Gurky Bogglewig

[amusedapathy]

As Elysia declares war on Drotid during the M'Chek-T'Nanshi War, a tiny figure — clad in eye-jarring shades of cyan and purple — arrives in Kitanya Hill. He gawks at everything he discovers, muttering intermittent exclamations of surprise in his native ganoom. After an unsuccessful attempt at chewing a cotton ball, he marches over to the nearest halfling and introduces himself: Gurky Bogglewig, member of the Guild of Onions and Onion Derivatives (G.O.O.D). He hails from Deglos and is a servant of Fegall, god of craftsmen and invention.

Though vaguely aware of current events, Gurky seems uninterested in the affairs of the tinischnauzen (non-gnomes) — inasmuch as they don't interfere with his personal pursuits. He joins the Guild for Advancement of Knowledge in Nature (AKN) soon after his arrival, living the war vicariously through his fellow apprentices. His open curiousity, scholarly nature and atypical gregariousness endear Gurky to many. His erratic nature — combined with a near-fanatical devotion to the so-called "Making" — is also a regular instigator of general bemusement.

Thus, for the larger part of the M'Chek-T'Nanshi war, Gurky spends his days teaching, researching and experimenting at a frenetic, hungered pace. Indeed, for most of his tenure in non-Deglosian Negaria, Gurky's sole purpose revolves around the Gnomefather's decree.

After witnessing first-hand the events of the Second Fairy War, Gurky joins the Ferrell Exploration and Adventuring Troup (FEAT). A natural, unapologetic coward and easily distracted, he wanders off in pursuit of his craft during patrols, and pursues an unreserved interest in anything arcane or potentially explosive. Nevertheless, he proves useful in his eventual role as the "Mender of the Wounds". Indeed, his battle training prepares him for his first act as a proper hero: the banishment of Se'Fassu and the sealing of the ancient Rift Temple in Ferrell.

Gurky's most memorable impressions don't involve heroics, though. While climbing the ranks of mastery, he offers lectures in all manner of topics to any that would listen ... often accompanied by cacophonies of alchemical proportions, transmogrified apprentices, smoking clothes, glowing extremities and — most of all — terrific explosions. Gurky serendipitously discovers a complex alchemical process which results in a tonic that wards its imbiber against elemental fury. Encouraged by this divine provenance, Gurky vows to gain the means to spread the worship of Fegall.

Years pass; Gurky dabbles in increasingly obscure knowledge ranging from artifice to zoology. He also turns to mercantile endeavours. Long before the first whispers of the next war, he joins Roe'Que Open Trade Enterprises (ROTE), eventually becoming a senior partner. His amassed fortune allows him to fund the design and construction of a shrine dedicated to Fegall, which he builds next to the Periwinkle Fireworks and Foghorn Factory in the city of Visimontium, Deglos.

This project becomes his sole interest for many years. Isolated and obsessive, Gurky divides his time between scholarly pursuits and overseeing the construction of the shrine. He visits a flurry of temples — from the cascading city of Derome Delem, to glittery Nutzdagezehesple — to deliver sermons and to receive wisdom. No candle is left unlit: consumed by his research, his interest in tinischnauzen affairs fades until his sabbatical is complete.

Eager to continue his education, Gurky returns south shortly after the Siege of Elysia and plays a minor role in the everyday affairs of both the Shaahesk occupiers and the besieged Elysians. However, his constant obsession with cataloguing every onion species — especially those of the outer planes — eventually compels Gurky to travel once more. His thesis — the discovery of the mythical Abyssal onion — remains to be investigated. Hefting his holy symbol — a brass cog, polished from years of bludgeoned blessings, the Fegallian heads back into the tunnels of his native Deglos, leaving a faint whiff of onions in his wake.