Keyfe Runesight

(I'm not sold on this name, feel free to suggest others.)

History

Upbringing

Kerric Stoneheart was an unexpected birth, born to aged parents who had long given up on having a child. Shortly after his birth his parents, both accomplished smiths, decided in their overwhelming thankfulness that Kerric should be trained in the divine arts, as a way of saying thank you to whatever god granted them a child.

From his tenth birthday onwards he was raised mostly by the clergy of Pious Point, but his parents were never far. They took great interest in his progress, and were very proud when Kerric discovered tomes describing divine runes and began showing a talent for manipulating them, an uncommon form of divine magic. Kerric himself found the runes fascinating, and strove to discover as much about them as he could, taking the name Runesight on his name day, formalizing what would become his calling in life.

Training

While it is normally within the practice of wizards that words are combined into magic, Kerric's upbringing was a very pious one, and he was convinced that such power must have a more divine origin, with arcane spells merely a faded copy of the original divine symbols that created magic. In his studies on the subject he was attracted to the teachings of Ioun, but unlike many of Ioun's followers, felt that learning the use of spells through arcane channels was an inelegant solution, likening the use of arcane spells to using words without first learning the letters that form them. After several years of research he uncovered what he was searching for. The divine runes of power, supposedly wielded by the gods themselves when forming the world. The correct rune or combination of runes could be used to describe the existence of any object or force, and thus create it at the same time. He learned how to handle the most basic of runes, knowing full well that premature attempts to form runes he does not yet fully understand could cause untold damage to both himself and possibly those around him.

Current Events

About five years ago Kerric learned of a wizard of considerable repute who had taken up residence in the city of Tragador. While normally Kerric's attitude towards users of the arcane bordered on disdain he learned that this particular wizard, one Devin, also had considerable knowledge of runes. Journeying to Tragador to meet with this wizard he found that Devin was not quite what he imagined, with many shady dealings and sketchy contacts.

Kerric was just beginning to question the wisdom of his collaboration with such a man when the occupation of Tragidor began, trapping him there, away from his family and colleagues. He has tried to continue his studies, but under the watchful eyes of the orcs and ogres it has been difficult.

It is Kerric's opinion that the occupation of Tragadine was part of some greater scheme, and not merely the result of the invasion coincidentally happening at the same time that the army was mobilized elsewhere.

Personality

A kind dwarf whose sheltered upbringing had left him unaware of the evils of the world, his five years in occupied Tragador has changed his outlook somewhat. His shock at the truths of the evils in everyday life was tempered by Dwarven stoicism and determination, changing what may have been a breakdown in someone more volatile into a clam resolution to help fight such injustices and protest unfairness.