Olmeg

Olmeg the Green is introduced as the Greenmage Minalan installs at Hollyburrow. A tall, quiet, pipe-smoking Greenmage whose deep sonorous voice commands respect even from the Tal Alon. Minalan grants him the Yeomanry of Hollyburrow — "heavily shaded by Matten's Helm to the northwest and the hills around it to the south and east, the damp little land had never been good for the kind of farming that humans tended to pursue."

"When Olmeg had taken a look at the land with a mage's eye and his knowledge of Green Magic, he was able to select crops that were well-suited to the microclimate and easy for the Tal to grow. Once the farmers stopped working against the land and started working with it, Hollyburrow blossomed like a wildflower in the swamp." Planus commissions him for an agricultural review of his Remeran grain estates. Signature bearing:

Olmeg the Green strode up to me, his big bare feet clutching the earth like roots and his tall pointed green hat looming over me like a shadow. He cleared his throat and made a graceful little bow, for such a big man, his mantle thrown back. One just cannot ignore or dismiss Olmeg the Green.

Olmeg continues to manage Hollyburrow; the Tal Alon population grows steadily under his stewardship. His greenery serves as a showpiece for visiting dignitaries. He earns increasing reputation as the foremost human Greenmage in the duchies.

Olmeg's major Enchanter book. Sponsors and oversees the bigger-than-normal Green Magic Exhibition, for which he prepared for two years. "He took residence in a snug little cottage the Tal Alon built for him, using their native techniques, while transforming the former dilapidated manor hall he'd inherited from the old Yeoman, Farant, into a kind of laboratory for visiting green magi."

"Master Olmeg oversaw the festivities with the serene patience of a master. The Tal Alon treated the tall, quiet Green Mage with a respect and reverence they usually reserved only for the Alka Alon, or occasionally the Karshak. In Olmeg's case, however, that respect had been earned, not genetically contrived."

Unveils his winter's work at his dark manor house: "This, Minalan, is what I have been working on," Magelord Olmeg revealed in his deep and sonorous voice. Six small spheres "each no larger than fifty millimeters, and each a bright green, the color of newly-furled leaves in the spring." Enchantments made "with the help of the baculus, and access to snowclay and the Everfire." Also unhappy with the state of the castle's herb garden — "that, at least, was something I could safely ignore" Minalan quips.

Tyndal and Rondal consult Olmeg on strategy for the Brotherhood of the Rat campaign. Though no warmage, his strategic insight is valued:

As a green mage, a wizard who specialized in the thaumaturgy of plants and growing things, Olmeg frequently had insights into the larger world that less attentive wizards might have missed.

Exhales "a massive cloud of fragrant smoke from his pipe" and advises:

But that would only anger them, not cripple them. Unless you went about it systematically. Instead of just attacking one or two operations, change the rules of the game so that each of their enterprises suffers.

And:

They operate under a code. It might be crude, violent and deviant, but it is a code they feel they all must follow, else they lose faith in their institution and loose cohesion in the face of opposition. Attack that, and their ability to act in concert is destroyed.

The Rondal/Tyndal Brotherhood-dismantling campaign is built around Olmeg's counsel.

Anticipates a royal visit to Sevendor "with great eagerness, proud of the little town he'd worked so hard to build. Master Olmeg was nearly as excited by the prospect of showing off his magnificent greenery." On Minalan's spending: "And you've the purse to purchase them," Olmeg nodded. Another observation, not a judgement. The big green mage did not value coin, but he did not begrudge those who did.

Olmeg continues as Yeoman of Hollyburrow, now a Magelord. His Tal Alon population and their cheeses are mentioned as one of Sevendor's treasures. Passes tutorial of green magic to apprentices.

Olmeg is taken captive during the Sevendor Magic Fair raid alongside Lorcus's wife, Alurra, and other notables. Tyndal says:

I can't believe they took Olmeg. I'd kill them all for that, alone.

Hollyburrow, Master Olmeg's estate, becomes a staging ground for the rescue party under Rondal.

Gatina spots him in the Darkfaller dungeons alongside other kidnapped Sevendori magi:

That's Olmeg the Green, from Sevendor. He's pretty tall, so he's hard to miss. And he always smells like herbs. They took a lot of the common magi from Sevendor. Not many warmagi, that I can tell.

Rescued during the Darkfaller Raid.

Post-recovery, Olmeg returns to Hollyburrow. Continues as Sevendor's senior Greenmage and yeoman of a now-thriving Tal Alon cheese-and-agricultural colony.