Euphrastus Tinnane Graeae
Euphrastus was born under the name Eovaeiras in Mag Tureah, into the Tionain family of cyclops seers and prophets of House Graeae. These were the final years of fomorian rule in the city, and then leading up to the war that ended that rule and brought about the union of the city with the Nerathi Confederacy. It was never a life of crippling poverty, as dragonmarked members of House Graeae have divinatory powers that are of great use, but it was a life of subjugation. Euphrastus still has dark memories of that bloody time, though not nearly so many or so bad as his family. But if you were to ask him, he would probably change the subject.
At the end of the war, his mother Euganva and father Teothrans desired to make a clean break with their old lives, and moved to HIghmark. His mother, a powerful seeress with a dragonmark that allows her to predict financial matters, was almost immediately in high demand, and eventually became the key financial advisor to Jesseryn Callais. With that powerful connection, Euphrastus' mother ensured her family's soft landing in Highmark. His father also has a position as a clerk with the Callais estate, but has never been ambitious in the way his wife is. Teothrans is quiet, even sullen, and does not dwell on the past, or even much on the future.
In the city, Eovaeiras was given (or took) the human name Euphrastus Tinnane, a heavy modification of his cyclopean name. His parents encouraged him to acculturate, as much as possible, to human-majority society, and particularly, to its well-off elements. Whatever accent he may have once had is now almost entirely muted, and he adopted human modes of dress almost without exception. In his education he was drawn to history, languages, and antiquities, and to whatever degree possible, the ways of courtly life. Nonetheless, being one of the only cyclops in the city, and certainly one of the only elites, meant that it was not a normal childhood. He received private tutoring from various experts, including someone, an art historian, Mitula, an expert on religion, and, through correspondence, someone, a renowned artificer. He has always claimed that not having formal schooling with others was to his benefit, although he surely missed the social connections that that would have provided. With no siblings, many of his friends growing up were those who found themselves in Jesseryn's wide sphere, which means that Euphrastus has met many of the elite of Highmark over his life, despite him basically being a nobody immigrant.
Euphrastus has lived a life of considerable privilege for one of his species, full of culture, education, and of course, considerable wealth. He is an aesthete, given to appreciate beautiful things, fine food and drink, beautiful people (especially young men about his age), superior clothing, and the like. He enjoys smoking pipes and gambling with friends. It's not that he has forgotten or can forget that he is a cyclops, but (as he has remarked to his friends) it sometimes feels like he has forgotten how to be a cyclops, whatever that means. He is certainly far removed from his people's tribulations back in Mag Tureah. He lives with his family in Clearview, in a pleasant side street near to where Jesseryn has his estate, The Arbor. He has spent a lot of time in the company of the elite and is surely more comfortable with them than with his own kind.
When he came into his own dragonmark, allowing him to read emotions and powerful past events attached to objects, Euphrastus's professional path became clear. He works as an antiquarian privately, consulting with the wealthy and noble about their objects. His particular focus is on jewelry, as these objects often have powerful emotional connections (positive or negative) to discern. He is starting to develop his own clientele and some small reputation. Inevitably, in his line of business, discretion is of incredible importance, and since others cannot confirm his findings automatically, reputation is key.
Until this year, his parents had never thought of having him come out at the social season. For one thing, there are basically no cyclops in Highmark of the right social status who would be at the season, to anyone's knowledge. And of course few are particularly interested in a match with his species, given the problems with interfertility. Not that that is much concern to Euphrastus, who has always known for a long time that he was primarily interested in men. The connection with Jesseryn's family, through his mother, though, is an attractive connection for many, and Euphrastus enjoys all the pleasantries of life, so he's here to see what he can find - at the very least, a good time..
Appearance
Euphrastus is a little over seven feet tall, and somewhat thin for a cyclops, fortunately for his tailor. He dresses in ways that slim him down still further or conceal his musculature, which is considerable by human standards. He tends to carry one of a series of fine canes, often with jewels or precious metals as ornaments. He also has a variety of his own jewelry, and from time to time, he affects a monocle.
