Alamatheus Thorgensson, son of Lord High Inquisitor Thorgen Frederickson and Grand Matriarch Abyssinia Rose, was born a hybrid, carrying both the Courage of Conviction (the magical spark of the paladin) and the Spark of Life (the magical spark of the elementals). Though considered to be one of the more powerful magic users in the land of Creshon, Alamatheus has only known his hybrid nature to be a curse.

Orphaned at five years of age, Alamatheus grew up under the harsh gaze of The Order. Considered an abomination by many, Alamatheus finds himself an outcast, even after he has proven himself a Hero at age 35. Though he disagrees, Alamatheus fails a simple mission given to him by Forever Winter, The Order, and the Goddess Shivaya. Using it as an excuse, George Frederickson, Alamatheus' uncle and current patriarch of House Frederick, casts him from The Order into exile.

Spurred on by knowledge he wasn't meant to have, Alamatheus starts his life over, choosing a new path as a deckhand, along with a new name: Toph. Though conscripted unexpectedly, Toph ends up aboard the Gladesong, a merchant frigate sailing to Thermos. From there, his path takes multiple unexpected turns. Blessed by one goddess, cursed by another, bound to a third, and followed by an arm of the Angel of Death, Toph starts his new life in the world at large. Caught between the forces of love and anger, Toph is cast deeper into the shadows. When the dust settles, Toph finds himself cold, alone, and forever cast from the light, both proverbially and literally.