the streets, the capital was overrun by arcane force, and the workshops of artisans were destroyed. When Lucian returned, his homeland had been destroyed, and its soldiers had been labelled heretics. Amid the chaos of the city's collapse, his family had vanished. Exile was all that remained.

Lucian led the remaining members of his former command as a small group of mercenaries for many years afterward. While he discreetly followed every rumour of survivors from Lumeroy, their contracts kept them fed. He gathered his companions and sailed for the island-continent, keeping his true purpose a secret, after learning of a man in far-off Tanziem who fit his partner's description.

The journey turned into a loss-filled odyssey. During a storm, a sea monster emerged from the depths and tore through the ship. In a final attempt to scare the creature away, Lucian made the terrible decision to offer a portion of the crew as bait. The strategy backfired, and the sea took more lives. Lucian revealed his motivation when the survivors insisted on knowing the truth about their disastrous journey. Outrage turned to mutiny. He was left stranded with nothing but a battered skiff after they threw him out.

Weathered and hollow-eyed, he hobbled across the last stretch of ocean by himself and arrived at the port of Everbright with little more than a frayed Concord coat and the dwindling hope that his family—or at least the truth of their fate—might still be found somewhere in this new land.