Leo Kallios

Background

!!Content warning!!
Psychological and other forms of abuse, child trafficking ('adoption')[Infancy and Early Childhood]
Leo was born premature, so quiet and still that there was little hope for his survival. Having recently fled the Far East and stricken with grief, his mother pleaded for aid to the first available. An agency operating from the border of the Black Shroud and Garlean occupied Gyr Abania offered her a deal: give her child up to them so that they may give him a better chance at life. Believing she had no chance and desperate for her child's survival, she reluctantly forfeited Leo to the agency. As promised, they ensured that he lived—at the cost of putting him up for adoption.For the first decade of his life, Leo was moved between orphanages populated with children from across Hydaelyn, all forfeited by desperate refugees fleeing the east. He had difficulty making connections with other children and caretakers, either living in his own world or getting into fights. He spent most of his time swinging wooden swords around once he was old enough to hold proper form.[Young Adulthood]
When he was about 13, Leo was finally ‘adopted’ by Garleans. They claimed to be offering him home, but the ugly truth was, orphans with no connections disappeared easily. Leo's 'adoption' was transactional. A child with no background for a hefty pouch of gil. After being ‘adopted’, Leo was then handed off and conscripted into the Garlean military to be trained as a grunt.With how wholeheartedly Leo threw himself into training combined with expressing little to no ire for the Garlean empire, he was given a Soul of The Dark Knight. His superiors were curious of his developing skill and this caught the eye of some members of the scientific branch. A scientist with a strong interest in picking apart the phenomenon known as a Dark Knight’s Esteem ordered for Leo to be studied, as this was their first chance to dig into it. It was around this time that Leo began going by ‘Ego’, rather than himself, and the line between ‘Leo’ and ‘Ego’ became impossibly blurry. What had at first been a way to separate himself from his life of training had become the birth of his identity crisis. ‘Garlean dog’ became a label for him not because of any loyalty, but because he listened without question. Having shown enough promise, the scientist had Leo transferred.Leo’s teens were spent being poked and prodded at by the scientist and his team. The goal became clear: Separate Ego from Leo and transport his consciousness into a separate body. Ego was clearly better suited as a weapon and he was far more interesting to the team than Leo was. However, extracting him would prove extremely difficult. For a decade, they tried everything under the sun, pushing Leo’s psyche as far as they could. Pampering him, starving him, lying and twisting his mind to achieve varying levels of psychological stress. They tested drugs, isolated, and tampered with his aether to try and achieve their desired outcome. When no logical methodology worked, the team began throwing everything at the wall to see what stuck.Throughout this process, Leo became the scientist, his master’s, favorite toy and pet. An obedient little thing that knew no better than to sit at his feet and do as he was told, too frightened of the consequences to act out of line and too dependent on his only source of (what he perceived to be) affection and validation to try and flee. So shattered was his mental state that Leo cannot remember any of what happened during his time with his master. All he remembers is what he was told: Keep feeling and keep feeding Ego. Let the darkness consume you.[Adulthood]
Distant memories of the forest haunted Leo. Torn between the familiarity of his master and a yearning for freedom he didn’t understand, it wasn’t until the Garlean empire fell in the chaos of the Final Days that Leo even considered escaping. He took the opportunity to flee and he ran as far as he could. He even would’ve abandoned the Soul of The Dark Knight had the mere thought not felt like severing a limb.Stowing away in Ishgard, Leo learned of Astromancy and its serene nature drew him in. Having no home, no connections, no guidance, being able to ask his cards for insight was the only thread holding him from slitting his throat. Every night he cried despairingly, begging for guidance as he divined and re-divined his own fortune. He couldn’t face Ego anymore, a monster that was both him and not. When he thought of Ego, when he was Ego, all he felt was pain and turmoil. His only option was to abandon the greatsword for good so that he could finally move on…Or at least that was the hope.[Optional Thread]
Offering a healing touch for coin would only do so much to fill the void and blot out the memories of his past. Upon catching wind that someone was still searching for him, the chase was on and paranoia would be the new game. Leo abandoned Ishgard to begin hiding wherever he could, never staying in one place for too long.