Audemus's Comments

Thank you for the questions! Let's get into it:

Has he ever willingly shown his scars to anyone? If not yet, will he ever in the future?
> Not willingly, no. His best friend Brandy has seen his scars because she was the one who accompanied him to the hospital and stayed with him throughout a very difficult recovery. Kai saw his scars when Audemus was severely injured to the point of fainting back during their vigilante years. He had picked up on Audemus'... let's call it modesty? And so he intervened and cared for Audemus away from the rest of their party to preserve his privacy. It wasn't entirely altruistic, though. Kai thought he would be getting blackmail on Audemus... and he did, but he also opened up a whole can of worms. Since they've gotten married and been together for like 30 years, Audemus is more or less comfortable with nudity in Kai's presence, but he still prefers to keep his back covered as often as is realistically feasible for personal reasons.

This question is insanely random, but how is he with his students? Does he offer extra credit, and is he a tough grader or a more relaxed one?
> Audemus is a nightmare of a professor. He doesn't teach a lot of classes (being Didact leans more into administrative work) but the ones he does teach are notoriously difficult and he is harshly stringent in holding his students to the highest caliber. There's no incentive for him or any of the departments to go around giving out extra credit or to grade on a curve to pass people, because the university isn't beholden to any sort of graduation statistics (the school follows roughly in the style of medieval universities). You either learn the material and you learn it well, or you don't bother taking the class to begin with. In Audemus' own words: "I do not fail those who are not undeserving of failure."

Do any rumors surround him, considering he’s said to be intimidating and even a little bit mysterious?
> There is a rumor that he's a vampire that sustains himself on the nasty, congealed blood of corpses from the city morgues. Vampires are mere myths, of course... but he certainly looks and acts like one.

What made him decide to become the head of a subject at a university?
> In his teens Audemus demonstrated prodigal understanding of the subject of necromancy, as well as how to wield it. During his time as a student, the necromancy department at Theracarcus was heavily underdeveloped: unpopular both in terms of subject matter and in terms of perception (corpses just generally aren’t a pleasant sight, as you are well aware). With a small student body and limited classes, it was easy for Audemus to rise to notoriety in the upper echelon of necromantic academics at Theracarcus. Within a year or two he was singled out to be the apprentice of his predecessor—a man by the name of Ričards Øster—ostensibly to take up his position when the man grew too old to fulfill his duties. Audemus was ready and willing to take up the mantle when the time was right, but attended to personal affairs in the interim, leaving the university at the age of 20/21. Much happened between then and the point at which he eventually ascended as Didact at 34—too much to get into in one answer alone. Suffice to say that when the call was made, Audemus was ready to move on to a new, more prosperous stage in his life.

Do others ever seem to take notice of his reserved demeanor, or do they just perceive it as shyness?
> "Shy" is not a word that any but the bravest of souls would use to refer to Audemus. The man is stern, confident, and very outspoken when he deems the moment right. Most people tend to see him as reserved first and foremost, given how reticent he is to display outward signs of emotionality beyond irritation and anger. That being said, his truest friends know how much he genuinely dreads the many social responsibilities tied to his titles, and can identify his shyness for what it is. Basically, his ego and (intimidating) force of personality obscure any and all actual shyness.

What academic honors specifically does each golden chain he has represent?
> I'm so glad you asked! Here's all of Audemus' theses and the honors that they have awarded him (there should actually only be 7, I forgot I got rid of one of his superfluous honors):
- "MICRO-DOSING PYLE'S EYE FOR THE TREATMENT OF DELUSIONS IN THE INSANE & FEEBLE-MINDED" by Audemus Florenti Emilios, Virtue of Medicine (Psychiatry). [Age 16]
- "SURPASSING ENDURANCE AND EXHAUSTION: MECHANICAL ADVANTAGES & LIMITATIONS OF THE UNDEAD HORSE" by Audemus Florenti Emilios, Virtue of Necromancy. [Age 17]
- "SUCCESSFUL ARCANO-MEDICAL NECROMANCY" by Audemus Florenti Emilios, Sage of Necromancy. [Age 19]
- [CLASSIFIED] "CLINICAL RESURRECTION" by Dr. Audemus Florenti Emilios, Commandant of Necromancy. [Age 33]
- [CLASSIFIED] "ADVANCED CLINICAL RESURRECTION" by Dr. Audemus Florenti Emilios, Didact of Necromancy. [Age 34]
- "MICROSCOPICAL NEUROANATOMY RELATING TO THE LOCATIONS & CONSTRUCTIONS OF BRAIN FUNCTIONS" by Dr. Audemus Florenti Emilios, Sage of Medicine (Neurology). [Age 34]
- "ADVANCEMENT OF TRANSVERSE COLOSTOMY METHODS FOR PATIENT LONGEVITY" by Dr. Audemus Florenti Emilios, Commandant of Medicine (Surgery). [Age 40]

