Born into the radiant splendor of the Sun-Spear Dynasty, Valerius was expected to inherit a throne of polished gold and lead a pride of warriors. However, while his siblings practiced the high-pounce and the spear-thrust, Valerius was found in the palace cellars, fascinated by the way fire-salts hissed in the damp. He saw his people’s strength as a brittle thing—sharp enough to kill, but too hard to shield the vulnerable. The 'Rain-Step' epithet, once a mockery of his preference for indoor tinkering over the sun-drenched hunt, became his badge of honor when he walked away from his coronation to open a workshop in the city's soot-stained district.
The defining moment of his transformation occurred during the Siege of Red-Sands. While the Royal Guard charged into a hopeless meat-grinder, Valerius deployed his first 'Guard-Kitten,' a rattling brass box that belched thick, minty smoke and concussive sound. He didn't kill a single invader; he simply made it impossible for them to find their targets, whisking three hundred orphans to safety behind a wall of clanking thunder. He realized then that the world didn't need more conquerors; it needed a high-born eccentric with enough black powder to make the bullies go away.