Hubert Grünwald is an Imperial Light Wizard who has been High Light of the Light College for less than a year and was elected swiftly after his predecessor died, having failed to protect a Tilean town from an earthquake. Hubert is determined not to make the same mistake and always checks all his calculations and incantations at least three times.[1a]
Hubert is seventy-two years old. He has white hair and a beard, along with watery blue eyes. He wears spectacles at all times -- except in public, when vanity compels him to remove them and peer at everyone instead. He is well-respected among his peers in the college and has many friends in high positions within the army. His origins lie with the wizarding Grünwald family of Talabheim, where his cousin heads the Battle College of Talabheim, though there is a certain coldness between them. Hubert is justly proud of his ancestry and wears his family crest beside the Wheel of Magic around his neck.[1a]
However, having spent most of his life at the Light College, he is uncertain how to navigate court life, where matters are far harder to predict. He speaks little, tends to listen to and side with the High Grey in Council, and is easily led. He is touchy about his own dignity and the protocols he believes his office deserves, although he is not always certain what all of these are. He spends much of his time reading the records of the college.[1a]
Connection to Alric[]
Hubert Grünwald's personal history seems to be a reference to the story of Alric, a Master Chanter of the Light Order who saved the Tilean town of Apesto from an earthquake.[2a]