#This isn't even mentioning what Malorn must be thinking on a daily basis

[ecogirl2759]

I am posting to literally every Fandom rn and I'm sorry but I neeeeed to get this out

I LOVE looking at Malorn Ashthorn through a very literal lense. Because that makes him literally one of the most tragic characters in Wiz <3

(Came back up after writing this whole post and realized it's kinda sorta very long. So, full rant is under the break ^w^)

Edit: Please forgive any spelling mistakes, I wrote this all on my phone, which sucks lol

Every time you go to Ravenwood, he's there. Malorn, without fail, is always standing by the crater at all times. (This is what I mean by literal lol, since his sprite just wasn't put in any other locations.) Other students keep coming and going throughout the day, able to take rests in their dorms and occasionally go on field assignments, but Malorn can't do that. He just has to stand there. Waiting.

He's practically forced to be there, too. He's "Acting Professor Ashthorn" after all. He has to be there just in case a student drops by, and everyone works on their own schedule. That includes all the other Death students, especially since they're on independent study and literally have no time table to work off of. So, to make sure he can actually do his job, he needs to be ready at all times. He needs to always be on the clock. He can't leave.

What's more, he can't even go to the headmaster's office. He can't leave his station, so he can't go negotiate with Ambros. He can't ask for breaks. He can't catch up on news. He can't give or receive progress reports, assignments or updates. Unless he's deliberately called, he is, quite literally, trapped in this catch22 of seclusion.

Malorn also can't further his own learning in any meaningful way. All his other fellow students are off on assignments, doing practical work and honing their spells. Not to mention that it seems--based on Penny's side quest--that Ambros is the one who gives them their work. But Malorn can't move. Even if he got assignments, he would never be able to complete them. He's literally not allowed to learn.

Also, no one really ever shows up to Malorn's little corner of Ravenwood anymore. The other students don't actually need to go to him for anything, since they know most if not all the same spells he does, as well as not needing to turn their assignments in to him. New lore suggests that studying Death magic is wildly unpopular now that Malistaire is dead/evil/dead again, and old lore states that the already existing Death students are actively being discouraged from continuing their studies / persuaded to study different schools. Considering how few Death students you come across in-game, (keeping in mind that they have to be out and about since they have no classroom to congregate in,) it's probably safe to assume that many of the previous Death students were successfully deterred. I can't imagine Malorn sees much traffic anymore.

Even after the Death School is found by the Wizard and classes are said to resume, (even though the connection to Nightside is unstable? Eh, anyway,) Malorn is never seen outside of his usual spot. He literally cannot go to class anymore because he's too busy being Acting Professor. He now has to stand there in his usual spot, directing students to the actual Death School. (Because no one can put the building back, I guess. -_-)

And Malorn isn't even recognized for his hard work, either! Despite always being as helpful and friendly as possible, doing a pretty great job at being Acting Professor (if you ask me), he's never rewarded. The Wizard graduates, and Dwargyn is promoted to Death Professor. AND MALORN STILL HAS TO JUST STAND THERE!

Though, that also calls into question whether or not he actively wanted the role of Acting Professor or not. Sure, he's great at it, and yeah, he makes the most with what he can. But is he Acting Professor because he genuinely wanted to take up that mantle, or is he Acting Professor because he was the best of the Death students at the time? (I mean, I imagine it's because he wanted to, but we technically don't know for certain.)

Last but not least, no one likes the Death School kids. Both in old and new lore, some of the kids express how creepy the Death School is to them. They think the Death students are weird and freaky. The kids are ostracized by the rest of the Ravenwood student body simply because necromancy gives them the heebie-jeebies. So for Malorn to be stuck in Ravenwood, all day every day, surrounded by people who other him and look down on him not only because he's a necromancer, but because (I imagine) some of the kids would see his title of Acting Professor as him "sucking up to Ambros" or "thinking he's as great as Malistaire was" or "looking down on other regular students" or any other number of uncharitable assumptions. It would be hard for anyone to handle that kind of treatment for an extended period of time, including Malorn.

Malorn probably feels an immense amount of pressure from everyone's expectations of him as a Death student, an honor student, and as Acting Professor. Even though there's nothing for him to do most of the time, he still has to do it perfectly. He can't afford to fail his classmates. His friends. He's now in charge of their education, so if they fall behind, he'll be the one to blame. He has to show Ambros that Death is still worth studying, even if Malistaire might be gone. He can't make the Death School seem weak in the eyes of the other students by slacking off or being inhospitable. So he keeps a smile on his face as he stands by himself, forced to play Professor without ever getting the recognition or power of one, all while still being a student actively in school, unable to grow and get stronger with his peers due to being secluded and forbidden to leave.

"Acting Professor Ashthorn" isn't even a Professor. He's just a lonely school boy, trying to do his best, yet always coming up short.

It's sad.