Ransom's background (also posted with his char sheet in spoilers):
The Long Slow Road to Nowhere
"Come on, Ransom, keep up! You're such a slowpoke!"
The boy, age 8, frowns in frustration as the older girl, with her longer legs, races around the corner. His is a serious face, full of maturity beyond his years; currently his hair is dark and curly, and his eyes are a bright green that matches hers.
Ransom looks down at his legs and stumbles slightly as they lengthen in a matter of seconds -- he looks ridiculous, with stilt-like ankles emerging from pants that are suddenly too short. Awkwardly, like a newborn colt, he scampers around the corner... and the girl is gone.
"Syrrah...?" he asks uncertainly. "Where are you?"
"I'm right behind you, silly." Syrrah's voice murmurs in his ear, making him jump.
The boy spins around, stumbling again and returning his legs to their usual length. The dirt road behind him is empty.
Again, Syrrah speaks in his ear. "Or maybe... I'm nowhere."
The boy turns in a circle, unable to pinpoint the source of the noise as the missing girl bursts into peals of shimmering laughter, which echo and fade.
Syrrah was everything that Ransom idolized -- beautiful, rebellious, brilliant. She would pull him away from his constant studies to enact illusionary battles, hunt fantastic illusionary creatures, and explore illusionary ruins. She constructed worlds for them to rule as they wished, and all the while Ransom tagged along, learning and longing to be so full of life.
Then the goblins came, spurred to such a fury that the townspeople had never seen before. Ransom's master left to aid in the defense, leaving Ransom hiding in his cellar bedroom behind heavy wards. He didn't even hear her come in (as usual), but when the window crashed and Syrrah screamed, he steeled his resolve and snuck upstairs.
The barghest left barely a scrap of her to bury.
Years later, Ransom is sober and reserved, his face (when he chooses) lined with unusual maturity. He keeps a locket with Syrrah's picture, and he often looks at her for guidance before attempting anything dangerous or stupid... he hears "You're such a slowpoke!" and smiles.
The seed of illusion planted by Syrrah in his mind has sprouted into full-blown mastery. He has learned to work with shadows, and by relying on his superior knowledge of the Weave, he can best nearly any other wizard in a duel, with unparalleled versatility and strength. However, his achievements leave him hollow.
One evening, Ransom has a brilliant idea, so crazy and reckless that he is convinced it came from his idol. "You were right, Syrrah," he murmurs into the hot and heavy summer darkness. "You're 'nowhere'... but soon you'll be somewhere."
For this plan, he needs a special demesne of his own, hidden away from prying eyes. After a year of searching, he realizes that the place he wants doesn't exist, and resolves to make one for himself. It's simple, but requires immense strength in the arcane arts, beyond what even he should be able to do. He draws Shadow into the Ethereal plane, shapes it according to his will, and with an exhausting burst of magic, he is Nowhere.
Ransom seems to float in midair, surrounded by... nothing. He smiles, walking across invisible ground, his magically-enhanced senses piercing the natural veil to see the shape of the land, taken shape in his mind. He crafts more Shadow, creating seeds, and plants them, saving a particularly fertile acorn for the very center, the Middle of Nowhere. As the invisible plants grow at his bidding, he walks the edge of his domain, expanding it outward. Finally, he is satisfied.
The next part of his plan is so bold as to be outrageous. Ransom has no idea if it will work, but he has always been convincing, and he believes with a fire that burns inside him, damning the rest of the world to watch while he works miracles. He travels the Planes, finally discovering what he seeks among a race of ancient giants: a tribe of naturally invisible creatures.
Ransom dubs these agrarian folk the Nihil, and he brings them to a land just as veiled as they, where they settle in immediately -- the ground is fertile and ripe for farming, the stone beneath rich in minerals. With Ransom's help, they begin to multiply and colonize Nowhere, planting crops and trees, and digging below the surface.
When the Nihil ask Ransom about Nowhere, how it came to be, he speaks to them of the Goddess Who Is Not. This place is her home, though she doesn't yet know it, and the giant oak tree in the Middle is sacred to her.
At first the Nihil are baffled -- their benefactor worships a Goddess who is no Goddess? He explains that she will be: if he and the Nihil work to make this place perfect, she will have no choice but to come and reside there.
The Nihil are overcome with awe. They have been chosen by Ransom, the Prophet Who Is Not, to prepare the way for the Goddess. They begin to worship her, though they expect no answer, for the way is not yet ready. When it is, the Goddess Who Is Not will come to Nowhere, where some roads lead, and she will meet the Nihil, the people of Nothing. And she will find her home.
Meanwhile, Ransom travels the Planes, looking for any sign that his friend has returned. He stays in close contact with the Nihil, keeping track of the progress they are making. He cares nothing for the laws of man or god, for he is filled and sustained by this burning Idea.