Hekran the Wizard

Wizard, also known as a mage and sorcerer, are students of magic. In a wizard’s lifetime, she may accumulate the knowledge of hundreds of spells. Her life is devoted to sorcery and understanding its inner workings. The greatest of wizard schools is found in the Free City. Wizards hailing from Kelet dream of visiting the Free City’s massive library, though few get the chance. In Crocáno wizards channel most their energy into researching new and creative uses for spells and methods of wielding them. Outside of human kingdoms, aelfen wizards make long studies of old tomes and have in their long lifetimes created many unique spells. Naerodians are known to pore over old spellbooks and create unique incantations of their own design as well.

Wizards sometimes adventure out of sheer curiosity. They are regularly held up in their study rooms for weeks at a time. Adventures offer a welcome respite. Other reasons include research, investigative work, and aiding settlements that lack magical solutions for a multitude of problems.

HEKRAN THE WIZARD

Hekran narrowed his eyes as the guttering candle feebly lit the small stone chamber around him. He rifled through the leaves of vellum, scanning over the spidery letters. He briefly lifted his eyes as a yell of alarm echoed from beyond the hallway outside. His companions had been discovered and would soon be staging a hopeless battle against the abandoned library's new occupants. He would only have a few more moments. It had to be here somewhere.

"Hekran!" The voice of Benjan was coming from directly in front of him. He hadn't heard the mercenary enter the room. How much time had passed since the fighting began? "We have to get out of here. Now! Helaen is hurt. We need your help to fight our way to escape." Hekran did not take his eyes from the illuminated manuscript that now held his attention. "Hekran!" The warrior's bloody gauntlet gripped the mage's robe. He looked up in annoyance. Hekran called to mind the binding thoughts that would force the stone around him to cloak his unseen slave in materiality. With the utterance of the True Words, a hulking figure led the disgruntled fighter down the hallway. Minutes passed. How many before Hekran fervently clutched his heart's desire and began rolling it up was beyond his guess. At that same moment, he heard the clack of toenails as the ghoul entered the room. So, his companions had perished. Before the creature could take another step, the young mage blew out the candle and walked through the shadows around him.

"You made it out! I had you marked for dead! What about the others? Did they...?" The mage gave only the briefest shake of his head as a reply to the cleric. He was too busy examining his new acquisition to respond verbally.

"Gods, what cursed luck. Poor souls. May the Three Ladies guide them home."

"Three dead and all we have to show for it is that crusty lamb skin." The thief spat on the ground in disgust. "This had better be worth the trouble."

"No, no trouble." Hekran whispered absently. He caressed the unnaturally black ink that seemed to have etched itself into the parchment's surface. An acid perhaps? "No trouble at all."

Hekran is a wizard from the Free City. The child of a noble family, it was beyond question that he would be educated at the Citadel. He was fortunate to come from sufficient wealth to afford such privileged training, and doubly so to have practiced in the Free Realm. Where else could he pursue the intellectually rigorous form of sorcery that would lay bear all of nature's secrets to him? Where else would he not only be safe from persecution for studying necromancy, but actively funded to embark on a mission to acquire lost tomes in the Free City's north quarter. People from Hekran's background often feel a sense of entitlement, even to the point of self-righteousness. For Hekran, issues of class or politics are immaterial. He cares little about the cleric’s motivations for being in the city, or for the thief's treachery, or for the lives of his fallen companions. For Hekran, the thirst for mastery overrides all concerns.