Mute (Class)

A Mute is a unique class that comes from the kingdom of Psionia. They are warriors who specialize in fighting against mages and psychics by utilizing the supernaturally strong resistances created by their unique upbringing. However, this upbringing leaves them entirely unable to communicate with anybody except for their Keeper.

A Mute begins their training from birth when they are taken away from their mothers and relocated to a special training facility beneath the Psionic Citadel. There they are placed into a pure white and featureless padded cell with soundproof walls. For the first three years of their lives, the Mute is fed once a day by a milk maid accompanied by a young psychic, typically around eight years of age and the opposite gender of the mute, who will be the Mute's Keeper. The Keeper will psychically bond with the Mute during the feedings, though the only communication that they are allowed to have with the mute is to tell them their name. Giving any communication beyond that may result in the termination of the Mute, the Keeper, and milk maid.

The milk feedings stop once the Mute is three years of age at which point all meals are delivered to their rooms while they sleep. Psychic suppressors ensure that they do not wake up as the meals are placed and the maintenance crew cleans and repairs the room. Once a week, a meal will be delivered directly by the Keeper who will sing a song to the Mute as they enter and psychically whisper their name as they leave. This continues until the Mute is fifteen years of age at which point they training. At sixteen they are given their first field assignments or be moved to more advanced training programs if they have the potential. Some Keepers and Mutes who are deemed particularly trustworthy, or sufficiently useless, are granted permission to roam the world freely, allowed to adventure and set their own goals so long as their activities do no come into conflict with the interests of the kingdom.

The raising of a Mute is an arduous and rigorous task. In order for the Mute's powers to be fully effective, they must never be allowed to learn any form of communication, whether it be language or nonverbal cues. Their handlers milk maids are not even permitted to smile at them while breast feed. The cold and isolated nature of their upbringing leaves most Mutes with severe mental health problems. Many go mad and soil their rooms and some die mysteriously with no apparent medical conditions. Suicide is very prevalent among Mutes, though

Because a Mute's Keeper is the only living thing with which they can interact, they often form unhealthy obsessions with them. If a Keeper resigns or is terminated, it is incredibly difficult to bond a Mute to a new Keeper, though using new psychics who are several years younger than the Mute seems to have the most success.

The year long training period that a Mute undergoes when they turn fifteen is mostly to familiarize them with the outside world. Having only known their silent cells for their entire lives, the only sights they are familiar with is their food, their body, and their Keeper. The only sounds they can recognize are their own bodily noises and the voice of their Keeper. They They have no knowledge of how to use basic weapons or tools, and most do not even know how to run or climb; some never even learn how to walk until this time. Their Keeper will spend every day with them from time onward, giving them as little instruction as possible and comforting them when necessary.

Mutes are unable to communicate with anybody besides their Keeper in any way, and even their communication with their Keeper is limited to psychic bonding. A Mute will not naturally learn any language, including body language, unless they choose to or are forced to. Some Mutes make vocalizations, though these are mostly random and often have no relation to what one might expect them to mean. A Mute may make laughing noises when it is furious or growl when it is calm, and it rarely makes them in any sort of observable pattern or consistency.

This complete lack of communication somehow grants Mutes exceptional resistance to all magic and psychic powers, except from those performed by their Keeper. The specifics of how this functions are largely unknown, but there are many theories, the most prevalent one being that the Mute's soul is so underdeveloped that the "spiritual" interactions of magic cannot even affect their physicality. This theory seems to be somewhat contradicted by the fact that some Mutes do develop psychic powers of their own, but such cases are rare and are seen as exceptions to the rule.

## Variants

Mime

A Mute that begins developing psychic powers is typically terminated as the Kingdom of Psionia deems having mentally unhinged, antipsionic psions in operation as a threat to their interests, though in time of great desperation, or great curiosity, they will sometimes allow them to exist.

Silencer

If a Mute does begin to learn how to communicate, their powers will weaken. If they ever master a language, they will lose their powers completely and will only be able to access a fraction of their resistances if they somehow deafen themselves and take an oath of silence.