#Sazarin Saltspittle

[temperedknight]

🖋 Saarinen saltspittle sounds like a badass

Sazarin Saltspittle is a Gnomish inventor and engineer, with a specific focus in magical power generation and storage systems. He was the secondborn son of a moderately powerful and very wealthy merchant family. A political marriage was arranged for him after he showed no interest in pursuing a personal romance, but it fell through due to differing personal priorities.

Hosting his elder brother's family for a lab inspection, a project of his - an attempt to source infinitely rechargeable from the aetheric tide - went horribly awry, disintegrating his brother Sarath and sister-in-law Marai, and trapping his niece Alaia in a self-sustaining feedback loop of magical energy, which Sazarin barely managed to contain before it went supercritical.

In Sazarin's world, the ocean is the domain of the god of death, and a known magic absorber. Hoping to unlock some secrets from its depths, Sazarin drained his family coffers to construct an undersea vessel, the Nereid Encumbrance Pelagic/Tidal Underwater Nonmagical Explorer (NEP/TUNE) and a set of powered underwater dive armor, the Tidal Recon/Investigation-Tall Observation Nereid (or TR/I-TON).

Using these platforms, Sazarin has begun scouring the sea for anything that might unwork the magical storm fomenting within Alaia. This search often leaves him in need of coin, which he makes by working as a mercenary; TR/I-TON is a terrifyingly capable combat system. He's worked alongside other mercenaries, the Crystal Golems of Oreish (the Sea-God of Death), and even the Order of Shivers of the sentient Apex Sharks (ask me about them if you wanna know more).

Outside of combat and work, Sazarin is an inherently kind and generous person, though he lacks the social skills needed to form connections, and is generally a solitary man, preferring his lab to other people. He has a special affinity for children, and uses his spare parts and time to manufacture semi-magical wind-up toys. He's even built a toy or two for Oreish himself; the child-god's favorite is a mechanical fish which plays hide and seek.

Sazarin maintains a brave face, but is slowly spiraling into manic despair at his lack of success so far. Alaia has maybe a decade before the magic storm unravels her entirely and she is lost forever. It's a race against an unknown clock, and Sazarin isn't winning.