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Latoiur Banzif

RP

Chronicles of Rathya

Age

33

Gender

Male

Race

Man-kin

Nationality

Zorron

Standing

Currently in support of the Mekian Empire

Profession/Role

Philosopher (Alchemy/Science)

Theme Song

Ænema

Appearance[]

Latoiur is a tall, skinny man with walnut skin and long, black hair that he ties back, which turns mahogany under direct sunlight. He has thin hazel eyes that slant towards the tip of his nose, and thin lips that disappear entirely when he works or is thinking. His cheekbones are high and unusually prominent, while his eyes are perpetually shadowing dark bags that show even over his dark skin. His overall appearance is of a gaunt, slouching, skinny man who looks almost malnourished and perpetually tired. As he is slightly color-blind, he prefers to wear colors that he cannot easily get wrong, and is thus usually dressed in either black, beige, or shades of gray. Currently, though, he is dressed in a yellowing collared shirt, and a frayed, slightly small, pinstriped three piece of mottled gray, and dark, mud-splattered dress shoes.

Personality[]

Nervous, socially awkward, and prone to bouts of extreme self-confident lecturing, Latoiur has convinced himself that he is a scholar first, and one of the brightest minds of his time, and human second. He has a hard time relating to most people, as he tends to think in mathematical abstracts, even while thinking, and will have difficulty translating those thoughts into coherent language. However, in regards to himself and his abilities, he believes that he has made come to an "informed conclusion" about the level of his intellect over the average person, and, perhaps, everyone in the world.

Hobbies[]

Latoiur is a workaholic and tries to understand the universe even a bit better in his free time. He attempts some technological Tinkering at times, but he has often abandoned a project in favor of a newer one than not.

Background[]

Latoiur was born a second son to a large farming family in the valleys near Zorron. He was frail and sickly, and could not help his siblings with their chores, or compensate his parents for the extra mouth they had to feed with work or pay. When the crops suddenly died due to a wandering fungus, and many of Latoiur's siblings, as well, the family could not afford to keep Latoiur, and he was sent to an orphanage in Zorron, his guilt now turning into his parents'.

But things could not have been better for him. He quickly learned to read and write, and his time spent conserving his energy while the other children played was, to him, a quiet blessing. Fantasy stories and fiction quickly bored him, while history frustrated him; he could often see what he thought would have been a better path for someone to take, and it frustrated him that the most qualified person to think was not in charge.

What grabbed his attention most was the Technological Revolution - every day, it seemed, new studies were being performed, new theories proven. It was a bastion of knowledge that he did not yet understand, but was determined to figure out. Within a year, the abstracts made perfect sense, and the literature itself was beginning to clear. A year after that, he could read entire proofs and understand the systems and procedures that went into them.

He wasn't planning to do it, not really. It just surprised him - the money being offered, that was - for the person who could provide a simpler solution to a problem than the one listed. Latoiur had recognized the problem and the given answer - he had read about them previously, and a simpler solution had been visible to him then, as well. Thinking nothing of it, he threw the solution into the mailbox, knowing that he would most likely never see the money listed by "Mr. M" as the reward.

1236yps, Sixteenth fall of the Fifth Cycle, Dear Mr. M, Attached is the solution to your quandary in the paper, with the relevant proof. Sincerely, Mr. L.

The reward arrived, however, and it was enough for a proper education for himself, in which he could finally leave the orphanage to excel in his own right. And so he did - the classes meant nothing to him, and soon enough, he was heading to the Zorron Upper Education system, where many technological advancements were churning out ideas and products faster than people could think of new ones.

