He Was Born An Orphan in a LitRPG Fantasy World

LitRPG fantasy worlds are, sometimes, necessarily cruel:

He has no memory of his parents. No memory of where he was born. All he remembers is life on the streets of Fernwall. It was the only life he knew until his teenage years. It was "the streets" that molded him, "the streets" that nurtured him, and "the streets" that fed him as a young boy. He survived through sheer determination, living by his wits and natural charisma. He learned about honor. The street form of honor, which the gangs of children living on the streets called "blood". What parental guidance he got came from the brothel madam that took him in. But she was no soft hearted, loving matriarch. Rather, she fueled his ambition and encouraged him to create a better future for himself. Put together, it turned him into a resilient and resourceful individual, molded his character in ways no boarding school and formal education could have imagined.

Which is how, at the ripe old age of 14, he ended up a cabin boy on an armed merchant ship that carried supplies to the various battle fronts of the Great War. There, his understanding of the harsh realities of the street grew to include the even more brutal realities of war, which shaped his worldview even further. The familiar "blood" loyalty he learned on the streets expanded to include an understanding of the kind of camaraderie shared among crew members. Loyalty, as defined by sailors and marines was, in may ways, very different from that he learned on the streets of Fernwall. But in some ways, it was much the same, too.

More importantly, as he navigated through the treacherous world of life aboard ship in a time of war, he honed his skills and strategic thinking. At first by expanding what he'd learned on the streets to include marine battle tactics. Then by beginning to blend the two together to devastating effect. Voyage by voyage and battle by battle, the orphan boy from Fernwall slowly became a charismatic leader determined to leave his mark on the world.

So when the IMMC came looking for him, he was ready. His street-smart savvy had been well blended with his formal training as a naval officer and an emerging record of success in battle. As he prepared for his first IMMC command, he envisioned how he could leverage both worlds—using his cunning and resourcefulness to accomplish unique missions that might help bring peace to his war ravaged world. Little did he know what the IMMC had in store for him!

We're talking about Captain William Thorin Terrell, of course. Captain of the Golden Dawn in Fire Mission I: Bagédaan.