Appearance

Nonam Firstorlast has a royal bearing. Not only are his features exquisite and stirking, but he also typically displays a look of haughty arrogance. In his first few years of studying magic, his rapid pace and willingness to try spells beyond his reach left him with a number of magical afflictions such as glowing fingerprints and color changing hair. He initially began shaving his head so the hair color would not reveal his emotions to others. Now he has cured his diseases, but he continues to sport a bald look.

Nonam went with the wizard in robes look early in his career, but he has recently abandoned it in favor of some more practical garb. Typically the wizard wears black leather pants of plenty and a loose black shirt. Beneath the shirt one can sometimes catch a glimpse of a mithril chain shirt. While adventuring about, Nonam wears a pair of fine black leather gloves, black boots, a black cloak with a silver lining, and a black skullcap. He likes to keep his color scheme simple.

The mage wears a good bit of jewelry. He wears 3 rings on the 3 middle fingers of each hand, beneath the gloves of course. About his right arm, he wears an armband fashioned in the shaped of a dragon. He wears a pair of matching bracers on his wrists, and an amethyst pendant hangs about his neck.

For weapons, Nonam carries a dagger tucked into his belt, and he straps a darkwood crossbow and quiver to his back. He also carries a small round shield that has been enameled black save for its device, a silvery lightning bolt. Foes are far more likely to see him cast a spell though. Indeed, he's only fired the crossbow twice.

Personality

Nonam is perhaps the most brilliant wizard of his age anywhere in the Wold. He's also one of the most impulsive. He's far more likely to react to a situation based on his immediate logical appraisal of the situation than with the use of simple common sense. Add in a healthy measure of self righteousness and a belief that he is always right, and you come up with a wizard who is typically at the front of a fight setting off traps while burning his enemies to ashes. In other words, he continually leaps before he looks.

The wizard cares very little about religious matters and would be an atheist if he hadn't personally seen some of the gods. As it is, he only accepts that the gods are more powerful beings than he is. As such, they are worthy of respect but not worship. As such, Nonam has something of a unique outlook on life. He dismisses simple concepts of good and evil out of hand. The ultimate humanist he sees that others do things for their own ends. When those ends cross paths, they produce conflict. Nonam seeks to protect himself, his friends, and the citizens of New Elenna, but he doesn't necessarily feel that it is the just thing to do. Just the most practical for the survival of his way of life. Of course, his own choices follow the path others would call good. So in this matter too, Nonam's powers of deduction clash with simple intuition and common sense.

Nonam knows that he is the leader of the Storm Dragons despite the group's public image. Gareth is officially the leader, but Nonam tells Gareth what to do. Generally, he points out the proper course of action, and then asks if Gareth agrees. This system worked rather well until the recent addition of the Clangden because the hard headed dwarf has his own opinions about things.

History

Preadventuring career: Nonam Firstorlast was found, an orphaned infant, by a pair of scholarly mages, Tiadan and Balimos. They took him in, named him (they thought themselves clever in this), and planned to raise him as an act of kindness. However, the boy grew. After a few years these two old wizards decided that they were not up to the rigors of taking care of children especially this one who was always asking questions and getting into their precious materials. This decided they sent him to The Academy of Wizards but not without a gift. They knew that the world could be a dangerous place and so they gave him an enchanted pair of bracers that would keep him safe and grow as he grew. The Academy was reluctant to accept Nonam because he was at most 5 years old and younger than most beginners by 3-4 years, but he passed all the entrance exams and Tiadan and Balimos were well known and respected so he was admitted. At the Academy, Nonam showed a surprising degree of skill. He was brilliant, and despite being younger than most of the other students he was well liked and accepted by all. Nonam enjoyed his studies, but by the time he was 7 he began to become bored. He was ready to advance and the instructors knew it, but they feared that his frail body could not hold up to the magics that he was wanting to learn. Nonam did not accept this, and he began to sneak into classrooms and the library at night to do extra research. He learned a variety of subjects in secret. He learned to speak and read Elven and Gnomish, the secret names of herbs, and many other wonderful facts. His instructors were aware of this, but they permitted it because to them knowledge was an asset.

