Joseph was born in Brandon Manitoba on the 9th of November, 1987. He was a bouncing baby boy just short of 9 lbs at birth. His parents Tuuri (Thor) Magnusson and Teresa (Terri) Gudmundsen were ecstatic with joy! At the same time they were deeply concerned that they would have trouble keeping on top of expenses. Thor had just received his pilot's licence and decided to enlist in the military as a pilot. They snapped him up and after basic training he was posted to CFB Comox. The Magnusson family of Thor, Terri and Joseph have lived there ever since.

Thor had a pretty basic posting, flying dignitaries to destinations, troop transports to peacekeeping missions and such. He flew a few sorties over Iraq in the Gulf War while on secondment to the RAF. Otherwise he flew mainly search and rescue missions on the north coast over the Queen Charlottes and the north end of Vancouver Island. He had hoped to have a posting that would take him and his family places, but no such luck.

Terri had always wanted to travel and had begun the process to get her travel agent certification when Joseph was born. These aspirations were put on hold until Joseph entered 1st grade. Terri hadn't been going to school for the 6 years while Joseph was at home, but she sure studied a lot. When she took up the task to complete the certification she completed it in record time. Family holidays often took them to tropical locales and luxurious destinations all at Travel Agent prices!

Joseph was a very athletic kid that also excelled in academics. Thor was a history buff and he instilled in Joseph a strong desire to learn from the past. His father wanted Joseph to know as much as he could about his heritage. Thor's family was of Finnish and Swedish roots, Terri's family was of Norwegian and Swedish roots. Terri excelled at math and worked long and hard tutoring Joseph. Joseph did so well under her tutelage to the point that he was almost penned in for an 'A' on any math test from grades 3 on.

Joseph loves animals and talked his parents into adopting a German Shepherd - Golden Lab cross at the local SPCA. It was a wonderful dog with a heart of gold. 'Reno' developed serious complications from hip dysplasia not long after his 6th birthday. It broke the whole family's heart but it was decided that it would be better to put him down then to let him suffer. Joseph didn't seem to react at first, taking it in stride. Joseph handling it so well for an 11-year old came as no surprise to his parents, he had always being rather stoic. Four months later he found a ratty ball that he used to play 'fetch' with Reno and he bawled for hours.

Joseph loves competitive team sports and often shined as the team captain. He went hunting with his dad once in a while since he turned 13, but it wasn't a big part of his life. He played Lacrosse and Rugby in the good weather and played Hockey and cross-country skied in the cold weather. Joseph was always big for his age and by the time he was 15 years old he was 6'4" tall and 215lbs of muscle. In spite of his size he wanted to have the confidence to be himself and wanted the piece of mind he saw in practitioners of the martial arts. Soon Joseph was taking weekly classes in Aikido with a liberal smattering in Kendo.

Joseph's best friend is Tyr who he met in grade 4. They hit it off immediately and have been best friends ever since. They play all the same sports and have the same interest in history and a passion of mythology. When they were on summer vacation when they were 11 years old they found a jeweller at a medieval fair in Qualicum that was selling bronze Thor's Hammers. They were very happy to have something from history, from their background and that not everyone already had. They have very similar preferences in food, clothes, movies, but they differ in one area: women. They both like them to be smart, but Tyr likes them short and thin while Joseph likes them very tall and full-figured.

The 1st day of grade 8 Joseph spotted a very tall neo-hippie girl. She was nearly as tall as him and had a very attractive and full figure. She was rather bookish and kind of nerdy at first glance, especially her hand-made clothes. After an initial misunderstanding and a chance meeting in the library Sylvia and Joseph became fast friends - and more.

Sylvia's parents ran a role-playing game for Sylvia and a few of her friends that Joseph joined in. The game was mostly homegrown but it was a lot of fun. Joseph had to talk Tyr into trying it out initially, but after a few sessions Tyr had his own painted figure to play with. Joseph and Sylvia continued to be an item for the next four years and their relationship continued to grow. Their mutual love and support for each other made them strong and mature beyond their years.

Of course when the Change hit people were unprepared for what was about to happen. But the people of this area still have a little of the frontier mentality in them. They don't take well to being ordered around and at the same time are of a stock of people that rolls with the punches. When the waster levelled the town centres of Courtney/Comox, Joseph wanted to help. He didn't know what had happened to his parents and it weighed heavily on him, but he was strong. He knew that now was not the time to break down; that he had to be strong. Joseph volunteered to join up with a bunch of guys in the neighbourhood (including Tyr, of course) and take out a monster that had attacked a posse that had been chasing down a looter. It didn't go as planned...