Henric was born into a family with more name than wealth, but wanted not for much as his early interests kept him in the family's vast library, or visiting the familial holdings at Redleaf Lake. His elders were oppressive by turns, his mother held him responsible for carrying on the family line, his aunts held him to the spotless cleaning as they could not maintain servants, and his venerable grandparents found his very existence intolerable. None cared for his father, who left to seek his fortune while Henric was young, and never returned. He did not die, as the family had hoped, but instead found that fortune and a more lovely woman than Henric's mother to share it with.
As Henric reached adulthood, he abandoned his family to become an academic, however, the rueful and stodgy professorship at the institutions he attended left him unfulfilled.
Restless, Henric enlisted with a Pathfinder expedition into old Ninshabur, along the way learning the finer points of the crossbow, and learning the religion of Abadar, from the mercenaries hired to protect the caravan. The caravan made it into the ancient lands, but the Pathfinder expedition leaders were well out of their depth, and mistakenly intruded on the territory of a Rovagug cult. None save the canny mercenaries and Henric survived.
Henric spent the next several years exploring the eastern lands, until a letter came to him from the old country. Dorin Beauturne wanted to speak with him, and having seen as much sand as he was want to do, he returned to Ustalav.