Whenever he feels upset, does he face his feelings headfirst or does he distract himself from them?
> He distracts himself from them, for sure. Audemus is not a 'feelings' sort of guy. He doesn't know how to handle his own emotions. So if something is upsetting him, he's likely to turn hostile towards whatever it is and to stew in his own rage and frustration.

In a modern world, would he own lawn flamingos (or just general cheesy lawn decorations)?
> God, no. I think he would sooner have his lawn paved over with concrete. 

What are some ways he expresses his feelings privately, such as journaling, art, etc if at all?
> He doesn't do any of those things. Remember that thing I said about being repressed? Yeah. He just... doesn't deal with shit. ...Outside from ranting to Kai and Brandy in private, that is.

Are there any situations or places where he doesn’t feel high-alert and at ease?
> Not sure I entirely understand. I think the last question in his Q&A sums this up. Namely, "being in his own carefully curated space—his immaculately designed villa—is enough to make him feel a genuine sense of safety and comfort that he cannot find anywhere else." i.e. he feels most at ease at home, and least on high-alert. He feels most on high-alert when outside of his villa, and that sensation is heightened further around strangers.

i definitely got carried away with these ones lmao

Why did he choose to get his ears pierced? 
> Upon leaving his homeland of Vindris and making the long trek to Theracarcus, Audemus was rewarded with much more freedom (and more opportunities) than he had ever before experienced in his life. He had always had a fondness for jewelry, and soon after his arrival decided to get his ears pierced for largely aesthetic reasons.

How did he become a necromancer? 
> Initially Audemus was only interested in pursuing a medical education, but soon after his arrival in Theracarcus, upon getting lost in research on the practice of healing via magical means (specifically via divine, clerical magic) he began to hypothesize on a parallel clinical, arcane healing devoid of divine influence. It had long been argued by necromancers that on a technical level, clerical healing was merely a form of divinely-empowered necromancy, and Audemus was interested in pursuing that line of reasoning deeper. He speculated that pure arcane healing was possible if the practitioner had a comprehensive knowledge of anatomy, medicine, and the art of manipulating life and death energies (i.e. necromancy). And he turned out to be correct!

Does he ever get judged for either of these two things? If so, how does he respond/react to it? 
> For having his ears pierced, no. It’s incredibly common for adults—especially those in urban settings—to get their ears pierced, regardless of gender. As for necromancy, like I mention in the Q&A, necromancy isn’t a ‘dark, forbidden magic’. It’s a field of study much like any other. The closest comparison I would draw is the way that we perceive forensic sciences. Gruesome and macabre, but a legitimate field of study for those odd and brave enough to pursue it. In Audemus’ younger years, necromancy had an air of frivolity associated with it within arcane academia because of its focus on non-arcane anthropological studies on burial rites and traditions as well as its limited applicability (raising zombies is far more taxing than it is in other fantasy settings, and most practiced necromancers can only maintain one summon at a time, if at all). Most necromancers were either permanently rooted in academia or were simply morticians, barely utilizing magic at all. During his tenure as Didact, Audemus overhauled the department and integrated a lot more anatomical, forensic, and mortuary studies into the curriculum. This lean towards practical application over theory lent some credence to the field, though many still consider it to be the least useful arcane school. 

All this to say, Audemus is proud of how the perception of necromancy has subtly changed (within academia) because of his efforts, but by and large regular people still tend to perceive necromancers as overly-learned morticians/corpse-disposers… or folks who fancy death a bit too much.

Where/What are the other scars from?
Audemus wouldn’t be comfortable talking about that. Some are “self-explanatory”, and he leaves it at that. The others are covered up, and will remain that way forever—so long as he has anything to say about it.