Alain Alzen

Alain Alzen is a Breton wizard. He is the current Archmagister of Glorinel and head of the archduchy's Magisterium.

Alzen is one of Tamriel's most eminent healers, enjoying mastery of restoration magic and alchemy.

Appearance
[TBA], secretary to the Imperial Prefect Hortensia Elerius, kept an encyclopaedic account during his posting to Glorinel. He described the Archmagister as  'venerable in years' , though  'the wont of wizards to extend their natural lifespan' left him uncertain of Alzen's exact age.

  

Alzen was slender and tall. Camerinus remarked that the wizard's physique was  'elf-like' . His pointed ears and raised cheekbones further indicated merish heritage. Alzen's  'silvered' hair was worn at neck length, whilst remaining clean shaven. His dark eyes were separated by a narrow, long nose.

Camerinus, awestruck by the ostentatious fashions of Louis VII's court, was impressed with the attire of the Archmagister. His fitted silken robe, which  'eluded purple or blue', was ornamented with gold filigree.

 

 

Biography
By his own account, Alain Alzen was born in the  'long, hallowed reign'  of Archduke Charles II (r. 3E 150–208). By 3E 300, therefore, he was aged between 92 and 150. Alzen was born in the port city of Treth,  'beneath the gaze of the Apprentice' (that is, in the month of Sun's Height).

The obscurity of the Alzen family – by long tradition chandlers – further shrouded the wizard's origins. His magical ability came to the attention of the Magisterium, and the boy matriculated to the Scholarium of Treth. Alzen proved to be an exceptional apprentice, and would be regarded as one of the school's finest alumni. He particularly excelled in the study of medicine – a discipline which synthesised restoration magic, alchemy and surgery.

Despite his precocious brilliance the future Archmagister failed the Magisterial Trials on his first attempt, at the minimum permissible age of twenty four. This example would later console many unsuccessful apprentices. Several years later, Alzen successfully completed the trials and was initiated as a fully-fledged Magister.

 

Alzen was assigned to the Hospital of Treth – an infirmary and almshouse under the joint stewardship of the Magisterium and the Temple. For many years Alzen tended to the city's sick, wounded and dying. It was during this time that Alzen obtained a licence to practice necromancy, whereby the corpses of recently deceased paupers were reanimated for study and experimentation. Though abhorrent and outright impious –  'I have profaned Arkay for the glory of Julianos' – the black arts gifted Alzen with such knowledge to save hundreds, if not thousands, of lives, during his years at the hospital.

Time Between

Alzen was elevated to the Grand Magisterial Council in 3E 247, becoming a triumvir of the Magisterium's governing council. He twice rejected elevation to the rank of Archmagister, to the disappointment and frustration of Archduke Louis VI. The Grand Magister's relationship with Barthelemy Luscan (appointed Archmagister in 3E 270) was, at best, ambivalent. Luscan, an undistinguished wizard, was envious of the skill and repute of his nominal subordinate. Alzen, in turn, disapproved of the Archmagister's preoccupation with  'whispering in the ear' of the Archduke.

  

Time Between

Re-Write: Beginning

On the evening of 11th Hearth Fire 3E 278 Alzen was summoned to the bedchamber of a moribund Count of Westmore, whose servants had discovered festering lesions on the prince's body. It was Alzen who identified the cause of these injuries (rodent bites sustained two nights earlier) and prescribed leeching. The Archmagister, Barthelemy Luscan, however, deduced that the prince's condition – untreated for two days – was mortal. Overruling the Grand Magister, Luscan prescribed analgesic elixirs to minimise his patient's suffering. When Alzen  'impertinently' questioned the Archmagister's judgement, he was dismissed from the prince's chambers, in which the heir to the archduchy would die on the morning of 13th Hearth Fire.

Summoned before a grief-stricken Louis VI, the Archmagister reluctantly conceded that there was an infinitesimal chance that the treatment prescribed by Alzen could have saved the life of the Count of Westmore. Luscan grovelled: the risk of causing further pain and discomfort (when the likelihood was that the prince would die anyway) was too great. He blundered, however, when assuring the Archduke that his son's dignity was preserved.  'What would a creature like you know of a prince's dignity?' Louis VI cried before ordering the Archmagister's arrest.

 

Re-Write: End

Time Between

Alzen disapproved of the burgeoning jousting career of the young Louis of Westmore – the son of the late Prince Charles and designated heir of Archduke Louis VI. The wizard admonished the Archduke for encouraging and sponsoring his grandson:  'Your Serene Highness has lost one precious jewel, beware not to lose another.' Nevertheless, Alzen attended the tournament celebrating Westmore's seventeenth birthday on 14th Frost Fall 3E 293. When the celebrant was struck from his horse, the Archmagister pushed aside the dumbfounded Archduke and tended to the fallen prince on the tiltyard floor.

Westmore's injuries were grievous; he had been pierced by his opponent's lance and his left leg had been shattered. By swift application of restorative spells, Alzen successfully saved the prince's life. Westmore's recovery, under the supervision of the Archmagister, lasted several months. His leg could not be entirely mended, neither by Alzen nor the countless other healers summoned by the Archduke. By Alzen's efforts Louis was rendered disabled rather than paralysed, or worse.

Alzen delegated the day-to-day administration of the Magisterium to the Grand Council. The Archmagister attended to Archduke Louis VI as both counsellor and physician, and also mentored the crippled Count of Westmore. Besides his court duties, Alzen applied himself to alchemy in pursuit of the fabled panacea: the cure of all illness and disease. He became intrigued, and even obsessed, with the legend of the Codex Nostrum.

To be finished

Skills and Abilities

 * Arcane Mastery: Alain Alzen was one of the greatest wizards of the Third Era. This exceptional magical skill and power – concealed behind an ataraxic disposition – might be attributed to his elven ancestry. His training at the Scholarium of Treth inculcated a cognizance of all facets of the arcane, although Alzen regarded himself as a poor illusionist. Among his accomplishments are the invention of enchanted bandages, developing a cure for {Disease}, and defeating the powerful dark wizard Hamelin Verlus.
 * Restoration: Alzen's métier was healing magic, commonly defined as the school of Restoration. He first demonstrated his flair for healing as an apprentice, and thereafter dedicated many years to the sick and injured at the Hospital of Treth. Alzen's anatomical and pathological knowledge was largely gleaned through his practice of necromancy. Whilst abhorrent, this knowledge allowed Alzen to save and improve hundreds, if not thousands, of lives.
 * Alchemy: Alzen was an accomplished and pioneering alchemist. Decades of research and experimentation allowed him to formulate many new healing elixirs, including a cure for the hitherto irremediable {Disease}. Alzen cultivated an alchemical garden within his chambers featuring exotic and bizarre plants and fungi. The Archmagister was convinced that the fabled panacea – the cure to all illness and disease – was discoverable only through alchemy.
 * Duelling: Alzen seldom demonstrated his skill in battle magic until his encounter with the powerful dark wizard Hamelin Verlus in 3E 283. In this duel, Alzen displayed his signature defensive form by casting impenetrable ward spells to deplete his foe's magicka.
 * Necromancy: In his noble pursuit of ending the "iteration of mortal suffering" Alzen practiced the abominable Black Arts. As well anatomical research, the reanimation of the recently deceased was expedient for trialing new healing spells, potions and mundane treatments without recourse to experimentation on live subjects.