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Ennui

Summary

Ennui, whose earlier name was Thomas at the old Riversmeet mage school, was one of the five creators of the Dome / Barrier, Joy’s father, and Hannah Joy’s erased husband. His attempts to preserve Joy through rings, life-force transfer, and containment experiments weakened the prison system and may have caused the first crack; the Barrier Observatory is part of his laboratory. Later records say that twenty-seven Humility fragments were removed from Thomas so he could become Ennui, and that his spirit eventually occupied an awakened body in his laboratory, where he gained control of crystals and began working with Azar Nuri, though his current goals remain unclear.

Known Details

  • He appears as a well-groomed tiefling in a picture holding a baby girl.
  • Ennui is his chosen name and means annoyance.
  • The Dome / Barrier was created by Everard Browning, Ennui, Brutor Ruby Eye, Valenth Cardonal, and Lady Evalina Hartwall.
  • He is Joy’s father.
  • Observatory clues connect him to Joy, moon observation, rings, and repeated attempts to bring Joy back; user clarification establishes that the Barrier Observatory is part of Ennui’s laboratory.
  • Brutor’s later lore says Ennui tampered with a containment device for his own means and that something happening to Ennui could have caused the first crack.
  • Ennui wore five rings; one small ring was found with text about a sacrifice made to live eternal, father and daughter.
  • A boxed note possibly records Winter Roses? as Ennui’s password.
  • Day 24 identifies Ennui as one of the figures at the base of the Hephaestoos statue and says Ennui was being protected by Goliaths.
  • The Mother, Betrayer, Ennui’s apprentice, may have caused the end of Garadule’s sanity.
  • Ennui’s spellbook was locked by one of Cardonal’s creations and later attuned to Geldrin.
  • Ennui had been tapping life force from his prison, and that replicated shade to the system weakened all prisons.
  • The Mother, Betrayer, Ennui’s apprentice, repurposed Ennui’s clone in Ennui’s lab, and her spellbook used the same cipher and spells as Ennui’s.
  • Ennui’s gloves were later located in the Goliath Tower in the Oasis, implying Ennui died and went there without being released.
  • Day 42 council lore said Ennui might be trapped, but whose side he was on remained uncertain, and that Ennui had been part of deals with dark demons.
  • Anastasia gave Dirk Ennui’s fifth ring; by 15:00 the party could attune to three of the rings.
  • Ruby Eye said the rings activate in the Barrier so Joy cannot leave, and that his and Joy’s mother’s sacrifices were made to keep Joy safe and eternal.
  • Day 43 says Wrath, Removed Elven Emotion, recorded there as Wrath, trapped Envy in Lady Evalina Hartwall’s head the same way Envy is in Ruby Eye’s, suggesting Envy can be contained in people or minds.
  • Day 43 records that The Mother, Betrayer, Ennui’s apprentice, was a dark-skinned elf whom Joy and Mr Browning did not like, that The Guilt was Ennui’s guilt, and that Trixus might restore Ennui’s emotions if those emotions can be found.
  • In the Day 43 Ennui conversation, the elves needed help to remove emotions, and Benu was identified as the elves’ protector who taught them how to remove emotions.
  • Day 44 places Ennui, then called Thomas, in the old Riversmeet mage school: he was an eighteen-year-old human in detention with Hannah, was considered a bad influence by Mama Cardonal, recognized Geldrin as touched by the lady of destruction, and was researching dark magic.
  • Thomas was Ennui’s earlier name before he chose the name Ennui.
  • Ruby Eye recruited Geldrin into a group including Everard, Thomas / Ennui, and Valenth around the eye-removal final project.
  • Day 56 records twenty-seven Humility fragments removed from Thomas so he could become Ennui, with a large weak part still needed for recombination.
  • Day 47 identifies Hannah Joy as Ennui’s erased wife and says a sentient door had brothers at Ennui’s lab and a prison.
  • Day 51 says Ruby Eye believed Ennui had a body stored somewhere, perhaps Coalmount Falls, and records infernal-like doorknob writing reminiscent of Ennui’s lab.
  • Day 57 Hydran-realm carvings said Ennui was free: his spirit reached his base, occupied an awakened body in his laboratory, gained power and control over crystals, and had captured the party’s allies. His goal was unknown and he had not been near his other parts.
  • Day 57 Azar Nuri said Ennui works for him and has Tremon’s arm.
  • Envy is a manifestation of an emotion removed from the elves; the notes sometimes blur Envy with Ennui, but Envy should not be treated as only a spelling variant of Ennui.
  • The Guilt is one of Ennui’s removed emotions. The Guilt remains a standalone entity, linked to Ennui but not merged with him.
  • The Orb of Compassion is one of Ennui’s removed emotions.

Timeline

  • day-05: The party begins uncovering Ennui through observatory imagery and Joy clues.
  • day-06: Joy’s rooms, rings, clone evidence, and observatory memories deepen his connection to Joy.
  • day-15: Brutor’s lore implicates Ennui in containment tampering and the first crack.
  • day-16: The hidden lab shows Ennui memories, rings, and Barrier history.
  • day-24: Cardonal’s lab adds Ennui, Goliath protection, spellbook, apprentice, and Garadule context.
  • day-25: Ennui’s life-force siphoning is identified as a prison-system-wide weakness.
  • day-26: The Mother, Betrayer uses Ennui’s clone and cipher during the life-prison and Baytail Accord crisis.
  • day-30: Ennui’s gloves are located in the Goliath Tower in the Oasis, and Ennui’s ring pact is noted.
  • day-42: Ennui’s possible imprisonment, dark-demon deals, fifth ring, and Joy-related ring activation become central.
  • day-43: Wrath, Removed Elven Emotion’s Envy-in-Mama-Hartwall account reframes Envy/Ennui containment in minds.
  • day-44: Old-school scenes show Ennui / Thomas with Hannah, Ruby Eye, Everard, Valenth, and the tower expedition.
  • day-47: Lady Evalina Hartwall’s Laboratory memory rooms clarify Hannah Joy as Ennui’s erased wife and point toward Ennui’s lab.
  • day-51: Ruby Eye says Ennui has a body stored somewhere, possibly Coalmount Falls.
  • day-56: Grand Towers evidence identifies Humility fragments as parts of Thomas removed so he could become Ennui.
  • day-57: Hydran’s realm and Azar Nuri identify Ennui as free, crystal-controlling, allied with or subordinate to Azar Nuri, and holding Tremon’s arm.

Open Questions

  • What did the five rings do?
  • Did his attempt to save Joy damage the Barrier?
  • Are Ennui, Ennui, Ennui, and Thomas all the same person, or are some separate figures?
  • Why was Ennui protected by Goliaths, and what happened at the Goliath Tower in the Oasis?
  • How exactly do Ennui and the removed-emotion manifestation Envy relate?
  • How exactly was The Guilt removed from Ennui, and what parts of Ennui remain separate from it?
  • What are the twenty-seven Humility fragments, where is the large weak part needed to recombine Thomas, and where are Ennui’s other removed emotions besides Guilt and Compassion?
  • What happened to Hannah Joy, and how does her erasure relate to Joy’s survival?
  • Where is Ennui’s stored body, and is Coalmount Falls the right lead?
  • Why does Ennui have Tremon’s arm, and what does Azar Nuri expect him to do with it?