PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1.95m tall, somewhat bent with age, powerfully built, with moderately long, dark brown and gold fur in a mottled pattern. He is noticeably graying around the ears and the back of his head. He has a mild, non-painful limp caused by a fall from a horse when he was 50, and he walks with a heavy black twisted root staff, which he knows how to use well, if threatened. He is amazingly strong and tireless for his age, if considerably slower and somewhat less agile. His health is excellent. He has a lovely baritone voice that in speaking exudes the calm assurance that commands attention and respect, and is particularly attuned to singing, which he does frequently. His age of 86 is comparable to a 65-year-old human.

PERSONALITY AND MENTAL DESCRIPTION: Of average intelligence, his storyteller's memory is bolstered by the detailed chronicles he has written. Like many of the old, he grows forgetful from time to time, but his wisdom and experience is respected throughout Felinio. He is physically impressive in the eyes of strangers, and could be said to have a fair level of charisma, although probably better described as just being a nice fellow. In nearly every town and village, he has friends and former students who will do nearly anything for him. He has a well-developed sense of humor, and has become a bit of a good-natured curmudgeon in recent years. He is certainly not a coward, and will never allow someone to be hurt without giving aid, but he is very slow to anger, and avoids physical conflict where possible. He does have a strange "way" with animals, not that he can communicate or influence them in any way, but they seem to sense that he is not an enemy, and avoid attacking him unless he attacks first, which he must occasionally do in defense of others.

FAITH, MORALS, AND MOTIVATIONS: He does not worship or actively profess allegiance to any faith, though he obviously lives according to the precepts of Caria. He respects and encourages all non-violent and positive religions, as well as any cultural ethics and mores that tend to help people. He feels that people are, at heart, good, even if their current acts are evil. Although he is unmarried, he has not been celibate throughout his life, and respects sexual feelings of all kinds as reasonable and private. He has never lost his curiosity, and wishes to explore, understand, describe, and write about everything. To stay in one place, no matter how much he is attracted to it, would soon bore him to tears. He is a true wayward wind, but he always returns. Contrary to his wanderlust, he also has a deep need to visit with his lifetime of friends, and though he would be hard pressed to admit it, he is often saddened by nostalgia for good times and past friends who have gone before.

CLOTHING & GEAR: He wears sturdy garb in the fashion of his Hyysian culture, and retains a fondness for the dark blue of his family's Carian background. He also favors a heavy blue cape that he wears when traveling in colder climates. He carries a sturdy pack in which he carries a few necessities, copies of his earlier journals, the journal in which he is currently writing, writing implements, a small knife safely hidden in his pack that is used strictly as a tool, not a weapon, and his g'hurda, a small concertina-like musical instrument from far away, given to him by sailor friends. His characteristic walking staff is very sturdy, fully 6 feet tall, and made of a jet black, twisted root. He wears a pair of sturdy walking boots to his knees, and no hat. Also within his pack is a small case that holds herbs and medicines that he has obtained in his travels. And like a small child, there are the inevitable small objects that he has picked up out of curiosity. He has left many of these at his sister's home over the years, all fully documented!

LIKES & DISLIKES: Minet very much loves music of all cultures and periods, and has both the ear and the memory to pick up and remember tunes that he heard long ago. He often sings to himself while traveling, especially when alone. When walking, he is even known to pull out his g'hurda, and play. Once, he tried to do that while riding his horse, and the result was the spill that broke his leg and resulted in his mild limp...not to mention unnerving his horse! (Not every being loves accordian music!) As to food and drink, he favors fowl and seafood, and has developed a liking for Rygan redbread. Although brought up in a family where fine Hardonas wines were served, his tastes have evolved to where he truly prefers ale, preferably the "Sailor's Ale" which he learned to like in Rygan. Eike, many years ago, introduced him to coffee, and he truly appreciates it, whenever he can get a high-quality, strong brew. He does not particularly like distilled spirits, although he can nurse them to be social, and often refers to drinking tea as, "that obnoxious habit of soaking leaves in water and pretending they taste like anything!"

