Meet the Characters: Dirk Grithinshield

Dirk Grithinshield has the distinguished honor of being mentioned throughout “Quest for the Red Sapphire” but is barely in the book. He is the father of Linvin Grithinshield (the main character) and draws a long shadow. Dirk is Human and is married to an elf; Jelena. An imposing figure, he stands roughly six foot four and is remarkably muscular. Those are not anywhere near Dirk’s greatest gifts, however. He is one of those rare people you meet in life who is simply impossible to dislike. Race, sex and age make no difference as Dirk is a charismatic person of impeccable character. With a good head for numbers and business he starts his own merchant store on little more than a handshake. He then travels the ethnically segmented Kingdom of Sartan and makes arrangements with suppliers of goods that are rare in his city of Fraylic. His store stocks the best Elven and Dwarven merchandise. Dirk’s gift with people combined with the exotic stock make business flourish. Affluence soon follows and his family moves to the aristocratic part of town in an effort to guarantee their safety and also give Jelena the place in Society she secretly longs to have.
Dirk’s world changed after a trading expedition where he procured an important item. He soon realized that his 12 year old son, Linvin, was destined to be the master of the Red Sapphire. The immensely powerful stone was said to be the most powerful magic a mortal could possess. Dirk knew Linvin would need training if he was to make the most of the opportunity when it was presented. Thus, Dirk adamantly forced Linvin to be sent to Valia in order to train with Sedemihcra, against Jelena’s wishes to keep him home and let him follow in his father’s footsteps. There were different pieces to the puzzle that would complete to bring the Red Sapphire to Linvin. Dirk was determined to obtain all the pieces and then send for his son to return home. Fate may have desired to have Linvin win the stone, but it had other plans for Dirk…