This system worked for Nonam. He would take classes in the day and then study most of the night. He was the star student and a natural leader. However, by the time he was 13 he began to be bored again, and this time he began to read magic texts that weren't allowed to him yet.

He was very secretive and began trying to work the spells that he found. The first major spell that he began to work with was known as Burning Hands. He thought he had it figured out and cast it in his room at night. But there was a problem. The spell didn't work. It did, however, make anything that he touched glow for a few seconds. Nonam tried wearing gloves, but they did not stop the effect. Everything he touched gained his glowing fingerprints. He became fearful of what his instructors would do, so he locked himself in his room for several days trying to reverse what had happened. He could not, but he did learn Burning Hands.

When he came out, EVERYONE noticed his glowing fingerprints. They dissipated rapidly, but were most obvious. The headmaster called Nonam to his office. Shocked at what Nonam had done he expelled him from the school, and he went home to Tiadan and Balimos. They were saddened by the story they heard, but they unerstood. They allowed their adopted son to stay with them again. Tiadan and Balimos enjoyed teaching Nonam for several more years, but it became apparent that he was stealing their books, research, and components for his own experiments. Though it broke their hearts, they finally asked their young ward to leave.

When Nonam was 17, he couldn't ever keep a job for long and was chased from several villages due to his glowing fingerprints that seemed to scare the common folk. He sought only to gain knowledge from the world, especially knowledge of magic, as rapidly as possible.

The Three:
Nonam, Jus, and Gareth along with a few others who did not remain with the group were summoned by the Sage Loren Kennither of Edenmoor to deal with a troublesome wizard who had kidnapped a young girl. The group rescued the girl and dealt with the wizard, but more importantly Nonam, Jus, and Gareth struck up a friendship and continued adventuring together. They made their way to the Floating City and set up their home there. Over the years, Nonam has built a strong relationship with these two. He sees Jus as something of a younger brother, despite the elf's years. Primarily, this is because, Nonam's magical prowess is greater than Jus's. Of course, Jus is far more skilled in weapons than Nonam could ever be. Nonam has frequently referred to Gareth as his "favorite weapon." Nonam respects Gareth for his weapons skill and sees that Gareth can help in many areas that he can not. Onrad and Tericus joined the Three in those early days, and for some time these were the core members of the adventuring group. Nonam had something of an adverserial relationship with Onrad. For Nonam, the conflict initially began over differing views of witchcraft and Pantheon, but Nonam thinks that Onrad never really understood what it was about. In the end, the two became friends, but Onrad has since left the group to pursue other interests. Nonam likes Tericus for his mental abilities. He sees a kindred spirit in the priest, someone who is more of a thinker than a swordsman. He values the priest for his common sense as well.

The Storm Dragons:
The Three began to become more involved in the politics of Plateau City in the early years of the Dark Lord's influence. As such, they performed tasks for the High Lord Mayor Sturtevent. This eventually brought them membership in the Storm Dragons. As the newest member of the Dragon Consortium, the Storms have been one of the most active. They've handled many of the problems that have troubled the people of New Elenna directly while older groups like the Gold Dragons have been active confronting more distant problems in other worlds and dimensions.

As Storm Dragons Gareth, Jus, Nonam, and Tericus have been joined by the drow Addinein and the dwarf Clangden. Nonam has valued the experience of getting to know Addinein. Getting to know the drow has proven to Nonam that he should be tolerant of all things and all cultures, that it is people themselves that matter. Clangden is Nonam's newest aquaintance. Nonam admires the dwarf's forthrightness and sees a kindred spirit of sorts in the dwarf. Granted their outward methods are completely different, but Nonam sees a strength of will and a stubborness in Clangden that he likes. Of course, he does think that the dwarf drinks a bit too much.

The Storm Dragons were some of the folks at the forefront of the war against the Dark Lord, and now that it is over, they've settled down in the new Floating City. Nonam hopes they'll have a little time for rest so that he can sit and study. Afterall, that's his first love, not adventuring. Of course, he doubts that he'll get his rest.