Elster

Elster is the cowardly mage the Avatar meets upon entering the Scintillus Academy Final Exam. He explains the Final Exam to the Avatar, an exam that all wizards must go through to earn a Bachelor of Magery (aka a B.M.). Elster explains that he has been having second thoughts about taking the exam, but the help button on the staging ground does not work.

He also explains that he has been waiting for sixty years for help to arrive, but he has been stuck here. The only way out seems to be to take the Final Exam, but that is something he has not the courage to attempt, as many students have died, including some of the best and brightest, and Elster confesses, he is not one of the better students.

After the Avatar passes the Final Exam, he returns to the Staging Ground, to find that Elster has disappeared. He presumably has gone to take the exam. His final fate, or whether he passed it or not, is uncertain.