MAJOR DEEJ UNIVERSE

Santiago is the son of a Paraguayan gaucho (rancher/cowboy) and a Argentinian woman who was secretly an ostracized refugee from the Natural magic school and a secretive magical society only known as "The Conglomerate".

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Santiago grew up on the hacienda working hard, caring for the horses, learning to ride and take care of the property.  At age 13, a strangely robed trio of men and women arrived to 'take Santiago to school'.  This is when it was revealed that Santiago's mother was a refugee from a magical society.  Santiago's father refused to allow this 'abduction', as he called it, and swore to kill anyone who'd ever attempt to take his son away, no matter what his legacy or destiny was.  The trio left, but before they did, they stated that Santiago was 'fated' to be trained to one day become their 'greatest' hero and that nothing they've scryed have proven any different.  

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Over the next few years, Santiago's parents decided it was okay for the mother to teach him some 'basics' in natural magic, but nothing beyond basics.  As with all natural magics, the child receives the mother's innate abilities towards one particular part of nature in terms of control.  For Santiago, it was fire.  His mother taught him several spells how to use his fire powers, predominantly so as not to burn or hurt anyone or anything with them.  Interestingly enough, Santiago was very adept at his magics, and was soon able to perform his own natural fire magics without training or aid.  He was not only adept with the magics but his understanding of natural fire magics seemed near symbiotic.  At one point he created his own flaming sword, much to the surprise of his mother who'd never been able to create one herself.  That day's elation was followed by one of the worst disasters in Earth's history - the Soltan Star Empire's alien invasion of Earth in 2000.

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In 2000, Santiago was 15 years of age when the Soltans attacked Earth.  For the first month of the invasion, Santiago and his family were not affected at all by the global invasion due to the remoteness from Buenos Aires (over 100 miles away), however, the troops eventually came and when they did, they brought with them abductions and death.

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When a sqaud of over 20 Soltans arrived at the Estio Hacienda (located in Argentina), they had a strange device that tracked magical energies; magical energies that emanated from Santiago and his mother.  The Soltans gathered the two of them up and killed Santiago's father when he attempted to stop them.  Santiago and his mother were to be either brought to the slave pens or experimented on to discover their biological ties to Earth's magics, at least, that's what their captor said.  Placed in anti-magic shackles, Santiago and his mother were forced to walk behind the troops for miles through the Argentine countryside where the Soltan troops continued their search for more slaves and/or 'interesting' humans to study.  After several days, Santiago's mother grew weak and unable to walk.  Instead, the Soltans dragged her behind them, telling her in she died, they'd roast her dead body over a fire and eat her in front of her child.

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That's when Santiago cut loose.

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Santiago's magical powers over fire erupted like a tsunami against his captors.  Waves of a massive firestorm erupted for thousands of yards around them, engulfing the Soltan troops and burning them all to a crisp.  Sadly, because of his explosive use of his powers, he also killed several of his fellow human captives....and his mother.   Santiago laid in shock aside the burnt body of his mother and fellow captives, mumbling "Lo siento" repeatedly again and again ("Lo siento" is Spanish for "I'm sorry").  A band of rebel human fighters found Santiago days after Santiago's fiery tsunami and took the emaciated traumatized boy along with them.  Within a week's time, Santiago came out of his trauma, fed and healthy, but riddled with tons of guilt for killing his mother and the other innocent captives.

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A counselor worked with Santiago over the next month to get him past his trauma.  On the last day of the therapy session, the counselor told Santiago to gather up his stuff; they were going to leave.   When asked where they were going, the counselor simply replied, 'To get revenge, of course!".  The counselor was actually a master of a natural magic school that had been destroyed by the Soltans in Santiago, Chile.  He'd lost all of his students and had been on the run from the Soltans when he overheard about Santiago and his powers from one of the survivors of the fire tsunami.  Together, the magic school master and Santiago agreed it was time to take the fight to the Soltans and teach them whose planet it was.

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Over the next few weeks, Santiago and the Nature school master, Master Arial, teamed together like kindred spirits fighting and killing the Soltans.  Together, the two of them killed over 200 Soltan troops. Master Arial taught Santiago more about how to control and focus his magical powers, as well as how to fight.  Master Aerial even stated at one point that it was a 'shame that the Conglomerate didn't activate the Knights Arcanus before the invasion', otherwise Santiago, in Master Arial's opinion, would have made a perfect knight. Santiago was told of the tales of the Conglomerate, its capital, the Citadel, and all of the incredible stories of their realm of magic, including details about the Nature school of magic he ran...and how the Soltans murdered all his students and their families.  As such, Santiago and Master Arial became a force to be reckoned with...enough to garner a greater interest by the Soltans.

