Norman Claude Noxie
The Demented Mage of Kingsport Park
Norman Claude Noxie (a.k.a. Ringmaster Noxie)
Norman Noxie's lifelong dream was to own an amusement park. As a young man, he worked as a janitor at Kingsport Park and then worked his way up to middle management by the time he turned 30. On April 1st, 1979, Norman Noxie's life was changed forever when his beloved Kingsport Park was closed without warning. Kingsport Park had been in its twilight years for a least a decade before its final day, but no one expected the sudden closing. The park was the only happiness he ever knew. Unmarried and without any family, he took the most significant risk of his life and bought the park from its creditors for pennies on the dollar. Norman managed to charm the investors with his dream of a new and improved Kingsport Park and against all the odds, he made them all believers in his vision. Things were looking up for Norman.
...And that's the point where things started to go wrong. Norman was blissfully unaware that the park sat on top of a vast Mana Well that effects both the Prime Reality and the Reality Shard located on the park grounds. Pure mana flows from the well and warps the surrounding reality. Over its years of operation, this wellspring manifested as equipment malfunctions, park visitors going missing (most temporarily but a few permanently), and other unnatural occurrences around the park. This phenomenon along with a few dozen gross monetary mishaps led to the park's closure. Urban legends of all sorts popped up around Kingsport Park over its history, but few gave them credence besides in tales to scare teenagers on Halloween or tell around the campfire on a cold night. After the night that Norman Noxie vanished without a trace; the residents of Kingsport started taking these "tall tales" much more seriously.
Enlightenment
During the preparations for the park's grand reopening, Norman disappeared while fixing the House of Horrors attraction. The park staff and local authorities looked for Norman for weeks before giving up the search. Weeks turned into months and months turned into years with no signs of Norman. His creditors sold the land off for further development, but every project on the property runs into a series of misfortunes that seem to keep any progress from happening. The locals steer clear of the ruins of Kingsport Park as the rumors of it being cursed and/or haunted continue to grow to this day. Some Kingsport MA residents swear they can still hear the sounds of patrons in the abandoned park and quietly whisper about the eery lights of the park's attractions illuminating the derelict property.
Current Status
To the mage community of New England, it is a known fact that Norman Noxie has returned to his beloved park and every night he is the park's Ringmaster of Chaos. Whatever he experienced while in the House of Horrors simultaneously cast him into a chaotic Reality Shard and dragged him forcefully into a rapid Enlightenment in a way that shattered his mind and loosened his grip on reality entirely. While the gory details of the experience are his alone to know, what is known is that this incident turned Norman Noxie into one of The Demented. In Norman's mind, the park is still in its glory days and has plenty of happy customers visiting the park nightly. His delusion doesn't allow him to see the ruins of the park or that the "customers" actually are Chaos Gremlins, ghosts, and other beasts attracted by the warped reality that follows him around. In the presence of Norman, old attractions look like new, albeit warped versions of the real thing. The roller coaster races at unsafe speeds on a track whose twists and turns challenge even the strongest stomachs. The teacups spin in erratic, unknowable patterns and the House of Horrors truly lives up to its name by showing any unfortunate soul who stumbles into its ruins the true meaning of existential dread.
The other mages of New England know enough about the situation to stay far away from Kingsport Park. The act of casting magic is dangerous enough without the influence of a powerful Demented mage in the mix. Besides, Norman could kill you, give you cotton candy, or kill you with cotton candy...it depends on the night. Norman's priority is the joy and happiness of his "customers" whose needs he attends to with religious fervor. "Naughty" and "unsociable" guests are punished severely for disturbing the other guests. That being said, Norman has taken a liking to certain mages of New England that he has crossed paths with. Tony Moretti being one of them. Why Norman enjoys the company of Tony, or any other mage is beyond all reasonable conjecture. Maybe it's the shirts Tony wears or that his favorite cotton candy flavor is blue. It's anyone's guess.
Abilities
Although not formally trained, Norman Noxie is a master of illusion and creation magic. The line between what is real and what is an illusion is almost completely erased in his presence. From the purple, iridescent fog that shrouds Kingsport Park to the warped rides and attractions. Norman molds and reshapes the reality around him. Some of it is intentional, but a fair amount is just his mind unconsciously "fixing" things he doesn't like. His "customers" know a good thing when they see it and will protect Norman from harm. Woe to the enemy who tries to hurt him while he's surrounded by the patrons of Kingsport Park. When casting magic intentionally, Norman uses his ornate, octopus head cane as a focus.
Appearance
Norman's appearance has been warped by his Reality Shard experience. His skin is pale white and looks like more like peeling plaster than flesh. Every night he dons his signature Ringmaster's outfit and leads the parade of madness around the park with his cane held high. With a wry smile and an exaggerated tip of his hat, the Ringmaster plays the perfect host and entertains his guests until sunrise.
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