Tasirol Lightfellow
Master of Alternation at the Great School of Magic
Alchemist of the First Circle
Member of the Scholars' Fraternity
AC 1016
"Nothing is quite what it seems, and if it iiis-well, there is nooo reason to keep it that way!"
Appearance
Tasirol Lightfellow looks like a tall and skinny man in his late fifties. He is actually nearing seventy but uses magic to stay a bit younger, like so many other wizards in Glantri. He has a very light complexion and supports an impressive gray mustache but no beard.
Tasirol is often seen carrying a heavy wood and leather case with a relative ease (It has been magically reduced in weight). He wears a schoolmaster's robes usually gray or brown in color. Normally he wears a small gray cap and holds a small plain-looking wand that he waves in erratic directions as he speaks.
Tasirol uses short words but on occasion stretches them over long periods of time. His students are usually amused when that happens.
Background
Tasirol Lightfellow hails from Fenswick, from a family that is reputed to produce powerful aeromancers and wizards with innate powers of flight, levitation, or even turning into a gaseous mist. Legend has it that the Lightfellow in Mystara was a Fen witch who learned to fly with a broomstick, or a falsely accused Kaelic nun who because of her piety could levitate at will. The truth is the Lightfellows have always been mediocre sorcerers, and the only famous Lightfellow in the past was the mundander Ambrose Lightfellow, whose claim to fame was his notoriously scandalous marriage to Lady Adelaide Merryweather, a true Air Elementalist and mistress of weather magic, the more famous Merryweather family. Nevertheless, the Lightfellows are respected as educated and learned folk, often serving as local teachers and leaders in the small Fenswick villages, and Tasirol's own immediate family is no exception.
Tasirol's father, Derillyn Lightfellow, though merely an average wizard (M5, LN), was a great teacher and educator. He was personally hired by Duke Edward Hillsbury to teach at the Fenswick Middle School, the first school at Fenswick which the patriotic Lord Edward founded. Tasirol's mother, Anna Lightfellow (B8, NG) was also a teacher, but in Krondahar, at the Jehangir Academy, where she taught children (many of whom belonging to the royal Virayana family) literature, history, and modern "Glantrian" ways. Both Tasirol's parents were very pleased when Tasirol qualified for the Great School of Magic at the age of 12. And they were even more so, when Tasirol pursued a career in teaching.
At the Great School of Magic, Tasirol was a very good student and was the contemporary of Herr Jaggar von Drachenfels, heir to the throne of Aalban, and fellow Fenswick compatriot, Lord John Beaumarys-Moorkroft. After graduation, Tasirol immediately got a job at the Great School as an assistant to the previous Laboratory Administrator Thierry-Marie de Forêt. Through his work, he first became acquainted with the Secret Craft of Alchemy and eventually joined its ranks. Tasirol took advantage of the fact that his job permits his full use of all laboratory facilities at the Great School—and the fact that only a few hours of work was required, since Mistress Thierry-Marie liked to everything herself. But Tasirol could not advance further in the craft's circles of power, because he was stopped by the Averoignian Alchemists of the higher circles. The focus of his studies and research thus shifted to his favorite school of spells, alterations.
Tasirol was amazed by the sheer number of alteration spells in existence, and he made it his personal goal to learn as many as he possibly could. Only after 30 years of arduous research was Tasirol content with the number of spells he knew. He concluded that there were no more major transmutations on Mystara that he did not know; any new spell he encountered is merely a variant or variation of the alteration magic he already knew and mastered. This is of course not true—There are in fact the spells of the highest levels, even some alteration dweomers, which are unheard of in the Great School of Magic—but Tasirol's arrogance is simply typical of a Glantrian wizard.
Nevertheless, the same bold arrogance is well appreciated among the other Glantrian wizards of the Great School. In fact, in the summer of AC 1004, Tasirol decided to simply march into the private study of Grand Master Étienne d'Ambreville and demanded the position of the Master of Alteration. Le Prince-Magicien gave a short "D'accord," and Tasirol found himself standing in front of a door leading to his new office. Tasirol did not realize until a few days after that amazingly short interview was that Prince Étienne had long thought of replacing the previous master, his scholarly but extremely reclusive (and ultimately ineffectual) brother Sire Charles d'Ambreville. Tasirol was nonetheless convinced that Grand Master Étienne had him in very high regard, enough to dismiss his very own brother in his favor.
