Lotus Eaters
It's a thankless job...
A lotus eater, or Carthigian mannequin, is a creature that once was human but has been transformed due to their addiction to Psychic Surgery. Continued constant indulgence has made them something that is no longer human. Their bodies have been disfigured and their minds are lost somewhere along the way. They do not experience emotion and can't even retain memory. The creatures act as defenders due to the fact that they are psionically inert. Their hardened souls and vacant minds make them ideal for this. They also act as custodians performing tasks around the school.
History
The first people who would become lotus eaters came to The School Of Carthage seeking aid in 1949. Some of them were family members of soldiers who had died in world war two seeking help in relieving the pain they suffered, others were soldiers themselves seeking to remove the memories entirely.
The Magicians of Carthage we're more than happy to help. While many of these patients came and went without a problem there was a select few that came back after only a few weeks to perform the same procedure.
Under the Knife
The Magicians assumed the patients relapsed, but found that the procedure was still in effect. The patients lied in order to receive psychic surgery again. Due to the thorough nature of The Magicians, no case was turned away, even if the patient had been caught lying before. Eventually these patients tried to stay on campus or resort to squatting in basements, crawl spaces, and any other inconspicuous nook they could find.
The procedures became so common for some of these patients, that the patients began losing brain function.
Patients would petition for surgeries that were cosmetic in nature, leaving them in their disfigured state due to the fact that the image in their mind could not be properly formed during the operation. Some wanted to add to their bodies, fusing metal to bone, and plastic to flesh.
Some said they wanted to donate their hair, kidneys, reproductive organs, and more. They did anything to experience the procedure again.
The Lotus Eaters
The Magicians of Carthage began to notice individuals wandering the halls that shouldn't be there. These patients would often find themselves in the most unlikely places. They would wander into restricted areas, some even stumbling across the many dangers these areas are known for, leading to their death.
The decision to keep the Lotus Eaters as an asset came from the highest ranking members of the school. The Magicians began to feel personally responsible for the deteriorating state of these poor souls. After experimentation, they were deemed useful and put to work in exchange for what it is that they desired, though these new procedures would not change anything about the subject. The new procedures would simply make the subject believe that a change was made. As The Magicians honed their skills fewer cases emerged. The last recorded case occurred in the year 2000.
Despite that there are still nearly 1600 lotus eaters that live on the school grounds. They reside in special buildings specifically made to suit their preferences. Their isolation comes from the fact they can be incredibly volatile. Numerous deaths at the hands of a lotus eater have occurred on school grounds, for a wide variety of reasons. Generally they are kept is far from the others as possible, but there are many occasions where one can come face-to-face with them.
What's in a name?
The term lotus eater does more than delve into Greek epics. Many of the subjects claimed to dream or hallucinate something during their procedures, and this experience is a telltale sign that somebody is almost guaranteed to become a lotus eater. New cases of the experience are barred from any further psychic surgery and tell more information on the experience can be obtained.
The Experience itself involves a black lotus with glittering eyes staring at the subject from the center. After repeat encounters, the patient will eat the lotus. When this occurs, the damage has been done and cannot be reversed. The subject will do whatever it is they have to do to experience psychic surgery once more. They have resorted to killing others and committing suicide when refused.
Silent Custodians
The Lotus Eaters have lost the ability to think or speak. Many have their vocal cords removed. The only sound like it ever be heard from them is the near inaudible hissing and wheezing as they breathe.
Mannequins
Students and alumni often refer to these creatures as mannequins due to their appearance. Their bodies are hairless and without gender. Their faces are sometimes disfigured.
Some of the more complex cases have other limbs attached to their bodies or may have limbs removed. Some may have more than one mouth or a multitude of eyes. They are a horrible sight to see you for many individuals who are not accustomed to them.
Mental state
Lotus eaters are effectively mindless, having no thought, memory, or sense of self. They have no self preservation instincts. While they lack the ability to speak they do have no understanding what I said to them. The lotus eaters are able to receive information and interpret that information, but because they have no memory, the information they receive directly will simply replace information received previously.
Lotus eaters do not respond to any form of conversation they can only respond to commands, and the only response they can give is to follow said commands.
One has to be particularly careful with how they phrased each command. The command must come in the form of a single sentence. The more complex that sentence is, the less likely you are to receive intended or favorable results. One should refrain from prepositional phrases and compound sentences. It can use commands listed in a series so long as this series is kept as simple as possible.
Lotus eaters do not respond to any form of conversation they can only respond to commands, and the only response they can give is to follow said commands.
One has to be particularly careful with how they phrased each command. The command must come in the form of a single sentence. The more complex that sentence is, the less likely you are to receive intended or favorable results. One should refrain from prepositional phrases and compound sentences. It can use commands listed in a series so long as this series is kept as simple as possible.
Keeping it in house
The lotus eaters would make an excellent fighting force because they are incredibly durable. They have some resilience to almost anything that can be thrown at them, and exhibit no signs of pain for the things that can injure them. The Lotus Eaters are never allowed to leave areas under schools control, however.
This is not just due to their volatile nature. The Lotus Eaters have a strange phobia that prevents them from leaving the grounds of the school. If forced to do so they will become violent and distraught.
Research shows that this is because of the final complex thoughts the Lotus eater had when they were human. The desperate desire to remain on school grounds remains.
This is not just due to their volatile nature. The Lotus Eaters have a strange phobia that prevents them from leaving the grounds of the school. If forced to do so they will become violent and distraught.
Research shows that this is because of the final complex thoughts the Lotus eater had when they were human. The desperate desire to remain on school grounds remains.
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Well. The mages in the contest seems to have some benign moral principles, selfless as well; at least in principle. Maybe psychic surgery don't need any more limitation than that.