Gheran bas Arbiram
In Eshtem history, none holds a higher, more revered place than Gheran bas Arbiram. Lord Gheran was elected lord of the Eshkar city-state in a time of troubles for the independent city-states and kingdoms of southern Utanar. The sorcerer-king Jalandhara's empire stretched over the northwestern third of the continent, mostly plains, steppe and mountains. It was clear to all that despite what his emissaries and diplomats said, he coveted the rich, warm lands to the south.
HistoryGheran was born into the prominent Arbiram merchant family of Eshkar. The Arbiram family owned vast farmlands and operated a fleet of trade ships that had made them one of the wealthiest families of southern Utanar. Aside from their wealth, the Arbirams were known for their serious piety. They had contributed more money and goods to the temples of Evran and the other Amati devas than any other family. Gheran was the third son of Jurman bas Arbiram who died when Gheran was very young.
He was a sickly child and was often bedridden. He was also very studious and had read most of the books in the large family library by the time he was fifteen. Being third-born meant that he was fated to serve as a priest in the Great Temple. Gheran accepted this fate willingly, since it suited his quiet, scholarly temperament. He was happy to let his bold, charismatic older brothers lead the family.
By the time he was twenty-four, he had already risen high in the temple ranks. Though naturally shy and introverted, he was found to have a talent for rhetoric and a special gift for understanding the feelings and needs of opponents and rivals and turning them into allies. Some whispered that in time he would end up being the youngest Pavitra to have ever led the Great Temple. However, that winter, disaster struck.
His eldest brother, Jurman the Younger, was found dead in his carriage, along with all of his retinue, while travelling south to the city of Ishvar on a trade mission. He and his retinue appeared to have been cooked from the inside, their eyes blackened, smoking holes. Gheran’s middle brother assumed family leadership, taking leave from his duties as a colonel in Eshkar’s army. Three months later, the same fate fell on him and his family. The Arbirams were not the only family experiencing this nightmare. Three other leading Eshkari families lost their fathers and brothers to this unnatural death.
At twenty-five, Gheran took his place as family head. The city was in turmoil and terror. Some were saying that it was a curse from Evran himself, punishing the families for their hubris. Others put the blame on the Vidvanya jen Dharmu, the powerful semiotic school. The Temples and the common people of Eshkar and of Utanar did not trust semiotic practitioners. It was seen as a perversion of traditional religious practices for profane purposes.
They used the power of symbols, many of whom were intrinsic in religious practice and folk practice, to construct new powers and effects, they distorted symbols, modified them or combined them in unusual and some say sacrilegious ways to effect their purposes. There were calls for the execution of the entire school and mobs in the street.
It was Gheran that spoke out for them. He could see that there was no sensible motive for the Vidvanya to have done this. Also, he knew that further more, they were his and Eshkar’s best chance of finding out who did do this and how to stop it from happening to anyone else. He arranged a joint council meeting between the great houses of the city, the pavitras of the Temples and of the Manishi council of the Vidvanya. The head of the Manishi, Nikhil Turegu, presented the findings of the Vidvanya after having examined the corpses. They were indeed semiotic attacks, but it was delivered by means of summoned Outsider spirits. Such was the trademark of the warlocks that served Jalandhara.
Over the next few weeks, the artisans of the Vidvanya constructed warding amulets against future spirit attacks from the servants of Jalandhara to be given to every authority in Eshkar. Gheran worked closely with Nikhil in devising semiotic wards for the city itself. In time, the two became close friends.
Over the years, Gheran grew in status and was elected Ward of Eshkar. He succeeded in saving the lives of thousands of Eshkari by constructing vessels that carried them across the ocean during the Great Exodus, narrowly avoiding the powerful magic that swept Eshkar and many other city-states from the face of the earth. In the new land of Kalmasa, he established the first city, @Alesh, and succeeded in helping his people establish a firm foothold in the new land that they would eventually come to dominate.
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