Hilde is a first generation witch, meaning he used to be a villager before he got struck by lightning and became one. As a child his snowy taiga village was raided and burnt to the ground, only he and a few other children and their parents survived.
A few days after the raid, an old wandering trader came. She couldnt just leave him in the rubble of course, so she took him with her in hopes of finding a larger, safer village to drop him off at. When the time finally came a few weeks later, he refused to leave her side.
And so he travelled with her for his teenage years. Now raising a child as an elderly woman is already hard enough, now add onto the fact that this child has some severe issues. Hilde began acting out, purposely trying to get a reaction out of her and every time he failed he'd get more frustrated and angry. One day, this boiled over and he got "grounded" (well, as grounded as you can be when you only have a tent).
Instead of staying, he snuck out. A storm started brewing later in the evening which lead to granny going to check on him, only to discover he was long gone. She knew she couldnt go out looking for him. If she was younger she'd do it in a heartbeat, but now she was frail and old. So were her llamas. Heart full of worry, she rationalized that he was old enough to make it now, he'd find his way back.
When morning finally arrived and the storm was over, he still hadn't come back to the camp. For a few days granny went out looking for him without packing up camp, in hopes he'd be there when she returned. After a week, she decided to pack up and head to a nearby village, where she asked all the locals if theyd seen him. No one had. She even took the risk of asking a patrolling group of pillagers.
Searching for years and years, until travelling simply wasnt possible anymore. She settled down in a little plains village, where she told her stories to all the children. Anytime a trader comes to visit, she still asks about Hilde.
Meanwhile, after running away, Hilde had been struck in the midst of the storm. He'd torn his clothes off and collapsed in the middle of a field, where a witch had found him.
The Fire Knights were the only ones who truly knew Messmer. His flames, like serpents. The painful fate that accompanied his accursed form.
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I intentionally made Fire Knight Hilde similar to my Tarnished OC Hilde - since Nightreign confirmed that different universes can align, I like to think it's the same Hilde but from different timelines. When Hildegarda arrives at the Shadow Keep, everyone there is confused as to why she's named and looks the same as the Fire Knight Hilde (the confusion tho ends quickly bc FK Hilde died a long time ago)
