 Senex in human form | |
| Name: | Senex |
| Office: | |
| Tradition: | Euthanatos |
| Born: | unknown |
| Death: | N/A |
| Rank: | Archmage |
| Affilation: | Madzimbabwe |
Senex is a senior figure, a powerful archmage among the Madzimbabwe Euthanatos. He appears to be a middle-aged black man in good health, but according to rumor, he is hundreds of years old.
Biography
"The Old Man", they call him. Even when he was young, many knew him by that name. Wise beyond his years, Senex once befriended the Seer Akrites Salonikas of the First Cabal. Noting the young mystick's serious demeanor, Akrites christened him Senex, or "Old Man". The name stuck for nearly 500 years.
Senex's real name and origins are lost to time. His confidantes, who are few and far between, know he studied magick in Great Zimbabwe early in the 16th century. By the time the city fell, he was an accomplished sorcerer with an aptitude for Fate-based Arts and divination. In contrast his flamboyant fellow mysticks, Senex advocated subtlety. His preference probably kept him alive during the long witch-hunts of the age. Though he has been credited with hundreds of impressive feats, he rarely "signs" his work. It is the Old Man's way to simply appear, act and fade away.
Although he's a known foe of the Technocracy, Senex prefers to teach than to kill. Unlike many of his contemporaries, the Old Man maintains close ties with young mages, and stays fluent in their ways. Although he supposedly retreated from the earthly realm several centuries ago, he often reappears for short visits. During two such journeys, Senex took apprentices. The first was a Spanish peasant named Mercedes; the second was an American assassin named Amanda. Word has begun to spread in certain circles that Mercedes (or Mercy), has been reborn in Amanda, but no one knows whether the corruption that caused Senex to kill the first apprentice has carried through in the second. Only time will tell.
As one might expect, Senex's name carries a great deal of weight among Euthanatoi. Although he declined a position on the Council in favor of remaining in his isolated chantry of Cerberus, Senex has many allies throughout the Traditions. Some Chakravanti prophets claim the Old Man plays an important part in destiny's game. With the House of Helekar's disappearance and Senex's role in the hunt, some mages speculate that a showdown between the Old Man and the archmage Voormas might be in store...
Dour Senex remains in his own Horizon Realm. The August Madzimbabwe is the custodian of the Shard Realm of Entropy where House of Helekar once stood, but rarely directly intervenes, preferring to let his many apprentices and his influence do his work for him. He became infamous for taking troubled members of his Tradition as apprentices.
In modern nights Senex appears to be aging for the first time in centuries. This, too, is a subtle affair, adding a few small creases to a face that looks in its mid-forties despite his 500 years of age. His voice, unnaccented by his many dialects, glides smoothly across parables, jests and soft formalities. No one doubts the power such a mage must have at his command, but Senex just smiles and extends his hand. He has no need for shows of force. The Old Man is a shadow, a murmur, a soft campfire. He has no need to be anything more than that.
References
- MTAs: Tradition Book: Euthanatos, p. 28, 37 - 38, 44, 73 - 74
- MTAs: Euthanatos Tradition Book, p. 53
