Professor Mara's page

::not as such, despite the hive, or perphapse because of it, spellweave minds are very.. Closed is the best word I can think of it is the word we use for it, or rather the closest word you have to the one we use, though perhapse full might be a better one, but it is an extremely painful and disorienting thing to forceably share space with a non psionic spellweave, we are running into somewhat of a language barrier, but in any case nothing for a spellweave to be psionic is a rare enough thing, and while incredibly potent, simply for the fact that a spellweave has three minds, each powerful in their own right, they are not unduely aided by the hive against itself, to act against the hive would be to dinish one's own personal strength, something hardly thinkable, espically one corrupted enough to do such as that:: dang for a guy with no lungs, zix is long winded

Mara snaps his fingers and an ethereal quill appears out of thin air. "Record" The quill begins to transcribe the conversation.

::That is quite a remarkable fail-safe. Tell me, how do spellweaves react to the tragedy of death in their hives?::

He grimices lightly ::ah there is the rub, I believe the term is, we spellweave are at our most potent when dealing with magics of the arcane sort, lower teir spells I can cast many at once, due to having many arms to direct the magics. As a race we are highly resistant to magics of the mind, so long as we do not open our minds to psionics, and while a meta concert.. That is what they are called yes?... Would be quite potent, I can think of only a select few who would deign to lower their defenses to gain such power, espically as there is no gaurantee that sufficent others would do so to make a difference.. And as to risk. Each spellweave is born with three minds, the hive mind being only one of, the risk is negligible,::

Apologies, I think I missed this one

::That is a rub indeed. Since there are two other minds that are independent from the hive mind, have there been any rogue spellweaves that have used psionics, to the detriment of the species?::

He shrugs, which looks odd with the number of arms and shoulders he has ::fair enough, I myself would rather maxamize potential, in fact were your formal rival to be given a limited form of propulsion he may become more amicable to you, and it would give you something to hold over his head, something that, were he to not give his fullest cooperation towards your every whim you could take away, and were he to do as you wish, you could grant him small... Upgrades, such as the ability to feel or to speak, or regain some small portion of his magic that he has lost:: he pauses and looks deeply amused:: but far be it for me to give advice on how to properly manipulate someone to a former denizen of the lower planes as long lived as yourself:: he mentally chuckles for a bit

::As to the manor of my birth, though I know not why you are interested, my race does not sexually reproduce, each member accumulates magical energies, around the time when they are between five hundred and one thousand years of age, and spawn a single individual, which itself is a new member of the hive, independent yet connected to every other spellweave, does this satisfy your inquery?::

::That is quite fascinating. I assume that the interconnectedness of the spellweave enhances psionic powers quite considerably. Wouldn't it also put the entire network at risk to a rogue spellweave?::

::as a being of more than a melenia myself, And with the ancestrial memories of those many melenia before myself, I can assure you that indeed there were, though you may not have had knowlege of them, or access to said knowlege and it is a simple matter to implement controls to the mechanical body, possibly an amulet of some sort, or a mechanical crank of some sort to ensure he would only be active when you were::

::These are good ideas, but I think I would rather stick with the old world simplicity for now. Pardon my curiosity, but how were you born?::

Professor Mara wrote:

Zix wrote:

::facinating, :: he looks closer ::hmm it appears you have lobotomized some of the magical centers of the brain, to what purpose does this serve?::

::Well, you see, it was simply the best alternative. I could not have let him go, since he would've simply rebuilt his power, at great expense to the townspeople, and fought me again. At the same time, I wanted to honor his request that he did not want to be permanently destroyed. You see, it is very taboo for Rakshasas, travelers of the cosmic wheel, to end that life-death cycle.::

::In this way, he can choose to leave this phase of his life at any time, but with that, he would lose much of his power. In this state, he chooses to remain fully conscious, without any ability to exact revenge.::

zix nods ::understandable, though I personally would have manufactured a construct body of some sort so as to have him be of greater use to you,:: just to be clear, zix has no mouth, telapathy is how he talks, and unless otherwise stated everyone nereby can hear it