Latouir kept in close contact with Mr. M, and continued to update his first benefactor about the ideas he was planning, and the math behind them. Soon enough, one of his theories turned into a breakthrough; the Resonance Theory postulated that the more similar two objects, made of resonating materials, the more one would affect the other. If the two resonating objects were perfect copies of each other, the medium through which they interacted would no longer apply. The idea was widely published under the name "Mr. L", and money began to flow by investors willing to see practical application of the Resonance Theory. Latouir, however, kept much of it close to the chest, and revealed only the parts necessary to prove that the theory was sound. Latoiur accepted only one of those investors, one of the technological revolution's "new money" rich in Zorron. Eventually, Latoiur was pressured into publishing his proof, which, while sound practically, was flawed, as there was an unknown, constant, element in the math that he did not yet fully comprehend.

1239 yps, Fourth fall of the Eighth Cycle, Dear Mr. M, Yes, I am quite pleased as well – the implementations that you suggested for my Resonance Theory have proven fruitful in the production of telephones, in particular. While there are still many small problems to work out – production is highly expensive, as it warrants the use of Magick to attain the precision needed to create a working Resonance Phone - I believe that within ten years we shall see the leaders of Icilee and Faelee be able to conference from the comfort of their own homes. And this, with no need for wires or electricity! Unfortunately, until we can improve the production process, I feel that it will be many years from now until you will be able to see, firsthand, the success of your own contributions. It is understandable, but unfortunate, that you must remain anonymous to such a degree – although, perhaps, for our purposes, it is ideal. Sincerely, Mr. L

Years passed, and Latoiur published another paper, albeit on a smaller scale, postulating that resonance could be artificially forced, and added it as a footnote to his original proof. He was, for the most part, exploring his whims, finding little corrections to others' theories, or even, sometimes, invalidating them completely, while living off the money his Resonance Phones were making, once Mekian technology had been implemented with his own.

He believed that he would continue his research into Resonance, possibly for the rest of his life, but a new obsession began to grip him.

Mekian technology.

1243 yps, Twenty-First fall of the Second Cycle, Dear Mr. M, Indeed, I have seen the newest creations from Mek – my own benefactor has procured one of these "robots" for his own enjoyment; I cannot help but express the confusing concoction of wonder and frustration that I felt when looking upon it. It is not conscient – but it seems that it is not like those who failed the original Teleportation tests. If anything, it seemed like it possessed half a soul, rather than possess a full one. It can be subservient and think under rules and guidelines, but cannot think outside of them. It is obvious that there are those in Mek who are willing to bend the rules of non-Magick; I could see, in the success of this "robot", failures in the creation of Homunculi. The same failures that we had been confronted with not so long ago. Sincerely, Mr. L Postscript: Attached is a simple solution to the problem that you posed. It merely answers the practical side of the problem. Unfortunately, with our understanding of light, we cannot fully prove what you have postulated.

1245 yps, Fifteenth rise of the Third Cycle, Dear Mr. M, The robot that my benefactor has given me has many – too many – marvels that I had not anticipated! Truly, the Mekian understanding of physics is unparalleled. I have but one concern with my new companion, in that he requires no sustenance to move or operate – indeed, it seems that he runs on some sort of device which has fundamentals that are not entirely unrelated to Zorronian teleportation technology. It is, however, flawed, and I am in the midst of working out a proof to better explain, or perhaps, even improve upon, the theory by which it functions. However, I feel that the journey towards understanding will be a long one, in this instance – I must start from scratch. Sincerely, Mr. L.

He was gifted with a robot, one of the very few manufactured, by his first and central investor, the man he had made very, very rich; however, "Stiltzkin", as he called the robot with no particular reason, only deepened his obsession. He had never ceased to write to Mr. M, or he to Latoiur, and seemed, if anything, amused by Latoiur's frustration at being unable to comprehend the theory that went into the application of Mekian technology.

That, however, was solved in one fell swoop.

