Atury

Atury
Biography
Alias	The Glyphmaster, The Humming Dummy, Hummingbird
Gender	male
Race	human
Birth	{{{born}}}
Death	{{{death}}}
Affiliation
Rank
Role	sorcerer
Location	Atlicas, Errod, The Verges
Education	Academy of Runes, The Tamaligus
Family	Roris, Marna, Brion, Rivon, Sherrine
Features
Statistics
Appearances	RD
Mentions	GT

Atury was a Draol Mage who lived during the time of the Great Purge. He sought to escape the Purge by opening a Keldra Gateway, which erroneously transported himself, his throng of minions, a contingency of the Gruenish Army, which also had soldiers from the Aerylothian Army, to the world of Errod. He was one of the few remaining spellcasters left on Galwyndor at the time.

Biography

Atury Trumsole was born to parents Roris and Marna Trumsole. His father was a cordwain of the lower class in Terga, a large city in the kingdom of Sel Sarini. Atury was born deaf, which would prove to be a significant barrier for him throughout much of his life, but most especially his early years. He had three older siblings, two brothers (Brion, Rivon) and a sister (Sherrine). His parents did the best they could to provide accommodations for him, and it was his mother and sister who worked out creative ways of communicating within the family (something akin to a mix of sign language and written pictographs). From an early age he became fascinated with the written word, though none of his family members were literate, so he often imagined the meanings of words he saw. When he was old enough, he began helping his father in the shoemaking business. While Atury's sister was kind to him, his older brothers often teased and beat him.

Torrid Fever and Vorbright

When Atury was nine years old, an outbreak of Torrid Fever (typhoid) swept through Terga. His entire family caught the disease, but he managed to evade it. Given the time period, the only treatment was quarantine and rest, along with various herbal remedies to attempt treating the fever. Atury, at this time, began to show signs of being vorbright, or able to wield magic. This came about as he was able to alleviate the symptoms of those around him through what appeared to be intense focus, what some might have mistaken for a form of deep prayer. As he was the only healthy one, he would also leave their meager domicile to procure food and other supplies, where he would sometimes perform this partial healing for others. After the outbreak subsided, a local Eari healer named Pertus called upon the family, as he had caught word of Atury's natural ability. This healer was able to confirm Atury's vorbright status, but when he discovered what he called Atury's "affliction," he changed his mind about a possible apprenticeship at the Eari's Institute. He said it would be impossible for Atury to learn the ways of magic, given his condition. Not long after that, however, a different caller paid the family a visit.

Circus Nomadia Supernal

A man named Bluthor, who had also heard of the boy's talent, came and offered Atury's father a deposit of 40 gildan for the boy to accompany the Circus Nomadia Supernal. Bluthor had promised that Atury would simply continue doing what he had already done, and that a handsome wage could be sent back to the family monthly. Roris Trumsole accepted, and Atury left to join the circus. He was not, however, put to use as had been explained, but rather he became a sort of sideshow attraction. He was given the name Hummingbird because of how he would try to communicate with his hands, and they taught him to mime. The attraction was called The Humming Dummy; he would first entertain onlookers with a mime show, and then he would perform minor healing acts, which the carnival would charge "ten gillies" apiece for. The healing, because it was minimal, was often exaggerated as miracles, and other circus performers would user subterfuge and trickery to make people think that more had been done.

He was ultimately miserable in circus life, however. He missed his mother and sister, and because of his general distrust of men, he grew fond of one of the other performers, a woman named Desalia. She was a fortune teller, and she became a sort of surrogate mother to him. She helped him learn to read lips and taught him of other ways he might be able to one day use his magical abilities. Over the next four years, she also taught him to read and write. During this time, he performed small experiments for himself involving the use of magical totems that he made for himself for different minor purposes. The one he put to the most use, however, was his "hearing rune." Using the skills he had learned from his father's workshop, he fashioned a metal rune of his own creation, which he imbued with the ability to increase vibration from people's speech. He could direct its focus onto any person in his vicinity, and using the lip reading skills he had honed with the help of Desalia, he became adept at interpreting the rune's vibrations. In this way, he could "read lips" of anyone without even looking at them. This device would ultimately be what set him apart from other potential candidates at the Runesworn school, and they would grant him admittance due to his clear tenacity.

His experiences in the circus lifestyle led to his later affinity with the Spider Guild, which he leverages once he and his followers become displaced on the land of Errod.

Glyphmaster

At the age of 12, he became aware of the Academy of Runes, and he bided his time until the circus brought him to the city of Khundur-Dal in Maldenon. Whilst there, he send a letter to the headmaster, a dwarf named Iliva, petitioning her for acceptance into their academy. He told of his experiments with inculcation, specifically of the device he had contrived to enable him to understand speech. Their response was favorable, and they sent for him to present his device to the headmaster for demonstration. They accepted him on the condition that he cease his experiments and his creation of "unsanctioned runes." The headmaster herself got him released from his contract with the circus, and Atury would spend the next two years learning at the academy.

Thus, Atury began as a Runesworn Acolyte at the Academy, as he was deaf, which made rune work the most favorable of all the disciplines of magic. He was ultimately expelled, however, after being turned in by a classmate for continuing to create his own runes in secret, which were not part of the traditional symbols. He had invented a new written language to accompany the traditional glyphs, and used this language to encrypt all his notes. This he did as an homage to his mother and sister, who had created their own communication language when he was a child. Since the language was known only to him, any reference to it refers to it as Aturian.

After expulsion, he eventually made his own way to the Draol school, The Tamaligus, and was accepted there by direct edict of the Head of the Order, the Archmaster Orilac. Atury impressed Orilac because the Draol valued inquisitive students who pushed boundaries. Atury was ultimately called the Glyphmaster by the Draol for this reason, as he has not only mastered the traditional runes but the new ones he had created himself.

Notes

The Eari Stone that was wielded against Atury was the Meninar-stone.