"The Sandman"
Sigil: the target or anyone nearby feels slightly drowsy whenever one of Rickart's spells goes off.
Voting Sigil: A large silver key
Youth, Apprenticeship, and Gauntlet
Rickart was born in Catalonia, the sixth son of a local knight. Family lore claimed that he was, in fact, not his father's son, but rather a byblow of his mother's dalliance with a spirit of some sort. But, of course, those were only stories. Still, from a very young age, Rickart could see things that others could not, though he quickly learned not to talk about what he saw, lest he be considered to have the evil eye.
As there was nothing for him to inherit, what with five older brothers, Rickart was given to the church, being sent to become a monk at a nearby monastery. But when he was fifteen, things started to get strange. The monks began to look upon him poorly, some even behaving in a very unchristian manner toward him. And occasional unexplained things would happen around him. In the end, a man came and visited the monastery. He was a magus, it turned out, and he agreed to take Rickart and teach him how to deal with his newfound gifts. In fact, Rickart was only with the man for less than a year before he was sent to the Rhine to train with a woman, of all things. Apparently he was traded to someone who valued his ability to see the unseen. His new mistress was obsessed with ghosts and wanted an apprentice who could see them.
Once the dust settled, Rickart was apprenticed to Ferra ex Bonisagus in the covenant of Collem Leonis in the Rhine. Throughout his apprenticeship, Rickart was used both as a lab assistant and a set of eyes to see and communicate with ghosts. Throughout these years Rickart learned a lot about ghosts, but never felt himself drawn to the subject as his mater was. He did, however, end up with a very solid foundation in the Art of Mentem, including the ability to deftly cast Mentem magic.
His Gauntlet involved a very extensive oral questioning upon ghosts and ghostly magic.
First Cycle: The Realm of Sleep
Soon after his apprenticeship, Rickart went on a quest that ultimately lead him to the magic realm and the land of Dreaming. There he spent several months, learning many of the secrets of sleep and sleep magic. Unfortunately, the experience also left him with a tie to Dreaming that causes him to dream of things when he doesn't necessarily want to. He now has dream visions that show him the past, the present, and the future, which can be both a blessing and a curse.
During his time in Dreaming, Rickart fought nightmares, experienced errant dreams, and gained a great deal of experience in sleep that would help him tremendously in his future endeavors. He also met a magical raven named Morpheus who ultimately agreed to become his familiar.
Second Cycle: Local Trouble Shooter
As Rickart developed his newfound abilities in sleep magic, he was sent by his covenant to deal with occasional trouble - local bandits, invading monsters, and troublesome faeries. It was the sort of thing that young magi are often sent to do, but Rickart found that he had a gift for it. Time and again he was sent out to deal with trouble; time and again he dealt with it admirably. Part of it may have been that he maintained one of the teachings from his days at the monastery. No matter what, he vowed that he would not take a human life - or, as he learned more of the world, the life of anything with a soul. Instead he used his sleep magic to deal with trouble in a less lethal manner. This allowed for much less conflict in his troubleshooting, and made him a popular man in his covenant.
It was during this cycle that Rickart learned that his favorite sister and her husband had died, and had requested that he raise their son. The family would prefer that the son be raised by one of his brothers, but Rickard wants to honor his sister's wishes. Besides, he's been named the boy's guardian in the brother-in-law's will, so he feels it's his duty.
Third Cycle: A Greater Reputation
As time progressed, Rickart began to get a reputation. People started to call him "The Sandman" after his gift with sleep magic. And as his reputation grew, people from farther afield of his covenant began to look to him for help. He received some work from other covenants, from House Bonisagus, and from others within the Order. One group who asked for his help was the Knights of Seneca. Rickart became friends with Santiago ex Flambeau and helped the magus out with a number of problems across the years.
