Barkevius Frumpymelon was born into one of the most influential merchant lineages in the Europan capital of Dresden. As the son of Bilferrus and Grace Frumpymelon, his life was ostensibly mapped out from birth: he was to inherit the Frumpymelon Docks & Loading Company, a titan of industry responsible for the masonry and engineering of Europa’s vital airship and seafaring infrastructure. While his younger brother Ryken eventually aligned with their father’s rigid corporate expectations, Barkevius found himself drawn to the rebellious spirit of his late older sister, Anna, who encouraged him to seek a path beyond the family’s winged-boar crest. Despite his academic potential—evidenced by his enrollment in the Academy of Scientific Progress (ASP)—Barkevius spent more time wandering the city’s industrial fringes and smoking sour diesel flower than he did mastering stonework technologies.

On the day of his graduation from the ASP, at the very moment his father prepared to induct him as a partner in the family business, Barkevius chose exile over the boardroom. He stowed away on a departing airship, eventually finding himself in the untamed regions surrounding the nation of Quebec. Navigating the silent, stone-walled cities of West America, he survived through his wits and a peculiar, empathic connection to a one-eared stray cat named Mr. Buttons. This bond, a subtle manifestation of Barkevius’s own belief and survival instincts, allowed the cat to assist in his illicit activities, often retrieving small objects or unlocking doors to aid in his “honest thievery”. Eventually, his wandering brought him to the Cascadian port of Nunavut, where in 2101 A.M., he secured passage aboard the ESS Albacore to return to the city he had once fled.

Upon his return to Dresden, Barkevius found his home city on the brink of total social collapse. Though he initially sought only a drink at the Iron Horse Inn, his identity as a Frumpymelon was quickly exposed, forcing him to reckon with the legacy he had abandoned. During the subsequent revolution against the Nightingales, he served as a vital guide for his companions, utilizing his knowledge of the city’s architecture and power structures to aid the insurrection. The conflict reached a tragic personal conclusion for Barkevius with the death of his father, Bilferrus, during the city’s bombardment. Standing amidst the smoldering wreckage of a shattered capital, the man who had once stowed away to escape responsibility was left as the de facto successor to the Frumpymelon industrial empire, tasked with rebuilding Dresden from the very ashes he helped ignite.