"It was the worst moment of my life and a true test of my faith when the Goddess called upon me to extinguish the flame of Alexis, the true First Light of Arkland. Yet, it also steeled my faith as the Red Sun granted me the power to perform the deed, and although he was the first, I was able to best him and cleanse the world of the taint of the Trickster within him. He was as a father to me, having trained me, and having taught me of the power that the Goddess had bestowed me. His story is one that will teach us all that the powers of the Trickster are great and able to poison the minds of any of us, should we not be strong, but it is also a story that I have witnessed first hand in which the power of the Goddess can bring light even where the darkness is at its strongest." - Sebastian Aveline, the Second Light or Arkland and founder of the Priests of Light.
Alexis Duclos was the first known, native Arklander who was able to manifest magic, and he did so, spontaneously, using Light Magic. Alexis began life as the son of a commoner family, and he became a laborer of the Ironwood mills. His powers manifested in a terrible way in which he was attempting to avoid falling logs, and in doing so, spontaneously incinerated them but also accidentally disintegrating his nearby friend. Afterwards, Alexis, in horror of what he had done, isolated himself from the world, becoming a hermit.
Later, after having learned to control his powers, Alexis returned to civilization and began a quest to find other latent magic users in Arkland and train them to harness their powers before they too accidentally lived his same fate. It was during this time that Alexis mentored Sebastian Aveline. Sebastian would later establish the Priests of Light, declaring that the power they all wielded was in fact a product of the Sun Goddess. Unable to reach agreement with Alexis, eventually Sebastian and Alexis came to blows in a great battle in 847 AF, in which Alexis was either killed or disappeared.
Known as the First Light of Arkland, and used as a story by the priesthood to demonstrate that even those gifted by the Goddess can be poisoned by the Trickster, the legacy of Alexis as told by the priesthood is that he was a kind-hearted soul, powerful and concerned with the well being of others. Ultimately, however, he fell prey to the machinations of the Trickster. The Second Light of Arkland, Sebastian Aveline, was thereby given the solemn duty of extinguishing his light.
--Neil (talk) 21:02, 15 October 2016 (AST)