[Medium Sized Model - 25mm Base]
[Presupported with LYS files in 32mm & 75mm Scale]
A Priest of Tharanais turned Inquisitor. Father McKinley was once a practitioner of magic in his younger years, with aims to become a court cleric of a Duke or other high ranking noble. After he spent his spring years studying in the kingdom of Belfrie, he saw first hand how truly destructive and monstrous magic could be. A single event lead him to forsake his studies, returning to Baldur and joining the ranks of the Inquisitors instead. Though he still dedicates himself to his patron of Tharanais, he believes that not all magic and knowledge should be freely shared, for consequences of such actions can be disastrous.
Raised in the picturesque city of Nortros, Father Pieter McKinley always found himself to be a spiritual boy. He prayed to Inderimaeth for the safe voyage of his father on his long trips at sea, prayed to Tharanais for knowledge to pass his schooling, prayed to Renmaeth for the flowers he planted with his mother to grow, and prayed to Namneri when his father died to Bloodlung. He was only twelve then, the eldest of three, forced to step up and become the man of the house years before his time. Yet he did not waiver, did not whimper and did not whine. Duty was bound to him, and faith pressed him on, faith that it was part of a divine plan, faith that his siblings would cherish his sacrifice for them, faith that his mother’s load would be eased if he could bear its brunt.
Clergymen in Nortros’ Church of the Tharameni recognised the piety and dedication in the young boy and offered him a chance to ease his and his family’s burden: join the Church as a cleric in studying, and the Church would ensure his mother and siblings would always be cared for. Gladly, the young Pieter took up the Church’s offer, filled with hope and a determination that one day he might be the Court Cleric of a noble, adorned in riches which he would pass on to his siblings and mother. This dream seemed to be coming to fruition, with Pieter sent overseas to the Kingdom of Belfrie to study divination and holy magic at the various temples of the Tharameni there, particularly the Temple of Tharanais in Jochenia. There he learnt the basics of divination magic, as well as healing, though he knew he would only be able to use more basic forms on his return to Baldur.
In a bid to further understand Minera’s Breath as a cleric of Tharanais, the Divine of Knowledge, Pieter was sent to the prestigious University of Ardris for three months to study under its esteemed professors. It was here that Pieter was suddenly faced with a change of heart: until now he had only been privy to the Breath’s power to heal, enhance and benefit mankind, but now he watched in horror as he saw firsthand how it could also destroy. A spell gone wrong by a student saw him instantly immolated, his screams of dying horror resounding in Pieter’s ears forever more. The final straw after Pieter had finished his course, still haunted by the screams of the dying student, he was travelling to Velandria where his boat awaited to return to Baldur, accompanied by a small group of other students. Enroute, they were waylaid by a group of brigands, highwaymen demanding their valuables. One of the students simply laughed, cited an incantation and continued to laugh as the brigands clutched at their heads, blood oozing from every crevice and pore of their skin. Their stifled mumbles and death rattles were barely audible beneath the raucous laughter of the students, watching the brigands die pitiful, pointless and agonising deaths.
Pieter made the decision that day to never hope to practice magic, and he instead saw it for the abomination that it was. When he returned to Baldur, he continued his priesthood with the caveat that he would never use the Breath he had been taught, to which the Church reluctantly agreed. Further did his stance solidify in the years that followed, he was now an ordained priest, Father Mckinley, a name that rang strange in his years, for he did not feel like the holy man of virtue he pictured when such a title came to his mind as a child. Yet in his time as a Priest of Tharanais’ Temple in Nortros, he saw more evil committed by magic, his position and knowledge often held him working closely with the Inquisitors, using him to root out dark magic users, understanding the spells they were using and ways they could best be countered. Eventually, Father McKinley was made an honorary member of the Inquisitors, and he was transferred to Grimhelm where he could work more closely with the top brass of the order, leaving his family and mother behind in Nortros once again. With the fires of rebellion beginning to kindle in the city, his work will be needed once again as the rebels bare telltale signs of ill magic in their activities. He only hopes their flame will be quickly snuffed out, and that he might request a transfer back to his home when all is said and done.