FATHER: Duveteux (DU'-VE-TOO), born in a small town near Olvaax, into a poor but intelligent family who suffered greatly at the hands of the Woodsmen. At the age of 15, after his parents were killed in a contrived accident, he made his way east to Rygan where he met Gammel Haarbal (GAM-MEL' HAR'-BAL), an elderly teacher and minor Carian priest, who took him into his home as an apprentice. He later became a teacher of writing and history, and ended his days as the chief librarian of the Temple of Caria in Hyys.

MOTHER: Mulotte Chiquere (MOO-LOT' SHEE-CARE'), granddaughter of Gammel Haarbal, was born in Hyys. Raised in the shadow of the Temple of Caria, she followed her mother into the priesthood at an early age. Her father was an obscure artist who died young, and about whom little is recorded. Mulotte met Duveteux at her grandfather's home, and married him soon after, when both were 19. Mulotte still lives, although very frail, in retirement at the Temple. She is considered a very wise and prudent advisor, often called upon to consult with the young women of the order.

SIBLINGS: A twin sister, Dryade (DREE-ODD'), still lives in Hyys where she is well-known as a mystic and visionary, although she retains few ties to her church. She and Minet remain very close, and consult each other on all important matters. A far younger brother, Esquiver (ES'-KEY-VAY), is a shadowy figure who has traveled extensively, appears notably wealthy, and keeps secret the details of his life. He appears from time to time when least expected, and often not for the good.

CHILDHOOD

As children, Minet and Dryade were inseparable. They were educated at the Carian Temple by their parents and the other clerics. Both were outstanding students, with interests ranging the full gamut of feline experience. At the time of their coming of age, they were blessed by Borgan Sor, the Carian High Priest, who passed through on the way to a dedication of a small fortified monastery a day south of Hyys. The famous cleric singled them out, and predicted that they would follow unique paths to greater achievement.

Although both were in full agreement with the tenets of Carianism, their interest was from an intellectual point of view, rather than a matter of faith, so neither Minet nor his sister chose to follow the priesthood. His inclination was to teach, while she had a natural affinity for the mystical arts of the clairvoyant. Both had from early age had a natural curiosity for everything they encountered, thus never wished to specialize their training.

HIS YOUTHFUL ADVENTURES

At the age of 20, Minet joined with a group of 3 young felines and a half-elven youth, all with like inclinations, and the five set out on a quest of curiosity fired by a common dedication to seek out others different from themselves and share experiences and ideas. Their motive philosophy was that everyone is both teacher and student, and that the most valuable members of society are those who expedite the exchange of knowledge. The members of this group, in addition to Minet, were:

Plaisantin (PLAY'-ZAHN-TEEN), male, age 18. A short, fat young feline of patchwork color, he had been abandoned as an infant, and had been brought up at the Carian Temple when rescued from an abandoned house. From his earliest years, he had been Minet's constant companion and best friend. He was talkative, humorous, and his unique ability had always been to ingratiate himself with all who came in contact with him.

Muette Auditrice (MEU-ET' O'-DA-TREESE), female, age 24. A very attractive, tall feline, pure white except for a black patch over her left eye. Daughter of a noble family in Hardonas, she grew up in relative luxury, and early-on understood the political and the less-than-pretty underside of Hardonas nobility. Very reserved and quiet, but abnormally alert, very little going on around her ever escaped her notice, or slipped her memory.

Eike Eventyr (EYE'-KEH EV'-EN-TEER), female, age 20. A jet black, wiry, feline, spare and of below average height. Unlike her educated companions, Eike received her education on the streets. She had been born far to the north, on the southern edge of the Qitlan Wastes. Her parents, sailors and traders, had plied a profitable shipping operation between Port Haliv and the capitol city. She had been sent on a long voyage that took her, for the first time, to Rygan. She immediately was attracted to the south and remained behind, much to her parents' unhappiness. There, she met Dryade, Minet's sister, who was studying there for a year, and ultimately traveled with her to Hyys. The stories of Eike's trading adventures did much to urge the others to travel widely. Unlike her companions, Eike enjoyed combat arts, and freely taught them. She was the acknowledged leader of the group.

