Chom Biitulaay (BEE-CHU-LAY)

"I have never made a claim to greatness. My works, my lectures, my discoveries all speak for themselves. Whatever gifts my life may give to Creation are for others to judge."
  -Chom Biitulaay, Reflections on a Life Lived Too Long, ch 9, pg 287
"Not only did (Biitulaay) never make a claim to his greatness, no one else did either."
  -Sorel the Elder, Commentaries on Commentaries, vol 3, pg 29

Often seen as a polarizing figure within the scholarly world, Chom Biitulaay nevertheless made several key cultural discoveries amongst all The Races of The Eight. His research and writings were instrumental in building a common understanding across all of Creation in the years after the Lasskyr Age of Exploration. He remains to this day one of the few people that has visited all seven extant continents as well as several of the islands of The Shattered.
Born into an aristocratic family in the city of Kyro on Lasskyrolia, Chom Biitulaay was groomed from an early age to work in the Leaders Assembly as a clerk and then as a future Assemblyman. He was described by his early mentors and teachers as highly intelligent and also highly distracted. With qualities like those it's not surprising that he had a falling out with his family in his late teen years.
The Age of Exploration was coming to a close. The Eight had been discovered and the geography of Creation was revealed in all its splendor. Young Chom saw the whole world before him as an unexplained question that needed answering. He felt the call of discovery and adventure. So he pooled some money together and booked passage to Ennostwell where he spent a year living in the city of Northpoint. At the time, Northpoint was mainly an inland river trading post. Although the Rennon were a gruff and unwelcoming lot, Chom's easygoing manners and smiling charisma won him acceptance. He was diligent about capturing the essence of the people and the area and he soon had a collection of pamphlets and artifacts that he returned to Lasskyr with. He quickly established himself on the lecture circuit and amazed both scholar and everyman with his discoveries. His ability as a showman started to overshadow his ability as a researcher and a fair amount of fame surrounded him. With his travelling shows, he had struck upon a method of supporting himself and funding his adventurous spirit. From that moment on he was in a race to see the entire world before age and mental decline got the better of him.
What followed was almost 40 years of journeys and adventures that were as groundbreaking as they were morally questionable. His written works number over 25 volumes on subjects from natural history, politics, cultural practices, and religion. He toured all the major cities of Creation with his travelling show where he displayed his collections and held talks that engaged and entertained. There were also no less than nine Writs of Court Proceedings where Chom was listed as the defendant; and that's just in Rennon and Lasskyr courts. The numerous stories of his sometimes violent misunderstandings with many of The Eight would suggest that there were several other complaints that never saw the inside of a courthouse. Chom claimed to have been wounded by criminals three different times and towards the end of his career he was known to walk with a pronounced limp.
There are many controversies surrounding his life. It seems as if every time he made a great discovery or accomplishment there was also some kind of drawback. For example, he is credited with capturing a covey of Clermin Doves and displaying them in Lasskyr City but has always denied any responsibility for the Plague of Avian Pox that followed shortly after. He brokered a peace treaty between two rival tribes of the San but claims not to have caused a ten year blood feud between them when each tribe lost an acrobat to an accident in one of his shows.
Towards the end of his life he spent most of his time on Malkwell in the city of Ennyi Dire. There he wrote his largest and most comprehensive written work, Reflections on a Life Lived Too Long (Strakepress, c.y. 8750). In it, he seems to acknowledge the various negative aspects of his travels while defending them as necessary in advancing our understanding of Creation. The last few years of his life were spent in his home city of Kyro as a kind of hermit. He died in c.y. 8754 and was buried in the hills above town.