When Gawain was born, he was left with no mother or father or relatives. His mother died giving birth to him, and soon after, his father committed suicide after losing his wife. Gawain was left alone and he was taken in by another family, who knew Gawain's mother and father well, the Llhants. The Llhants consisted of a mother, a father, a sister, and a brother, whose names are Nicole, Richard, Judy, and Oswald, respectively. Oswald and Judy were thirteen and fourteen, respectively. Nicole and Richard were in their late 40s. And Gawain was only a new-born child. Gawain had no memory of his genetic family, and he believed truly that this family was his only one.
However, unlike many others, Gawain was born a mute. Gawain's way of communication lied through simple writing and body-movement. Still, Gawain took a normal life of a child as much as he could and went to school, while Judy and Oswald went to a prestiged academy by the time he turned four. This left Gawain with only Nicole and Richard to help him, and he continued to live a good childhood. When Gawain turned seven, he started to learn about what his brother and sister were doing, and he was amazed by it. He wanted to follow in their footsteps, and so both of them were happy to help Gawain whenever they could. By the time Gawain turned ten and both Judy and Oswald were Hunters, he knew the basics about fighting and combat as well as progressing well in daily life; however, one thing that Gawain never understood was Aura: a subject that the two Hunters decided that he would learn at a later point in his life. Overall, while Gawain had gone to school to learn about basic stuff, such as math, music, etc., he partook in lessons about weaponry and fighting from his siblings. For the boy, he found himself happy in this life, believing that he had a grand future ahead of him.
By the time Gawain turned thirteen, he was accepted into a training academy with aid from Oswald and Judy. His family was overjoyed at the fact, having the Hunters stay home to celebrate and prepare the succeeding Gawain. The first set of mind for the two was to find out what Gawain's own weapon would be. After a few grueling sessions with Gawain to decide a weapon, the three of them eventually took steps back and ended with the simple design of a longsword. Meanwhile, as the three of them were figuring out Gawain's weaponry, the substitute parents ended up forming a present for the child: a necklace with a pendant of a gem, shining with a cyan hue, similar to Gawain's own eye color. With this memento not only came with happiness, but with a memory that should never have been forgotten. Gawain learned that his own mother, Nicole, and his own father, Richard, were not the ones that birthed him. He learned that his genetic mother and father died when he was just a new-born baby. He never took any strange moment in his life into consideration with this as a reason, always believing that this family was his one and only; nonetheless, even with this in mind, Gawain did not care, for these people, this family, his family, took care of him all these years. He was happy with them, and there would be no way that this happiness could be torn away from him. Gawain left his home with optimism in his head, help from his siblings, a gift from his parents, and a memory of his first past: his real name. Gawain Egret.
Gawain left to his academy with high hopes with clothes anew: a clean and simple black suit with fitting black dress shoes and a white dress shirt lying underneath; however, the academy was much harder than Gawain ever expected it to be. Even with the knowledge passed down through his expert brother and sister, Gawain was handling the lessons with an average ranking. Keeping his optimism to a low, Gawain was also being hit with the sadness of being a loner. Everyone despised him, all because he was never able to speak; an abnormal in their society. Even if he tried to communicate quickly, Gawain ended up stumbling over his movements, never wanting to disappoint anyone, but succeeded in his failure. With this, he learned a new emotion; something he should've known from the beginning: loneliness. He never understood what it was, but he tried pushing through, trying to see the light. Gawain never gave up trying his best, even though all that he did was considered weak.
Gawain continued to live this life for two months, facing an overpowering rock at every corner before his luck finally changed for him. One female teacher, Yurine Kisaragi, decided to hand Gawain a helpful hand for a while. She was one of the many that noticed his troubles, but she was the first to step up for the assist. Gawain was overwhelmed with gaiety by this act, and devoted his free time to training with her. For two months straight, Gawain faced rigorous training, and non-stop practice. Milla wanted Gawain to become stronger, to show that he's no weakling, and so week by week, he became stronger; however, strength, agility, and intelligence weren't all that Gawain learned to be better at. A lesson that was never taught by his siblings was showing its light to him. With each passing lesson, Gawain could feel himself gain some kind of strength in this. Yurine was able to quickly establish to Gawain that this was his connection to his Aura. The bridge between the soul and the body was growing, and in the faintest of the situation, the two could notice the dead glow come off of his body. With all the teachings taught to Gawain, Yurine's expectations were met by him at the end of the two months. He still wasn't one of the students that everyone looked up to, but he was no longer a nobody. Gawain was stronger, nearing the top of his class, and he wanted to prove to himself and his family back home that he could make it to be a Hunter.