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After the 15th week of the invasion, the Soltans decided to hunt down Master Ariel and the boy only known to them as the 'Firechild' at that time.  The manhunt was enormous, involving aerial assault craft and a legion of Soltan troops scouring all of the southern half of South America.  No one was unaffected from the searcher's brutality or disregard for human life.  Thousands of dead humans were left in their wake.  Entire towns were decimated in the hunt for Master Arial and Santiago. Instead, the South American communities raised banners and posted flyers about their super-powered 'heroes', Master Arial and his "Firechild".  Eventually, Master Aerial and Santiago were discovered in a cave in a ravine.  There was no escape.  For the two of them, it was either be captured or go out in a blaze of glory; blaze of glory it was.  Master Arial used his natural wind powers to create a funnel of high velocity air to fuel Santiago's fiery tsunami all about the ravine, killing nearly a hundred more Soltans in the process.  Just as Master Arial was struck down before Santiago, the Knights Arcanus arrived on the scene, led by their leader, Samhain Knight.

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It was a slaughter.

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Nearly half the Soltan legion died fighting the Knights Arcanus before they eventually retreated back to their South American HQ in Santiago, Chile.  Sadly, Master Arial eventually died hours later of his wounds, but not before he was able to spend his last period of time with Santiago.  Santiago was nearly catatonic over Master Arial's dying, however, thanks to the knights and encouraging words from Master Arial before he died, Santiago was able to not shutdown as he did when his mother died.  The knights performed a formal burial ceremony for a magic master on the Knights Arcanus' property in Spain, which they also called "The Hacienda".  There, to this day, Master Arial's grave stands, a testament to the Nature school of magic and one of their greatest teachers and warriors.

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For the rest of the invasion, Santiago rode with the Knights Arcanus as a knight errant, learning how to be a knight.  By July of 2000, Santiago had became a full fledged knight of the Knights Arcanus, as well as his hew title, Fyreknight.  His exploits and ferocity in battle eventually became legend.  Although hurt several times in combat with the Soltans, he always went back with the knights to continue the fight...all except for the last battle with the Soltans in China in August of 2000.

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Just prior to the Knights Arcanus' legendary assault on the last magical siphoning tower in China that the Soltans were using to drain Earth's magical energies, Santiago was severely wounded in battle.  He nearly lost his arm in the fight.  Luckily, the doctors were able to reattach it, however, the post-surgery recovery would require months of hospitalization and years of additional therapy.  Although Santiago pleaded to simply 'cut off the arm' so he could go fight, the Knights Arcanus leader, Samhain Knight, ordered Santiago to stay and recover.  With gritted teeth, he agreed to what Samhain Knight asked and as a result, fully recovered from his near death experience.

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After the Soltans retreated from Earth in August of 2000, the Knights Arcanus were expected to be dissolved (if not imprisoned by their elders for their actions (click here for more info on this!)), however, the knights did not dissolve, instead, they stayed together, this time, to continue protecting the Earth and not just the magic users on the planet as had been the Knights Arcanus' original charge to perform as ordained from centuries of knightly tradition.  Santiago eventually rejoined the knights and continued his self-appointed duties as one of the most powerful knights on the team.

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On a side note, Santiago donated his parents' Hacienda to those surviving family members that had been abducted or were related to those Santiago had burnt and/or killed in his first fiery tsunami he performed that one sad day.  As such, the Estio Hacienda is now a care and therapy center where traumatized, injured, burnt or maladjusted young children and adults can go to learn to cope with their issues, ride horses, take care of the horses and start a new life.  At any given time, there are at least 25 patients there and a dozen gauchos and staff for the patients. Santiago goes there to help when he can and as he's needed.

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Today, Fireknight is considered one of South America's greatest heroes to date.  All countries in South America, except Venezuela and Columbia, hold a Fireknight Day event on 20 June of every year; a date that both he and Master Arial saved over four hundred human slaves from their Soltan captors.  To this day, Fireknight returns that same day of the event to the Knights Arcanus' Hacienda in Spain to pay his respects to Master Arial by sitting down and having dinner with Master Arial at Master Arial's grave.

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