Spontaer

The "Spontaer" was the title of the senior Sage-Priest, the official historian, of the Church of Ilmater circa 1265 DR. He was based at the House of Holy Suffering in Mussum.

History
After the Year of the Shattered Altar, 1264 DR, Beromchess Ilthyn, a priestess of Ilmater, brought the Tome of Torment—the holiest book of the faith—to the House of Holy Suffering. There, the Spontaer studied the tome.

The Spontaer prayed to Ilmater for nearly a year, and received visions of powerful magical protections that would render the Tome usable only by priests of Ilmater, and not just those willing to suffer its barbs, and thereby make it less desirable to thieves. However, these protections would come at the cost of his life. The Spontaer explicitly requested that the Tome of Torment be delivered to the House of the Broken God in Keltar in Calimshan, the greatest temple of Ilmater, before he worked the magic on the Tome and sacrificed his own life.

However, Exalted Sufferer Shrymaun Beldaerth, leader of the House of Holy Suffering, denied the Spontaer's wishes and refused to yield the Tome up to the House of the Broken God, triggering a holy war over the artifact.

The Spontaer's successor as official church historian adopted the title Keeper of the Old Faith.