::The arts of construct were not present thousands of years before this time. And I think that being strangled in my sleep is a possible flaw in that plan.::

::facinating, :: he looks closer ::hmm it appears you have lobotomized some of the magical centers of the brain, to what purpose does this serve?::

::Well, you see, it was simply the best alternative. I could not have let him go, since he would've simply rebuilt his power, at great expense to the townspeople, and fought me again. At the same time, I wanted to honor his request that he did not want to be permanently destroyed. You see, it is very taboo for Rakshasas, travelers of the cosmic wheel, to end that life-death cycle.::

::In this way, he can choose to leave this phase of his life at any time, but with that, he would lose much of his power. In this state, he chooses to remain fully conscious, without any ability to exact revenge.::

::perhaps, what is this you have here?::

::It's the preserved living brain of my greatest magical rival.::

::Quite well. Would you like to observe this interesting specimen?::

Karish and Mara are in the teachers' lounge.

@Mara: how accurate would Karish think Baka's story is? She's familiar with Rakshasa enough to know Mara's probably LE and all that implies, so his story is taken with the necessary grain of salt =)

Oh, I might have not made it clear, but Mara said that Bakasura (his rival) was a Rakshasa.

Personally I do not mind if you go either way, since there's something interesting in both directions. :)

Anyone got a brain-in-a-jar avatar picture? I recall seeing them around, but I can't find it in the avatar selection.

When the brain is first revealed Karish's expression is a mix of bizarre surprise and sudden disgust. However, as the Rakshasa's tale unfolds, she finds herself more and more interested in the details and the obvious care and effort expended in the creation of this object and the persistence of the core sentience inside. The enemy might be defeated and ... well, utterly at the Rakshasa's mercy, but that he was preserved like this was a wonder. Besides, if he told true, the man hadn't been the pinnacle of morality himself. An illusionist and shapeshifter... almost too similar to the tale of Haures the Dreaming Duke himself.

"That's... bizarre. Amazing, though. How thorough is his telepathy?" She doesn't wait for the rakshasa's answer, instead opening her own telepathic channel to the captive brain and attempting to communicate with it, knowing that the shield of the Vestiges around her mind would protect her from any retributive telepathic attacks but allow through simple dialogue. <Greetings, stranger.>

The brain doesn't respond. "You'll need to touch the glass. I made the design change after he started spamming me with telepathic messages every chance he gets. I'll warn you though; he's lost some of his magic-related vocabulary"

Does anyone know of a brain-in-a-jar avatar picture?

Professor Mara wrote:

"Apologies, Professor, for interrupting your conversation with Professor Vare. It was just a rather traumatic experience that needed to be addressed. Perhaps I could make it up to you, with some dashing conversation."

"Not at all," Karish replies calmly. "Sounds like this isn't the first time Professor Vare and this particular student have been at odds, and discipline is understandably sometimes necessary. Hopefully it'll all be settled shortly." She did silently lament the loss of that particular conversation, but Vare had suggested that future exchanges of information were more than welcome... patience was one virtue she prided herself on being able to maintain.

Quote:

"Actually, want to see something really cool?" Mara's eyes glimmer with interest.

"Sure. What did you have in mind?" She takes another bite out of her apple - now mostly gone - as she waits for him to respond or begin his performance.

