In the Beginning
600 BCE, Gaul
Death was once just a boy with a particular talent.
Hadrian Ignotius Peverell was born in the spring of the year 617 BCE to a man named Achille and a woman named Estelle.
He was an only child.
His family kept a plot of land near the coast, they grew their own food and did their own fishing.
When Hadrian was seven, he was sitting by his father while he fished, and the young boy grew rather bored. He found himself wishing that the fish would simply appear. A moment later, Hadrian felt a tug in his stomach and the next thing he knew, he was surrounded by fish.
Hadrian never would’ve guessed in that moment that magic would someday be something to hide.
Magic, to Hadrian, was something that helped him provide for his family, it was something he used to heal himself and others, and, as it grew, it was something he could use to bring people peace.
At the time, magic itself wasn’t odd. What was odd was Hadrian’s specific skill set.
Of all the magic users his neighbors had ever met or heard tales of, no one had Hadrian’s particular talent for healing, nor did they have his ability to communicate with spirits who had passed on.
When Hadrian heard people speak of how they feared death, he was rather confused. For Hadrian, death was just the natural next step. He tried to explain that death didn’t mean the end, that spirits and souls had to go somewhere and that, from what he could tell, the place they went was incredibly peaceful. But people just didn’t understand.
The people of Gaul, like many other people of the era, practiced a polytheistic religion. There was no One True God, there were guiding deities for several aspects of life. Hadrian’s favorite part of what the Druids taught was the idea of reincarnation.
Hadrian found that it was easier to explain his knowledge of death by connecting it to that idea of reincarnation.
By the time the Ionians arrived in Hadrian’s 17th year, his friends and neighbors believed wholeheartedly in Hadrian’s powers. They went to him for healing, he helped people pass over, and he made sure people knew that their loved ones had arrived in their next life unharmed.
When the Ionians arrived, they established a settlement called Massalia; a name thought to be derived from the Ancient Greek words for “further” (masson) and “sea” (hals).
With the settlement came practical things like goods and money. But, more importantly (to Hadrian at least), the settlement also brought new culture.
The Greeks spoke of incredible things. Gods and goddesses responsible for storms and good crops, for keeping the Hearth burning and protecting sailors. As Hadrian grew, his powers grew with him and, eventually, word of his powers began to circulate with the trade.
By the time he was 30, the tales of a young man most intimate with death had spread across the entire Greek Empire.
When Hadrian was 20, he’d married a woman named Adrienne. When Hadrian was 22, they had a son named Charles. When Hadrian was 25, they had a second son named Felix. When Hadrian was 26, they had a third son named Henri.
As his sons grew, they each showed talent in magic but only the youngest son, Henri, showed a talent for Hadrian’s specialty.
As they grew, each started families of their own … or they tried to.
The eldest, Charles, married and had children. Though Hadrian ended up watching as his eldest’s line died out around the year 200 CE.
The middle son, Felix, married but his wife died in childbirth. Felix joined his wife and child on the other side 20 years later, he never re-married.
The youngest son, though, his family stretched across the ages. Henri and his wife, Cassandra, had seven children. Three sons and four daughters. Eventually, one of his great many times over grandsons had three sons of his own.
Antioch Charlus Peverell, born 19 June 1209.
Cadmus Alexander Peverell, born 4 April 1211.
Ignotus Hadrian Peverell, born 12 July 1214.
It was at that point that Hadrian, now known as Death, decided to interact with his family again.