Kjekk (KYEK, one syllable), male, age 16. Of mixed human, and elvish blood, Kjekk was born somewhere in the forests that lie to the west of Hyys, of a family whose roots go back to Ishon Island before the wars. Seen from a distance, or from behind, he appeared to be a normal human of average height and stature, but as he turned, his appearance was striking and unforgettable, with a long, narrow face and nose, with a pencil-thin mouth, and piercing, almost hypnotic, widely set, large black eyes, all of which was framed by a luxurious mane of red hair. Proud of his heritage, Kjekk had an uncanny ability at language, and was able with minimal effort to pick up a strange tongue, almost as if he could read the speaker's mind ... and perhaps he could.

Minet, in this company, was the chronicler. Never without his journal, he wrote of everything they experienced and learned in their travels.

When the group set out, they were pretty naive about what they would encounter. Idealistic, enthusiastic, and fearless as only a group of young folks on a "quest" can be, they had much to learn. Kjekk had to learn the hard way that beings of mixed parentage were seldom fully accepted or trusted by the pure-blooded living around them. Muette soon learned that she would often hear things she did not wish to know, and for a privileged feline used to having her feelings taken into account, strangers were not willing to accept her interference. Eike, a natural leader from childhood, had to recognize when it was more appropriate to follow.

Minet, dedicated to the pacifism of his early training and background, had to understand that the Carian principles against violence were fine if you happened to be a god, but for beings living in a violent world, even a patriarch needed to know a few things about self-defense. He also learned, by acquiring a number of bruises, cuts, and sore muscles, that Eike delighted in encouraging her tall friend to be a bit more alert and aggressive than he had previously ever wanted to be! Although he had a strong aversion to the bloodier weapons he had seen, Eike was able to convince him to wield a mean staff, if for no other reason than to avoid having her shave the fur off various parts of his body ... a little trick she was very good at, and she seldom drew a drop of blood! It was Eike that fashioned for Minet his prized twisted root staff, and taught him to use it, along with the cloak his usually wore, in a style very similar to the Imperial style of long swordsmanship. Although his proficiency became very high, he remained humble about it, firstly because he still felt in his heart that such a violent skill was somehow shameful, but secondly (and moreso) because he was seldom able to consistantly best his little friend, who always had a new trick up her sleeve.

This group of comrades traveled the length and breadth of Felinio for 7 years, setting foot in every region, making a few enemies, but many friends. The urge to settle down, however, finally overtook the small band. After his first visit to Felinio City, Kjekk was "never quite the same", and when he was given the chance to take a position with his father's well-established leather trading firm in the capitol city, he did so. It was not long after that Kjekk became enamored of a young elvish merchant from Elf Holding, and with her became involved in the caravan trade, moving continually between Felinio City, Elf Holding, and Yalicia. He, his wife, and several children settled in Felinio City.

In that same year, Muette teamed up with Ouvrange DuRoq, a young Mithran cleric and friend of Dryade, and the two young felines organized and assumed leadership of a small communal settlement of nearly 150 displaced and disheartened worker-refugees escaping urban poverty in Rygan, and anxious to begin life anew. Her intensity had turned to the living conditions of the poor, and her charisma among those people had not escaped the notice of the leaders of the Hegemony and the Rygan Merchants' Guild. Through the influence and training of Ouvrange, she soon began training as a healer, and has strongly accepted the Mithran faith in which she would ultimately become a cleric.

The three remaining adventurers continued their travels for three more years, but some of the energy had left them. After serious battle injury cost Eike her left hand, and the sight in her right eye, and she rejoined her parents and siblings who by then were operating several businesses in Port Haliv. Only once in these many years has Eike actually visited Minet, that being a rare business voyage on one of the ships she owns, that sailed into Rygan during a period when Minet was teaching, again, among his beloved sailors' families.

Plaisantin and Minet returned soon after to Hyys, where they stayed with Dryade, with whom they had maintained close contact. To Minet's surprise, Plaisantin and Dryade, who had know each other since infancy, suddenly fell deeply in love, and they married. Only Minet, at the age of 30, retained the wanderlust, and continued his roving existence, well, at least for a while.

FELINIO CITY

Having passed through and spent a few months working among the people of Felinio City, he decided to make that his destination. He was fascinated and somewhat taken aback by the differences between the truly urban culture of the capitol and the attitudes of the provincial cities with which he was more familiar. He soon found a position working among the diverse peoples of the district in the shadow of the docks on the River of Adventure.

