Carter Geary
Master - Jewelcrafting
"I don't know if you can ever truly trust a gem cutter. Carter has thrown his lot in with that ruthless bunch of power mongers. He makes me think they might not be all bad though."- Merchant, passing through King's Bounty
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Carter has always been on the smaller end of humans. He's slender and short, perfect for exploring the caves of Crystal Kings as well as the dens and warrens of far of realms; wherever his gem seeking adventures take him.
Special abilities
Carter has spent enough time with gems to pick up on latent abilities that gems provide creatures made of the material. Just as gem dragons and Gem Golems use psychic abilities to attack and defend, Carter has become a low level psychic himself. Unable to read minds or influence people (those nefarious practices don't interest Carter), he has weak telekinetic powers and can cause intense if brief pain to those that would harm him. What's more powerful is how this psychic ability has paired with his good nature and tenacious belief in doing good in this world. Gems work with Carter. They believe in his goals and trust him. This Wyrd Magic can make gems coalesce into new monsters to defend the Jewelcrafter, form barriers to defend the nerd, or simply sing to him when he is sad. This is likely how he became such fast friends with Crystal King as well.
Apparel & Accessories
Carter doesn't accessorize, an oddity for a Jewelcrafter. Instead, he prefers to distinguish himself with fine clothes that often singe after the first use, given the hot and dangerous location he prefers to reside.
Specialized Equipment
Carter has few belongings. The few things he keeps with him at all times usually revolve around his profession (or obsession, depending on how you look at it). His glasses were created out of necessity. The merchants that litter the back of Crystal King are incentivized to bring Carter new and unknown crystals or gems. His glasses quickly determine if he's seen a rock of this classification before, if so what it is, and give a price to the merchant in a matter of seconds. The glasses also identify carved gems and their abilities. A ruby in the pommel of a dagger could be simple ornamentation or it could set someone on fire, a handy thing to know when dealing with merchants who may let greed dictate their actions over decorum.
The tome Carter carries with him has been his personal companion since he was a boy. Part research notes, part diary, the tome keeps all of the important thoughts that future generations will find useful or interesting. The animate tome records things automatically whenever it sees fit, which may or may not be the same time that Carter himself sees fit. The two have a companionable and at time exasperated relationship.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Carter was born into the courtly intrigues that define his profession. He is the bastard of a high ranking duchess in Agrium and the court Jewelcrafter. The civil propriety that permeates the higher echelons of Agrium made his presence unseemly and so he was quickly shuffled away into the quiet and nefarious life of an Novice - Jewelcrafting, rarely seeing his mother. Guided by his father who remained an Expert - Jewelcrafting, he quickly began to carve a name for himself within the guild. He focused primarily on jewelry and soon became a prolific crafter, leaving a new piece on his mother's bedside table once a week.
Unable to overcome the stigma his birth had placed on his name, he ventured further into the Gem Cutters Guild to break the court that had separated him from his mother. He was successful. He replaced his father in the Agrium court and devised a small coup led by the peasantry to overthrow his mother's liege. Replacing the nobility with a fledgling republic made that portion of Agrium easier to sway since peasants had little experience with the tactics and tricks the guild has honed over many years of practice. His mother's station was reduced to a humble merchant, joining Carter's father in the quiet peace that anonymity provides. The guild took notice of Carter's ability to reunite his mother and father, manipulate a portion of the famously rigid hierarchy of Agrium, and give the guild more sway in a country that had proven resistant to other courtly intrigues. His promotion was undeniable.
His family name destroyed, his family reunited, and his vengeful quest for happiness complete, Carter found his life empty. In his thirties, with no wife or family, and only his career and ambitions left to him, he started the questing that is required to ascend to the next rank within the Gem Cutters Guild. These quests soon became as much about discovering who he was as much as discovering the intricacies of his profession. In the elemental plane of fire, in the City of Brass, he found that Jewelcrafting wasn't just a means to an end, he truly enjoyed crafting. In Ashax at the Arcana Circus he found that he enjoyed the martial benefits that gems may give warriors as much as he enjoyed creating awe-inspiring jewelry. In the Abyss, he found that how you live your life means more than what you do with your life and tempered his ambitions with a need to improve the lives of others. In Ogavix, a marsh hag showed him that his one true love had always been his career. His life could be complete without a family as long as he had friends who were important to him and that he was important to. In Itand, he found a home.
He was 50 when stumbled into the Wandering Fields of Itand. He was 53 when he first met Crystal King. He was 55 when he presented not ten but 50 novel concepts to the guild for his promotion to Master - Jewelcrafting. Since then, he has been the master of King's Bounty, the Gemmed Cove that he runs on the back of Crystal King. There, he studies the new gems that are found nearly daily on the back of the magnificent August Elemental. He maintains the main path on and off the back of the magma elemental through the portal into Crossings inside King's Bounty. He has grown to love the elemental and helps to ensure that the creature isn't exploited. He plans to die inside his Gemmed Cove.
Education
The bastard son of a duchess in Agrium, he was educated by the finest scholars available in religion, magic, math, alchemy, and archery; thought the archery never truly took. His father meanwhile trained him to become a Jewelcrafter as soon as the boy showed an interest in pretty rocks and chisels. Soon, Carter took his education into his own hands as is expected of Jewelcrafters looking to advance in their careers. His mastery of Jewelcrafting is surpassed by few and he is extremely well liked within the guild, both because of his skill and genuine kindness as well as how that kindness has ostracized him from the political machinations and plots that run through Crossings.
Employment
He has always been a Jewelcrafter, earning his pay by creating jewelry early in his career and transitioning to creating gems to augment weapons and armor later in his career.
Social
Contacts & Relations
Carter has a vast and deep connection to many high ranking Expert - Jewelcrafting and Master - Jewelcrafting members of the guild. He maintains connections to Agrium as well, ensuring that his fledgling democracy remains established in the highly feudal system. His travels have created many unlikely connections, including Night Hags in the Abyss, archfey in the Fey Wilds, djinnis all of the elemental planes to name a few. He is well-known by all genasi as well because of his extraordinary connection to Crystal King. Crystal King's avatar can almost always be found in King's Bounty playing with some experiment or showing Carter some new gem it has created.
Current Location
Currently Held Titles
Age
75
Children
Current Residence
Eyes
Purple
Hair
Long tufts of white hair, blasted away from his scalp as if the tips were afraid of the roots
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Wrinkles and liver spots on parchment dry skin
Height
5' 6"
Weight
100 lbs, slight
Aligned Organization
Ruled Locations
Comments