At some point in his late teens, Vilinus mistreated a lowly peasant who turned out to actually be a high-level Druid. The Druid cursed him to know his future: that he would lose everything he cared about. Removing the curse was a strong motivation to excel at his magical studies, and helped him become more powerful. As the years progressed, he was cast out of the Wizards' Guild; his firstborn son-and-heir [was cursed]; his daughter couldn't bear a child, his second son was born a Dwarf; and his wife died soon after giving birth to his second son (though it is often whispered she did not die as a result of giving birth). Now his second wife is pregnant, and he fears what will become of them, to the point of near madness.