Hired as schoolmaster to teach the children of the sailors who called Felinio City their home port, he found great pleasure in the company of people whose travels had taken them so much farther afield than his. For the first time since his happy years in Hyys, Minet began to understand some of the benefits of a more settled existence. Within two years, his reputation as a scholar had grown throughout the capitol city, he was beloved by the children representing every race on the continent, and he reveled in the comaraderie of global adventurers. In fact, for a while, he seriously considered enlisting as a merchant sailor.

Master Tration Kyster, the (human) Lord Historian of the Empire, was one of his first acquaintences, and continues to be one of his main supporters and partner in research. He lives in the noble quarter, in a smaller mansion (family inheritance, he's poor...), and is administrator of the Grand Felinian Museum in the Docks District. He is married to Fenata, and has two sons.

The Theatre of Enlightenment featured a very successful troupe of actors, "They Who are Others". They were four men, six women, and they soon came to admire Minet's sophistication and excellent education. This would be the first time Minet's name would come to be known by a wider segment of the populace. Their leader was Jospassis of Graech, who was actually from Yalicia.

One of the merchant families that valued Minet's services in teaching their children were the Brandics (human). Grater Brandic owned the Royal Company of Paaz, and was in Felinio City for about four months out of every year. His children were especially curious and offered great potential. 1 boy (Cyard), 1 girl (Valina).

Another merchant was Dublo Thalawan (catling). Although he always said he was one of the owners of the Tigoland Trading Company, it was well known that the true owner lived somewhere in the Union of Robaryl. He spent much time discussing his company's policy in Felinio with Minet.

At the Emperor's court itself, Minet knew three specific individuals. Sarkanian IV had never really "met" Minet, save a single brief episode, although he was the Emperor at the time.

First, there was Gond Amrodiac, of the Emperor's personal council. Although somewhat superficial, he was, for some time, knowledgable on the activities of other wizards around the continent.

Sentus Brull was a young researcher, and had recently left the Gray Wizards to have sufficient time to complete personal projects. This peculiar wizard was greatly valued by the Emperor and his closest advisors, but he didn't seem to know this. Instead, he went about his business, informing the Emperor of any breakthrough finds he would come upon, either scientifically, or magically. Brull was very interested in witty conversation, and spoke to Minet many times at the Thirsty Dragon.

Prime Jora Daniver was, at the time, the offical Lumegan contact to the court. She was fond of Minet's intellectual approach to Carian principles. It was Jora who introduced Minet to Sarkanian IV on a single occasion, and the Emperor enjoyed the brief conversation.

On one occasion, Minet spent the night at the Thirsty Dragon speaking with an intriguing stranger. Not too tall, with dark hair and a well trimmed beard, the human wore black leather armor and a dark cloak. He also had a strong voice, probably well suited for singing...in fact, as the night (and the mugs of ale) wore on, he began singing quietly to himself, a hauntingly strange melody in a foreign tongue. Minet remembered the melody, and has for years played it on his g'hurda, although never knowing its title or words.

They spoke through the night, and this man's knowledge and intelligence were unbelieveable, and certainly unnatural. The subjects ranged from politics to religion (he spoke of the gods in a peculiar way) to history. If one did not know better, they would say he had witnessed events of the distant past...

He said that the conversation would continue some other time, and that, if Minet ever should need the help of a friend, he should ask Glorm Beastsmasher for "Osion"...

Having won a small bet with Dublo Thalawan, he was given a small corner of Thalawan's urban property. Just big enough on which to place a tiny structure, Minet had built a small house with his own hands, the first time in 12 years he had not had to prevail upon friends to house and feed him. He had found a home.

LAURIANE

Minet had been in Felinio City for about 4 years when he met Lauriane Du Nord (LO-REE-ON' DU-NORD'). She was lovely, a human, at 1.89m tall, nearly as tall as he. Her glossy black hair hung lushly to her waist, and her green eyes sparkled with the gleam of native intelligence and a natural mirth. She had recently arrived as an emissary to the court of the Emperor, from the Merliad Military Confederation in distant Felifur, a distinct honor in that basically male-dominated feline society. They met when Lauriane brought her 8-year-old son, Alain (AH-LEN'), to the house of the great teacher whose fame had even found its way to the Royal Quarter.