So Master Tasirol Lightfellow began his new career with a few changes to the curriculum. He insisted on additional class hours for each of the numerous kinds of alteration. Of course, with so many different kinds of alteration magic, Tasirol proposed the reorganization of the School of Alteration itself into three minor schools: the School of Transmutation and Metamorphics (sometimes called "Classic Transmutation"), the School of Apportation and Transfusion (alterations focusing on the movement of physical objects, and even metaphysical qualities), and the School of Metamagic and Higher Transformations (spells that change magic itself and alteration dweomers), each to be lead by its own Master, making himself the "High Master" of Alteration. But in AC 1005, the Great War with Alphatia had just broken out, and the Maters at the Great School could not be bothered by these academic nuances, and the wizards of Glantri were mainly concerned that the school of alteration could effectively employ their magic at the war. (And they did, quite well.)
In AC 1008, Tasirol achieved a major breakthrough, by completing the research of a powerful new spell, sleepless nights and tireless days, which allowed Tasirol to sleep for only four hour a day and still be able to function at top performance and remember all his spells. (This spell does have its drawbacks though…) In the last decade, he has made life impossible for the students of the Great School, having them memorizing and practicing so much for transmutation classes, that in order to keep a decent grade, they will have to put less effort in all other fields of magic. This actually resulted in a reverse effect for the school of alteration; the number of pupils wanting to specialize in transmutation magic (whatever the specialist minor school) has dwindled to only one or two each school year!
This is not the last of Master Tasirol's problems. About seven years ago, he began seeing things that are not really there. Weird elephant-like creatures have been blinking in and out of from the corners of his eyes. The phenomenon became more and more common as the years past, but in last few months he discovered something about his delusions—other people could see them too! One of the custodian personnel had been with him in a hallway in one of his episodes and caught a glimpse of the creature, describing it as the most horrible thing he has ever seen (and he had been in the Alphatian War!). Tasirol is now sure that he is not mad, and the phenomenon is just part of the high magic concentrations around the school. This is not quite true.
Personality & Quirks
Currently, Tasirol has no other concern apart from his teaching position. The problem is his whole life is directed at just one field of magic, and he gives it all of his waking hours—which is almost all of them! He demands others to work according to his impossible timetable and Tasirol has become a very hard person to get along with. Tasirol is not unfair but is upset when the students and faculty do not share in his enthusiasm. Tasirol is not at all aware that there is something wrong with his speech sometimes, but many students have commented (rudely) that he stretches some words very long. Consequently, he tries to make all his words very short, resulting in a staccato of sentences with an occasional long sound, which is plain weird.
Tasirol lives by the transmuter's philosophy that everything can be changed, and that a wizard with a sharp mind and hard work can accomplish anything, and that therefore wizards are the most powerful things in the universe. They change and control the world as they see fit. When students argue that some things are preordained and absolute, Tasirol usually throws a fit, calls the student "blasphemer," "Ethengarian priest," and other nasty names. Then Tasirol calms down and shows the class a demonstration of spells that usually makes its point. ("Nothing is determined, nothing is fiiiixed. Not the color of the sky, nooot the light of the sun, not the very nature of magic!")
Web of Intrigue
Master Lightfellow has very little dealings outside of the Great School. He has no real friends, but has a good professional relationship with fellow Alchemists Bertok Garn the Master of Necromancy and Tobol Vlarostk the Laboratory Administrator. Tasirol actually looks to Master Tobol as a personal friend, since their early days at the Great School laboratories, and finds that Tobol's timidity and inferiority complex works well his own feelings of self-importance.
