Druet Young

Born in N.D. 460, Dr. Druet Young is an historian and Antiquarian living in Arindell. A persistent thorn in Scarlet Jusenkyou's side, he is first introduced to go over her infamous history paper.

Early Life and Education

Young was born in Sun's Beacon and moved to Arindell at the age of seven where he became a regular fixture at the Library. Growing up he attended private schools and completed compulsory education at the age of 16. Young's father was a Dragoon Lancer, the school he attended was run by the Gudersnipe Foundation which employs a work-at-your-own-pace approach, which allowed him to finish school early. He attended University of New Stormreaver and did his doctorial program under Emmerich Thomson.

Disability

Upon preparing to move from Sun's Beacon, Young set off for one last romp around the city. While exploring an abandoned building, he stumbled into a hibernaculum, a massive communal snake nest. He was bitten several times before escaping, and fearing punishment, hid the injuries from his parents. All through the three-day trip from Sun's Beacon to Arindell, he fought through the pain, and sincerely believed that if he were strong enough he could recover on his own. The incident ended in both legs being amputated, the right leg at the mid-thigh and the left just bellow the knee.

His hesitation at seeking treatment led to gangrene, which meant the legs could not be replaced with biosynthetics immediately. The doctors informed the Young family that Druet would need nearly a year to recover before they could begin the process of grafting and growing replacement legs. This would be further complicated by his age, as his body would be growing at a different rate than his legs. Though the Foundation would cover the costs(as Druet was a dependent one one of their soldiers), it was the timeframe and pain involved which were more daunting. The surgeons estimated it would take about two years of frequent surgery and almost constant pain to properly replace the legs, and suggested that it might be better to wait until adulthood when the same end could be accomplished in about six months.

By the time he was fully recovered from the initial injuries, Young had mastered walking on prosthetics. The doctors and his parents discussed the next steps, and agreed that since he didn't appear to be having any troubles keeping up with his friends, and that he himself was very resistant to the idea, they would hold off on the surgery. Young never bothered to have the legs replaced, reasoning that he would live longer never having to lace his shoes.

Aside from a few weeks during his initial recovery and the odd hospital stay, Young never used a wheelchair. He has a variety of crutches and a cane. In his youth he needed neither, happily hobbling and running without issue. As he grew older he started to need them, not out of infirmity but due to a lack of fitness. As an historian he spent long hours crouched over worktables, and would frequently remove his prothesis and sit in his work chair. He would also often remove one leg and use a crutch under the other.