Local nymph legend says his family were descendants of King Arthur and children of dragons. Anyone who asks Thomas, however, finds themselves getting a laugh in return, for the only Arthur he knows in his family lineage is his youngest brother. His family have always been the head of the nymph collective in their corner of England, passing the title between the eldest children of each branch of the family tree since their establishment over a millennia ago. It hasn't always been a seamless transition, the most severe grievance being Thomas’ great-grandfather’s attempted theft of the title from his own elder brother. The coup resulted in a massive fire in the 1600s. The deaths of opposing nymphs solidified the Ormson position as well as beginning the murmurs of dragons in their blood, a tale his relatives only encouraged over the years. Thomas didn't put much stock in these rumors as a child, regarding them as little more than horror stories. His own father was a distant, watchful man who didn't seem prone to the acts of ruthlessness that their legacy promised in recent years. In fact, he reminded Thomas more of the Arthurian legends of heroics. As the third child, Thomas was not privy to details of leadership, and found himself drawn instead into the world of medicine, thinking the rumors of cruelty simply that: rumors. That is until his elder brother spoke out against their father and found himself exiled from England with little more than the clothes on his back two evenings later.Â
It was the last time Thomas saw his brother, but certainly not the last time he thought of him, nor did he stay with his family. His studies in medicine meant he didn't have to look for a place to stay, not with the spilling across the world and doctors in short-supply. He worked among the human doctors throughout England, made friends among the local witch branch, and paid respects to the fae who made this area their home. When Thomas reached the end of his connections and the requests to return home changed to demands, he flung himself into traveling rather than face whatever dire consequence surely awaited him. Traveling upon the sea was no easy feat, either, but Thomas rose to the challenge with ease. If it was his choice, he would stay, preferring this life to the one where his family might be the monsters people whispered of. Yet a man can't run forever and Thomas returned home without delay on the heels of a letter declaring his father dead. What he returned to wasn't much of a home: the collective had fought amongst one another and little remained once the dust settled. With only himself and a much younger Ormson left alive, Thomas swallowed his fear and gathered the survivors, fleeing the scrutiny of humans that were getting a little too close for comfort. Those who wished to follow another Ormson – and those folks were few and far between, a number just shy of two dozen compared to the collective's previous might – were taken with him and his sibling across the sea to America. On the invitation of an old contact among the witches, Thomas and the survivors settled into Salem, Massachusetts in 1995. The witches there were wary at first brush, and perhaps rightfully so. But with the already bloodied history in the town, the supernatural banded together with relative ease.
Twenty years among the people of Salem was a long time to grow roots, yet Thomas never quite settled into his role. The nymphs looked to him for leadership, and he answered the call as much out of guilt as he did responsibility, but time had not made it easier. He's spent the last twenty years looking for his elder brother in hopes of finding someone more worthy of such a title. But such things require time and money, the likes of which he cannot get alone. This new life proved challenging for not only Thomas, but the nymphs as a whole, whittling their numbers down over the last two decades. In the wake of such loss, Thomas looked for another place to settle his people permanently. Lethe seemed the perfect opportunity and he visited in early 2019 to discuss the movement with its local leadership. He could not tell you what happened next – he has little memory of it. All he knows is that he left Lethe alive and well with a promise to bring his people there and returned to it again in the year 2021 as a mere shade of the person he used to be.
