A former cult leader who abandoned his flock when the holy relics of the cult-- pieces of a dead god's body-- were stolen by Eclipse mercenaries. It's unclear whether he intends to recover the objects or not, but he certainly seems like he's looking for something...

Personality

Being over 300 years old has definitely made Luminary into an... Interesting person. He's spent many years as a travelling salesman, a thaumaturge and a cult leader, albeit a cult leader who managed to get his hands on some genuine magical artefacts. He has a tendency to tell people what they want to hear, glibly brushing over concerns, and does his best to pressure those around him into listening to his demands. He's rather arrogant, and tends to withhold information because he thinks those around him aren't smart enough to keep up with him.

The arrogance makes him a little short-sighted, though. He might be one of the oldest people in the room, but his depth of experience is still rather shallow, and he doesn't always sit down and listen when he needs to. You don't argue with a riftclaw about the nature of the void... Unless you're Lumi, probably.

Luminary was born some 300 years ago, as a fairly ordinary terrani cat. His family were neither wealthy nor poor, but eked out a comfortable living as professional merchants. Luminary was trained to help his parents drive sales at the big markets from a young age, but he always dreamed of something bigger.

One day, a rare thaumaturge came to town, and claimed to see in Luminary a "spark"-- and despite their misgivings, Luminary's parents allowed him to travel to the nearest college to see if it could be harnessed.

Luminary spent several months studying at the college before managing to throw his first thaumic bursts, but once he had, he was guaranteed a place in their classes. Lumi threw himself into study, developing his powers very quickly and cementing his motif (Blinding Halo). He progressed quickly, and some considered him a prodigy while others considered him a little too sloppy. Lumi didn't particularly care, outside of learning to pull as much power into reality as he could. This lead, eventually, to an accident in which his most recent conjuration became unstable and collapse, carving a chunk out of the building and injuring a dozen people.

Lumi was expelled almost immediately. Not wanting to return to his parents with failure, he resolved to travel to a more agreeable place, continue his studies secretly.

He took up selling cheap gadgets to bored housekeepers as he travelled, making just enough money to keep stock coming in and food on the table. Still he worked at his halo, trying to nail down the weakness that had caused the collapse. He travelled like this for close to two decades, before he managed to stumble upon something extraodinary. A local fisherman had discovered the decapitated head of what was presumably a murder victim among his catch; nobody could identify the doe it belonged to, but when it was entombed a strange fluid began to seep out of the crypt, with wild explosions of flora sprouting from it. The locals were convinced the doe had been a witch, or carried some kind of curse.

Lumi broke into the tomb and stole it.

There's only so many ways to explain away that oddly heavy trunk you're carrying around, but he made it work-- he had to, because he had a new object of study. Much like the townsfolk of the town he just left, he was certain the strange effects the head had were related to some kind of magic or curse, and he was determined to find a way to harness it for himself. His own motif was about light and force; he had to delve into a whole new speciality to control the doe's. And gradually, as he worked with it, he began to learn it.

One of the first things that he did for himself was repair his own ageing body. At first it was just reversing the decades that were beginning to wear on him, but soon it became physical modifications. A different-shaped snout, longer, rounded ears, a fluffy mane and tail, and much longer limbs... He even erased his tabby stripes to give himself a more uniform grey coat. Soon he'd become so practised with this magical modification that he wanted to branch out, and he begun seeking volunteers from the sick and disabled.

Not everyone took him seriously, at least at first. His first few "miracles" were minor, repairing a few broken bones, restoring one person's sight. And then people began to recognise him. And as he'd done such a good job at making himself stand out, with his wildly unnatural appearance, they began to follow him. This was an annoyance at first, but later became a convenience; people would shower him with money and other valuables to access his healing powers, and others refused to leave, seeing in him a kind of saviour figure.

So instead of travelling, Luminary established the Cathedral. He placed the doe's head in a hidden compartment in the fountain that was the altar's centrepiece, allowing the fluid to seep into the waters and multiply its volume tenfold. And thousands flocked to beg for miracles, which he gladly granted. He wasn't all that interested in commanding them around, but being so in demand after being shunned by the thaumaturgy certainly stroked his ego. He paid little mind to the cult that had developed around them, authorising them to take the fountain water to share elsewhere if they desired-- which brought in even more believers. The Shepherds became a thriving little community gathered around this one eccentric thaumaturge who seemed to be able to cure any illness.

And then, a bare decade before the present day, Eclipse mercenaries invaded the Cathedral, shattered the fountain, and stole the doe's head.

Luminary left immediately. The deception would be discovered very quickly, and he wasn't going to be there when they figured it out. It was easy enough to disappear into the faceless crowds of the modern cities, at least; extreme body modification like his was much more attainable to the common person by then.

Current Day

Luminary continues wandering to this day. He doesn't settle down in any one place for long, always on the move and hunting for something. He's retained a bit of the power stolen from the dead doe, but he's mostly back to using his Blinding Halo, sometimes even exploiting the same instability that got him expelled to weaponise it.