Arkus is a young man of 22 years, slight of build, with light brown hair that often falls in his face in the most inopportune of times. He is quick of mind and body, and good-natured. He has the kind of natural charisma that makes children love him and women want to be his best friend, a fact which causes the sometimes-cynical mage mild distress. Despite this, he is blessed with the ability to laugh at himself as well as others (he does both often). Arkus was born into a very poor family in Waterdeep, and spent his early years scrounging up food for himself, his sickly father and overworked mother. Arkus's father was a member of the Dungsweepers guild, and was able to provide for his family with his meager salary plus whatever he gleaned from the refuse during his work. Arkus learned from his father a work ethic and a sense of pride in even the worst conditions. He was proud of his father as a child. His parents, for all their struggles, were able to provide a decent early childhood for their two children. That all changed when his father became sick.
The City was rebuilding from the disasters of the time of troubles, and many of the poor were overlooked and on their own as more pressing concerns were on the minds of the lords and nobles. Arkus and his family were casualties of this time. When Arkus's father died he left behind a 10 yr. old Arkus, his 6 yr. old brother and their mother a woman who wore the mantle of lost youth, lost love, and lost beauty with quiet dignity. She still laughed at night when Arkus or his brother Siarn acted out plays or skits they saw the bards perform in the bazaar, and to Arkus and his brother that sound was sweeter than any candy they had quietly stolen during the day.

When Arkus was 11, already a very resourceful and suprizingly educated street urchin, his life was shattered. While he was out searching for food late one summer night (he often took pies from a local baker's 3rd story window) his family fell victim to random violence. Two Mages, both mildly powerful, were dueling in and over the dock ward streets where Arkus grew up. One of these Mages hurled a swarm of meteors down at the other who promptly vanished. The meteors crashed into the small house where Arkus's mother and brother slept, killing them instantly. Arkus who had heard and seen glimpses of the fight ran home with a sinking heart, and as the smoke and rubble cleared he was left sobbing in the street. He was not alone, however. The two arrogant Mages continued to fight, their blasts rising the citizens out of their houses and alerting the watch and more powerful enforcements. Arkus, stricken with grief, located the closest mage a few feet away from him in mid incantation. He ran at him screaming in his anguish. He fully expected to be turned to ashes or worse before he got close, but as he ran the mage stayed motionless. He crashed into him, falling to the ground. The wide-eyed mage stared forward with evident horror in his motionless eyes as he toppled and realized he was paralyzed. As the enraged Arkus punched, kicked, and bit the helpless mage he felt a cool tingling hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She was a tall, silver-haired, almost glowing woman, surrounded in a moving nimbus of silver-white light. Laeral Sliverhand reached for the boy and wrapped him in a warm embrace as she glared over his shoulder at the two paralyzed Mages she had apprehended. In an instant, members of the watch and several watch-wizards came to formally bring the two Mages into custody. Laeral teleported herself and Arkus to Blackstaff tower, a place Arkus was of course aware of as the home to the city's most famous arch-wizard Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunson and his lady love the beautiful and near equal in magical might Laeral Silverhand, one of the legendary and nearly divine seven sisters. Laeral, impressed by the little she knew of the boy Arkus, and moved more by compassion than her sometimes-harsher consort, discretly tested him in many ways. When it became obvious to Blackstaff what his Lady was implying he put up little resistance to her taking him as an apprentice. That does not imply that he was a loving and supportive father figure to the boy. Life for Arkus as an early apprentice was sometimes exciting, certainly it was interesting, but it was most often spent performing unspectacular drudgery and daily chores.

Through it all though, Lady Laeral was kind and taught him much, other than magic, which as far as he could tell he wasn't going to learn at all, which was fine with him as he distrusted magic as it always reminded him of his family's deaths. He learned of the world outside Waterdeep, local history, and tales of times long gone, but of which his teacher recounted details the wide-eyed Arkus took as first hand knowledge. He learned the destructive power of magic and how it should be respected and used as art and not as a force to control and use to destroy enemies and innocents like his family.

As the years past he saw many apprentices come and go. Some worked along side him, others worked with Khelben. He had yet to cast a single cantrip as younger apprentices sometimes came and went with varying degrees of magical learning. Through it all Laeral outwardly kept him as a servant, but in their hearts she was the mother he needed and he the child she needed. It was this knowledge that made Arkus's life bearable, even joyful. He knew that he would not be alone.

On Arkus's sixteenth birthday Khelben came into his quarters, the first time he had ever done so as far as Arkus knew. He took him out of the apprentice's quarters and up to his personal spell chamber. It was here that Arkus learned the beginnings of magic. It was here that he found out the gift he was born with. Khelben showed him wondrous and terrifying things. The young student was a quick learner. Years of tutelage from Laeral had opened his mind, and more importantly given him the maturity and respect of magic he needed. For three more years Arkus studied, with amazing success, and learning from his few mistakes.

On his twenty-first birthday Arkus, with much sadness and joy left Blackstaff tower to make his own way. He still remains in Waterdeep and lives in a small house in the Southern Ward. He is an agent for the Blackstaff and has worked with Force Grey, and more often Strike Force in several adventures in, around and under Waterdeep. He is now ready to see the world outside of the city and has the friends in his group Music and Mayhem to do it with. He also has powerful contacts and resources at his disposal, resources that have given him powerful magic, Wisdom, strength, a sense of history and place, and most importantly, the knowledge that he is not alone. The combination makes this young mage of Waterdeep one of the new Heroes from the Gem of the North.