"I always sensed that you would be someone who would appreciate this." Professor Mara swiftly uncovered the parcel that he had rested on the table, revealing a brain suspended in a magical glass container. "This is the brain of the human form of my former rival, archmage Bakasura. At least, that's what he called himself in his community. This is a really beautiful specimen and my greatest accomplishment, back from the days of my youth"

"You see, Baka was always a skilled shapeshifter and illusionist. He would replace a respected member of the community by essentially subsuming the body and keeping the mind dominated in the brain. That way, magic would be fooled and the knowledge of the old mind remained. Through my magical trickery, I fooled him into thinking that I would provide the townspeople with spells that could detect the presence of two closely-intertwined minds inside a single body. He responded by binding himself more firmly to the soul of the scholar inhabiting the body, whose name I can't quite remember, to fool the divination magic...Anyways, the paranoia, that I inspired, drove him to bind himself too tightly and as a result, he now required a physical body to sustain him and perform his magic."

Professor Mara takes out a model of a brain from his briefcase. "You see, the brain is divided up into zones that most humanoid races use to harness magic. Here in the fore-brain are the cognition skills required to harness arcane power. Back here, around a centimeter deep, is the limbic cortex, which is responsible for delusions and ironically, most divine magic." He picks up the glass brain-jar and turns it around to give her a better look. The brain appears to have a few sections precisely removed in clean blocks, in the areas that he had mentioned earlier were used for arcane magic. "After I defeated him in battle, I carefully excised the parts of the brain most responsible for battle magics. Unfortunately it's diminished his usefulness, but at least he can still use divination and limited telepathy. Plus, I can carry him around safely and he can enjoy the rest of life in quiet contemplation. Cool, right?"

He returns his gaze to his colleagues, looking through them rather than at them. "And you said she disrespected you? I'm going to look for her. She... did not have a pleasant evening last night. Perhaps I can council her. If she will listen to me. Excuse me." with that, Vare departs in a hurry, taking his patchwork spellbook with him. He had already tried the arrows this morning, when Rena was Out... but now he was without her, the arrows wouldn't be of much use to him.

"Of course she will listen to you. You are her teacher, after all. God speed!" Mara sits back into his chair and goes back to sipping his tea.

"Apologies, Professor, for interrupting your conversation with Professor Vare. It was just a rather traumatic experience that needed to be addressed. Perhaps I could make it up to you, with some dashing conversation."

"Actually, want to see something really cool?" Mara's eyes glimmer with interest.

Interesting. It appears that Treisdan has long black hair and a darker complexion.

:D

"She? That is the pronoun for a humanoid of the female gender, correct? I am not entirely sure that the student was female, though I must admit, I don't have much experience in the subject. The student was wearing concealing robes, and I believe that it is not in humanoid customs to feel for the presence of secondary sexual characteristics." He feels quite proud for knowing that.

"However, the student does have a darker complexion that most and rather long black hair."

I just noticed this bit:

Professor Mara wrote:

Professor Mara clasps his hands together like a trained psychologist

*tries to imagine how a rakshasa does that with the reversed hands thing they have going on*

=)

You noticed! I like inserting little things here or there for humor. :D

*snip*

As Professor Mara is talking, he notices that Professor Vare is lost in thought and isn't really hearing the words that he's saying.

"I cannot, for the life of me, remember." He taps at his parcel and holds the parcel so that it touches Karish's hand. "What was the student's name, the one that I told you to scry on?"

The telepathic answer from the parcel jolts out on contact to Professor Mara and Karish. You told me to scry on 'The Kid that attacked me today.' Target could not be acquired.

"It appears that I'm getting too old for this job already. I have trouble remembering the names of all these kids in the common tongue. All their names sound the same and they look the same too. If only the school would let me put a memory charm on each of them that could play back their identification on command."

It's more that he doesn't really respect the kids and doesn't bother learning their names, but he never admits that.

I thought it was very interesting. :D

"I am Vare. I bear no titles other than the Professor title which this school has bestowed upon me." he says... but again, he does not look at Mara's face while speaking... if Mara is seating on a chair, Vare instead seems to be focusing his attentions nearer to the seat of the chair... though his eyes do not seem to select a single place to rest.

