Aylman is the eldest son of Hile, a driven and resourceful young man whose ambition consistently outpaces his restraint. In his early twenties, Aylman has already built a reputation in Eslading for competence, endurance, and an instinctive grasp of opportunity. He works hard, learns quickly, and understands how to move goods, favors, and influence through the city with minimal friction.
Aylman is pragmatic to the core. He bends rules without hesitation and forms discreet alliances when they promise advantage. The blurred space between enterprise and exploitation does not trouble him. To Aylman, success justifies adaptation. His dealings with local bandits and the Thieves Guild reflect this mindset. They are not ideological choices, but calculated ones, shaped by access and profit rather than loyalty or belief.
Yet Aylman is not careless. He prefers incremental gain to reckless risk. He frames his decisions as necessary, temporary, and contained. Harm, when it occurs, is treated as collateral rather than intention. For a long time, this distinction allows him to sleep.
That clarity does not last.
When consequences surface and refuse to remain abstract, Aylman discovers the limits of his rationalizations. He begins to recognize that profit does not erase responsibility and that distance does not dissolve blame. Guilt arrives quietly, not as a single reckoning, but as a persistent awareness that certain lines do not fade simply because crossing them paid well.
Aylman’s conflict is not between good and evil, but between advancement and erosion. Each success demands a smaller compromise. Each compromise reshapes what success means. He continues forward, not because he is blind to the cost, but because stopping would require him to name it.