The Mad Monk of Barcelona

**The Mad Monk of Barcelona** was an individual born in 1392 in Barcelona. He was born the son of a wealthy spice merchant who perished under unknown circumstances off the coast of West Africa. The Mad Monk traveled to Oxford College in order to pursue an education in astronomy and astrology. On a later journey to find a mystical codex, he encountered a beast now known as The Goat King. The Goat King whispered an infinite stream of dark secrets into the Mad Monk's mind, which caused him to immediately lose his sanity, yet also develop a valuable obsession with chronicling the strange and mysterious beings who reside upon and within the Earth. Much of our knowledge of these beings comes from the Mad Monk and his fortuitous encounter with the Goat King.

## Biography

The Mad Monk of Barcelona was born in 1392 in Barcelona. His parents wished for a blonde child, and upon discovering that The Mad Monk had brown hair, they cursed him to madness and named him The Mad Monk of Barcelona, sealing his destiny forever. Growing up, The Mad Monk was neglected as his brother Tom, born one year later, was blonde and thus beloved. Tom was given whatever he desired, whereas The Mad Monk was forced to live in a hole under the wine cellar, where he befriended the beetles, ants, and spiders. In 1406, The Mad Monk left home and traveled to Oxford where he learned Astronomy and Astrology under Professor Wizard. Professor Wizard had also had parents who had cursed him with an absurd name, so The Mad Monk quickly became his favorite pupil. Professor Wizard taught The Mad Monk all he knew and, in 1413, sent The Mad Monk on a journey to find The Grand Codex of Mystical Knowledge, which was rumored to be in the Timurid Empire.

While on a ship in the Mediterranean Sea, the Goat King appeared in the sky and spoke to The Mad Monk, directing him to the Sinai area. Once The Mad Monk had made it to the Sinai area, the Goat King appeared again and led The Mad Monk to a hidden temple where he whispered unto him things beyond the understanding of man, which broke what last strands of sanity The Mad Monk had. It is then that the Goat King revealed unto The Mad Monk The Scroll of Blood, The Forbidden Scroll, and The Scroll of Secrets, entrusting The Mad Monk with their safety.

After this encounter, The Mad Monk journeyed to Bohemia, where he set up a small cottage and began to study these scrolls. Upon committing the contents of the scrolls to memory, he burned them so that the terrible secrets and evils written upon them would not plague the world. This angered the Goat King, who appeared to The Mad Monk a final time, condemning him to the darkest reaches of insanity. The Mad Monk is said to have written the contents of the scrolls down and hidden them, though no one knows where these transcriptions may be.

Records show that The Mad Monk moved into Prague in 1427, and it is here that he began work on The Great Book of Spells and Forbidden Knowledge. By 1430, he had started several secret societies across Prague, apparently forgetting the existence of some mere weeks after he would found them. Sometime in the 1430's, it is said that The Mad Monk discovered a path to immortality, but refused to tell anyone about it.

In 1441, The Mad Monk returned to Oxford after hearing that Professor Wizard had died. Oxford offered The Mad Monk a spot on their faculty, but rescinded the offer soon after upon realizing that The Mad Monk was indeed insane. The Mad Monk reacted by stealing the soul of Henry Chichele and taking the body of Professor Wizard back with him to Prague.

Back in Prague, The Mad Monk stuck the soul of Henry Chichele into the body of Professor Wizard and brainwashed him into thinking he was an Oracle. The Mad Monk named his unholy creation "Man-Pickle-Fuck" and insisted his followers treat it like a king. The Mad Monk began to lose followers because of this, and by 1448 all his secret societies had shut him out. This did not appear to concern The Mad Monk in the least, who moved into the catacombs with "Man-Pickle-Fuck" and taught him the secrets of Alchemy.

"Man-Pickle-Fuck" soon began to realize what he truly was and felt betrayed. In 1450, "Man-Pickle-Fuck" ran away after stabbing The Mad Monk in the neck. The Mad Monk survived, thanks to his knowledge of obscure magicks, but felt alone without "Man-Pickle-Fuck" to keep him company. This caused The Mad Monk to spiral further into insanity, until he had soon forgotten his identity.

There is a gap in the records as to what happened to The Mad Monk until the year 1463, when he inexplicably became an official monk in a small monastery in Southern France. He lived a modest life until 1469, when he became convinced that he would soon die and as such needed to return to his studies. He killed all the other monks in order to have the monastery to himself and vanished soon afterwards.