Half Elf Wizard Enchanter/Controller
Name: Zanzaren Zharius (Nickname: Zan), Race: Half-Elf Age: 30, Height:5’10", Weight: 160 lbs. Hair: Dark black to the shoulder, Eyes: Deep Blue Skin: Pale white
Father: Belqinor Zharius (Human leather crafter in town)
Mother: Zelona Zharius (Eldar jewelry crafter in town)
Zanzaren (or Zan) was born in Eldarhaven to Belqinor, a leather crafter, and Zelona, a jewelry crafter in town. It was obvious from a young age that they had a lot on their hands. Their son was smart – extremely smart, and they tried their best to keep up with him. This was difficult because he was also a very willful child. Not really bad generally, just intent on doing what he wanted to do when he wanted to do it. They were saved by the fact that he loved learning. They could focus him on learning something and he would run with it. The only down side was that they had to keep coming up with new things to focus him on since he was an incredibly quick study (they often had to work hard to buy or borrow books from people in town for him to read). They each took a year and gave him the basics in their respective crafts it would have taken most two or three years to learn. After that, they pointed him at the local herbalists and healers and all the wonderful plants they used in their concoctions. When he was finished there, they followed with the local hunters and livestock growers so he could complete his study of the natural world’s basics.
Next they suggested he get an understanding of what everyone in town did that he didn’t already know, and he would either observe or talk to them (he was not a personable person generally, and totally unremarkable in appearance, but he had developed quite straightforward logical way of speaking to people that thay liked and responded to). Sometimes he would spend days studying either townsfolk or their animals. He would often observe hawks hunting rabbits in the nearby forests. As a scientist would (if such existed in this world), he put much more stock in actual observable, testable/verifiable data than in what people said, since he had found that people sometimes lied. Since he sometimes lied himself, usually to see what the person who he lied to would do given that information or to make dealing with people easier by telling them what they wanted to hear, he reasoned logically that he should put almost no stock in what people said unless it could be reasoned out and verified to be true (i.e. he is a high level skeptic of the first order). This skepticism also applies to the powers. He is not a skeptic of divine power (he has seen clerics do magic), but the jury is out on the existence of any particular diety since he has seen no direct evidence.
After Zanzaren had finished all of the history books his parents could get hold of for him to read, he reasoned that one of the wizards in the tower would probably have more, and that his parents probably would not have asked them. Therefore, he decided to ask one, and the head one at that. At the time, he was helping his parents with their crafts and trying to decide his way in life. Phil was impressed at his forthrightness and gave him a very thick history book. Phil was more impressed when he got it back so quickly. After speaking to him about many of the details and themes put forth in the book to verify he had read and understood it, he asked Zan if he was interested in engineering. Zan, being interested in all areas of knowledge, said yes and was given an equally thick book in engineering. When he brought it back in an equally quick time period and passed Phil’s questioning easily, Phil gave him a book on magic theory (arcana). Again, Zan brought it back in short order and was able to speak eliquently on the subject, and Phil asked if he would like to learn magic spells. Zan agreed, and thus began his apprenticeship, which was again shorter than was usual by a good degree. It included Zan getting one of the young hawks he had observed as a familiar. Zan has focused on enchantment spells and does not care so much for necromantic or illusion spells.
He thinks it is easier to make friends. Also, he finds the ideas of exploring in the ocean and in the ruins of Drowned Eldarhaven interesting, except for those pesky laws against the latter and the possible horrors lurking there. He would not want to wake up sleeping horrors and bring down disaster on the town, since this is his town, he loves it, and he would fight, and fight by almost any means necessary, to protect it. Still, if the town needs something done there, he will strive to be ready with his spells to do it. Currently, he is at least aquainted with the large majority of people in town, but he really has not many in the way of friends as he has so much to learn and do and does not set aside a lot of time for establishing true friendships, although most people who he talks to get along well with him since he knows how to speak to people very well. Zan is ready for some field work, to learn more that there is to learn and hopefully increase his magical knowldge and ability.