Mazdamundi Character Interview

A/N: This is Mazdamundi as he appears in canon Warhammer, without the experiences he goes through in Respect Your Elders. Just in case some of the details here seem a bit weird to readers of that quest.

Basics

- What is your full name? Do you have a nickname (if so, who calls you this)?

I am Mazdamundi. This is my designation; my name is written on my soul and within my actions. Titles will suffice for this conversation.

- Where and when were you born?

I was spawned in my home city of Hexoatl. It was the 1,614th Season of Chotec.

- Who are/were your parents? (Their names, birthplaces, occupations, personalities, etc.)

I was born by the will of Chotec and Tzunki, of Tepok and Potec, Tlazcotl and Itzl and Tlanxla and Huanchi and Quetzl and Xhotl.

- Do you have any siblings? If you do, what are/were they like?

I was made alongside one hundred fifty other slann. We were spawned with the purpose of conducting the reshaping of tectonic plates in accordance with the schematics of the Plan. To that end, we were all tutored by our elders from the First Spawning in the magics necessary for such labor. All but three others are now dead.

- Where do you live now, and with whom? Describe the place (home and location) and the person/people you live with.

I reside in Hexoatl, the temple-city I have ruled for all my days. It sits atop a flat, sunny mesa, with thick jungle all around that shields it from outside eyes. By my will, there is no day where its flagstones do not see the sun - they absorb and radiate its heat, causing a pleasing warmth to suffuse the air. Its inhabitants are very productive as a result, although I am informed that the temperature is too hot for humans to withstand and maintain good health. My primary location is the pyramid at the center of the city, where my Star Chamber lies. There I rest to attain the totality of concentration my work requires, and am rarely visited save for skink attendants to tend to my physical health, and my Eternity Warden Xili-Totl, who never leaves my side.

- What is your occupation?

I am the eldest living slann, which makes it my responsibility to guide the efforts of my kin in fulfilling the Plan in whatever way that I can. I read and contemplate the Tablets of our lost makers, I send missions to retrieve lost or stolen artifacts, and I speak with the Communion to decide upon the best course of action. So much has fallen out of place over the millennia, and there is always more to correct.

- To which social class do you belong?

I am a slann. We were made to interface between the world and the Old Ones, to be capable of understanding their designs and transmitting their commands to our kindred. The skinks administer the day-to-day tasks of maintaining good order, but it falls to us to guide the efforts of millennia.

- Are you right- or left handed?

I am rarely called upon to use my limbs for any substantial labor, which renders me ambidextrous by default.

- What does your voice sound like?

My telepathic communication gives the impression of deep, bass tones backed by a throaty rumble, but this is not my voice. When slann speak, we speak in spellcraft. It is magic, not air, that is shaped by our vocal chords, and everything from our word choice to intonation shapes the outcome of the spells that fountain forth from our lips. For this reason, we do not speak aloud save for when it is truly needed.

- On what occasions do you lie?

There has never been a need for me to do so. My kin know everything they need to in order to accomplish their functions.

- Do you have a motto? If so, what is it?

I do not. The closest equivalent I possess would be the annotation fragment left by the Old One Chotec in the Tablet of Continental Inertia Allowances, which reads as follows when translated into a form this alphabet can convey: "Do all that you can in each instant, and make of each instant the whole and sum of your existence."

- Do you have any annoying habits, quirks, strange mannerisms, or other defining characteristics?

I am intolerant of distractions, delays, and inconsistencies when it comes to my work. I will not willingly suffer a task to be needlessly repeated.

- What is your hair color and eye color?

I am marked by Chotec. My scales are the red of sunbaked clay, and my eyes burn with the radiance of the Sun.

- What kind of distinguishing facial features do you have?

None that you would recognize. My people are distinguished more by behavioral tics than immediately-apparent physical differences.

- Do you have any physical traits that stand out (such as scars, birthmarks, tattoos, etc.)? If you have scars, how did you get them? If you have tattoos, why did you get them and what meaning do they have to you?