Yet, in a month's time, his skills came for worse rather than good. One of the more successful students amongst the freshmen, Lambert Fedrock, decided to challenge Gawain to a simple duel to set Gawain in his place. Reluctantly, Gawain accepted on his terms, wanting to get rid of any disdain towards himself, and so, it was settled between the two. Supervision was placed over the two, making sure that nothing dangerous would happen to either one of them, and with that, a fight was brought amongst the two in the training grounds. A crowd from different years gathered around to watch, wondering what would happen to the mute boy who had brought himself up from the dirt to face everyone else. Their ligneous weapons were drawn as they faced each other on the wooden floor. Remarks were drawn with Gawain keeping a calm face, but as blows were drawn, it turned towards one of anger and sadness. Lambert stood only a foot away from Gawain when the battle ended, scoffing at him until he began to turn. Everyone could see that there was no way that Gawain could ever surpass the great, being ranked socially at where he started, but his feelings told him different. It was a decision he regretted for the rest of his life, and he acted desperately upon it out of anger. Gawain threw himself off of the ground, knocking Lambert onto his legs with a swift movement, surprising many people in the crowd with the attack,a and before any supervisor could intervene, it was far too late. Gawain couldn't stop...Strike by strike...An infuriated look guided his arms as they fell upon his sword, slamming it over and over until a force brought him to the ground once more. Screams of pain and agony left Lambert's mouth, and from that day on, Gawain walked away from that academy in depression, while Lambert walked away from that day with sadness and anger, fueled by the crippled manner he was placed in.
If it weren't for his siblings' persistence in Gawain's learning at the academy, he surely would've been expelled. In the end, however, he was suspended for the rest of that year, leaving his own instructor, Yurine, in disappointment of his actions. He lost the respect of the one person that trained him, the one person who cared for him in that dark environment, and even as he was home, his family showed their true colors to his actions: disappointment and disapproval. His brother and sister had given the academy the good word that he could get in, and he had broken it with such a desperate and weak action. His parents were saddened and filled with grief that they had raised a son that could do such a thing. For the worst month of his life, Gawain faced eschewing, disappointment, and hostility at times. Gawain cried in his room, experiencing sadness and loneliness once more. At the month's end, no longer could he take the pain he felt from this family. They weren't of his own blood, and the way the Llhant's treated him was something he never wanted to face again. He left that house, never to return ever again with only the clothes on his back, ridding himself of the necklace that was sole reminder of them.
After about three months of travel, very little food, dirtied clothes, Gawain soon found himself in true despair without anyone to help him. He knew this was what was going to happen, but the experience was painful. Only a full day of travel brought hope to him at the end of the grueling quarter. Gawain was traveling through a rural area, when a fairly old woman came walking outside. She quickly noticed Gawain's weak posture and came to help, urging him into the home for food. Reluctantly, without even motioning for a moment, he followed and was treated to food and kindness from a complete stranger. With a quick note from the lady about Gawain's situation due to the silence emanating from home, she relieved him of the trouble of forming words, handing him a small notepad with a pen as well. A small connection was made at that moment, and so, the rest of that day was spent learning about one another with Gawain's story being the most prevalent of the two; however, he was always saddened throughout their exchange, having to relieve such terrible memories even if they were miles away. At the end of the exchange, Gawain was practically in tears, but this stranger had her gentle, fragile arms around him, caring for him. She cared not what happened in the past, and it was now in the present, where Gawain was. She decided to take Gawain in, under her care and protect him. To make sure that he lived a good life, no matter how bad it was.
Here, Gawain lived there for two years, being taken care of, and taking care of the old woman, Aki Irving. During this time, Gawain found himself living happier times, more so than he had faced ever than before. Aki had gotten him new clothes: a white long-sleeved dress shirt and black slacks, all accompanied by black dress shoes with comfy white socks; although in the given environment, he worked beside Aki in the small field in a white tank top accompanied by beige boots. The action done by her was kindness beyond the call of duty, considering the money put into obtaining copies of them as well. For payment, and out of Gawain's own kindness, he decided to place his own effort into helping her as well, doing whatever he could to do so, yet something else lied behind the gift of hospitality. One month in, around the time that Gawain had received his full set of clothing of what Aki could manage, he ended up exploring more of the house and found himself in the attic, finding what was an old and dusty piano, still working at the single press of a key. With approval from Aki, he was allowed to bring it into the living room, wondering how to play it at that point. Practically the rest of that day was spent with Gawain sitting at the piano, pressing key by key to figure out how to play something that sounded good; however, before the hour passed by, Aki eventually had joined Gawain, taking lead and playing a song that lied in his mind forever. From then on, for the rest of their time together, Gawain found true happiness through this, even more so than he had ever felt in his entire life. He was able to show his soul through music, and with Aki's help, music was life to him.
