Faces of Athas: Sanaki
An earthen sandcrafter brings strange crystal statues to the Oba's domain.
Greetings, Friend Inik, may the Oba watch over your doings this day.
I am Kyandryk, a warrior in the service of the Oba. I come to tell you of future problems in the sparkling trade. I met a trader today, one by the name of Sanaki, and I believe him to be from the city of Raam. He was clad in the brown robes of the accursed Earthen Priests, but quoth the Merchants Code when I made to arrest him. Additionally his guards mounted upon the inix were fingering their crossbows too intently for my liking.
When I asked him what trade, he laughed and said "Sparkling Stones! what else for a follower of earth? Upon that he produced a few gemstones to prove his point, but what really amazed me was a small glass figurine. It was smaller than the palm of my hand and in the form of a drake, but the detail was unearthly. The figurine glistened with the many rainbow colors; too many to be made by an ordinary man’s hand.
I questioned him on their origin, and he said that they were made by his own hand, and that they were a gift from the land. He then let it fall from his hand to the bare rock below, but the glass figure was unbroken. Upon that I decided to let him into the trading quarter, but informed him that Earthen followers must be careful to not break the Oba's laws.
He smiled, and passed me a small figurine. It was the size of my thumbnail, and was a small lizard. I have, of course declared it to the Obas representatives, and thus do not have it here. It is my belief that Inik dominance could suffer because of these beautiful figurines, which will surely be all the rage amongst the nobles.
<h2>Sanaki </h2>
Dual Class human: 5thlevel Trader/7th Level Priest of the Earth
Alignment: LN
Hp: 34
Thaco: 16
Ablities
Strength 14
Dexterity 16
Constitution 13
Intelligence 16
Wisdom 17
Charisma 15
Weapons: Horsemans Pick, Obsidian Mace +2
Wild Talents: Sandshaping (Molecular Rearrangement), Environment Psps’s 61
Sanaki is not a warrior, and prefers to let his Earthy powers do most of his fighting for him. Over his trading years, Sanaki has also gathered a couple of magical gemstones including a Gem of Brightness, Pereipt of Wound Closure, and an Enhancement stone (10Psps).
History: Originally Sanaki was a trader in a small trading company. He has a fondness for gemstones, and spent a great deal of time studying them (+4 to Gem Cutting). Over time he accumulated a small fortune, and enlisted in a small Psionic academy. He released his main wild talent at the academy, Sandshaping, which was a specialised form of Molecular Rearrangement. He found that he could form small figures from sand using his mind, and then fuse them together into a very strong glass. Believing that the power was a gift from the Earth lords, the trader began worshiping the Earth. Eventually he located a powerful earth cleric and convinced him to initiate him into the mysteries of the Earth. He has risen in power quickly as he often travels the wastes of Athas in search of trade and inspiration for his figurines. He currently has three guards for his little caravan, all of which are powerful warriors.
Sand Shaping: Use the statistics for Molecular Rearrangement.
<h2>The Glass Figures</h2>
The little glass figures come in all shapes, colors and sizes, from thumbnail to the size of a mans hand. The figures are finely detailed and are very lifelike, even to the extent of showing a lizards scales. Sanaki uses his "will" to create a multitude of colors for the figures. Being an Earth Cleric, Sanaki usually creates creatures which have an association with Earth. However he will create other creatures, as everything eventually merges with the land. The figures are exceptionally popular in Nibenay, although their popularity is spreading elsewhere.
The figures, for reasons only known to him, radiate a small amount of Psionic energy. Currently a small academy in Nibenay is examining and experimenting with several figures as for possible uses. One theory is that the figures could form psychic bond with their owners, and possibly act as a crystal focus, or even as an empowered receptacle. However Sanaki’s psychic imprint is on his creations, and this would have to be cleared. What is unknown to most owners is that Sanaki has psychic links with all of the figures, and has another wild talent Environment. He can initiate this power (at ½ normal cost) to keep tabs on potential enemies, as the figurines are almost an extension of himself.
The figure’s value range from 1 gp (for a thumbnail figurine) to 15 gp (for a Handsized figure and they are exceptionally strong (+4 to Glass saving throws). Their quality is good enough to enable psionic empowerment or magical enchantment.