My flesh remains unmarked, despite the efforts of many. I will not allow the mark of any save for my makers to deface my skin.

- Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

In truth, I do not speak in words enough for this issue to arise. This is the most I have communicated using this medium in centuries.

Past

- How would you describe your childhood?

The first several centuries of my life were spent in direct tutelage under my elder, Lord Kroak. He taught me everything I was not spawned with innate knowledge of - the role I was to play in the Plan, my mastery of advanced magical disciplines, geomancy in particular, and of the labor he and his kin from the First Spawning had been engaged in during the millennia before my making. It was a time of ceaseless memorization and learning, and I remember it well.

- How much schooling have you had?

I was instructed personally by Lord Kroak for one thousand solar cycles, and during the centuries afterwards I was often subject to feedback by him or other First Generation elders. In totality, perhaps five thousand years of my existence have been spent receiving instruction.

- Did you enjoy school? If not, why did you struggle?

My reason for existing is to fulfil my role within the grand design of the Old Ones, and being tutored allowed me to better fulfil my role. I devoted every ounce of my effort towards it, though the more complex permutations of spiritually-derived mathematics did strain my cognition at times.

- Where did you learn most of your skills and other abilities?

I was made knowing everything that I needed to from the instant I awoke.

- Did you have any role models? If so, describe them and why they were your role models.

There were many First Generation elders whose beneficial qualities I sought to emulate - Xhilli'pepa's fierce energy, Lilep'aad's unshakeable resolve, Kroak's inexhaustible repository of knowledge. I have always, however, aligned my efforts most closely with that of the Old One Chotec, whose mark I bear upon my skin and soul. I have never seen them, nor heard their voice, but I live according to their guiding principle: Firstly, take action.

- How did you get along with the other members of your family?

By a margin of three seconds, I am accounted as the eldest of my spawning. I was always destined for leadership, and have conducted myself accordingly.

- What did you want to be when you grew up?

I have always known what my role is. There was no desire necessary.

- What were your favorite activities?

The same as it remains - striving to my utmost to accomplish the tasks set before me.

- When and where were you the happiest?

In the time before the Catastrophe, the way of things was more certain. The Plan’s ultimate extent was shrouded to us, as it always has been, but the Old Ones were still with us. Things had not yet gone astray.

- Who were your friends, and what were they like?

I knew all of my spawn-kin as much as I knew myself. There was Num'bah'tu, and Khoraa-Zon, and Yig-Waana, all scholars beyond reproach who had mastered the higher forms of magiform mathematics. Plazz'tik was capable of geomantic precision that even I never attained. Hui-Hui-Hui was more innovative than any of us, and solved many issues in the projects he headed before they ever came to flower thanks to his flexibility of thought. I remember all of them, for they are all gone now, and only I and three others remain.

- When did you have your first kiss, and who with?

I am not subject to human social rituals.

- Are you a virgin? If not, when and with whom did you lose your virginity?

Slann do not reproduce - there is no need, for our life is unending if not interrupted.

- Describe any influences in your past that led you to do the things you do today.

I was made to perform my duties by the Old Ones. That is the only thing that guides me.

- What do you consider the most important event of your life so far?

The creation of the Ulthuan Vortex. The itz'xa'khanx thought laterally when we slann did not, and saved the world from being overrun by daemons. Without that one act, nothing else would be possible. Though they, like all the warmbloods, have strayed from the Plan's dictates, they have erred the least, and so they will be corrected last.

- Who has had the most influence on you?

My mentor, Kroak, most undoubtedly. I learned all I know of spellcraft from his tutelage, and even then he still only taught me a fraction of what he knew.

- What do you consider your greatest achievement so far, why?

I have kept my home, Hexoatl, from ever being besmirched by the appendages of daemonkind. I have preserved the greater part of the Tablets of the Old Ones from theft and destruction across the millennia. Finally, I have determined the root means by which the Plan may be restored to fruition - the lesser races have strayed from their predetermined parts. If they are put back into place, and the warp rifts in the Polar Gates closed, this period of error will be over and the Old Ones will be able to return.