"My speciality is Conjuration, Planar magicks and languages. What?" Vare suddenly turns away, facing the corner and speaking to the air. "Yes I know it's adorable..." There's a pause as he seems to be listening to... something. Someone? "Listen, the other Professors are going to think I am out of my mind. No.. I'm sorry. We'll talk soon, alright? Don't pout. I asked you earlier if you wanted to be Out."

Vare turns back to the conversation with his two colleagues. "Pardon me." he says, but offers no further explanation.

"I...see. Well, it seems that I have found the summoning instructor," he says, nonchalantly, as if he was not actively searching for him. "Please, sit down. There is an important matter to discuss."

Professor Mara clasps his hands together like a trained psychologist and leans forward. "I believe that one of your students is suffering from a characteristic form of manic depression. I have observed the classic symptoms: intermittent periods of low activity, punctuated by short periods of decreased inhibition and elevated magnitudes of emotion. This morning, the student showed great disrespect to myself and a fellow professor...As a psychologist, I do not ascribe this to a personality flaw, but rather only a symptom. This blurring of lines between students and authority figures is also a common part of this disease. Sometimes, the sufferer does not really understand each person's place in society."

Mara regards the potentially-psychotic Vare as confirmation of his diagnosis. "Of course, with such a close student-teacher relationship and your expertise with summoning, you would have already noticed that the student is clearly possessed." Mara sits back in his chair.

Vare had glanced at the door when Maru had first appeared, then back to Karish before Maru had spoken. When he does speak - in a male voice no doubt - Vare returns his gaze to him... though his eyes never do seem to properly fix on the Rakshasa, instead looking down near to his feet. "Hello. Not at all. I do not believe we've been introduced."

"I am Professor Mara, MD, PhD, psyD. I've just been hired as the new Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience. No doubt mostly practiced by pseudo-scientists and quacks, but my methods are personally producing bounties of new medical knowledge. And yours?"

Jen is Maru, by chance, referencing Order of the Stick here, with his tea? I really /must/ know.

It was not intentional, but I'm an avid OOTS reader, so it just snuck in there. :D

@Our Resident Rakshasa:

The arrows lead Maru towards a room located in a back-section of the school, away from the main traffic. The room is marked "Professor's Lounge". If Maru enters, he will see both Vare...

Professor Mara knocks quietly at the lounge door, waits momentarily, and opens it. He sees the two Professors inside and nods to acknowledge their presence. "Good afternoon. I hope I'm not interrupting a private conversation."

He takes some boiling water from the nearby coffee machine and stirs in a packet of congealed blood flakes to prepare a bloodwart tea, before sitting down in a comfortable seat, lotus-style.

He rubs his temples to deal with his splitting headache and sips his tea.

Just incase you skim through the game thread, I am searching for the summoning professor with the arrows. :D

Ah right, I just realized that the player is moving into college today, so might not be the best time

...
"Well, are you done yet?"
This could take a while. It's harder without fingers...or hands really
"Just keep working on it. I'll have to look for some more direct means."

Professor Mara uses the arrows in the school to search for the Summoning instructor.

You touch the wall and either think or announce a person or destination, and glowing arrows appear on the wall to lead you to the person/destination. The rooms, both personal rooms and class rooms, will alter their appearance, layout and furniture based on what you have in mind for it's appearance/functionality. Think of a holodeck, only it's all real stuff, and doesn't do other beings, to my knowledge..

"Well, the chapel is where I meditate, but if you want a portion of your room to be used for meditation, it will change to suit your needs. The teacher's lounge/staff area is near the classrooms...here."
He gestures to the entrance of the room he spoke of.
"The gardens of the school, and the extensive grounds of the school are also good places to 'take a breather' or meditate. I hope you enjoy your time here."

Oops, missed this

"Thank you, Professor. Your company was most welcome." He inclines his head in respect. This is the third time that you've given respect to this man today! You're getting soft! Mara bids the Professor farewell and heads into the garden.

