Born in Stratholme to a blacksmith and a former weaver, Aidan was the third child in a family of four. Being the only boy in the middle of three sisters, Aidan not only had an unusual relationship with his siblings but a highly stressful one with his father. Lucas Medren sincerely hoped that his son would succeed him in the family business, and despite Aidan's initial dislike for the long hours and grueling work of the blacksmith's trade he was trained as an apprentice and became quite skilled. It was Lucas' wish that he take over the trade some day, inheriting the old stone-brick shop that had served Medren blacksmiths for generations. Aidan, on the other hand, had different ambitions.
During the hard years of his youth, Aidan took solace in the doting love of his older sisters and the companionship of his best friend Matthew Hart and youngest sister Violet. Though they viewed their "adventures" through the rosy lens of childhood, Matt and Aidan often fought and lost against gangs of other boys, both in "defense" of their sisters and to keep what little coin they had for themselves. Aidan saw himself as a hero, though at the time he was little more than a muscled street tough, and Matt his roguish partner- a Robin Hood, stealing from the rich to share with a young boy and his younger sister. Though this path took them close to ruin, the two boys' lives would change forever when, one day, Aidan and Matt stood before a procession of the newly minted Order of the Silver Hand and the young Aidan had a revelation of faith.
Aidan raced home to pack his things and be ready. He and Matt staked out the chapel, prepared themselves and, with his mother's tacit permission, they snuck out with their belongings and joined the ranks. To Matt it was an escape from poverty and a chance to be respected; for Aidan it was a vision of the future, a silver-and-gold-wreathed image of the heroism that a man like himself could aspire to instead of the soot-blackened drudgery of a blacksmith's shop.
Despite the fact that he cherished his son's success when he later rose to the ranks of the Silver Hand, the stubborn Lucas never truly forgave Aidan for going against his wishes. Aidan's visits to his family were strained on this account, though he often wrote to his sisters during his time as a squire.
Main Article: Aidan Medren
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