History

Orphan I

One rainy Linhian night, Shiloh’s mother died during childbirth, their father passing away in a tragic factory accident that very same day as he rushed to her bedside. With no known or financially stable family nearby, the midwife brought Shiloh to an orphanage.

Orphan II

After an elaborate fake pregnancy, the eldest daughter of a Burgraf family adopted Shiloh in secret to secure their future, as they were infertile and the head of the family possessed a fierce stance on blood lineage. Despite ulterior motives, she and her husband were still overjoyed to have a child of their own and Shiloh was cherished as such, given a formal education and luxuries any other highborn child might expect. Shiloh was never told the truth of their birth.

Very bright, Shiloh was taught material typically reserved for older children and had a knack for picking up foreign languages. Well-mannered and polite if not a little shy, though young these were all promising indicators of a strong heir.

And then there was the house fire.

Avid supporters of the Wissen’s latest and greatest, a kitchen equipped with experimental refrigerators and stoves had caused an adverse explosion one night, causing an uncontrollable fireball producing thick smoke that traveled throughout the house. A summer night spent in a state-of-the-art treehouse spared Shiloh, but their parents were not so lucky.

Child of Circumstances

In the wreckage of the fire, a safe had protected precious documents that the family broke open- which included Shiloh’s orphanage adoption papers and forged birth certificate. The loss of their daughter plus the reveal of her lies was too much for the Burgraf to bear, so Shiloh was sent away to another orphanage, papers destroyed and their death faked.

Back at the orphanage, still reeling from the truth of their origins and loss of their parents, Shiloh spent most of their time on the streets of Koben and was prone to acting out to deter any chances of adoption. Eventually they were found an apprenticeship with a cutler to keep them out of trouble- at least during the day. At night, Shiloh and their Orphan Comrades were a proper underground gang and engaged in petty thefts to afford additional food and other needs. Shiloh was known to be particularly useful as a Noble-Friendly decoy, using their learned speech and mannerisms to the advantage of the others.

Members of Koben’s underground quickly recognized their utility, and as a result Shiloh was doted upon with praise, coin, and promises they would return to a life of fine silver and oysters. In return, Shiloh took on jobs that were riskier and riskier- burglary, a broken arm to take out a gardener sneaking off with a Burgavina. One night, they overheard their main underground contact in a conversation with a police officer. They learned that they were a double agent for the police in exchange for money and protection, and had been informing them of Shiloh’s jobs beforehand from the very beginning, banking on their competence to rack up a higher ransom. Shiloh’s string of success and evasion caused the officer to grow suspicious, so the informant was going to set Shiloh up on their next job.

Perfect heir, charming orphan, obedient pawn.

The next day, Shiloh was given their first assassination job- some noble’s pesky bastard child. However, when the authorities arrived at the communicated location, they instead found their double agent with one beautifully crafted oyster fork lodged in their temple. Oyster shells were placed on their eye sockets, oyster meat replaced with aforementioned eyes, and a light drizzle of mignonette on top.

Though startled by themselves, it felt so good to confront their anger and send a clear message. After that, they laid low (literally- initially camped out in a sewer in fear of retaliation), eventually using their underground savings to rent a dinky storefront of the capital city to set up their cutlery shop. For a while, they carried on establishing themselves as a cutler, though anonymous letters began to arrive requesting their stabbier services- with payment upfront. Targets were often of high standing who had inevitably meddled in someone higher’s affairs, and needed to be made an example of. Going off of details provided and their own intel obtained from working with their upper crust clientele in their shopfront, Shiloh executed elaborate, showy hit jobs- where their cutlery often played a starring role.

This life continued on for a few years, flamboyantly churning through clients if they grew too cocky in order to maintain their underground reputation as someone only approached when necessary. After Prince Fabian’s assassination, work slowed down as the underground quieted.  Shiloh used this downtime to focus on their shop and make an attempt at enjoying life.

An overseas job eventually rolled around, their target being a childhood friend. The only time they’ve ever spared someone, they were hidden at Shiloh’s apartment, which turned into an extended stay when the two became an item. Knowing they would have to return eventually and this happiness was seemingly temporary was enough to make Shiloh break things off- which brought them to a new low.