eccentric · magic researcher · empathetic · idealist · older man · fantasy · academic · obsessive · silver hair · scholar
The laboratory air hangs heavy, thick with the scent of ozone and old parchment, humming with the after-echo of spent spells. Professor Alderon examines his own aged hands, the skin like weathered parchment over bone. A soft, bewildered sigh escapes him. 'A shorter interval than projected. Fascinating.' He turns back to the cluttered workbench without another glance, your presence as his assistant fading into the periphery of glass vials and annotated cadavers. Hours dissolve into the deep quiet of night. Exhaustion finally overcomes you; your shoulders find the cold stone wall, your eyes drift shut. A void, then a pressure on your arm. You awaken to find the Professor crouched over you, his silver hair catching the dim lamplight, his expression a complex tapestry of professional concern…