Dr. Phinneas Flumpert

Dr. Phinneas Flumpert, considered the father of magicology, is one of the greatest Elothninian scholars of his generation. Much of his work seems to have been influenced by his childhood, which was spent in Narfroth, a bordertown in the province of Perejin, located deep within the Erkenheld Forest. Because of its diverse composition and ambience, Narfroth is a town where magic (both its existence and its use) is woven into the everyday life of even its mundayne inhabitants. Thus, Flumpert's early life was marked by exposure to and folk understandings of magic in ways that would shape his later research.

Though Flumpert was the son of a poor woodsman, like most of the children of the town, his brilliance was apparent at a young age. The local school teacher, so impressed with his keen and curious mind, wrote letters to the centers of formal education throughout the empire, arguing that surely a mind such as his deserved the same treatment and cultivation as what the sons of vassals are given. Though most of these solicitations fell on deaf ears, a kindly headmaster in Neerhemhind took an interest in young Flumpert's case. He travelled out to Narfroth in order to meet with the boy and his parents, and eventually secured their permission to bring him to Elothnin's intellectual and political capitol to give him a proper education, free of charge.

Although Flumpert was quite saddened to be leaving his home and his parents (for, unlike Fethilians, Perejinders are quite attached to their families), he was also excited by the prospect of having the great libraries and classrooms of Neerhemhind at his disposal. Under the caring and watchful eyes of the headmaster, Flumpert excelled in his studies. He displayed a deep love of history and literature, but it was clear to everyone that the young man was natural born scientist.

Eventually, the kindly headmaster secured him a place at Gimmelthorpe University. At Neerhemhind's great center of learning, he pursued a degree in biology with a focus in neuroanatomy. Eventually, his intellectual pursuits and his childhood interests collided, and he began to study the brain structures of known magical creatures and comparing them to mundane creatures. His first paper on the subject, "Anatomical differences between magical and mundane sheep," was very well-received. For the next 10 years, Flumpert continued this line of study, eventually publishing a book on the subject, Magic and the Body.

At this point, feeling he had gone as far as he could go with biological comparisons, Flumpert began a different line of research more concerned with the mechanics of magical use by sentient beings. Flumpert drew on anthropological techniques for this research, a subject he had studied in some detail in Neerhemhind. By way of his hometown, Flumpert ventured into the vast and mysterious Erkenheld Forest. He has interviewed gnomes, red and blue elves, centaurs, and deities in the region (all reported in his famous book, Chasing the Blue Mist: Conversations with the Magickal Folk of the Erkenheld), and his classification of magic is widely used by both magickal and mundayne creatures.

Currently, Flumpert is serving at the Fethilian front in her majesty's army as a clerk. While he certainly is willing to perform his duties as a citizen of the empire, he has expressed frustration at being unable to continue his scientific endeavors. He has professed great interest in investigating the strange species of the Pokelocken, and also wishes to venture into the San-Kesh Desert to gain insight into tinker magic, a form that is relatively rare within the confines of Elothnin.