#but perhaps after having his foundation shaken to pieces he can build anew and just be some guy

[stormbreaker101]

u gotta tell us about mark moonfisher. how'd his arc differ from his canon counterpart? how's his personality different?

BOY AM I GLAD YOU ASKED.

So, in Corrupted Spiral, Karamelle goes mad off the rails before its story can begin. My main wizard Nora, spurred into a years-in-the-making breakdown by the prophecy of "You have Nothing to fear", lashed out against the Spiral and released a ton of Aberrant magic. The Aberrant magic that struck Karamelle was Aberrant Storm, which churned constant storms that threaten to erode the mountains and flood the lowlands.

With Karamelle thrown into crisis and Nora gone, the Schismists' Summit is unable to proceed as planned. So instead, the Old One offers his forces as 'humanitarian aid' for the people of Karamelle that are unable to emigrate to safer lands. The Schismists, Mark included, very quickly become a not-so-secret police force to keep the remnants of Karamelle under Nana's and the Old One's thumbs.

Mark doesn't begin any sort of arc until Nora returns to try and fix the consequences of her meltdown 2 years later. He has his moment of 'I'm gonna be the one who finally stops the Wizard!' and keeps trying to egg her on to fight him. He's still very cocky and over the top like "You're just not fighting me cuz you're scared you're gonna lose" and "I can 1v1 you easily, you're outta practice, granny!" (Nora is only 24 and Mark is like... no older than 18 here). Nora eventually reluctantly agrees to fight him just to get him to stop asking her, and she absolutely schools him, even while holding back.

This, of course, crushes Mark. He's been in the Schismists for a few years now, and throughout his time he had constantly heard rumor of The Wizard. How dangerous they were, how they were a harbinger for so much destruction, how they represent everything wrong with the Spiral. (Reader, let me be perfectly clear: this is propaganda.) Mark, young and bright-eyed and a bit of a loner, believed that if he were to defeat the Wizard, then he'd finally have some sort of standing! He could get a promotion! From a basic grunt to a Boss, on the same level as Doctor Demented, Poison Oak, or Gretta Darkkettle! He could have underlings, who'd be forced to be his friends! A cool new name, like... King Shark or something! His life could mean something!

So, that sounds fairly similar to his canon arc. Absolutely wiped by the Wizard, our pathetic boy works to try and finally defeat us (failing every time). So what changes?

A near death experience, of course :D

Alongside basically being the new cops of Karamelle, the Schismists also make themselves responsible for keeping the plutarchs of Karamelle who refused to leave comfortable. These overprivileged 1%'ers reside in the von Trap estate, above the clouds and safe from both rain and flood, but not safe from monsters.

See, one fun little consequence of Nora fleeing the Spiral and then coming back is that while she was gone she kinda accidentally led a semi-conscious realm of infinite hunger (the Abyss) to the Spiral :D And the creatures from the Abyss hunger for flesh and fear. The soft plutarchs who had never done a single day of honest work or ever had any worry beyond accruing capital are basically the most tender of meat to the Abyss.

It's a damn slaughter, and Mark (who was assigned to the von Trap estate one day along with the rest of Quake Charmer's cohort) was one of the only survivors in the manor :D So he's got a new objective, one that trumps his desire to beat the Wizard: survive. He flees the estate and goes back to the lower towns, where Nora's helping the lower class folk evacuate so they don't also fall prey to the Abyss. Mark decides to slip into the crowd and just go with them to wherever they end up. He'll... beat the Wizard later. Another day. When he's stronger. Right now he's a bit too weak. (Bit too traumatized. :P)

The Karamellians are directed to Grizzleheim, which is doing rather well thanks to earlier efforts in undoing Nora's Aberrant magic there. They settle the town of Drostein just north of Savarstaad pass (with King Valgard's blessing), and try to find a new normal, one without any of the cruelty of the poverty that NOFKD imposed on them, or the surveillance state the Schismists put them through.

Mark also has a chance to soften up and find a new normal with the Drostenians, though of course he does have to balance his allegiances. Is he still a Schismist? Can he soften up and just be some guy again, or should he remain a loyal grunt despite not having a boss? The Quizzler is there too, are they his new boss now?

Choices, choices...

At least there's some other big important Wizard who actually wants to brawl with him whenever she comes around :D. It's kinda fun to roughhouse with this... Nordic Champion, Emma whatshisface. Mark still gets absolutely schooled, but Emma's a surprisingly good sport about it! Up for rematches and the like, and actually responds to his shittalk with jabs of her own! Mark has maybe one single friend.