[b]Appearance[/b]: This brilliant(self-proclaimed) yet clearly senile wizard(Merasmus despises this descriptor) stands at a nice and symmetrical six feet tall, which pleases Merasmus greatly; inches waste time, and meters waste space. Age obviously has not agreed with the man, as he has well-defined laugh lines along his pale face, and his bony hands and long fingers are wrinkling. This does NOT please Merasmus, but he grits and bears his less-than-youthful appearance; at least he hasn't started yelling about "youngsters". Under his dirty, alchemical soot-covered brow lie a pair of large, sunken-in emerald eyes. Below those darkened rings is a big, crooked nose which has brought Merasmus much ridicule; in fact, it's where he gets his nickname, "The Wizened", as such a feature is prominent in old children's fables describing wizards. Adorning his rigid jawline are very thick sideburns, reaching up to his scalp which is covered with very long black hair that he keeps tucked behind his robe's collar. From his narrow shoulders, Merasmus' lanky arms dangle loosely by his sides, draped by the oversized sleeves of his robes. His legs are rarely visible, as they are also covered by the heavy hem of the cloak, which drags along the ground and as such is very very dirty. [hr] [b]Name[/b]: Merasmus the Wizened [hr] [b]Age[/b]: 437 [hr] [b]Titan[/b]: Rennigan [hr] [b]Origins[/b]: Merasmus knows he was actually born at the Verity Institute, but he grew up and currently lives in Galorand. [hr] [b]Personality[/b]: Merasmus may look the old-wizard-in-a-tower type, but he is actually quite a loud and direct individual, always asking around for the latest rumor, bit of news, or just some book recommendations. Being the know-it-all that he is, Merasmus is quick to correct people on everything, even if his "corrections" are clearly inaccurate to even a casually-educated person; he usually comes back with the ACTUAL correct information though, even though he seldom admits he was ever wrong. He thinks highly of himself due to his academic success and his own perceived intelligence, and would logically assume himself to be the "intellectual powerhouse" of any group. [hr] [b]Likes[/b]: [i]Reading; Experimenting with alchemical materials; Postulating; Theorizing; Conversating.[/i] [hr] [b]Dislikes[/b]: [i]Mistreatment of books; Wasting herbs and other supplies; People telling him to "quiet down"; Being called a wizard Cinnamon buns.[/i] [hr] [b]Backstory[/b]: Merasmus was an unexpected birth in the Verity Institute many moons ago. Decided to have been an unfit guest in an Institute, his parents sent him to live with a friend of the family by the name of Ghi Rahim the Coot, an esteemed but eccentric master of alchemy that lived in Galorand. Ghi taught Merasmus all about alchemy, praising him both with his successes and with his explosive failures, which instilled a bit of an "all mighty" complex in Merasmus concerning alchemical works. When Ghi was not tutoring the boy, Merasmus would sneak into the Coot's library and pour over any book he could get his hands on. Biographies, instruction manuals, musical sheets, even children's tales; he read every last thing. When Rahim eventually found out, he immediately let Merasmus know that certain sections of the library were strictly forbidden. This only brought these specific books to the apprentice's attention. He began reading these forbidden texts in their entirety; he just couldn't contain himself. Whenever he finished one book, he simply had to move on to the next; sometimes he didn't even wait to finish one before setting it down to see to another. He learned many powerful spells, the secrets of the universe and life itself…or rather, he learned OF many powerful spells and had no actual skill in the magical arts required to perform them, and of all the secrets he learned of, none remained in Merasmus' head for more than a few seconds as he simply tore through texts too fast to hold on to them, not to mention many of these "secrets" seemed oddly subjectively interpreted. His immense knowledge deemed Merasmus an insufferable know-it-all by even his most academically inclined peers; it didn't help that he was often wrong at first, and would not admit to his factual inaccuracies, instead coming back the next day to spout his updated knowledge of a subject as if the previous day's events never happened. Needless to say, Merasmus was, and is, a very frustrating man to deal with, and when he joined the staff of the local university after the untimely death-by-rabid-plant of Ghi Rahim, was delegated to the back rooms of libraries and other out-of-the-way locations, never once being allowed to actually teach. Rarely, though, he would be allowed to participate in