Derdick Menhais

Derdick Menhias, archeologist, trader and dabbler in magic. Author of Seven Days of Life Out of 25 Years Lived: The Week That Changed My Life or My Week with the Pygmies.
Arrogant and descended from an old line of traders, Derdick developed an interest in archaeology early in life when on trading expeditions with his parents and grandmother. The matriarch of the family insisted that Derdick and his elder sister, Almetia, accompanied these biannual expeditions and hired tutors so the children would be able to keep up with their schooling. Her theory was that exposure to different cultures would only aid them in their future endeavors.
Almetia married into a ship trading family, cementing the family's ties to the Council and served on the board. She had three children, all girls, who grew to be ship captains in their own right.
Derdick idolized his sister but wanted very little to do with the traditional family roles. He was more interested in searching out rare antiquities. Vilified by people who despised what they saw as him taking advantage of isolated tribes, he was known in wealthy circles as the man to talk to when looking for an item to one-up the neighbors.
His grandmother died when he was 24, a year before the pygmy incident and he was left a substantial amount in her will, provided he stopped dealing in antiquities. He shifted his focus to collecting the folklore of the people of the Continent. It was while doing this that he met Hale Rigaard, activist, teacher, nurse. She was 35 and divorced.
He fell in love almost immediately. They travelled the world together, she trying to improve the lives she touched and he documenting her efforts and the people she cared so deeply about. She died in childbirth at the age of 39. The child survived.
Upon returning to the city with his newborn son, he was immediately arrested for the murder of the Frusian Expedition Party seven years prior. His son, Dirs, was taken in by Almetia and her family and lived with them for the five years it took for Derdick to be cleared of the charges. 
When Derdick left the city, he brought Dirs along with him in the hopes of reconnecting to the boy. It was at this time that the works he is most known for were created. He returned to the city when Dirs was 15 to publish his works and enroll Dirs into college. Dirs immediately dropped out and joined the ship crew.
 He avoided his father believing Derdick would be angry, leaving for a two year expedition to the Eastern worlds. Derdick was able to get a message to him through Almetia telling his son that he wasn't angry and looked forward to seeing the boy on his return. He never saw his son again. Dirs met and married an Eastern woman and by the time he made it back to the city with her and their four children, Derdick had been dead for a year.