Pavel

From an early age, Pavel Pavlovich Pavlov knew he was destined for greatness. Unfortunately? The rest of the universe didn't seem to agree with him. Born Pavel Ivanovich Demidov to a middling low class family on Ungstir, he seemed almost a changeling child, with a shock of carroty red hair in an entirely dark-haired family. He took this as a sign he had been adopted. His dimwitted but loving father took this as a sign he was blessed by a God- one or another. His mother took this as a sign she should have been more careful with the red-haired Solan thief down the road. Whatever the case, Pavel became convinced as he grew up that he was destined for grander and better things than life with the Demidovs. He insisted on going by Pavel Pavlovich Pavlov in the belief he came from an illustrious lineage of Pavels, not that he didn't love his 'adopted' parents. And though to some large extent his delusions of grandeur were indeed delusional, Pavel did seem quick-witted and skilled at getting himself out of trouble. He did pretty well in school, though he was socially awkward and never good-looking; those that shunned his company were the people he dreamed about getting revenge upon when his *real* parents showed up and made him president of something or another. He also harbored a certain love for fire and explosions that he tried his whole life to fight... until he encountered the study of chemistry.  Fascinated by the scientific art of making things go boom, Pavel devoted all of his youthful teenage energies to studying it on the sly. His parents badgered him into getting involved in flight school, with he did with poor grace- learning what he had to to keep up. His enthusiasm for flying perked up a little when he figured out, at the tender age of 14, he could run errands for the Gray Syndicate fellows in return for certain hard-to-find chemicals that made things go bigger boom. This amenable relationship between Pavel and risky business continued profitably on both sides all through his late teenage years. When his command of chemistry grew a little more sure, he even began to cook up drugs for them, considering it good practice. Unfortunately, he found himself done with schooling and rather short the money for further education at the age of 18. Certain that his genius would be revealed if he could only but raise the cash for university, Pavel decamped to Tomin Kora and pleaded with the GS to take him on full-time as a delivery boy/drug-cooker/demolitionist, whatever they wanted.