- What is your greatest regret so far, why? Has this regret formed you into the person you are today? If so, why?

I spent untold centuries in the grip of meditative slumber. I was not alone in this; even now, the majority of the slann lay in repose, their thoughts idly drifting through the stuff of dreams, their energy drained by an unknown source. I do not know what has assailed us, but I do know that it has cost me more than a thousand solar cycles worth of time. I will exact retribution on whatever has caused this.

- What is the most evil thing you have ever done so far?

Evil is a judgement levied by those who adhere to moral codes to guide their judgement. I do not require this; my purpose is to fulfil the designs of the Old Ones. By your standards I have perhaps committed many evils - there were species upon Mundus that had no place in the Plan, and I did my part in removing them. I feel no regret for this.

- Do you have a criminal record?

We lizardmen have no need of laws to govern our behavior. Even if we did, I am the eldest living slann. I would represent the whole and sum of the law.

- What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you so far?

Upon waking more fully from my fugue, I attempted to walk, as I was once in the habit of doing so. However, millennia spent seated had caused my legs to atrophy, and I fell. I was forced to allow my Eternity Warden Xili-Totl to carry me back up to my palanquin. I feel no sense of shame from this, but it is disappointing that I overlooked such an obvious detail.

- If you could change one thing from your past, what would it be, and why?

That the Old Ones had not been forced to flee. Everything discordant in the world has stemmed from their departure.

- What is your best memory so far? Why is it so powerful and lasting?

I once was witness to a Tablet-bearing ship descending to deliver new directions to us. I was not permitted upon the peak of Itza, but I was able to watch from a lesser pyramid some distance away. When the silver ship irised open, I caught a glimpse of an Old One's essence drifting around the Tablet before it dissipated in the sunlight. I have never forgotten what it was like.

- What is your worst memory so far? Why is it so powerful and lasting?

-The moment of the Catastrophe. Imagine, if you will, that half of your spinal cord is abruptly ripped from your body, all the nerve endings exposed to the air. Feel the pain of your sensory system overloading on dozens of different inputs, of half your thoughts turning to screams as your elders do their utmost to hold a tidal wave of unreality back until their brains shatter, of a sudden, profound emptiness in the uttermost depths of your being that you will only later come to realize means that your creators are gone.

- What is your biggest secret? Does anyone else know about this? Which person do you least want to know about this secret, why?

There are no secrets among my kind. However, there is one thing I do not easily voice - I do not truly know what the intent of the Plan is, nor do I know how it might be fixed. I can only draw up rough speculation and extrapolate from what fragmentary sequences of the Tablets remain, but this is nowhere near enough to be certain. I will not - cannot - accept this. If I cannot foresee the path that allows the Plan to be fulfilled, then I will make my own. The world will not remain as it is; I will not allow it.

Relationships With Others

- In general, how do you treat others (politely, as they treat you, by keeping them at a distance, with sarcasm, etc.)? Does your treatment of them change depending on how well you know them, and if so, how?

I treat all others according to their utility to myself and to the Plan. If they are of use, I give them direction. If they are an impediment, I remove them. There is no need for any other approach.

- How close are you to your family?

The other slann are the closest analogue to a family I can draw. I am of the Sublime Communion; they know my thoughts as well as their own, as I do theirs. However, I am first and forevermore my own entity, for the mantle of the one who charts the way has fallen to me. There are none that may gainsay my voice.

- Which person do you wish you were closest to?

Any of the First Spawning would be of much use in these times. Their corpses are preserved, and spirit lingers in their bones, but it is not the same.

- Do you have a spouse or significant other? If so, describe this person in some rough strokes.

