Thalaestros the Mage
Race: Human
Age: 52 years Common
Sex: Male
Height: 5′ 9″
Weight: 175 lbs.
Hair: Brown, balding
Eyes: Blue (left) / Brown (right)
Skin: Light Brown, wrinkling
Other: Limp, 3 parallel scars diagonal (r‑l) on forehead
Public History: Among his nomadic people, mis-matched eye colors are the mark of either a madman, or a great magician. Thalaestros is the latter. He was apprenticed at an early age to the legendary wizard Balost, and has spent his life learning magic, finally being accepted as a senior member in the Royal League of the Arcane at the relatively youthful age of 40. He is respected as an excellent teacher and researcher, yet he, unlike many of his fellows, will break from his teaching and researches to aid the Black Duke as one of his agents.
That is because he owes his life to Duke Echarris, a tale neither will relate, and works to repay that debt with life-long service. The Duke, on his part, calls on his services only when they are needed the most. Part of that tale, so it is whispered by apprentices of the League, concerns the scars on his face and the twisted left foot that forces Thalaestros to limp, clutching his wizard’s staff as he walks. Thalaestros refuses to explain, and ignores any questions about them.
In addition, Thalaestros is widely known as “The Demon-warder”, part of a tale often sung by bards throughout the land. When he was only a journeyman, Thalaestros defeated what he thought was only a minor demon, saving the life of the father of the Queen. For that act he rewarded with a Royal patent of Baronet (the lowest noble rank), although he rarely uses the title, and it has no lands or income associated with it, which would only have had to be turned over to the League, anyway.
Private History: The debt he owes Duke Echarris is indeed his life. When Vorpatris, a wizard enemy of Duke Echarris, sent the spirit of the Duchess Echarris to wander the Shadowed Land of the Dead, the Duke and Thalaestros sent their own spirits into that fearsome land to retrieve her. Thalaestros was early into his journeymanship at this time, and was almost lost, but returned to the land of the living with the assistance of Duke Echarris. He then recognized a life-debt to the Duke, a debt which he can only repay by continual service until the death of one or the other.
Personality: Thalaestros gives the appearance of being a querulous, crotchety, slightly befuddled old man, but underneath it all is an intelligent, inquiring, and inquisitive mind. He is possessed of a wry sense of humor, given to complicated puns in multiple languages and archaic references.
Thalaestros is also an atheist, and has little respect for most religions and priests in general, a position different than from the rest of the League, many of whom are followers or priests of Dom the far-seeing. “The gods that Man makes for himself,” he has been known to mutter at times. This position, though not officially stated, is probably the reason for Thalaestros not being selected to sit on the official Council of the League. The only god or power he recognizes is King Death, the ruler and sole power of the Shadowed Land.
Relations: Of the others of Duke Echarris’s agents, he is closest to Vargos, recognizing a dedication to healing that parallels his own dedication to magic. He is constantly amused by Tameron’s superstitions, and has at times revealed to her forgotten or far-off gods just to see whether she would take up their worship. He considers Dargan to be dangerously unstable and violent, and Mathi to be too somber and cheerless. Andrianna has earned his respect, at least by her application of the magics she has learned as a priestess of Tasant.
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