Canso grew up in the village of Winlock as an orphan. His mother died due to complications of childbirth (Eclampsia), and his father died in an construction accident while Canso was still an infant. He was given into the care of the village Physicker who raised him primarily through neglect, exploitation, and little love. Canso showed an aptitude for the healing arts and quickly surpassed the skills of Pont the Physicker. Canso was determined to learn everything he could of anatomy, surgery, herbalism, as well as disease and their cures. When Canso reached puberty it became apparent that he was afflicted with an illness of the mind, and unfortunately, Pont larked the skills to heal him, just as he'd lacked the skills to save the boy's mother and father. Canso did not remember his parents, and showed little interest in that part of his life. Pont was the only family he'd ever known, and while he'd been emotionally distant to the child, the boy's physical and intellectual needs had been met. Pont did the best he was capable of doing, but he lacked the sense of sympathy and empathy that came so naturally to Canso. He lacked an affinity for those in need or pain. He'd only become a physicker because his father—and his father's father before him—had filled this role for Winlock. The healing arts came with little effort to Canso, yet he put forth much effort in his studies, often studying well into the night. The boy suffered from mild aphasia and always repeated himself to make sure he'd been understood. Often, this meant he'd say the same thing in multiple ways. "Pain is a gift. Pain is your body's way of telling you something is not right. Pain is a wrongness," but sometimes what came out was a jumbled mess. "Pain wrong of body and not a rightness gift." Because of this, Canso seldom spoke, and said no more than was necessary Pont and Canso made a decent team as the boy grew older. Pont could rely on the boy's abilities and Canso could allow Pont to do the talking for both of them. All was well as the reputation of the two put them in demand for their services. They helped the lame, the infirm, and the sick. They comforted the weak and healed those they could. In return, the village showed them gratitude of coin along with gifts of food and labor. Few things were forbidden to those with the ability to successfully and consistently cure the ills of others; healers were not allowed to practice their arts on themselves, they were not to forever cheat death, and they were not to improve on nature. But some dark healers would use their skills and magics to make men stronger, smarter, and long-lived. Or they would keep themselves alive well past many lifetimes. The worst of these would use their power to cause pain and wounds and plague. Canso and Pont never questioned the structures of their profession. Canso seen as a marriageable youth. Pont dies. Village shuns Canso. Mentor