Mar'elin Du'ristic

The grandmaster cartographer Mar'elin Du'ristic, the elven priest of Feyheart whom is the premier authority on Valerick, whom has explored the entire world, mapping the entiriety of the civilized world to the best of his ability, motivated by exploration and by discovery of cultures, reconnecting the peoples of societies of Valerick. Food and drink were his biggest passions, he loved to travel, to taste and partake in every culture within the nations of Valerick. For though there are but nine nations, to hear him tell it, rightfully so, there are many more truly cultural groups. Easily north of thirty, each with unique traditions, foods, drinks and behaviors. Those three things motivated him, discovering and experiencing different foods, drinks and cultural traditions. His thick tomes, Valerick, the Atlas and Traveling Guide to the Civilized Realms, is THE world atlas. All of them. He was extensive in his efforts, and spent his life travelling, writing, publishing, and it all came together in that culminative work. A fifteen tome extensive work of maps, descriptions, sights to see, cultural introductions and more. Recipes even, and simple but effective guidelines for any traveler.

Mar'elin even included local tall tales, noting places where rumors might point the more adventurous of sorts towards something worth exploring and somewhere worth seeing. He himself was not so inclined to risk his life wandering the more wild regions, though he did travel them carefully, generally well protected, along trade routes to get enough of an idea to map the areas properly. But though not absolutely accurate because of this, his maps and efforts are considered, far and away, the most accurate of such attempts, and it is his works which are used as the gold standard moving forward into the modern age for mapping standards across Valerick.