Theodore would be a high level spark... if he could just design things according to this reality. Still, he's made quite a name for himself over the years.
If you met him very early in his "career", he was a random drifter in Eleghost. It's uncertain if he was born there in it's early days or if he walked out of the wilderness. He's certainly insane enough to have done the second, but common theory states that he'd have been killed long before he got to the city if that was the case. None-the-less, no one claims to be his parents, and he never mentions them.
In those days, his spark drove him to research "magic", inventing new necromantic spells, spells for healing, creation of golems, magic circles that could power a city... Of course, none of them worked as magic isn't real, but still you have to admire his... dedication.
Being a spark, he did develop one useful talent, that of using machines. While he normally couldn't repair another sparks work, if the device should have worked, he could usually get it to work.
This lead to him developing a reputation as a hack, a gadgetteer with no talent who only knew how to steal other people's work, and a loon, a spark who's talent had taken him so far out of reality it was comical. In fact, his most notable exploit from this time was flinging sulfur and bat guano in the face of the dread wasteland pirate Lamont Shadowarm
*.
**
Perhaps in his mid twenties, he finally got one of his spells to work. Immediately, he put together an expedition into the wasteland to try to find what he dubbed "a source of magic". It was was partially successful, although the source of magic eluded them, casualties were light and a they got a good survey of a few nearby areas that had not been scouted. Theodore declined his share of the survey profits.
Not daunted, he formed a second expedition. This one did not go so well. He was one of three survivors, and all returned empty handed and wounded; the expedition had been attacked by a shadow beast. This time, there were no profits, and Theodore was labeled a jinx
***.
No one would go with him for a third foray into the wastelands. Desperate, Theodore headed into the wilderness by himself
+.
It is unknown if the person who returned was the same Theodore as the one who left. When he returned, he was clutching an amulet, and rambling like a madboy.
Since then (maybe a year or two ago, maybe less), his reputation has changed. His spells have a much greater chance of working, and having this outlet for his spark seems to have made him a lot more stable. Still, rumors as to what he brought back and what consequences might arise from a quantifiable magic source have plagued him. He's been attacked by several shadow cults, at least one shadowspawn
++, and Oberon's shadow-hunters have been waiting for a decision on if he's a threat or not
+++.
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*: This lead to a resurgence of the phrase "batsh-t crazy" in the pirate community for several years. The debate as to whether Shadowarm invented the phrase at that time is still going on. It is unknown how Theodore escaped the situation, as Shadowarm refuses to speak of it.
**: The name Lamont Shadowarm was the first name to come out of this:
http://www.seventhsanctum.com/gens/heroicname.html Give it a try!
***: It is my understanding that anyone who survives a single trip into the wastelands is believed to be lucky, although local superstition states that Elesbur the Mad cursed the realm so that a horrible tragedy will befall anyone before their fifth trip. Anyone who's previously been attacked by a shadow beast is considered bad luck, as the shadows found them once. Likewise, anyone who survived the massacre of most or all of his expedition is considered to have cannibalized them, either literally or stolen their luck so they could survive.
+: Unless a PC is crazy enough to have followed him or offered to help.
++: Either a very
very young shadowbeast, or perhaps some form of shadow beast foot soldier, or maybe it was a shadow cultist who knew some actual secrets. Either way...
+++: At least, most of them are waiting... Rumors that Theodore has actually been attacked without Oberon's permission have been squelched.