Bene Elim wrote:-

I always thought Markus's depression was quite apt as a juxtaposition to his initial 'optimistic' nature.


_{(Minor edits by markus_cz)}

Markus Orbsand lead the expedition that founded Gemclod as the grand architect, setting out plans, carving the beginnings of his masterpiece, and for the first two years of Kadolan everything was fine. His plans were followed and the only damper on his mood was the niggling guilt over the imperfect pillars in the great hall.

Then Vox came along and started messing with the designs. Markus, understandably, got a bit upset about it, but he let it go for now. Vox's influence would be temporary. Gemclod could be fixed.

Then came his sudden wounding and loss of ability to design. This was a big thing. Design was not just his profession, but his lifelong love. Markus's initial depression started over this injury, and Leperfishes concern inspired him to write 'Don't Hold All the World', which was perhaps a little drastic at that stage.

Over the next few years, Markus was left more and more architecturally impotent as more and more Overseers went over his head with fortress designs. He became more and more reclused, trying to ignore the grievous design flaws Gemclod kept on gaining. Vox's maze, Boings death-depot, Bad Munki's sanctuary and the flooded checkers room left him quiet and jaded, a shadow of the eager, optimistic architect he once was.

He didn't stop designing. Occasionally he would draw a design via the trusted hand of his assistant Leperfish, and submit the plans to the current overseer. The designs themselves, though, took a slightly darker turn. As Gemclod was increasingly coming under attacks by goblins and elves, Markus became obsessed with the idea that they are all going to die. This was his Mondulite side surfacing – in happier times, the worship for the suicide god was just symbolic, a matter of personal honor, but now the Great Architect actually envisioned designs that would bury the whole fortress under magma.

Then came Pozzo.

Markus was suddenly elevated back to a near-overseer position. Joy at his new position, combined with copious booze consumption re-energized his zest for life, and for the first time in years he ould honestly say he was happy. Pozzo herself even designed the beautiful Cloud Bar, it's irregular, floaty design at odds with the earlier regimented symetry that ruled Gemclod. It is highly notable that following the booze-fueled pillar disaster, Markus more or less abandoned the Great Hall and took to spending his days with Pozzo in the Bar; he finally found someone interested in splendid architecture.

He was quite suprised one day to find out that, during one of the binges, he apparently had designed the Keg - the hideous duck-hive monstrosity atop his once glorious gatehouse.

Mr. Vile continued what was now tradition; screwing with the design. His 'Aquarium' put a hideous plug over Gemclod's once amazing entrance, leaving only one of Gemclod's original architectural features - the Great Hall - unsullied. But this was not a reason to despair! Feeling lively and energetic, Markus now believed that every flaw in the design can be fixed, and once more started bossing people around in the name of architecture.

Pozzo's death changed everything.

There are three traditional signs of a broken Dwarf. Madness, Melancholy and Rage. Markus displayed none of these. To all intents and purposes he was as well as he'd ever been, he worked, he drank, he ate, he slept. All the marks of Dwarven life were there, but behind his eyes there was a black void, known only to his closest friend.

Throughout his long life Markus was a servant of Mondul, the 'suicide god'. One of the defining tenants of Mondul worship is that you must never take the easy way out, Mondul will only allow death to those who have earned it. The ash of dust must permit your suicide if you are to enter Dwarfhallah, and Markus more than any other Dwarf understood this.

To allow himself the embrace of true madness was not allowed, he had to live on.

Over the next year, he learned to present a working facade to his madness, hiding it as best he could from others, with the only visible sign his near-obsession for cataloging the dead. The last Overseer to call on his services, Lady Bene, failed to notice Markus's true nature behind his impeccably polite exterior.

The short reign of Lady Bene and the outbreak of Keihaolera was the catalyst for a slight renewal in Markus's mood. With nobility decimated, and Dwarves falling left and right, Markus had to try to live. Death by beast extract would be no suicide. Although he was still deeply troubled, he assembled a small group and retreated into the caverns to forge a new refuge for himself and his followers. For the month this refuge endured, Markus was as joyous as he was still capable of being. Eager to leave Gemclod behind and forge a new home with his refugees, he laid plans and had his miners strike out in earnest. Sadly, the disastrous flood - a direct result of a flaw in one of his plans - ended his dream once more. Markus lived only by chance, and the guilt over the incident cost him dearly. No longer could he maintain his facade of functionality, and he was placed on suicide watch by Manager Tyskil shortly after.

All Markus had left at this point was his lifelong Friendship with Leperfish and his unwavering faith in Mondul. Sadly one of these was not to last. Leperfish met his end trying to construct a wall to block the Greenskins out of the fortress, earning the Mondulic death that Markus had yearned for for a Decade. In the aftermath, the conflict between Markus' grief and his jealousy for Leperfish tore further chunks out of his ravaged mind.