1248 yps, Seventh fall of the Second Cycle, Dear Mr. M, My dear friend, words cannot express the gratitude that I felt when I found that our Zorronian library was holding an extremely rare copy of Naveen Tinker's Principles of Ether Dynamics for a Mr. L. And to see a "From Mr. M" written in the front cover! I am finding that my friend of a decade has a mischievous side to him, and such a side has only brought me fortune! Having read Naveen Tinker's book twice now, and grasping the fundamentals of this energy transfer method from the abstract in which light travels, I have ascertained that his understanding of this is limited. I have attached a simple proof showing that it is indeed possible to gain a far greater output than Naveen's original hypothesis predicted. Excited and grateful, Mr. L

Excited, amazed, Latoiur was able to finally understand the central theories that supported almost all of Mekian technology. The more he understood it, the more he realized Naveen Tinker's genius, and the continued untapped potential of Mekian philosophy. It was, to him, as if he had learned to read for the first time - he simply understood the world better. And, as always, he began to, privately, make his own additions to that knowledge.

Mr. M, upon being notified that Latoiur had comprehended Ether Theory, began to share with Latoiur unfinished theories and baffling conundrums that were rising at the very forefront of that scholarship. Never before had Latoiur been more suspicious of Mr. M (perhaps he was a spy for Sulists or Bludists? Or one of the rumored minds that secretly controlled the Mekian Empire?), but never before had it mattered to him less. Latoiur was improving upon and proving theories left and right - and, as he did so, the universe was becoming comprehensible.

That was, until he began to compile his proofs in a vain plan of publishing them and revealing his genius to the few who, to his new philosophy, truly understood the world. But as he did so, and after recieving his last request from Mr. M, the progression of thought began to clear.

What he discovered he had almost single-handedly created horrified him.

1252 yps, Twentieth fall of the Twelfth Cycle, You must stop pursuing such unholy knowledge, Mr. M – I have solved this last question for you, and I see now, and only now, where it leads. I will not give you the pleasure of dipping my hands in the blood of innocents - and that blood that will run as thick and rapidly as a river, should you continue this research into extracting Ether particles and bring them into our world. I hold the key to your despicable ambitions, and you know this – without my final proof, you cannot complete what you obviously are attempting to do with the perverse knowledge we have so foolishly believed we were believed we were entitled to.

I have little doubt that you, or whomever else you have working for you, will, in time, be able to find the proof I have burned. But know this; when that day comes, and you fulfill your ambitions, you will not be God, and your soul will be damned in the same pit I hope this knowledge will never leave.

And I shall be there to stop you.

Mr. L

Weapons/Equipment[]

Meka-1839-v2A "Stiltzkin". It is at once, Latoiur's servant and bodyguard. The robot is tall - almost eight feet - and is as wide as any Orr-kin warrior. Stiltzkin is made out of separate parts of iron and steel - with the iron mostly being used to provide the outer exoskeleton of the robot. It has a rather small head for its large, barrel-chested torso and heavy upper arms, while its legs are thinner than its upper half. The head is shaped like a bullet, with two eyes - one larger one that senses light, and another one on its left that can be used as a flashlight. The bottom arms are about the same size of a female man-kin's, and are made with six digits on each hand, as opposed to the three large digits on each end of the top arms. Within Stiltzkin's exoskeleton are functioning gears and pistons that move its appendages, except its abdomen, which houses a large, glowing generator that powers the entire robot.

Latoiur is also in possession of an Ether Phone - also attached to Stiltzkin - which allows him to "tune" Stiltzkin to Resonate, and connect with, any other Resonance Phone in existence. Although the design is his, he doubts that he is the only one in possession of a device. However, in order for the device to be "tuned" to a particular resonance phone, he has to obtain the exact tone to resonate the phone in - much like a phone number.

Magick[]

Weak, if unique, clairvoyance. Latoiur possesses a very weak clairvoyance that even he, himself is not aware of as it only manifests when Latoiur is subconsciously brute-forcing solutions that prove mathematical or physical theories, allowing him to arrive at solutions much faster than he would have normally. He has convinced himself and others that it is simply a mark of talent that he happened to be born with.

RP Details[]

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