Laksarian the Yellow Mage (Petrichor 365)

Magic is a potent force across the Sea of Stars, it can be used in so many ways to do so many things that people are always seeking more of it.  There are schools of magic, masters teaching apprentices, and even a few people who learn the arts of magic from books and there are those who gain magic from their ancestry, and the rare few that make deals who other worldly powers for magic.

What route Laksarian followed to get his magic is unknown, he certainly does not talk about his past, and no one seems to know him from before his arrival on Petrichor.  But his magic is potent and he seems to have a great deal of money to spend to acquire knowledge and relics to make it even more so.  Laksarian has earned his name for two reasons, first, his magic manifests in shades of yellow, usually pale and glowing, and his eyes are a golden color, turning completely gold when he works magic.

For whatever reasons, he keeps to the more disreputable parts of Port Imperial when he visits the city and he prefers to hire assistance from new arrivals to Petrichor.  People without “preconceived notions” he says but many observers think it is because such people are more expendable and it is less likely anyone will ask after them if they do not return.  This seems a fair reading as his expeditions tend to suffer from high attrition rates but the survivors are well paid.

Laksarian is a large man both in height and scale, but for all his bulk, he moves well.  His skin is dark and his head is shaved except for a braided queue of black hair that falls to his mid-back.  His eyes, as noted, are a golden color and often seem distant and uncaring and his teeth are the yellow of old ivory.  Laksarian dresses in practical clothes in neutral colors, favoring robes in the city, and traveler’s gear outside of it.  His voice is soothing and he is knowledgeable on many subjects that magic touches upon.  Magic and the next expedition he has planned are all he is interested in talking about.

If Laksarian is in Port Imperial, he is recruiting for his next expedition to seek out lost relics and magical knowledge, and he is willing to offer generous terms.  Those who have worked with him before will confirm that Laksarian always pays . . . the survivors but he seems to always find the most dangerous places to explore.

Questions: Who, or perhaps what, is Laksarian?  Is he searching for something specific or just magical power writ large?  Where does he come from?  What is he seeking the magical power for?  I do not currently have any answers.  How would you answer them?

Notes: Mysterious, and semi-dangerous, patrons are always fun to have as available.

Petrichor 365.  Previous entry: Quills and Inks Next Entry:  The Razorman Killings

Image yellow gnarl by Piotr Siedlecki from PublicDomainPictures.net and is in the public domain.