However, even though life showed happiness for the time the two had together, Gawain found despair at the end of those six months. What Gawain did not know about Aki throughout their time together, was that she had fallen under a deep sickness. She was going to die, and leave the boy abandoned once more. The notice took Gawain beside Aki day and night, attending to her every need; however, only a week before her death, she decided to send Gawain off with happiness and not despair. She guided him to the closet in her own room, having him open it and maneuver through clothes until he came to a locked, hidden compartment. Once there, he received a key from the bedridden Aki, allowing him to open it; what he found was an impressive adornment: a garb that was aligned by several belts and buckles. Pants covered the legs, shoes that held a black top with a white sole, small tails underneath the mantle-piece, a cloak covering the leg pieces, connecting to the upper body by the blue center piece with the main center-piece, a silver belt buckle with the word “HOPE” inscribed onto it. The entire clothing was practically made for a royal's combat suit, but that's not all what Gawain found lying before him. Deeper inside the drawer, underneath the entire attire, he found a black sheath, carrying a silver sword with blue plates on either end. At the end of the hilt, a bell-sided pommel was enacted with a small blue ribbon in the hole of it. With the clothing and sword in hand, Aki urged for Gawain to dress himself into it, and without a second to waste he did. Only minutes later, after a few altercations with fitting everything into place, he returned to Aki's room, standing in the dusk's sunlight by her bedside in the armor that Aki held all these years. A small smile lit her face in that moment, before she ended up explaining the reason behind the sword and garb. For Gawain, he held the attire that a brave Huntsman named Wizel once carried into battle along with that sword. For Aki, Gawain was the stunning image of a new Hunter, ready to head off after graduation; however, before night's start, one more gift was handed to the mute boy. With a pull of a drawer out of her nightstand, Aki handed to Gawain a simple notepad with a spiral binding, a sleek black cover, and filled pieces of paper in it. With this came, just a black pen, nothing special, but to Gawain, it was more than special. It was a gift from the heavens. The heavens that he wanted Aki to leave to.
Ultimately, Gawain buried Aki's body without any tears. This was going to happen in the end, but he couldn't just shrug off the sadness. He spent his time at that house for about week, wondering what to do next. At times, he would just sit at the piano, not playing anything, but facing the keys as if he was ready to start. Aki was gone, the one person that cared for him even if he held a past that was unpleasing to most; however, she gave him motivation, devotion to the want to become a Huntsman. He was given the set of a Huntsman that once fought with a holy goal in mind along with his own sword, and so, Gawain wanted to be able to live up to the expectation. If he could just push himself there, then perhaps, he'd be able to live with happiness once more, the same happiness Aki had given him. The week ended with a new goal in the boy's head, turning away from the piano that gave him a way to speak to others, turning away from the home that gave him comfort, but most importantly, turning to the guidance that would give him the ability to succeed, his past academy. With one last song to play, a theme that would always remain in Gawain's heart, he returned to his past with a new glow in his heart and mind, showing now that he was ready.
Until Gawain was finally accepted to the next step in becoming a Huntsman, Gawain found himself living at his old academy once more, being able to find acceptance from Yurine once more, seeing that he had actually returned to finish his time. She ended up supplying for most of Gawain's needs, giving him a home, a place to stay while he finished his terms, and she even acted as his guardian; however, seldom did the two communicate, knowing that even though Gawain had changed from the time they spent apart, he was still the same boy that ended up crippling Lambert all those years ago, but for him, it was different. Having left that house, Gawain found his Semblance, and that was just a step to becoming stronger for his goal. Removing himself from the path his brother and sister took, from his previous family, Gawain took to another academy, Syne. There, he could become stronger, he could become a Hunter that would protect those around him, to be able to protect those that couldn't stand up for themselves. That was what he thought when he stepped onto that airship, ready and prepared for his life ahead.
