My bard grew a face! (and some burns, too)
Alexander Kovrig, novice mastersinger. (that is, bard)
Backstory: still working on it (mostly the language). Alexander doesn't really know the Professor -- he received the invitation out of familial duty (as Raskolnikov is an uncle by his mother's side), and the initiative, he mustered out of professional duty (a bard can never have enough stories, and with all the other stories about the Professor's work, the funeral is bound to be somehow interesting).
Boy's born to a noble family way down in Caliphas. The noble family got its status way back when, when one of its patriarchs became this really renowned general that won great favor in the royal court. That general's story is part of Al's inspiration to be a bard, though there's also the story-drenched life he lived as a kid, what with his mother telling him all these stories every night til' she died. The family's main occupation, however, is handling a few farming estates outside the city, and investing in a lot of merchant companies throughout the lake -- they're noble only in title, not in political capital or martial might.
He's got four elder brothers. The eldest is the successor to most of the family possessions, and handles the family accounts; the second assists the eldest in his business; the third manages a few of their merchant fleets, always sailing round the lake; and the fourth chose the quiet life of a cleric, sticking to his studies in the city. Thus, his youth seemed like a competition to him, and with his father having never fully approved of his choice to be a bard, his ambition turned into a bit of a complex.
Al's still a bit young -- by the time of the adventure, he's just starting in a local performing group, but this being also family business, he was forced by his father to make this journey alone (none of his other brothers got the time, and his father didn't really think his son would need the extra baggage with a bodyguard and all that). The money he's spending is all his -- his father didn't really expect him to do much, so no bonuses to the allowance. But of course, with all the other stories about the Professor's work, Al knew better...