Conrad Zaman

Human Cleric - Sage
Age: 32
Homeland: New Starbreeze, Bazagon City
Deity: Illus the Lantern
Alignment: Lawful Good
Suggested subclass: Light Domain

Conrad Zaman was born in New Starbreeze, one of the districts associated with the Astariad Order in the immense City of Mazes.

The Zaman family served the Order as scribes and record-keepers. They copied religious texts, recorded important judgements and maintained lists of citizens who had been born, married or died within the district. Conrad grew up surrounded by parchment, candles and arguments between scholars.

He was taught that every accurate record was a small victory over darkness. A forgotten person could be misrepresented, while a forgotten crime could easily be repeated.

When Conrad was twelve, the Infernal War began. Over the following seven years, Bazagon was divided between factions that resisted the archfiend Nergoy and those that joined him. Refugees arrived in New Starbreeze carrying stories of betrayal, destruction and infernal magic. Conrad and his family worked beside the Astariad sages, recording the names of the displaced and attempting to reunite separated families.

Conrad was nineteen when the war finally ended. The once-powerful district of Hightable had been left in ruins, and countless people were dead, missing or imprisoned. At the conclusion of the war, Illus was reincarnated and ascended into the night sky as the constellation known as the Lantern.

Conrad interpreted the appearance of the Lantern as a divine command: truth must not merely be stored safely in a temple, it must be carried into the places where darkness has hidden it.

He formally entered the service of Illus and studied with the sages of the Astariad Order. His education included history, religion, astronomy and elementary arcane magic. His Wizard cantrips and spell come from these studies, while his Cleric magic is granted by Illus.

Recently, Conrad discovered a damaged register written during the fall of Hightable. Several families had been recorded as traitors and servants of the Iron Seal, but a separate set of notes claimed that they had secretly helped people escape through the district’s labyrinths.

The final pages were missing.

Conrad believes those pages, and perhaps descendants of the accused families, may still be hidden somewhere in the ruins or deeper mazes. He left New Starbreeze to uncover the truth, clear the names of the innocent and recover other pieces of history scattered throughout Ichoros.

He now joins expeditions as a healer, scholar and chronicler. After every adventure, Conrad writes down what occurred and records the names of those who did not return.

Personality

Conrad is calm, polite and thoughtful. He asks many questions and regularly takes notes while other people speak. He dislikes exaggeration and becomes irritated when people treat important history as entertainment.

He has a quiet, dry sense of humour and is kinder than his serious appearance suggests. He believes knowledge should be used to protect people rather than control them.

Appearance

Conrad is a lean man with dark-brown hair, a neatly trimmed beard and several prematurely grey streaks around his temples. He wears practical travelling clothes beneath his armour and carries a shield marked with the image of a radiant lantern.

A waterproof book containing ink, spare parchment and carefully organized notes hangs from his belt. His holy symbol is a small brass lantern that produces a faint silver glow when he casts divine magic.