introduction: morden garrard
Ahoy hoy! (That's how they used to talk in the olden days, don't you know?) My name is Rory and, though I know a few of you, I think I am a stranger to the majority! In that vein, I am going to approach this introduction as though I am completely unfamiliar to you all - the old hands who've been round the block with me before can skip down to the end, or you can reacquaint yourselves with my lovely and modest self. So!

Like I just said, my name's Rory. I'm 25, English, a Leo with Scorpio rising and my three favourite television detectives (in order) are Miss Marple, Jessica Fletcher and Hetty Wainthropp. You may notice an overarching theme of these venerable sleuths and you would be right - I do love me some older women. But that is a conversation for another day and another character (ohoho!) So I graduated a few years ago and never really got a job that suited me, so I kind of intend to drift along until my parents die and I inherit all their stuff/debts/ancient feuds. I love video games (if you ever IM me, be prepared to be bored to death by me chatting on about The Old Republic!) and tend to come off as a little acerbic at first. Also I hate putting things in order, which is why this list is all over the place. My woefully underused CDJ is shirleyschmidt which you can feel free to add, and my AIM screen names are challenge joan (iPhone) and deathknightdoris (desktop). I'm available all the time, mostly because I am a horrible leech at the moment but even when I work they can't prise my phone out of my hand, so.

That's the me bit over, so welcome back, old hands. MOVING ONWARDS! This dreadful beast is Morden Garrard, the most adorable monster ever to crawl out of the sixteenth century. Morden is an Occultist, and a powerful one considering how long he's been practising. Originally an apprentice apothecary, he worked his way up through traitor to the crown, to court magician, to royal pet, to traitor to the new crown, to itinerant sex fiend. It's been a...varied life, to be sure, but one thing has remained constant throughout all of that: Morden is a very dangerous old man whose only loyalty is to himself and, very minutely, to the Circus that he now inhabits with his other crazy denizens. He is a guiltless, narcissistic murderer and frankly, murder is probably the least dreadful thing he's done. But, like the Chaotic Neutral madbox that he is, Morden's also capable of grand acts of kindness - he's unpredictable, and predictable in its unpredictability. You can pretty much count on him to betray you, and he assumes you know that when you start dealing with him. It's perfectly possible (because I'm telling you it is) that all of this masks a very tired, frightened old bloke who doesn't quite know why he's still alive, but most people won't see that side of him. Most people will only see the depraved, debasing maniac or the laughing, elfin young man who wants to pay for everyone's drinks.

Oh yes, his signature ability: through great effort and force of will, Morden can channel a reality-altering ritual through the power of his voice. Specifically, through his singing voice: originally a very difficult ritual, he's now contained it within a single act of chanting. I'll quote his app here since it sums it up best - "Morden can affect his immediate environment, alter things to make life a little more ‘interesting’: he can bring unlikely creatures to life, or turn the inside of his circus tent into a tropical paradise. The laws of physics need not apply, the natural rule is second to his will, and -crucially- he can implant ideas and suggestions into his willing audience members." Yes, indeed - he sings the world different. I think there's at least one Librarian who he'll be very wary of, if you know what I mean. Whilst this ability naturally has many uses, Morden mostly uses it to stage elaborate, orgiastic performances within his tent at the Circus. He enjoys titillating people, altering their perceptions and basically making sure everybody (but mostly himself) has a bloody good time.

Have I forgotten anything? Probably, I always do. Oh well, his profile is here, and contains more information than I've given you here. I think it's worth a read, but then I would say that since I wrote it. DO YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS? Then this post would be an ideal place to add them.