Oxata Thade

Oxata is one of the many orphans that the Temple of Beryl fosters. Surviving victims of the bloodthirst of the dark elves in the Underdark, Beryl's children are raised in the faith. The youngins survived the cruelty of losing their parents to find themselves mueling gems in and out of the Underdark's caves. For the clergy of Beryl, it doesn't hurt to have an army of youngins to crawl through the bedrock, as the Deep Mother's "blessings" keep the Temple's power and prestige strong. For Oxata, though, it seemed that her blessings found him. His penchant for discovery was remarkable - his guardian Rolik, a Topaz, appreciated how much Oxata's abilities brought recognition to his parish. It didn't hurt that Oxata's ability to hide in the crevaces in wait as his fellow gnomes overlooked her beauties in the bedrock. Snatching the overlooked gems up, giving them a little buff and polish, Oxata found it ironic that Beryl's grace was right in front of his brothers, yet they could not see. His faith put him in perilous spots more than a few times - narrowly escaping the fate his parents befell, snatching gems practically out of the dark elf claws.

Oxata's true belief was rewarded on his neophyte initiation by a direct mention of his name by the Diamond of Beryl himself (a note on the written edict of the acolyte initiation). Rolik even gifted a near perfect neophyte stone to Oxata that day, that Rolik cut for his pupil. As a follower of Beryl, one expressed their faith by discovering her blessings, and by cutting the gems to bring forth her light. Oxata had not the patience of his elders for gemcutting, Rolik noted. Rolik hoped his gift would inspire Oxata to seek perfection in his own cutting. Though, his guardian assured the skill would come in time, for Oxata, the true belief that guided him to find the precious gems could not clear his mind of visions to cut them. He would have to bring forth her light, by vanquishing his visions.

Oxata is a "Greenstone", a neophyte in the clergy of Beryl. For years, visions of decay and imperfect forms polluted Oxata's dreams. In these visions Oxata sees the Deep Mother's temple of the surface, decaying and rotting, and believes that he has been called to restore her beauty. He believes until he clears his mind of these visions, he will not be able to fulfill his duty to bring Beryl's light to the world through his gemcutting.