Grivenek lived in the time of the Elder Gods and is one of the very few to survive the cataclysm that destroyed the world of the Elder Gods. Grivenek lived in Port Town on Punkett Island which became one of the fragments of the world of the Elder Gods that survived the cataclysm and from which the new gods recreated the world.

Grivenek is the leading wizard of Port Town. He is also one of its main magic merchants and leader of the Gnomes of Port Town. His rival in business and politics is the Dwarf blacksmith Thoreg who also is old enough to remember the days of the Elder Gods.

Like all other survivors of the time of the Elder Gods and many more recent people, Grivenek is one of the "soulless" people who have no soul.

Grivenek was given a magic item by the Elder Gods known as the "Staff of the Mage" which is said to have allowed him to cast balls of fire at his enemies. This is the only such staff ever made by the Elder Gods. In the early days of the First Age, this staff was copied by Kraylus and the copy was made a gift for Krellin, son of Kraylus. Grivenek's staff, the original one, was stolen from him by a dragon in the early days of the First Age.

Without the staff, Grivenek's power in the Port Town politics, and that of the Gnomes in general, declined and Dwarves led by Thoreg and his family dominated the town.