To his dismay, Tasirol is often opposed by the two teachers he respects the most, Mistress Marchesia Philipe and Mistress Rhogene Zelipieti. The former believes (like Tasirol) that her school of magic, Conjuration and Summoning, is the most important (if not most powerful) field of magic and that extra school hours should be hers, while the conservative Mistress of Abjuration does not approve of Master Tasirol's changes of the long-standing traditions of the Great School.
Tasirol is the unofficial and self-appointed assistant and stand-in for Grand Master Harald Haaskinz, Prince of Sablestone. Prince Harald does not approve of such an appointment and has a hard time persuading the other Masters that he is not favoring anyone. Prince Harald makes an effort not to be seen with the "High Master" of Alternation. When confronted on the subject, Tasirol usually gives out a comment like "If Grand Master Étienne were here, everything would different. He used to understand wheeeere I'm coming from!" Tasirol secretly counts on Étienne remaining persona non exista.
Tasirol joined the Scholars' Fraternity early after graduation and enjoys all the benefits of being part of this large concentration of experts. From the Fraternity has appointed three teachers under his charge, and gave them the title of Masters of Alteration (referring to the minors schools): Andrianna McFute (Transmuter 10, NG) is the "Mistress of Transmutation"; Roberto Jetistigno (Transmuter 9, LE) is the "Master of Apportation"; and Alexandria Fargo (Transmuter 12, CN) is the "Mistress of Metamagic." (Unknown to no one but herself, Alexandria is a disguised aranea from Herath, who escaped to Glantri after a near fatal incident of mistaken identity. Her aranea name is Alestesyss, and she often introduces many new and exotic spells to the Great School, earning Tasirol's wonderment and thus this esteemed position.)
Style of Magic & Combat
Statistics: 13th-level transmuter, Alchemist of the 1st Circle; Str 8, Int 19, Wis 12, Dex 13, Con 6, Cha 9; AL LN.
Languages: Thyatian (Glantrian dialect), Flaemish, Elvish (Erewan dialect), Fenswick, Draconian. (Tasirol has really only studied the dragon language, which may not actually be the spoken language of any living dragon in Mystara, but a hodge-podge of several dragon races, as understood by the haughty wizards of Glantri. Tasirol has never had the opportunity to apply his bookish knowledge to practical use.)
Weapon Proficiencies: none
Skills: alchemy, ancient history (Known World), local history (Glantri), spellcraft, geography (Glantri), herbalism, teaching (+2), monster lore (+2).
Tasirol is as committed as he can be to his own specialized field of magic and rarely carries any spells that are not from the school of transmutation. Because of the vast variety of spells that are available to him, he is never caught unprepared. Tasirol casts so many spells every day that he has not noticed that some of them do not work properly. He will probably find this out in the future.
In the rare chance of a combat situation (Tasirol has never fought a wizards dual in his life!), he will most likely use magic to gain a better position or change himself into a more formidable opponent. Later spells will be used to destroy the opponent or turning the opponent into a benign creature for handing to the law enforcers.
The wand that is often seen in Master Tasirol's hands is a rechargeable wand of light that has 100 charges when fully charged. This particular wand allows light to be produced in every color and is sometimes used for audience effect.
It is a peculiar fact (often asked by curious students of alteration) that the "High Master of Alteration" does not have in his possession a proper wand of polymorphing. The truth is Tasirol actually did own one before, but he found it was never as effective as his own polymorphing spells. In fact, Tasirol has long studied the legendary Alphatian sorceress Kersy, who could transform men to any imaginable creature with a mere flick of her own wand. Recently, Tasirol has discovered that that very wand is still in existence and within Glantri itself! The Wand of Kersy is in the possession of the noble Löwenroth family of Adlerturm, and Master Tasirol is wracking his mind on how to acquire it! (It is unlikely that Herr Rolf Löwenroth, the were-lion son of Baron Franz Löwenroth of Adlerturm, will easily part with it.)
"Who could believe a teacher could work so hard? But I just adore the way he talks, very...original."
(Lady Tereis Haaskinz, an instructor at the Great School and sister to Grand Master Harald Haaskinz)
Author: Ohad Shaham