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Esra was born in Arx, the only child of a Scholar in a lesser branch of House Wyrmguard, second cousins to the current ruling branch. Bright, insightful and curious, the young Esra soaked up all the knowledge his parents had to offer, and then when he exhausted that his scholar father brought him to the Great Archive and so began a love story between Esra and all the ideas, facts and stories he could read. And read his way through the Great Archive he did, for years. Yet for all the Archive has to offer, Esra kept finding questions to which there were no good answers. Chasing answers is what got Esra out of the Archive in his late teen years, when he began spending a lot of time chasing down subject matter experts and witnesses of interesting events. Exploring and talking to people became as important as reading to expanding the young scholar's knowledge. It wasn't terribly surprising when Esra opted to join the discipleship of Vellichor at 19. His take on the religious side of matters is somewhat cerebral. He feels that ritual and liturgy are tools that people use to help reassure themselves, rather than something the gods need or demand for their own sake. He is honestly bored by ritual and less interested in the trappings of religion and the typical work of priests than he is in the ideals the gods advocate living up to. Esra believes that the domains chosen by the gods mean they want humanity to always be bettering themselves and enjoying the beauty to be found in creation. Thus his belief in the importance of going out and bettering the world directly. Esra's career has focused on field scholarship, and his penchant for resolving outstanding questions caught the leadership's eye even before his cousin Bianca achieved the Archlectorship. Today he works closely with Bianca as a reliable field scholar and has been known to gather information for other Archlectors and agents of the Crown. He is particularly interested in cases related to threats to the whole of the compact, mysterious deaths, and reported occurrences that don't make any sense.

This man's platinum blonde hair accompanies the pale skin of someone who doesn't spend much time in sunlight, accented only by deep blue eyes. A day's stubble draws an occasional contemplative rub. His gaze alternates between holding itself on the distance in thought and sweeping space as though looking for something to hold his attention. His uniform of choice is a white cloak over a white doublet with brass buttons and an embroidered gold quill over the right breast. Under the doublet he wears a high-necked black brocade shirt and black breeches. On his belt are a pen knife and several pouches. In his hand as he walks is a sleek black gentleman's walking stick with inlaid white highlights.

Esra is a kind and honest man well aware that he lives in an unkind and dishonest world. His drive is curiosity and a desire to seek out the knowledge that can make the world a better (or at least better understood) place. Part scholar, part investigator, part spy, healer, unofficial emissary, and survivor, he serves the ideals of the gods in his own unique way. He sees no paradox in that, or in the idea that sometimes honesty and good are best served by a carefully chosen deception. To Esra the need to better the world through uncovering knowledge will always be what lights the way.