Professor Mara uncovers the parcel to reveal the brain in a jar. He starts talking to it in hushed, but condescending tones, while the brain responds back telepathically.

"I'm just going to take the cover off to give you some sunlight. You're starting to get pale."
Haha, very funny. Do you need to make that joke every time?
"Yes, I'm not the one with my brain in a jar. Now, I'm going to need you to perform a divination for me."
Do I have to do it? I am quite a gifted magician in my own right. What if I refuse?
"We both know that this request is only a courtesy. Now why can't we be civil about this?
Well, how about the time when you ambushed me at a Bazaar in Marrakesh and bound my spirit to this jar?
"Ah, good times. Remember when you thought that we were rivals, but I was actually just your superior?"
Oh, I don't remember that ever occurring. I can't recall when you were ever my superior. But since you asked for my assistance so nicely, I will give it to you. First you will need to specify your target unambigiously.

"The kid that attacked me today. The kid that attacked me today. The kid that attacked me today."

Brain in a jar casts discern location on Treisdan. Does he find him?
"

"Very well then."
He takes Mara on a very orderly tour of the school. As part of the tour, he explains how the arrows on the walls work, the self-arranging rooms and class rooms, etc.

Actually, I don't know about the arrows and the self-arranging rooms. Could you go over that very briefly? :D

Jen bows to Professor Genosuke at the end of the tour, more deeply and respectfully this time. "Thank you, that was a wonderful introduction. Is there some sort of teacher lounge or meditation chamber in this place? Five minutes with these kids have already given me a headache."

Smiles as the realization dawns on the Rakshasa.
"Well, I suppose being a spirit binder means he is always possesed, he just happens to be the one in control. I believe one of the staff was to help him stay focused, but at the moment his name escapes me. I wouldn't worry, though. I believe he already has a Rakshasa bound."
he says the last bit with a wry grin.
"You do not seem comfortable here in the chapel. Would you like a tour of the school? Have you met the headmaster?"

"So you're saying, that I could be dealing with a fellow Rakshasa, that has taken over the mind of a student. Very interesting..."

At the offer, Mara relaxes a bit. "Rakshasas don't do very well near places of worship. I'll take you up on that offer for a tour.

"I am professor of Philosophy. I have no acronyms. As far as Mr. Achdarach, he is a spirit binder. He had an episode his first week here where he almost lost control of a being he had bound. I suspect his mood swings are related to those activities."

Maru stands in thought, for after all, he is a Spirit too. "And the summoning teacher does not supervise him carefully? What if the student is possessed?"

Professor Maru feels a bit uncomfortable in the place of worship. "Well, Genosuke, Professor of...?" She leaves a bit of space so he can fill it in. "I am Professor Maru of Psychology, MD. PhD, Psy.D"

"As a trained clinical psychologist, I must say that the student seemed to be suffering from an acute case of manic depression. Has he always acted this way?"

Nothing except the traces of your firey magic and possibly acid. :D

Mouth was closed, and Treisdan is quite prepared for a counter attack... Btw unless your cane was magic it's broken with fire
And finally, gaseous form =)

Treisdan turns to gas and floats away

Professor Mara takes a specimen cloth from his parcel and wipes his cane, where the student had touched it. He places the cloth in a sterile bag and seals it away. Such is the wonders of modern divination.

The Professor walks into the chapel and spots the other professor. "Children, they can be such a hassle. I believe I haven't gotten your name yet."

What are the school rules as they pertain to smacking down obnoxious children? :d

Lol. Psyche!

Mara picks up the ball of yarn with lightning agility and stuffs it into Treisdan's mouth to prevent him from speaking.

"Very nice attempt. However, there were some flaws with your approach. Of course, you're here to learn, because this is a school. You should never attack an opponent's mind without making sure that he is not constantly vigilant."

With his other arm, he sweeps his cane under Treisdan's legs to make him trip. If he does so, then he starts pulling him by the leg to his room.

Sounds good, I will design it soonish.