Her husband, a high official of the Confederation, had been the victim of an unsuccessful barbarian assassination attempt on the Supreme Commandant, in which six of his major advisors lost their lives. Alain was only 5 years of age, and the death of his father affected him greatly, endowing him with a desire for revenge that seemed excessive in such a small boy. From that day, his interest in weapons and war took total control of his life, and at 8 was well on the way to becoming an expert with long sword and gauntlet, and had been promised a place as a student of forward combat as soon as his age and strength allowed it.

Although considerably older than Minet, at 40, Lauriane was immediately drawn to the dynamic young teacher, and throughout the four succeeding years, even young Alain came to respect the smiling feline whose skill with his walking stick seemed always to exceed the boy's growing skill as a swordsman. From Minet, Alain learned a great deal about the world and the conditions and beliefs that brought the many cultures to their current stages of their development.

The relationship of the three, while not public or acknowledged, became very close, to the delight of all three. But the happy years were soon to end. The Confederation suddenly recalled Lauriane, giving as their reason only that a dire emergency had occurred. With 24 hours, the emissary and her now 12-year-old son were on the road to Felifur. It was nearly three months before a message arrived at the court that they had not arrived, nor had any attempts successfully traced the whereabouts of the pair and their royal escort.

Subsequent investigation by both governments found the remains of several of the soldiers of their escort in the forests a couple hundred miles west of Felafoxe, with obvious battle injuries. No evidence whatsoever was found as to who had attacked them, nor was any trace of Lauriane and Alain found. The common rumor was that they were the victims of the Central Clans, however fear of those groups was such that in that area, they were blamed for nearly everything!

THE FELIFUR MISSION

Minet was devastated, and immediately set out on his own for Felafoxe on horseback, a journey that would ultimately occupy him for two full years. Arriving at Felafoxe, then on to the site of the ambush, he found few if any people who knew anything about what happened. But he also sensed great reluctance on the part of government officials to even speak of the episode, so much so, that he became suspicious that something strange had happened. Deciding that further inquiry here was fruitless, he made up his mind to go to Felifur.

The trip to Felifur was surprisingly uneventful through territory normally reputed to be highly dangerous. When he arrived, he found a wall of silence, comparable to what had occurred in Felafoxe, that surrounded the entire affair. Further, he could not find any officials who would speak to him about Lauriane, although their attitude was generally friendly. After months of unsuccessful attempts, he encountered an official named Delvas Bok who indicated that Minet was mistaken, that no such person lived in Felifur, nor had any such person ever been associated with the Confederation. Further, he gave the definite impression that government officials did not need to have their time wasted by such foolishness. Curtly dismissed, Minet found himself escorted to the street, surprised at the attitude he had just encountered. But he was to be further surprised when he found that nobody, not even officials to whom he had spoken affably a few days before, would see him. In fact, the doors of the city seemed to have been suddenly slammed in his face.

With the help of an aide to the Supreme Commandant, Sir Trepur Chang, Minet was able to discover sketchy information about Lauriane's late husband, but soon thereafter, Sir Chang was implicated in a plot to murder the Supreme Commandant! Imprisoned, he was offered the option to (1) spend the rest of his short life in a cell; or (2) take up a post in the distant Calioz Islands. He opted for door #2. Within a week, Minet as approached by an unnamed feline, well-spoken, and obviously well-armed, who indicated that it would be better if Minet were to return to Felinio City, and relegate the matter to the dustbin of history. To underline the suggestion, he escorted Minet to his quarters, where his possessions were gathered, placed upon his horse, and on to the southeastern road at the edge the city, where it was further suggested, that Felinio City lay in "that" direction, and that all other roads led to the home of Lumega!

With a combination of sadness, anger, and frustration, Minet bowed to the inevitable, and left Felifur. Making his way back through Felafoxe he was about half-way from there to Felinio City when he encountered a rather pleasant-looking dwarf wearing the dark green robes of a Dvergian priest. The cleric addressed Minet by name, and indicated that he had a message to pass to him... "You will not find her. Do not think badly of us, as she and I have also gone in separate directions. Where I serve, you are not welcome, but think not that I bear you any feelings but respect. A." Having delivered his message, the priest bade Minet a safe journey, and, just before melding into the surrounding woods, he quietly spoke one word, "Osian". And he was gone. Where had he heard that name before? It sounded so very familiar.

