Note: Lore written from the perspective of the Madman, speaking privately in a meeting to one of the scouts
They say there’s a fine line between brilliance and insanity, they say that, when history is recorded, it all depends who wins the game, what game? The game of life, of course!
If you win, you’re a genius, perhaps even a hero.
If you lose, you’re insane.
It’s as simple as that.
Those stuck up toffs in the castle call me mad, crazy, insane, and other such words.
But what the hell do they know?
All this business with the Usurper has prevented them from seeing the truth.
I’ve been surveying this castle for years, since I was a child.
The King was a nice old man, but he evidently made many enemies.
A few days before he died, he shared with me a story from his youth, about a ruthless terrorist group calling themselves the Unseen.
I’ll spare you all the details as they’re quite horrifying, but eventually this group vanished.
The King grew old and wise and eventually passed away, letting his son, the Prince, my father, whom you know as King Adiart III, take his place.
What? You didn’t know I was a Prince?
Well to tell you the truth, the idea of power never interested me, nothing much did.
But those tales of the Unseen have got me thinking, and looking around.
The Man looks around before speaking in hushed tones
They’ve returned.
I know it sounds crazy, but I’m sure of it.
Look at this oil painting of one of the lords at the court, I forget his name but that’s hardly important.
Look at the side of his neck, that flower tattoo.
That’s the signature mark of the Unseen!
This man is the leader of a Neo-Unseen movement
He must be stopped, and if the court don’t believe me then they’re probably in on it.
I have a plan, I can’t kill this man myself, I’d be executed for murder, I need to make the others see.
And if they’re in on it I’ve prepared a decoy.
They can cut off its head or do whatever with it, and I’ll be on my way out of here.
Now, if you’ll excuse me I have a court meeting to attend.
It’s time for me to take my place in history.
The man exits without another word
Scouts report: Subject is clearly delusional, after some secret organisation, no further observations required
Notes:
I wanted to make the Madman less of a lunatic character and more like a conspiracy theorist, because otherwise I thought he’d be too similar to The Fool