My Eternity Warden Xili-Totl is bound to my life; this will suffice as an equivalent. He is akin to a volcano; during most times he is still and silent and steadfast, and when needed he explodes into furious motion. He will do whatever is necessary to protect my well-being, and his energy in doing so does not flag. He is branded by Chotec as irrefutably as I am.

- Have you started your own family? If so, describe them in rough strokes. If not, do you want to start a family? Why or why not?

Slann have come forth from the spawning pools only five times over the course of our existence. The last such occurrence was eight thousand twenty nine years, two hundred sixty seven days ago. There are none now living who know how more of my caste might be brought forth. I have not put much thought to it; no matter the state of our numbers, until the Plan is corrected and the forces of Chaos banished, our decline will continue.

- Who is the most important person in your life, why?

Without question, it is the administrator of my skink attendants, Alaa'da'tingz. They manage the vast majority of mundane tasks that come with keeping Hexoatl in functional operating condition, allowing me to spend my time and attention on the matter of determining how to correct the Plan. Without them or an equivalent to delegate to, I would be forced to undertake such work myself, and lose much precious time.

- Who is the person you respect the most, why?

Respect. This is a curious word; warmbloods use it to approximate their ability to evaluate the abilities of other beings in comparison to their own. If they are superior in some way, respect is given. If they are inferior, contempt is assigned. I do not suffer from such intermediary solutions - I know precisely what each of my kin is capable of, and interface with them accordingly.

- Who are your friends? Do you have a best friend? What do you most value in your friends? Describe them with some basics like their personalities, how you met them, what you have in common, etc.

There were some among my generation of slann that I was capable of conducting particularly efficacious research with. They are dead now, and I have not spoken with their lingering minds in millennia.

- Have you ever been in love? If so, describe in some rough strokes what happened (love at first sight, unrequited love, ended up marrying him/her, ended with heartbreak, etc.).

This is an irrelevant topic.

- What do you look for in a potential lover?

This is an irrelevant topic.

- Who would you turn to if you were in desperate need of help?

My Eternity Warden Xili-Totl protects me if I am in danger of bodily harm, and the Sublime Communion will pool its mental and magical resources to alleviate any member in distress. Beyond that, all the Children of the Old Ones work together. Any of us would lay down our lives for another, if it furthered the Plan.

- Do you trust anyone to protect you? Who, and why?

Xili-Totl performs this task, for the reasons I have already outlined. Beyond him, there are many contingents of Temple Guard saurus tasked with the safekeeping of my temple and person. They are born for it.

- If you died or went missing, who would miss you?

I am one of four slann of the Second Spawning that is still alive. The Communion, and the rest of my people, would be greatly weakened by my loss.

- Who is the person you despise the most, why?

The Ruinous Powers of Chaos seek to plunge all of reality into their ever-deepening maws. That is what they are; I oppose it, and yet I understand what it is to follow your nature. What I cannot comprehend, and will expunge with the greatest vigor that I can muster, is those mortal beings that were given the graces of the Old Ones, assigned parts in the Plan, and willingly turned their back upon it, dooming all to an eternity of corruption and decay unless their actions are reversed. This is an *unacceptable* thing.

- Do you tend to argue with people, or avoid conflict?

Neither. I make my will known, and those who hear it either follow suit willingly or are made to comply.

- Do you tend to take on leadership roles in social situations?

Yes.

- Do you like interacting with large groups of people? Why or why not?

Administrating the tasks of my juniors is something I am adept at, yes. I will not flinch away from it when it is necessary, for without my guidance the legions of Lustria would march forth only rarely.

- Do you care what others think of you? Why or why not?

Opinions are irrelevant. Only the Plan matters.

Personal

- Describe the routine of a normal day for you. How do you feel when this routine is disrupted?

