Nameless Monk

Nameless Monks are beings with a supernaturally low presence. It can be difficult to even notice one standing right in front of you and wounds seem to fade off their bodies like old memories. The people that they help are quick to forget about them, but never the the lessons they have taught nor good that they have done. Nameless Monks renounce all connections to their own identity and their personal desires. They tend to view themselves not as individuals, but rather as forces of the universe.

Forgotten

Both people and the world itself seem to forget about Nameless monks as soon as they leave. All memories of them are fast to fade as soon as somebody is not in regular contact with them and even physical traces such as those carved in stone disappear. The effects of their actions, however, remain. Those who regain contact with one after forgetting about them will still somehow recognize them. When they pass on, their friends and comrades will forget they ever existed, but they will still feel the pain and emptiness of having them gone.

The first ever recorded Nameless Monk was Maxwell Magnacius, though it known that many others existed before him. The only reason evidence of him exist is because his father, Maximilian Magnacius was man of business who happened to have an incredible memory and was very meticulous about recording keeping. Even as all of the information about his son was fading away, he kept filling ledger after ledger with data about him until the universe itself accepted that his story would never be forgotten.

Maximilian was the founder of the famed Maximum Shipping Company. The Company earned its reputation from overloading its cargo freighters with goods and meanwhile under stocking them with supplies for its own crews. Furthermore, Maximilian gave strict orders that no crew member, not even the captain, was permitted to throw cargo overboard, under any circumstance. No matter how the sea raged and the storms howled, the crew was batten down the hatches and hold onto every last crate as though their life depended on it. Despite the risky nature of Maximilian's shipments, while his ships almost always ran out of supplies while they were still at sea, the crews never hit shore with empty stomachs, and not one of his vessels capsized to the weather. His ships also had an unnatural luck when it came to avoiding pirates and raiders and of all the shipments Maximilian coordinated throughout his career, he only ever lost one crate of cargo. The crate in question was thrown overboard by a panicking, young deckhand during a typhoon. The wind and his shouts were too loud for him to hear the warning of his captain who after the deed was done, seized him and threatened to throw him overboard so that he could retrieve the cargo from the bottom of the sea. Fortunately, the captain was stopped by his first mate who reminded him that given the storm, they might be late and would need all the hands they could get to help them unload their freight on schedule. The captain begrudgingly accepted his advice. When they returned to port, Maximilian demanded the deckhands head, however, local laws forbid such grand punishment for so lowly of crime. Even though he was no fighter, Maximilian challenged the deckhand to a duel of honor in an attempt to avenge the perfect record of his company, but the deckhand refused. Maximilian then went on to argue unsuccessfully before court multiple times that any crime should be considered a capital offense when honor is on the line. The people did not agree with his principles, but they loved the spectacle of his trials and admired the success of his business. Furthermore, his calculations and predictions were so precise that people often debated about whether or not he secretly had psychic powers.

Maximilian may not have been a man of the people, but he was a man the people, but he was a person the people adored. His first son, Maximilian Magnacius II from a young age seemed to be following perfectly in his footsteps. He mastered algebra by age six and by age twelve was already coordinating shipments around the Empire all on his own. His second son who was two years younger, however, was not as gifted. That is not to say that he was not bright, indeed, he performed above average in just about every regard, but none of his skills were considered exceptional. Even so, his mother doted on him and loved him very dearly, always sure to tell him that though he was not as "special" as his brother, he was still everything a good child should be and more.

Things were looking good for the Magnacius family and hopes were high when it was revealed that the Mrs. was pregnant with a third child. Unfortunately, she died due to complications in child birth, leaving Maxwell motherless at age ten, though the baby did survive, giving him a younger sister, Maxine. Maximilian was too busy with both his business and his person tutelage of Maximilian II for him to have time to raise his newborn daughter by himself, so he hired a full time maid to watch over her and Maxwell. Maxine, having never known her true mother, bonded deeply with the maid, and would consider her as her real mom. Maxwell, however, was never able to form such a bond with the maid. He missed his mother dearly, and seeing how his brother had the love of his father, and his sister had the maid, he felt a certain sense of isolation. He drifted through his schooling in a melancholy daze. Occasionally, his morose trance would be broken when he would be taken with a passionate romantic interest with one of his classmates, though his tongue always fumbled when he tried to speak with them and all of his romantic gestures came off as heavy handed. Maxwell had no luck in the ways of love, and his loneliness grew and grew, that was until he met his uncle.