Maru is caught off-guard by the student's power. "Would either of you happen to have a ball of yarn, by any chance?"

Uh, I haven't fully built my character yet, one moment. :D

Professor Maru, a highly acclaimed enchanter and mentalist by profession, uses this opportunity to communicate telepathically with Treisdan without alerting the other Professor, while sealing off the rest of his mind.

Telepathy: I saw what you did in the chapel; I could not agree more. I am trying to get you out of trouble in the most plausible way that I can. If the summoning teacher hears of your actions, you may be severely punished. Also, I need to talk to you privately. Play along with what I'm about to do.

"That is quite enough, boy. Mental assault of a teacher is a first rate offense. Come with me!" He turns to the other Professor. "There is no need to trouble the summoning instructor. I have many things that he could do for detention in my office."

Stuff it cat" Treisdan glares and wraps his green claw around the sick... And his palm starts to heat up, flickers of red and orange can be seen between his fingertips

Maru inclines his head slightly to acknowledge the Professor's sentiment. "This man may be more forgiving; for that, you should be grateful...What did you say?!"

A large globule of acid falls from his dragon's claw and burns through the area of the spit
*hiss*

"done" Treisdan turns on his heel and exits the chapel

As Professor Mara wanders the halls, he notices a disturbing scene. In the school chapel, a student disrespects a teacher and turns his back on him. This, the professor cannot stand.

He puts his wooden cane in front of the student to bar his path and hold him back.

"You, do not disrespect your superiors." All three of Maru's eyes glare at the student.

The idea had hit him between his second and third cat naps of the day.

The wards around the school were designed to protect students and teachers!
Students and Teachers!
Teachers!

He could become a teacher!

It was quickly apparent to him that his Rakshasan name, convoluted and decorated with his various vile accomplishments, would not suffice in the world of Avalon Academy, as accepting as it might be. For this discreet mission, he would require a new name.

He chose his new name, Maru, from a tale of significance in a religion so obscure that only the most ancient and wise of scholars would understand the reference.

This religion was Hinduism and Maru was a leader of a depraved army of sinners

Despite his secretive nature, he couldn't possibly resist to be the most pompous of cats on the block. He chose to wear an ancient embroidered robe, brown with gilded lace. On top, he draped a scarf of the finest silks, harvested from the dire silkworm living in the undead forests of the Drow caverns. But nothing could compare to his all-seeing third eye.

For today, he would be starting his new job as Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience. A worthy post and one most suited to his abilities, as he had broken the minds of many worthy adversaries, both mentally and physically, for the sole purpose of study.

The Professor entered the school, looking down derisively at the throngs of school children and even some of the teachers.

Runts, vagabonds, children of vagabonds!

In his hands, he held a wrapped parcel that concealed a living brain preserved in a jar. As he walked down the hall way, his third eye glared at onlookers until they grew uncomfortable of the death stare and looked away.

I may just like it here.

Would anyone happen to know if there is currently a Professor of Psychology in residence?

Somewhere far away...

*On the phone*

*angry roaring on the other end of the line*
"Don't worry, I have it all under control. She's back under surveill-..."
*more yelling*
"It appears that she was hit by a wayward spell. It should be alrigh-..."
*yelling*
"I've already told you. It's those darn wards around the school. I cannot penetrate them with more than the simplest of..."
*meowing and hissing*
"You don't need to talk to me like that. And yes, I can talk to a god any way that...Okay, fine. She won't leave my sight again."

Far from the school, the Rakshasa unfurrows his brow and slumps back onto his chair. Those wards around the school...to pose difficulty to a great being like myself. They could not have been crafted by mortal hands. Bah, all those feline gods. Relegating me to babysitting a mere common cat, when I could...

His thoughts are interrupted mentally by a sharp reply. Your duty is to felines first and to your underworld lords second. Remember that, for though we are lesser gods, we can taketh life as easily as we giveth.