the universities' Committee of World Theories, which is where Merasmus showed his worth as an academic. When he focused himself on a single subject, Merasmus could piece together theories and simulations that left even the most senior professors scribbling hastily on their notepads; for once, there were actually sounds to be heard other than Merasmus' voice when the man spoke. Some would describe his ramblings as word-salad, being little more than big words strung together with a faux-graceful speech pattern, but even sworn enemies of the aging wizard admit that his theories have led to many, if minor, advancements in the research of many academic subjects. Merasmus first felt the presence of Rennigan during a very heated Committee debate with an academic adversary. This particular professor took umbrage at the fact that one of Merasmus' new theories rendered her own obsolete, which would reasonably miff any academic, and she wasn't about to let some rambling old man overshadow her own meticulously-researched hypotheses. He argued with the woman in good faith for quite a while, but eventually grew tired of it. He began making long, exhaustive arguments against her theory, and it seemed that the longer he spoke, his colleague became more and more complacent, before calmly conceding to Merasmus' new theory. Merasmus wasn't going to complain, but he was certainly confused by the professors sudden surrender; it simply wasn't like her. He felt a strange power hover over himself, a presence that refused to be ignored. He spent weeks studying the different proposed supernatural and godlike entities of the world, and eventually came across very old texts offering conjecture on beings referred to as "Titans". Those texts didn't offer great detail about these beings, but one such entity, Rennigan, seemed to fit what Merasmus had experienced during the Committee. A supposed power of those chosen by Rennigan involved subtly influencing others to side with the Champion. This was no doubt what happened to the opposing professor; she was by all means fiery and stubborn, yet by the end of Merasmus' speech, she had fallen nearly silent and went along with what he said. At their core, though, Rennigan was an eternal seeker of knowledge, and such a power was simply a means that could be employed to gain knowledge. If there was anything Merasmus enjoyed the most, it was learning, and so Rennigan seemed like the perfect being to follow. His extended lifespan was quite a large boon as well, of course; more time for reading! It was the closest thing to following a god that Merasmus would allow for himself. Merasmus spent most of the past few hundred years in the library of his master's old home which the old man kindly gave to his apprentice in his will, continuing to tear through books he hasn't had the pleasure of reading yet, and using his paltry pay from working at the university to buy even more books, all the while using his powers of suggestion to squeeze those last juicy bits of info out of a person and writing them down in one of several journals in his library. [hr] [b]Skills & Talents[/b]: [i]Alchemical expert[/i]: Capable of brewing just about any mixture, albeit of varying potency. [i]Text repair[/i]: Merasmus has had his share of rainy nights dousing some of his books, and many he buys have torn pages or flimsy spines. Over time he has learned how to effectively refurbish any book, within reason. [i]Wiz-Fu[/i]: A fighting style involving his staff. It is little more than flashy spins and twirls that may or may not distract an opponent before smacking them in the knee. [i]Walking encyclopedia[/i]: Name a subject, and Merasmus more than likely has at least a rudimentary understanding of it. If not, or he can't recall, then he can easily pull a related book from his bag and skim the important bits. [i]Very organized[/i]: Self explanatory, no? [hr] [b]Equipment/weaponry[/b]: [i]Heavy, oversized black cloak; Plain leather belt; Purple cloth trousers and button-up long-sleeve shirt; Limited Edition Galorand Alchemathon gardner's gloves; Light studded leather boots; Non-magical staff/walking stick; Bag o' Books - Can hold a seemingly infinite amount of books…and ONLY books. All other items simply disappear; Large alchemist's satchel; Open-top bag that holds book refurbishing supplies, an ink well, a large bundle of paper and several spare quills.[/i] [hr] Magical abilities: N/A [hr] [b]Reason for picking Titan/Branded[/b]:Merasmus has decided to join Rennigan in their eternal search for knowledge because their goal resonates so much with his own. Learning and experimenting is all he knows and, arguably, is in his blood if his parents being a part of an Institute have anything to do with it.