Gadrian, mid-casting. This was in the day of the battle mages, of the storm mages; before magic went haywire and demanded a price. Gadrian never really liked going into battle of the thought of hurting an opponent, but he loved the feeling of letting his magic loose. A bit of a high, I suppose. Always a little bittersweet that a character long-dead before the story started still has such an impact on it.