Owen Stargazer
Martyr
The eldest son of the Count of Eldarin, a significant house given its location near the Imperial Palace, Owen never had his father's natural athleticism, zest for combat, or magnetic personality. Short, pale, and bookish, he found himself at home at the University of Karradone where unlike most of his noble classmates, he completed the full five years of study and received his degree. With his father's blessing he elected to continue his studies by attending the School of Pure and Applied Thaumaturgy. Owen was interested in the mysteries of magic and his father was simply happy to have him out of the castle, perhaps secretly hoping that the allure of the arcane would convince Owen to abdicate his title in favor of his younger - but much larger - brother.
Five years later Owen was set to graduate a second time, this time with the skills of a young mage. Shortly before the ceremony, his father approached him with the idea of turning Eldarin over to Owen's brother. Furious, Owen stormed out, successfully snuff out several candles in with a angry cantrip. The next day, his anger unabated, he stood before the Emperor at his graduation and refused to swear fealty. He decreed that based on the writings of Karin of the Scarlett Flame that he was a superior being and would swear no oaths to those without the gift.
The Emperor had the young noble arrested and, after a tenday of deliberations with his advisors about how the boy's words might affect others, burned at the stake in central Karradone. While scholars will point to centuries of acts by the arcane community that ultimately lead to the Mage Wars, most agree that young Stargazer's death provided the final spark.