Nolan the Drinkbrewer (182-234) was a famous gnome and the inventor of svaq, the tasty sobering drink with the legendary repute, steady companion of drunkards and especially sailors. Nolan built Nolan's Farm northwest of the large port of Ciosa and many other smaller breweries in the Santharian province of Manthria. Nolan then exported svaq through all Santharia, making a fortune. He was, is and always will be the "First Of The Svaq Brewers", as he is called among his workers and his descendants.

Picture description. The famous inventor of the svaq sobering drink, the Daran gnome Nolan Drinkbrewer. Picture drawn by Faugar.

Appearance. From the reliable sources we have gathered regarding this gnomish celebrity, it is possible to describe Nolan pretty well: His bald head and clumsy figure could be noticed from a hundred peds away we are told. Nolan's face was always well tended as was his beard (of which he was especially proud of). His deep black eyes always seemed to look at you with some strange wisdom as if the knowledge of all the gnomes were contained in them. His short hands had a strength to them, his legs were a bit awkward, and, yes, he was a bit fat, but he would never let that get in the way of his daily duties.

Although he was slightly taller than an average gnome, he didn't make a big deal out of it and his friends, family and workers also didn't make a big deal out of it because they knew what kind of genius was hiding behind the tight shell of a gnomish body, as he said himself. His worn out red coat was left to him by his father and he took care of it as if it were a powerful artifact, which it in some way in fact was to him because he loved his father. His father had been Nolan's first teacher along with Endran, an alchemist friend of his. His usually brown pants were crowded with pockets where he kept all those little trinkets he collected during his short life. As for the shoes, we hear reports that they were mostly all muddy and with a couple of holes in them. He usually didn’t have time to fix them due to his busy schedule. It is interesting to observe that Nolan's characteristic look was carried from one generation to another, yes it even seems as if each eldest son of a Nolan, who bears the same name as his father, tries to do his best to live up to the very first Nolan Drinkbrewer who lived centuries back. Although the family name of Drinkbrewer was lost in the meantime and was replaced by a number so that the tradition of Nolan remains untouched.

Personality. A smiling face and a handful of jokes were classic Nolan behaviour we are told although he rarely showed his opposite side: a serious face with a rare or no smile on it. His rare rage was well known by his workers and servants. His shouting and overall commanding drifted fear in his people when he was in that state. Nolan was a very wise gnome and he even had a library full of old elven and human books. He even started to write his view on Krean history during his short stay on Nybelmar, but the book was lost on his trip back to southern Sarvonia. He had some interesting statements in his life which were written down by fellow gnomes, like:

As we see from this statement, he obviously hated to be gnome. He rather wanted to be a mighty elf or human king. Nevertheless through his svaq invention and the conversion of his farm and brewery to a trading post and eventually to an inn, he should become one of the gnomes with the most renown in all of Santharia.

Biography. Childhood. Born in a poor family of Daran gnomes, Nolan spent his normal childhood in the busy capital of the Manthrian province of Santharia, Marcogg. He didn't listen to his parents and he often got out and gone missing for days. He spent those days at Endran’s, an old alchemist friend of his. The first time it happened he was punished but that only made him more arrogant and violent. Some say that this was the consequence of missing love in his family.

Destroyed Dreams. His early wish to become an alchemist was soon destroyed when his father died of an unknown illness. He and his mother then moved to the port of Ciosa in the southeast of the Manthrian province where they bought a small shack on the outskirts of the city.

Being On His Own. Nolan's mother got a job in an inn but the only problem was that the inn was really far from the place they lived in, so his mother woke up early and came home late. Nolan then ruled the house and took care of the animals they had. His favourite pig Lers was his only friend in that days, although there were two cows but they weren’t so smart and lovely as Lers was. He cooked meals for himself thus learning to cook and sometimes he even went hunting with his bow that he made. He didn't forget his friend in Marcogg, where he learned to write, and he sent him letters containing his ideas for new potions or some researches he made on plants that he found. Parts of these letters were available to Nolan's later biographers, so there exists a good deal of genuine and accurate information on this part of Nolan's life.

The First Job. When Nolan reached his twenties he started to use his gained alchemical knowledge to work for a Ciosan noble, whose name is traded as Otar Tornholt. At first he just made simple soothing and special alcoholic potions for him, then he got to more complex concoctions. After several years his master ventured to Nybelmar to personally observe the work and trading deals of his other brewers and he took his favourite gnome with him with the mission of learning a couple of things. As Otar had a female gnome cook on his ship, the "Grey Hawk", as well, and as Nolan had an interest in cooking, the cook and Nolan fell in love and finally married on the same ship. On his way back home the "Grey Hawk" wrecked however but a part of the crew (including Otar, Nolan and his wife) managed to get on a rescue boat. Luckily they managed to be picked up by another ship and were brought back to Santharia unharmed.

Great Assignment. Otar Tornholt gave Nolan the assignment to work on a potion which had to prevent Otar’s personal guards from being drunk on duty. The potion would - much, much later - be called "svaq" and become the famous one of its kind sober-making drink. After another failed test Nolan's laboratory however burst into flames but again the gnome managed to survive which could not be said for his wife, who unfortunately died in the fire. After the incident Otar fired Nolan.

Breakthrough. Nevertheless Nolan continued his experiments and after long years of research he finally invented the final version of svaq, the revolutionary tasty sober-making drink, and made quite an amount of money on selling it, first in Ciosa, then at various other Manthrian towns. Most of the rest of his life Nolan would be busy making arrangements for trading svaq and his profits would steadily climb.

Second Wife. Nolan married once more and with his second wife he got his first and only child, a son, who he named after him.

Nolan's Farm. One day Nolan realized that he needed a bigger home for his - in the meantime quite wealthy - family and he thus bought a farm. He later on turned it into a tradepost and inn, although it would be most successful only after few more generations of Nolans.

Death. Nolan died in bed of an illness, his final words were reported as: "And what a life it was!" His son would continue what he had begun, and even after many generations Nolan's Farm still is around and is more flourishing than ever.

Importance. Nolan's importance consists of the discovery of the recipe for producing svaq and the establishing of a famous trading post, which we all know today as Nolan's Farm. Although he meant for the farm to be just a brewery, the credit for making it a place which controls the trade routes from the south of the Mithral Mountains to the city of Ciosa belongs not only to Nolan the XIII. but also to Nolan the first. 

28th Frozen Rivers 1666 a.S. Information provided by Arceon