Zanton comes from a town far to the East. Years as a machine-smith's apprentice taught him magic and skill at smithing, coaxing life and intricacy into other men's devices. With his small frame, he could easily slide in and out of engines and forges; and tinkering was a perfectly respectable occupation for a gnome.
But Zanton was clever, and thought himself even cleverer; and he spent much of his free time on unsanctioned projects, using magic to breathe more life into machines than his guild encouraged or allowed. His personal pet project was something special—a weapon to change all wars, a machine that would be able to fight like a soldier without a soul and then repair itself, a cheaper and more practical alternative to the specialized golems of wealthy wizards.
The results were disastrous; and when his employer found out, Zanton was run out of town, stripped of all guild ties, with all of his creations destroyed.
And so he journeyed west, where machines were simpler and laws regarding them looser, where he could earn a living as a tinkerer—unchained from guild regulations, he simplified much of his work by whispering to machines and forges, asking tools to do the hard work for him. And gradually, he grew quite skilled at this, bending the magic he had learned into new forms, painting instructions onto stray objects until they followed his requests.
But learning how to make his possessions fight for him meant that, for once, Zanton could win fights. And a lot of them. And so, as he made a bit of wealth, he spent more of his time drinking, and fighting—and now he's strayed a bit from the path of dedicated research he once walked.