The one thing in life that Maximilian never seemed to be able to predict was the comings and goings of his older brother, Horace. Unlike his little brother, Horace had no particular talents and had no interest in creating a lasting legacy. The days that he spent outside of jail cells were filled with nothing but drugs, dames, and debauchery all around the world. Every now and then, he would show up on Maximilian's doorstep to ask to "borrow" some money for misadventures. Completely ashamed of the wreck that was his kin, Maximilian would always be happy to oblige in order to get him to leave more quickly and in hope that whatever new and exotic narcotics Horace would purchase with it would leave him in either a prison or hospital bed where he could cause no further trouble.

One Maxwell's fifteenth birthday, Horace decided to show up to the party unannounced, bringing all sorts of strange souvenirs from his latest journey, which in reality was more of a drugged fueled fugue, to the Ten Thousand Isles as gifts. Maxwell did not even know that he had an uncle, let alone one who seemed to lead such a grand and interesting life. Maximilian tried to bribe with extra gold Horace to leave immediately, but Maxwell insisted that he stay. He listened in wonder as Horace told him of his travels, telling tales far more interesting than he ever heard from any of the crew members that worked on Maximilian's trade ships. Before long, Maxwell was begging Horace to take him on some adventures with him. Maximilian was infuriated but eventually they came to a resolution. Maxwell was permitted to spend time with his uncle, however, neither were allowed to leave the city. While Maxwell was disappointed, Horace assured him that 'the true spirit of adventure is not in any of the places that you go, but rather inside yourself,' and so long as they had that spirit, they could find joy no matter where they were.

Despite his noble words, the adventures that Horace took Maxwell on were certainly no noble affairs. They glutted themselves on all sorts of debauchery and degeneracy until their funds ran low. When Maximilian refused to give them more money, they turned to crime and deception to fuel their addictions. Eventually, their crimes caught up with them, though not from the hand of the law, but rather from local mobsters and crime lords they wronged. The two fought back against their hired thugs valiantly, but they were outnumbered and outmatched. By the time proper authorities arrived, the two were bleeding out on the ground. They were rushed to the local hospital, but Horace succumbed to his wounds during transport. After recovering, Maxwell was arrested as the officers who rescued him found that he was in possession of illegal drugs.

Much to Maxwell's dismay, his father refused to bail him out. However, this turned out to be a stroke of luck for him as while in prison, he met a strange old man in tattered robes. Curious as to what such an elderly person could possibly have done to get himself thrown in jail, he asked the man to find out that he was an old monk who was being detained for traveling without proper paperwork and passes and that they should let him out in a few days once they confirmed that he was causing no harm. The monk sensed the troubles that were brewing within Maxwell and offered to come visit him in jail to help him through them. Maxwell declined, however, the day after the old monk was released he came to visit anyway. Maxwell refused to speak to him, but he came again the next day, and then the next as well. Eventually, Maxwell decided to hear him out.

The monk taught him of how toxic his desires had become to him. While reluctant to listen, Maxwell did see truth in his words. His and his uncle's pursuit of more and more exotic pleasures had been what drove them to their demise. Their desires were like flames that grew and grew, always demanding more and more. Instead of allowing the flame to consume him, he found it was best to extinguish it entirely. One day the monk did not show up, vanishing without a trace, but his lessons still lingered. By the time that he left prison, Maxwell had renounced his name and his old life, vowing to seek nothing more than harmony with the world. Little is known about his journey as a Nameless Monk and beyond, but his father's records have kept his memory and his story beforehand alive.