In his earlier years Durlston Peveril was an ambitious young man who sought to preserve and defend the lands he held dear above all else. To accomplish this, he trained in arms under the tutorage of his mentor and friend, Nigel Holman, who was a captain within the ranks of the Bree Watch. Eventually Durlston joined the Watch himself and displayed a great deal of promise amongst his peers. He soared through the ranks and proved himself most capable in battle against the brigands and ruffians that plagued Bree and its neighbouring lands. Arguably, you could say that Durlston became drunk on his own success and, as a result; became reckless and overconfident. He would charge into dangerous situations with little care or consideration, eager to taste the sweet sensation of victory.

During this time Durlston, met, befriended and fell in love with a woman named Evelyn Holman, who was the adopted daughter of Captain Nigel Holman. They were later betrothed.

One autumn, Durlston accompanied Nigel and several other members of the Watch to Far Chetwood, on a mission to locate a group of watchmen who went missing some weeks prior. To their surprise, they found an encampment of marauding orcs near the lake Nen Harn. Despite Nigel’s warning to call for reinforcements, Durlston urged for them to press their attack and save the potential prisoners within. After a lengthy argument, Durlston and the handful of watchmen decided to lead the attack with Nigel reluctantly following behind. The battle was fierce. It became apparent to the company that they were vastly outnumbered, and, to their horror, they discovered the orcs had murdered of their comrades and mutilated their corpses. This only enraged Durlston who refused to retreat. It was not until he witnessed Nigel and two other watchmen slain that he was dragged from the battlefield by those who remained.

As those who returned to Bree gave a full account of the events that occurred, Durlston was tried and found guilty of putting himself and others at risk. As a result, he was expelled from the Watch and his rank revoked. Such was the impact of his sentence that he was shunned by the people of Bree and even by his betrothed, Evelyn. This coupled with the deaths of Nigel and his men weighed heavily on his heart. As realisation for his actions slowly took hold, he decided to leave Bree, disgraced as he was; and was not seen for thirteen long years.

In these years Durlston roamed the realm choosing never to stay in one place for long. Under the alias of 'Flavien', he endeavored to travel as far away from Bree as possible, constantly on the move daring never to look back out of shame. He would lend his aid where he could, often without reward; only asking for coin when in need. One would be correct in assuming that he had become a changed man, but not entirely for the better. Wrought with a deep sense of self-loathing and bitterness towards himself and his past, ever seeking to regain his lost honour.

Soon Durlston came to realise that the further he travelled, the eviller and stranger the world became. He witnessed unspeakable horrors and chanced with death on more than one occasion, urging him to seek more power to forge himself into a weapon of the innocent.

"The pages of your past cannot be rewritten, but the pages of your tomorrows are blank."