Bertio Elsinor

Master of the School of Enchantment at the Arcane Citadel

Bertio has a severe congenital condition, which caused significant distortion to his facial features. A fixture at the Arcane Citadel for his entire life, Bertio rose from student, to preceptor to professor to Master of the School of Enchantment. Bertio is kind and sensitive, to the point that some of the other faculty mutter that he is too soft on the students.

Personal History

Bertio grew up near Hillsdale. He was born with a cruel disfigurement in which the bone structure in his face was badly malformed. As a result, his features are distorted and -- according to some particularly cruel people when he was a child -- demonic looking. Bertio was an intelligent and sensitive child, who wanted nothing more than to be liked. He studied hard, behaved well and tried to be kind to everyone. But still, the children he met were unbearably mean to him and adults other than his parents were even worse. When he was about 8, a traveling minstrel came to his small hamlet. The performer was a brilliant orator and singer and had command over a bit of simple magic. Most important to Bertio, she had almost debilitating scoliosis. Despite the obvious problems with her spine, the performer was able to captivate her audience, and no one made fun of her or called her names. Every day while she was in their hamlet, Bertio would be at her wagon when the sun came up, hoping to be allowed to help with a little something. The performer was touched by this kind little boy and befriended him. Before she left town, she taught him a few basics of magic, for which Bertio showed a real aptitude. Soon, he was using rudimentary enchantment magic to overcome people's initial revulsion at his looks, which was all it took on account of his lovely personality. As he grew a bit older, his parents realized that Bertio's gift for magic was the best option he had for a successful life and arranged for him to be tested for entrance at the Arcane Citadel. After successfully completing his education, Bertio remained at the Citadel, first as a preceptor, then a professor and now the Master of the School of Enchantment. As an adult, Bertio remains kind and sensitive, to the point that some of the other faculty mutter that he is too soft on the students. Bertio has never considered working with a healer to correct the deformity in his face. As an adult, he has made peace with it and considers it simply a part of him. While he remains kind, the challenges he's overcome have given him extreme strength of personality. Now, when people meet him, they are generally so impressed that they barely notice his condition, even without the help of any magic.