Douglas Bridger

Professor Douglas Bridger

Magic is the greatest gift given to the world. It allows the impossible, to reshape the world in our image, subdue it and make it ours. And yet, it is something not understood. For a long time, the answer was simple: The gods gave magic to us, to enable our greatness, to allow us to reach this apex of civilization.
I have come before you to disagree about this. More so, I have come to tell of the true nature of magic. It is not divine, it is not of a higher plain. It is a force like gravity, subject to the laws that govern our world, a natural part of it, with or without the divine.

---

Douglas Bridger in his first lecture at the Prandian university

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Humble beginnings

Born to a family of dwarven merchants in the city of Blakewood, Douglas Bridger was fourth of six children. Unlike his siblings who showed decent mercantile talent, Douglas showed comically little potential, being both naive and distant. To his predicament, he was hated by his siblings, who thought him to be a disgrace on their family.
To prevent his fall into obscurity and possible poverty, his parents tried desperately to find a field of study that could fit him. To their luck, the newly emerging field of archeology proved a perfect fit for him, as he was enthralled by the possibility to search for the unknown and uncover long-lost secrets. More so that he had an uncanny ability to find things of value. So, after a youth dominated by private tutors and study trips through the surrounding countryside, he was sent to the university of Prandia to study archeology. There, under the tutelage of Robert Darl, he became the star of his generation. Easily sucking up all the knowledge offered to him, he became Darl's favorite student, who offered him the chance to join him on his excavations, once he finished his formal education. Douglas did so in record time with extraordinary evaluations.

An active archeologist

The following years continued to be an unbroken string of successes. Darl managed to excavate some of the most prized artifacts of the known world, many of which would have been lost without the keen mind of Bridger. But this idyll came to an end during an expedition into the northern wastes. The expedition managed to arrive and search some of the ancient tombs of an unknown civilization. Alas, three months passed with no sign from them, which lead to rescue parties being dispatched. Those found nothing except cleaned out tombs, lacking any sign of the expedition's presence.
Miraculously around half of the expedition under the command of Darl resurfaced two months later close to their base camp with no recollection where they were or what had happened in the tomb. Douglas was not among them, which lead many to believe that he had died during the expedition. His burial was held and he was declared one of the honorary professors of Prandian university, making him one of the great archeologists of his time.
However, Douglas was not dead and resurfaced in 1301, clothed in scraps and clamoring to a walking stick, trying to enter Prandia. He demanded a meeting with the dean of the archeological faculty. There, he demanded to be given the ability to lecture as was his right by being made a professor some twenty years ago. While the university resisted at first, they accepted his plea when he offered a bargain. If his first three lectures could not attract at least two hundred students each, he would quit.
While he refused to speak about what happened during his twenty-year-long absence, it was clear that it changed him. Even when clothed in rags and barely strong enough to stand on his own, he radiated determination and spoke with confidence. Even more surprising, he was able to cast magic, something thought impossible for someone who never declared his allegiance for any deity.

A controversial scholar

Bridgers first lecture attracted a crowd of four hundred, who wanted to see the archeologist who came back to life. This was despite him having given no topic he would speak about. However, the listeners were not disappointed, as he dropped a bombshell. Magic was not off the gods, but a force like gravity, stemming from the world itself instead of some divine power. He followed up on this monumental claim in the following two lectures, explaining his reasoning and shedding light on the events in the tombs.
The third lecture drew more than two thousand, six hundred more than the university had students. It speaks of the charisma and intensity he showed when speaking, as well as the controversial nature of the subject. While the university was unhappy to keep someone so controversial, they had agreed to a deal and decided to honor it.
Thus, he spent his remaining years teaching the new theory of Orbitanism, reshaping an entire generation of scholars way to think about magic and its relationship to the gods. While he never proclaimed that there were no gods, his work laid the foundation of more radical thinkers emerging in later years.
Despite his attempts to remain an impartial scholar, only attempting to unveil the truth, he quickly became an enemy to the many different religions at home in Prandia. His removal was the only thing they could agree on and they pursued this goal with impunity. While not outright assassinating him, they did everything from paying off thugs to setting fire to his home. Suffice to say, Duglas remained unimpressed and continued teaching.

The end below

Although he often was busy holding lectures and visiting other cities to speak about his theory, he used every possibility to visit excavation sites and practice archeology. While he wasn't as foolhearty as before, he still took tremendous risks when he thought that a treasure waited on the other side. It was during one of these excavations close to the city of Prandia when he was crushed in an accident, ending his life prematurely. If it was an accident or assassination could never be determined.
He again received an honorable funeral and was praised both as scholar and adventurer who had done much to advance mans understanding of the world.

Morality & Philosophy

A small course in Orbitanism

Bridger was one of the principal thinkers of the Orbitans. While he was not the first contemporary scholar to champion it, he was the first one of eminence to propose it to a broader audience.
Orbitanism proposes that magic is not a divine gift, but instead a natural part of the world, similar to gravity. While the concept itself is not particularly dangerous, its conclusions are. First of all, if magic is not a divine gift, then what can gods do? Of course, as far as anyone knows, they shaped the world. But that was millennia ago. If their last act of divine strength happened when no-one was there to see, how can we even be sure that they have influence? If for a long time, magic was the ultimate proof for both the power and (somewhat limited) benevolence of the gods above, the loss of this gift would invalidate much of the base of many peoples faith. Of course, faith usually stands on much stronger ground than someones ability to cast a fireball.
But only a seed is required to bloom into heresy or even apostasy. Thus, almost all religious authorities recognized the inherent danger in Orbitanism and declared it heretical to claim that magic was not of the gods, but of the world.
By extension, if one continues to believe in the gods: If they do nothing for us, why should we care for them? Why should we build massive temples, hold grand feasts, and sacrifice so much to appease them?
The theory of Orbitans itself is of little significance. If the gods gave magic or not is only a semantic question for most. What makes it world-changing are the conclusions drawn from it. If gods have no power, then every being is free to do what they feel, to make their own rules and follow their ethics. While some say that this leads to a world of anarchy, as the divine laws forbidding thieves and murder would no longer apply.
The proponents of this theory have failed to bring forth any evidence. As far as anyone might know, the lack of divine rules makes beings more conscious of their actions and motivates them to order the world by themselves.

The personal reasoning of Bridger

Bridger came to believe that magic is of the world due to two occurrences. For one he was able to cast minor spells without appealing to a higher power. This was not proof enough, as opponents could argue that the gods gave him magic out of the good of their hearts.
The second proof was a series of experiments conducted, combined with results from his archeological expeditions. With the usage of magical conductors and guttural singing, he was able to replicate the effects of the three heavenly hymns. Traditionally these were considered the sacred privilege of the priests of Akanen, one of the many gods of light. To have his magic replicated by an unbeliever using technological and "evil" means (guttural singing) would be reason enough to doubt the purely divine nature of magic.
Additionally, he came upon the ruins of a long lost civilization. He found out little about them, save for one thing. They were avid practitioners of magic, but nothing in their culture hinted towards any worship of a higher power. Why would the gods give the power of magic to an entire people who didn't worship them, but deny it to some of their most faithful? For Bridger the answer was easy, magic was of the world and not of the gods.

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

Fueled by an insatiable hunger for knowledge Bridger spent his entire life seeking out the most exotic and fascinating dig sites and ancient cities out in the world.

Life

1247 AF 1362 AF 115 years old

Birthplace

Prandia

Eyes

Green

Hair

Short ginger

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Pale white

Height

1.12m

Weight

46 kg