The incident almost broke Markus's faith. Not willing to wait any longer, he enlisted in the Military, eager for a noble death and a chance to avenge Leperfish. The ghost of Beardman, some say sent by Mondul, ensured that he stayed alive for the time being. Missing his right arm, and with damage to his left Markus reluctantly left the military and returned to his final task; memorializing the dead of Gemclod.

It took the forces of Hell itself to finally brink Markus down. The pterosaur demon Slitheredlow the Loyal Scrap, bane of so many Dwarves, found Markus in the cloud bar. A Mondulite to the end, Markus could not just go quietly. His long life ended with a battle against unearthly odds, the perfect Mondulian suicide charge.

Some believe that there was a hidden side to Markus that not even Leperfish could see. Some say that Gemclod was founded between Goblin fortresses on purpose, that the great stair was meant to give invaders easy access, that Markus actively volunteered for the military service that cost him his architecture, that his errors with the Great Hall's pillars were setting up an accident, that the Refuge flood was planned in a desperate bid for Mondulic death. Some believe that the entire history of Gemclod was Markus's quest for a glorious elaborate suicide.

All are but conspiracy theories from Mad Dwarves who do not understand Mondul, and go looking to blame others for their mistakes.

Markus was a Dwarf among Dwarves. Honest, dedicated, caring, loving and couragous to the end. A Dwarf of many skills, he left his mark permanently on the world in the shape of Gemclod's mighty halls. In some way or another his name and mark on the world will be known for millenia.

Markus now rests in Dwarfhallah, working with Leperfish to improve the heavenly design, so that all the Dwarves of Gemclod can enjoy it's architects vision.

markus_cz wrote:-

Oh, wow. Thanks to Bene Elim for an amazing necrologue!

I thought I would share a couple of thoughts from an out-of-character perspective...



Markus the dwarf ended up having quite a rich storyline full of exciting events. This was... quite unexpected. When I founded the fortress and started "roleplaying" my dwarf, I didn't intend any of this. Quite on the contrary: I knew I would be writing journals when I'd pass the fortress over to other overseers, but after the Syrupleaf experience I wanted to avoid any metaplots and keep my journals as simple as possible. With this in mind, I "designed" (hah!) my character. The absent minded "Great Architect" would allow me to write short and fun journal entries in the future. My idea was to write a single "Design", containing something stupid or just interesting, each year. You may remember some of these from the early years.

But alas, Dwarf Fortress is a harsh mistress and destroys all your plans. And of course, other overseers to. Once the save left my hands, others would continue "roleplaying" my character, often in a way I didn't expect. This would, in turn, influence other overseers and the way they wrote about Great Architect. I was fascinating to watch and I'd like to thank everyone who contributed to the development of the Great Architect's character and story line. In the end, I merely tried to tie all the loose knots together.

When I wrote my overseer updates, I didn't imagine Markus as a very cheerful, optimistic fellow. Looking back, I guess you can read them like that, but it wasn't intended: my idea was simply of a naive, absent-minded guy who thinks about nothing else but his plans. The "always happy, energetic fellow" part of Markus's character was actually added later by Leperflesh, when he retold the event from his dwarf's point of view. But I immediately loved the idea.

The first turn I didn't expect was when Vox Nihili revealed my dwarf to be a follower of the goddess of suicide. This was... a huge oversight on my side, as the Mondulite faith didn't fit with the Architect's blissful cheerfulness at all. Had I noticed this earlier, I'd probably made up a completely different character. When Vox used this fact as a major point in the story, to justify his police state, there was no way back. I tried to come up with an explanation which allowed Markus to be happy and optimistic, but the worship of the goddess of suicide would come up many times after this and become an importnant point in this side storyline.

Things got out of hand soon after, when after the attack of a huge bat, which crippled Markus's left hand, Vox described the Architect as gloomy and depressive. Ouch! This was not at all how I imagined the event - in my head, Markus would probably be angry a day or two, then wave away his injuries and happily continue in his crazy designs. But when Sirocco wrote "Don't Hold all the World on Your Shoulders", it was too late to backpedal. Markus's depression became canon and I had to work with it.

So I did. I still didn't want to give up the vision that I'd draw Designs for overseers. I continued with them, only made them a bit darker. Markus wasn't the sort of dwarf who would lie depressed somewhere in a corner. After all, he was a very energetic fellow - and so, when goblins attacked, started killing people and slaughtered even Enzer, he remained very active, developing paranoia and redirecting his efforts to "defensive" measures. The Mondulite background neatly fit this idea.

A huge part of Markus's story was his friendship with Leperfish. Based on the tone of mine and Leperflesh's updates, I imagined Leperfish the dwarf as a silent, submissive dwarf with no strong agenda of his own. Markus was the dominant, yet impractical dwarf who came up with crazy plans, Leperfish was the voice of reason who corrected any errors and made the plans work, taking no credit whatsoever. After all, he spent the whole of his overseership just making the fortress work after Markus's left it in a state of complete mess (I finished my year achieving absolutely nothing except of digging the Great Hall, not even building workshops or founding fields and setting up the food industry).