Editing Erik (section)

=====Act One=====
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Erik is an orphan from the [[Sniflheim]] region, with his only family being his younger sister [[Mia]]. The siblings were taken in by the vikings that pillage the area and forced into servitude. Erik and Mia depended on each other to survive their difficult youth, with the latter developing the same sense of materialistic greed that their masters did. When he was around fourteen years of age, he made the disastrous mistake of giving Mia a [[Pirate King's Pendant|necklace]] for her birthday that he later found out was rumored to have the power to turn anything the wearer touches into solid gold. Mia runs wild with this power and turns everything around her into gold, even animals. When Erik confronted her about her avarice, she realised what she had done and complied with his demand to stop. When she tried to take the necklace off, its curse activated and it began to transform her as well. Mia cried out for help as the changes took place, and Erik hesitated before attempting to save her. Though he could have done nothing to prevent the curse for taking hold, and it was likely that he would have been transformed as well if he had touched Mia during the process, Erik blames himself for the apparent death of his little sister.

Erik fled the Sniflheim region out of shame, and took to a life of robbery in order to sustain himself. During this period he met [[Derk]], and the two would become successful partners-in-crime. At one point during this period, Erik met [[The Seer]]. The mysterious prophet proclaimed that if Erik were to infiltrate [[Heliodor]] castle and steal the fabled [[Red orb|Red Orb]] and meet with the Luminary "underground", then he would find the forgiveness he longed for. Erik doesn't believe a word of what is told to him and instead only steals the orb because it was a treasure Mia had once longed for, during their childhood.

Erik hides the orb with Derk after the heist and is later captured, spending nearly a year in the castle dungeon while slowly digging a tunnel through the bottom of his cell. It is during this period where he encounters the recently imprisoned Luminary and, after realizing that the Seer's prophecy is coming true, pledges his loyalty to the man and aids his escape. Together, they run from [[Heliodorian soldier|various]] [[Heliodorian guard|guards]] (and a [[black dragon]]), fall off a bridge, and then eventually become cornered on a cliff. They share a glance before silently agreeing to jump together, where Erik lifts the hood off his head and introduces his name before they make a running start to jump off the cliff. They land safely at the bottom of the cliff, at the [[Heliodorian Foothills]], and Erik drags the Luminary over to the nearby church. The two are taken care of by the nun there and they go on their way, but not before thanking her. She says before they go that they should be wary returning to [[Heliodor City]], as there are two dangerous fugitives on the loose, although throughout the story Erik's status as a dangerous criminal diminishes as the Heliodorian soldiers are ordered to prioritise the Luminary.

Before making their way to Cobblestone (the Hero's home village), Erik drags him on a detour to [[Downtown Heliodor]] to find the Red Orb Derk had stashed in the great garbage dump there. He is infuriated when he sees that the treasure is gone, and interrogates the innkeeper [[Ruby]] about where Derk is. She says that Derk hadn't been seen in the slums since he opened "that fancy shop" in the wealthy district, and that is enough fuel to the fire for Erik to storm over there and give Derk a piece of his mind. When Erik and the Hero reach his shop, Erik attempts to beat Derk up, knowing that Derk took the Orb back to the castle to collect the bounty and fund the shop, but Derk reasons that he only sold it to help Erik. Erik, exasperated now, gives him a chance to explain, and Derk explains that a portion of the proceeds from the shop went to bribing the prison guards into not checking up on Erik while he was in the cell. Erik notes that it was indeed strange that nobody had checked up on him in the previous few days digging his hole, and he forgives Derk. Derk tells them that the King had hidden the Orb in [[The Kingsbarrow]] and the Hero and Erik set out to retrieve it again. Note that Derk's bribery may also be the reason why Erik is not prioritised by the guards as a target of capture.

After retrieving the Orb and walking over to the [[Emerald Coast|Door of Departure]] to leave the continent, in search of more information about the Luminary, [[Hendrik]] and his men find the two and pursue them on [[Horse and monster riding|horseback]]. The two fugitives climb on the nearby horses and race to the Door, but the Hero's horse is shot and Erik has to double back to save him, lifting him up on the back of his own horse. The duo then escape through a [[teleportal]] to the distant city of [[Hotto]] and meet the twin sisters {{Veronica 11}} and {{Serena 11}}. When Erik encounters Veronica, they immediately get to bickering with each-other like siblings, although it is clear they still care for each-other even through the insults. Erik is much more passive to her sister, who he deems calm and kind and "everything Veronica isn't". When Erik encounters the wandering jester [[Sylvando]] in the kingdom of [[Gallopolis]], he is immediately skeptical and unhappy about the idea of him joining the party. However, Erik eventually warms up to him.

At the seaside port town [[Gondolia]], Erik and the Luminary are cornered by Jasper on the stage at the very northern part of the town. They are overwhelmed by soldiers, but are saved by Veronica and Sylvando interrupting their capture. Veronica casts multiple spells of the [[Frizz]] line everywhere, causing chaos, and Jasper turns his attention away from Erik and the Hero to order his men to fan out. Serena motions for them to escape through the western exit of the stage, dragging the Hero's hand along while Erik makes sure they aren't being followed. Jasper senses their escape and fires a ball of darkness at the Luminary, which Erik notices and jumps in front of. The magic cripples him and he falls to the ground. Erik swats away the Hero's hand when it is offered, telling him to leave with the newly-bought time. The soldiers catch up to Erik as Serena tugs the Hero along, dragging him away as Erik is taken by the guards. The party later finds Erik tied up on a pole on the stage and save him, defeating [[Jasper]], before escaping Gondolia by on the Salty Stallion (Sylvando's [[ship]]).

They then travel to [[Zwaardsrust]] and make their way to [[Octagonia]], where they enter a mixed martial arts tournament to win the first-place prize, the [[Rainbough]]. Erik enters this tournament and is paired with a random contestant from [[Angri-La]], and their first match is up against [[Jade]] and [[Rab]]. Erik is defeated extremely easily, which probably contributes to his frustration of the two of them when they steal the first-place prize meant for the Hero. However, when they officially join the party after the events of [[Dundrasil]], he warms up to them as well.

When Erik and the {{Party 11}} go to Sniflheim to retrieve the [[Blue Orb]], Erik becomes distant and quiet, and refuses to enter the Kingdom once it is restored because "Cosying up to royals isn't exactly [his] style". In [[The Snærfelt]], he has multiple dialogue lines in [[Party Chat|party talk]] where he will offhandedly provide advice to survive in the cold, chalking his knowledge up to stories from other adventurers.{{spoiler|end}}