Ivan
(a.k.a. The Merchant)
Ivan, along with his trusty pack-bear, Mischa, is perhaps one of the stranger characters of the Imperium. By appearance he is very clearly a dwarf, and will tell you as much if asked. However he is not a member of any documented greater or lesser clan. He appears periodically throughout The Record over the years, implying he is exceedingly old; old even for and elf, let alone a dwarf. But The Record is suspiciously lacking on stories of his early years, let alone his origins. The Chroniclers do however hold him in the highest regard, given the number of documents and stories he has been able to provide them over the centuries. This has led to wild speculation ranging from him being in possession of an elixir of immortality, to him being some sort of demon or demigod, that he is some sort of manifestation of the concepts of trade and commerce, to perhaps the most outlandish version which claims he is an avatar of Primus himself. So far as can be determined all of these stories are pure fantasy and have no basis in reality, but that still leaves a gaping hole as to who exactly Ivan is and where he came from.
The Merchant, as he is sometimes referred to in older texts, famously roams the Imperium, appearing seemingly at random in disparate locations to do business with whomever he might stumble into. The only real constant seems to be that wherever and whenever Ivan might appear next, Mischa is sure to be close by.
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