Nilethrop was a gnomish mage, never a very good one, but a mage nonetheless. He had a particular interest however, a fascination with the wild bears of Mistone.
He was determined to discover all there is to know about the populations that roamed the continent, to which end he devised an interesting plan. He decided to mark all of the bears on Mistone with an individual mark, giving them their own identity.
In doing this he would be able to distinguish one from the other and track thier movements.
After several close encounters branding grizzly bears, he came to the conclusion that he would require a more long range approach. And so he set about creating the Branding flame. This magically enchanted wand would work similar to that of a fire brand spell, but not actually causing any serious damage. It could be configured to burn different marks into the bears hides.
After several disasterous attempts, he finally perfected his invention and set out into the world to satisfy his obsession. He was last seen departing into the High Forest after a group of black bears, from which he never returned. Tales have him murdered by a rogue druid, aswell as ambushed by a family of bears. Needless to say, the branding flame has never been found, most likely destroyed.
What other uses could be found for such an obscure object make the mind boggle. His marks can occasionally seen on the hides of bear still to this day, indicating some of the oldest bears to walk mistone.
