Nicolas Avanuthar was born on February 1, 1976, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. His father, Harold, was a carpenter and his mother, Liesl, was a schoolteacher. Nick showed early promise in reading and loved playing soldier and dressing up in period costumes. Or at least as period as the young boy could make them. He would pull a ski mask over his head in the winter and pretend it was chain mail as he prepared for battle. On rainy days, he slid on his galoshes and envisioned them as cowboy boots as he strode towards a shoot-out.

Nick performed well in school and especially loved history. And growing up in Harrisburg put him in close proximity to the Gettysburg battlefield. Nick loved to go there and walk through the empty fields, imagining the horrific battle and the stories of the men who fought there. The Gettysburg battlefield ignited a fascination with the Civil War in Nick. Always a history buff, he zeroed in the War Between the States and studied it relentlessly.

Nick was ranked in the top of his class in high school and he was determined to go to the University of Mississippi. He wanted to feel the history, not only of the University Grays, but of the civil rights movement. He wanted to know where James Meredith lived and where the riots took place. His parents weren't happy with him going so far away from school, but Nick would not be deterred.

At Ole Miss, Nick began studying history and southern studies. He performed well in his classes and was popular on campus. His easy going and affable nature led him to start working as a bartender around town. He was generally well-liked by the patrons and they usually tipped him very well.

About his sophomore year, Nick began dating Whitney Hancock. Whitney was a regular at the bar and had often flirted with Nick as she spent the afternoons hanging out. Although many would stop short of saying Whitney was a bad influence on Nick, they were worried about the direction his life was taking. It wasn't that Whitney was bad, just unfocused. She came from a wealthy family and had no drive in life. So if she stayed up all night smoking pot and then slept through all her classes the next day, it was no big deal. But Nick was a hard-working student on a scholarship and soon enough his grades began to slip as a result of all his partying.

After two consecutive semesters of poor grades, Nick took a semester off. He felt he needed to focus on getting himself right. Previously, he had always been able to separate the bartending from his personal life. It was just a job to him and he had been careful to avoid the drunken vampire-like existence of many bartenders. But his time with Whitney added up and it all became too much for him. Whitney had finished college -- no one knew if she actually graduated or just left -- and was gone. It wasn't tearful or painful for Nick; in fact, it was kind of a relief.

Nick took a steady bartending gig at the Yoknapatawpha County Conference Center. The lounge there was quieter than most of the college bars and he could make good money but avoid some of the crazy nights. Nick still liked to date, still liked to party, but in moderation. He was contemplating returning to school, but he had lost some of his drive and some of his focus on history.

So while he tried to figure out what to do with his life, Nick supported himself with his gig at the YCCC and other bars around town.