Lutwidge

03

Name: Lutwidge

Epithet: The Professor

Motifs and Symbols: Apples, hallucinations, dreams, Alice in Wonderland-esque stories

Occupation: Former professor of psychology

Age: Unknown, appearance appears to be around mid to late 50s

Backstory: Growing up, Lutwidge had always heard the story of midnight apple; those who were tempted by its beautiful purple hue to consume it would wander into the forest and never return. As he grew older, he learned that the apple contained hallucinogens that caused people to enter a trance-like state, wander aimlessly into nearby groves, and disappear. Very few have made it out with their sanity intact, and those who have ingested the apple seem to have symptons similar to PTSD. Lutwidge, who was interested in the effects of the hallucinogens, focused his research on past records and conducted interviews with those who survived. Each patient gave dream-like descriptions of the realm they were transported to, which never followed any logic or order; however, they all insisted it felt very, very real. The hallucinations had the harshest effect on people who were bound by the physical rules of the real world and refused to adapt to the new reality that the hallucinogen created; when probed for more specifics, they would start shuddering and be unable to speak coherently. Free-spirited teenagers were less affected and described their outlandish hallucinations quite precisely, which always seemed longer than the time they were missing. Those who bite into apples from the same tree seem to be able to enter the same hallucinations together. However, none of the patients could describe how they came back, and there were also no records of any children below the age of 12 ever reappearing. While conducting these studies, Lutwidge was also a tenured professor at his alma mater, where he was both feared and loved for his strict yet effective teaching style. After a cruel joke by some resentful students, his young daughter fell victim to the midnight apple’s effect, and in a fit of desperation Lutwidge bit into the same apple, hoping he would be able to find her in that alternate reality and bring her back home. It would be ten years in the real world before he reappeared as a changed man.

Abilities: He was able to synthesize the midnight apple into both a liquid and a powder form, and keeps them in small vials inside his coat. When the powder is dispersed, he is able to transport himself and surrounding opponents into the same alternate realm, where Lutwidge has learned to manipulate the environment and nature of the hallucinations to his advantage. Since only Lutwidge has gained the power to disperse the hallucinations at will, his modus operandi is to build labyrinths and mazes where his opponents will never reach him. However, he himself must also be constantly wary, otherwise he too may fall into madness. Lutwidge prefers not to use the liquid form as they will only affect those who have been injected, and Lutwidge would not be able to monitor them in the alternate realm himself.

Personality: Previously stern but kind, ambitious and passionate, Lutwidge is now cynical and pessimistic. He twitches occasionally, and mutters to himself a lot. When stressed, he likes to run his thumb along the grooves of his pocket watch. After coming back, he rescinded his teaching position but can still be found wandering around campus. Nowadays, he spends less and less time in the real world, preferring to wander in his hallucinations searching for his daughter. While in the alternate realm, he kept track of days by scratching a small line on his hand every twelve hours; the scars reached his upper arm before he finally gave up.