If we are to assume the law of averages, a 'usual' day is one spent in a numbing fog of the mind, struggling even to remember what it is like to think. During the times I am free of this malaise, I am in constant communion with the other slann, coordinating the actions of my underlings throughout Lustria, and conducting no less than twenty different scryings simultaneously in order to ensure that no significant punctures in reality open or expand further than their current bounds. A significant portion of my attention is also directed to holding back the looming presence of the Chaos Moon, restraining the expansion of the Polar Rifts, and ensuring that the Vortex of Ulthuan is properly maintained. On occasion, I am interrupted from one or many of these vital tasks because a material concern has escalated to the point that it must be brought to my attention. When this is the case, I muster Hexoatl's legions and send them forth to flatten whatever or whoever has incurred upon my peninsula, that I may reclaim my time again.

- What is your greatest strength?

Most certainly my unwavering willpower; though my mastery of magic is multifaceted and equaled only by the most divinely-empowered among the warmbloods, without my ability to focus my attention to a point of infinite density, I would not be able to grasp the forces of geomancy with as much force as I am capable of.

- What is your greatest weakness?

The design of my body is specialized for withstanding the rigors of astral projection and prolonged casting, not for particularly fast movement or strength. I have Xili-Totl to attend to such matters on my behalf. (Mazdamundi's actual greatest weakness is his stubbornness and wrathful nature preventing him from considering alternatives to fixing the Plan beyond 'reset everything as a blank slate, no matter how many genocides that takes'. However, he doesn't consider this as a weakness himself.)

- Which talent would you most like to have? Why?

Despite all my attempts, I am unable to scry where the Old Ones vanished to during the time of the Catastrophe. Perhaps an enhancement to my divination magics would enable this.

- Do you like yourself?

I accept what I am. Preference does not factor into it.

- If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I would imprint the missing parts of the Plan into myself, even if doing so were to cripple a vast majority of my neural circuitry. It would be a worthwhile trade.

- Are you generally introverted or extroverted?

My kind are not subject to such differences. I do what is required.

- Are you generally organized or messy?

My teacher Kroak instilled in me the habit to keep things in their proper place, but I am not obsessive about such matters. It is simply more efficient to operate when one does not have to spend time figuring out where their own supplies are.

- Name three things you consider yourself to be good at, and three things you consider yourself to be bad at.

I am more universally skilled in every spectrum of magic than any other living being. I am a capable administrator, able to direct the labor of my people towards a productive end. Lastly, I am the oldest living slann. It falls to me to choose the direction of my kind, for no other possesses the perspective that I do. However. I am not currently capable of walking under my own power. While I am aware of the mind fog hanging over the Sublime Communion, I am unable to fight it, and much of my time passes in a haze. Last and most damaging, I am blind to the true intentions of the Old Ones, and do not know how the course of the Plan might be restored.

- What three words best describe your personality?

Resolute. Coldblooded. Unrelenting.

- What three words would others probably use to describe you?

Irritable. Coldblooded. Remorseless.

- What goal do you most want to accomplish in your life?

Nothing less than the restoration of the Plan by means of forcible relocation of the lesser species, and the pruning of any undesirable offshoots they have developed in the intervening millennia. The destruction, or at minimum banishment, of the four Ruinous Powers. The return of my makers the Old Ones.

- Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

This is an eyeblink to me - I will likely still be contemplating the same notions I am turning over in my mind at this very instant.

- If you could choose, how would you want to die?

If I were capable of sacrificing my life to achieve the goals I outlined previously, that would be an acceptable trade.

- If you knew you were going to die in 24 hours, name three things you would do in the time you had left.

First: Make arrangements for my corpse to be mummified after my expiry, so that my spirit may inhabit the bones. Secondly: Foretell the future in the next 24 hours to divine the instant when the Polar Rifts will be at their weakest. Third: Expend the entirety of my life and essence to expedite the formation of a Geomantic Ritual that would be aimed at shackling said rifts.

- If you were to die and come back as a person, animal, or thing, what do you think it would be, and why?

If I die, I will not leave my bones. I will join the Relic Priests, and see outside of time as they do, awaiting the time when the veil parts again and I may return to my flesh.

- What is the one thing for which you would most like to be remembered after your death?

...That I did my tasks well.