Mason

## Ranks and Titles

* Visitor
* Ghost

## Affiliation

* Dragonkin

**Mason** was a brief visitor to Dragonhollow during the Fourth Era.

His youth and inexperience made him ill-suited to handle the planet's many dangers, leading to desperate run-ins with his fellow residents that often ended poorly. He quickly wore out his welcome as the community's patience grew thin, leading him to be hunted by the Mason Mob and eventually banished by Eris.

# History

### First Days

Mason arrived in Summergate via airship on 4E:133.

He remained a visitor because he was unable to complete the citizenship process. Though never proven, many later came to suspect he was considerably younger than Dragonhollow's minimum age of 13 dictated by the Edicts of Eris.

The young traveler's early days were fraught with peril. After losing his Starter Kit by falling off of a cliff, he suffered countless deaths at the hands of roving night monsters. When he ventured further from the city looking for food and supplies he fell victim to local bandits such as Master and Tater.

### Trance Swamp

Mason was eventually extended an invitation by Trancesk8er to become a resident of Trance Swamp, a friendly community southwest of Summergate that often welcomed newcomers.

Taking pity on the hapless boy, Trancesk8er offered him a small plot for building a home. However, Mason instead chose to build elsewhere in the swamp, ignoring the mayor's wishes.

Trancesk8er first tried patience and diplomacy, explaining to Mason he had to move his things. The boy ignored him and decided instead to disturb the swamp's natural splendor by covering it with cobblestone eyesores.

The following day, Trancesk8er discovered that Mason had planted an impenetrable barrier of trees on all of the paths into the central town square. When he cut them down, Mason replanted them. The first hostilities began when it appeared Mason was returning to lay down more saplings. Trancesk8er fired a warning shot which sent the boy running and he fired a second arrow that struck him in the back as he fled back to his squatter's plot.

### Public Nuisance

In the days to follow, Mason wandered around the central Summerlands irritating many of its residents and leaving bad impressions everywhere he visited.

He entered McClellan Plantation on 4E:136 and asked for assistance, then refused to leave when Chris McClellan demanded it. From there he moved north to beg for food outside the Compound, leading Sprankles to offer him bread, a stack of wheat seeds, and a stone hoe so he could begin growing his own crops. Nevertheless, within minutes he returned asking for more food and Sprankles shut his doors and ignored him.

Mason later found Tox repairing street signs at the intersection of West Road and Swampian Lane and picked up two Summergate banners off of the ground, declining to return them.

Print, Bjay, and other members of Print's Paper Route Gang became irritated when Mason arrived at the Paper Palace and interfered with their construction of a house for TurtleShell, leading Tater to lure him out into the surrounding swamps and murder him.

### Ultimatum

Fearing death by man and mob alike and again low on food, Mason returned to Trance Swamp.

At first, relations began to improve. Trancesk8er showed him how to create an automatic claim by placing a chest while Ferathmai and Sprankles donated wood and tools for his new home.

But during an exchange of goods between mayor Trancesk8er and his resident Linuc, the boy appeared to be trying to steal lapis lazuli and Trance was forced to pierce his thigh with a flaming arrow. Mason panicked and immediately tried to teleport offworld, but the divine magicks of Eris prevented his escape and he was killed instantaneously, his soul remanded to Grim's Lantern.

Upon his return, Trancesk8er offered Mason one last chance for peace: hand over his claim deed and leave Trance Swamp forever. The boy initially appeared to agree to the terms, but after some confusion it became clear he was either unable or unwilling to speak the magic words or operate his golden shovel.

Trancesk8er took this as a complete rejection of his terms and decided the time had come to forcibly evict Mason from the swamp, killing him with two well-placed arrows from his flame bow.

### Mason Mob

*Main article: Mason Mob*

Despite facing certain death Mason continued to return to Trance Swamp after escaping Purgatory.

When covering all the roads into his swamp became difficult, Trance sent out a call to his allies, fellow citizens, and anyone who felt aggrieved or annoyed by Mason. This so-called Mason Mob was designed to force the boy out of Trance Swamp through a campaign of harassment and terror.

After being tricked, trapped, and killed repeatedly by the Mob, Mason finally realized that there was no longer a place for him in the swamp.

### Aftermath

After being expelled from Trance Swamp, Mason drifted back towards Summergate in search of food.

Ky tried to show him how to receive free bread at the cafe but within the hour he arrived at Tox's Cabin asking for a meal. As a member of the Mason Mob, Tox instead imprisoned him within the Tox Box where he eventually starved to death.

On 4E:140, Mason returned to the Paper Palace and reportedly launched an unprovoked attack on TurtleShell, though he failed to kill her. Her husband Print joined with Trancesk8er in showering him with arrows until he was dead.

Moments later, the always-watching Eris decided it was time to intervene. Declaring Mason a “public nuisance,” she obliterated every atom in his body and banished his immortal soul to the carrion court of Grim where it was to burn for eternity. With their objective completed, the Mason Mob declared victory and disbanded.

Some of the community felt that Eris, Trancesk8er, and the mob were too heavy-handed and harsh in their treatment of Mason, a very young man in way over his head. These critics pointed out that he'd frequently asked people for help and didn't seem to comprehend many of the demands made by his enemies. Furthermore, he appeared to break none of Dragonhollow's sacred rules and commandments, calling into question whether the boy truly deserved to be destroyed.

However, Tox argued that an equally young and unprepared Noa had handled the harsher circumstances of the First Era without earning the enmity and wrath of the community. Regardless of their concerns, her decision was final and no attempts were ever made to clear his name.

Nevertheless, during the Dark Age Mason's soul was freed from the Underworld and as part of the Scattering he escaped to distant worlds. He would briefly return to Dragonhollow during the Fifth Era as a member of the Dragonkin, but he did not stay long enough for his old enemies to encounter him.

### Legacy

Despite his relatively short tenure in Dragonhollow—only a week— Mason left a legacy that long survived him.

He had a grave in Summergate Sematary with the epitaph *"Just a babe in the woods"*, his head was mounted within the underground catacombs, and a personalized copy of Requiescat was placed inside his tomb.

When the irritating behavior of Rocco drew inevitable comparisons to Mason, the community reacted in much the same way and hunted him down.

Trancesk8er forged a razor-sharp diamond sword that he christened *The Mason Slayer* which he later deployed to great effect against Rocco. The epitaph on his tombstone in Summergate Sematary jokingly read, *"His heart died with Mason"*.

A pair of signs outside the Swampian PvP combat arena in Trance Swamp read, *"do not kill masonjk007...unless you happen to meet him."*

Retro was accused of being in league with Mason by Trancesk8er and Print because they arrived within hours of each other. In protest of this heinous accusation, Retro erected a stone dong in Trance Swamp. Later he worked hard to clear his name from the baseless association and was able to repair relations with both men.

Mason served as the antagonist of the lurid novel *Dolphin's Rape*.