Again, Minet's remaining trip was uneventful. In Felinio City, he visited for a few weeks with friends, including Kjekk, who had known Lauriane and Alain fairly well, telling him the whole story of his experiences in Felifur, and of the strange episode with the cleric, and the message he delivered. Then, within a week, Minet was again on the road, returning to Hyys.

STUDENT TEACHING

It was good to be home, living again with his beloved sister and her husband, the best friend of his youth. Through the intercession of his mother, recently elevated as a patriarch of the temple, Minet, at age 46, entered the service of the temple in the role of what today would be a "graduate student". Entering into advanced studies with the temple elders in what his mother thought would encourage him to enter the Priesthood, his acclaimed teaching ability was applied to the young children of the temple, along with a selected number of promising Hyysian children who were admitted to his classes.

One skill that Minet had never pursued was the clairvoyance so evident and powerful in Dryade. Those around him were convinced that the talent was latent within him, simply because they were identical twins. It was at the time of the death of his father that the talent manifested itself. Found at his desk in the library by Dryade, her mental reaction was so focused and violent, that Minet, who was teaching a group of students in the other end of the city, suddenly knew that his father had died, and that his family needed him immediately.

As it turned out, Dryade and Minet had communicated by this method since they were born, even across long distances, but it took that dramatic episode for Minet to recognize it as anything but natural thought. He immediately entered training, and was able to somewhat increase his skill. While able to communicate intentionally, clearly, and easily with Dryade, no matter how distant they were from each other, he never advanced beyond an elementary level in applying his skills to others. He could vaguely sense a person's emotions, not evident to others, and found that one of the reasons he was considered a good teacher was his ability to concentrate the attention of his students upon what he was saying.

After only two years in "academia", however, the itch began to nag at Minet, and again, he was ready to move on.

THE LAST 40 YEARS

40 years later, Minet is famed as a scholar, peacemaker, and writer. He has established two schools, one in Yalicia, that is dedicated to the study of history, geography, and cartography. Known affectionately as the Sailor's Academy, Minet has broken with the tradition of staffing such an institution with academics, preferring, instead, to emphasize the knowledge and experience of retired sailors, traders, and the occasional well-traveled government official. The school's graduates are prized as candidates for diplomatic and merchant positions.

Minet's second school was actually founded in his name by Dryade and Plaisantin, who both teach and administer the acclaimed Academy of the Free Mind, which receives financial backing from the Carian Temple. Disciplines taught are related to the enhancement of mental powers (both mystical and academic), the search for knowledge for its own sake, writing and graphic arts, archival research, and the art of book production.

Minet's journals had been carefully collected by Plaisantin and Dryade, and all have been painstakingly copied and the originals placed in the library of the Temple of Caria where his father served for so many years. The Academy takes the responsibility of publishing the journals under the title "Chronicles of a Wandering Mind", and several of the volumes have become standard textbooks throughout a large part of the Empire for the study of Felinio, its culture, peoples, and geography. Minet carries several small, firmly bound copies of the more popular volumes, leaving them as textbooks especially where poverty prevents the establishment of libraries and the purchase of books.

Able to move about among virtually all the races and factions of the continent, he is welcomed as a friend and guest by the common people of most of the large cities, and many of the villages and towns. In Felinio City, his fame even extends to the court of the Emperor, where he is known to several Supreme Councilors who have had members of their own families who have studied with him.

He remains in one place for three to six months at a time, usually assisting local teachers and some of the more interesting children. He often joins temporarily with bands of younger folks who have the urge to experience their own adventures, and they retrace some of the paths he has so often trod. But since his search for Lauriane, he has never traveled the road from Felafoxe to Felifur.

All of his former comrades are living, and all have children and grandchildren. He often stays with the families of Kjekk and at Muette's monastary when teaching in their towns. As for Lauriane, Minet is convinced she has died, and he has never again encountered Alain.