Farren Mac Rohard
Betrayer of Secrets, Collector of Knowledge Team:
Spiders Undecided
Sex: Male
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
History:
Farren grew up as part of the secretive druidic order of Ireland. This particular group of magi, called druids, used thier magecraft to commune with and learn the secrets of nature, and had been doing so for thousands of years. For Farren, the knowledge limited to what the order knew wasn't enough. As he got older he fully braced his patron animal, the spider, and grew interested in learning as much information about the world as he could. From children's gossip to government secrets, he was happy to learn anything. So once he'd learned all there was to know at home, he ventured out, getting into contact with the Mage's Association. Some in the association were glad to trade knowledge for knowledge, which Farren had no issue with. Rather than keep everything he'd learned for himself, it was more fun to share with others. Naturally the druidic order didn't take kindly to that, as they preferred to keep thier history and methodology a secret to outsiders. So Farren was branded a traitor to the order, never allowed to return.
"Well, not that I was going to anyway. I have all I need from there."
From then on Farren studied across all of the British Isles and Europe, taking in any piece of information he could. This involved scouring libraries, speaking with elders, and at times stealing secrets. Sometimes other magi would seek him out to learn what he knew, sometimes assassins tried and failed to dispose of him for specific knowledge he possessed. Most of the time he was left to his own devices. He became known as a traveling druid, a man with no ties or allegiances save his pursuit of information.
And there is a wealth of information to be gained from a gathering of magi and heroic spirits.
Personality:
A free spirit, as cliche as that sounds when applied to a man of nature. Farren doesn't like being tied down, he goes where his whims take him. Given the choice between taking responsibility and enjoying himself... well, who would choose former anyway? He is selfish in that he only truly cares about himself, but he isn't unkind. He very much enjoys talking with others, sharing experiences and debating philosophy. He is very generous with knowledge, and will spread any secrets around freely - save ones that will directly endanger his own life of course. Many take this to mean he is untrustworthy. Well, maybe he is. In his pursuit of knowledge he'll side with anyone so long as they teach him something new.
Magecraft:
Quality of Circuits: C
Quantity of Circuits: A
Elemental Affinity: Earth
Attribute: Absorption
DruidcraftFarren can attune himself to nature, in particular flora. With some minor concentration he can hear the whispers of plants and insects to gain information from them. Once he is on the same wavelength, Farren can coax the nature around him to act in his favor. In addition, with preparation he can take some attributes of the nature he is attuned to: enhance his senses, hardening his skin, photosynthesis to reduce his need to eat and drink, the ability to breath through his skin, etc.
General MagecraftLearned after leaving his druidic order and integrating himself into modern magus society. Besides nightvision, self-healing and bounded field creation, he is basically a novice with the basics of magecraft according to the Mage's Association.
Advanced Familiar CreationThe pride and joy of Farren's sect of his order, one that he seems to have perfected: the breeding of a particular type of creature specifically for the purpose of serving as specialized familiars... the
Mana Weaver Spider.CW: spider lol These spiders are cultivated inside the druid's own body, with the spiderlings raised feeding on their prana. As adults completely in sync with their parent druid, the spiders make excellent scouts and supporters. The webs they lay down can cover vast areas, giving Farren a rough knowledge of everything contained in and around those webs - let alone what the spiders see and sense themselves. With the strengthened threads it's possible to bind things together and even ensnare others that stumble into them, in which case hostile victims will be set upon by the brood of spiders, but in most cases they aren't used offensive. It's also possible for Farren to impart a fragment of his own mind into a spider or spiders, but this has obvious danger associated with it.
AbsorptionThis is done through the use of Farren's spider familiars. The mana weavers can break down matter directly into prana, storing it inside the spikes on their body. It can be "harvested" safely from them, but in a pinch Farren can simply consume the spiders for a quick boost.
Weave LanguageDrawing from the concept that the spider is the originator of the ogham (and all written language), Farren can decipher spells, codes, and foreign languages so long as it's through a physical medium (i.e. not spoken aloud). Likewise he can send messages along through his
spider's webs.
Mystic Codes:
Ocular Brood RoomA specialized crystal right eye. Inside are where the mana weaver breeder pairs, eggs, and spiderlings stay until they reach adulthood. Not only does it serve as a safe, inconspicuous space for the spiders, but the Brood Room also doubles as an automatic transfer of consciousness. Through this eye alone, Farren can see what all of his individual spiders see, their experiences refracted in crystal to lessen the burden of thousands of perspectives on his brain - that is, thier experiences are displayed separately in each face of the crystal. It's akin to watching flicking through several security feeds at once.
Silk RecordA relatively new mystic code for Farren, of his own design. It's an extremely... extremely tiny record, the sum of all of his knowledge. It's constantly being woven by the spiders under his command, in ancient ogham text so small that only an insect or arachnid could read it - or one that could see through those small eyes. In function it's like a miniature library of Alexandria, or even a primitive magic crest. It collects and records all the knowledge Farren learns in micro.
General: Farren is very much a "lie in wait" type of magus. He prefers casting his web and letting everything else come to him. He is efficient at managing his mana. His ability to function without expending much energy combined with his familiars' ability to generate and contribute extra mana to him make Farren the ideal partner for servants with a high mana cost.
Or at least that was the idea.Non-Magecraft Abilities/Items: Farren has an eidetic memory, as he commits information to his brain like weaving threads together. Other than that, none to speak of.