Peter Argyris was the last living member of the Argyris noble family. Once politically influential in Oxana due to the prestige of Champion Selwyn Argyris, the family diminished in status over the course of several centuries. Peter Argyris died on Day 8 of Month 1, 1014 due to a house fire, later discovered to have been an arson perpetrated by Reiner, Peter Argyris' domestic servant.[1]
Peter Argyris was born in 971 in the Argyris family mansion, a monumental historic building constructed in 576 for the children of Selwyn Argyris. The mansion was located outside the small town of Sunnyside, a fishing village with a seasonal tourism industry. It was a pleasant place to live, but did not provide a significant income stream to the Argyris family through local taxation. Uninterested with politicking or administration, Peter Argyris instead pursued a career in academia. After graduating from the Oxana University law program, Peter Argyris became a professor. He had a reputation for being dull and introverted, entertaining few visitors. Peter Argyris lived alone, with no spouse or children. As such, he did not require a large household staff like other noble families. His only employees were a cook named Pauline who visited on weekends, and a domestic servant named Percy who attended to all of his other needs during the week.[2]
On Day 8 of Month 1, 1014, firefighters responded to reports of dark smoke rising from the forests to the north of Sunnyside. They arrived at the Argyris mansion to find only its charred remains. Locative spellcasting could not find any evidence of either Peter Argyris or Percy anywhere on the island of Oxana. With any evidence to the contrary seemingly destroyed along with the house itself, Oxana authorities were forced to conclude that both of its residents had died in the fire.[3] It was not until six years later that Iryna PD Inspector Neeka discovered that Percy had in fact survived the fire, escaping on a boat to Iryna under the name Reiner.[4] Reiner carried with him an Oxana University law program diploma that was identical to that of Peter Argyris except for the name, and an arcane instrument known as the Sanguine Dagger which had been created by Peter's ancestor Selwyn Argyris. Neeka reported this information to the Oxana Police, who confirmed that Percy and Reiner were indeed the same individual.[5] Reiner was summoned to Oxana, tried, and convicted of arson, manslaughter, fraud, and evasion of arrest.[1] However, due to a lack of witnesses other than Reiner himself, the exact circumstances surrounding the untimely death of Peter Argyris remain unclear, as are Reiner's motivations for causing his death.