THE PROPHET
INTRODUCTION
Jack's Mark of Mentalism is one with great sway over his mind. His Neurocrux, sharp and orderly, has given rise to a pseudo form of sentience for his Mark itself -- which advocates for its own position and ends. Always a director and voice within his mind and dreams, that same Mark seeks to convince him of his role as a Prophet, within the framework of its own great aspirational tale.
Mark Location: The back of his neck.
The Visions - Apprentice
The Mark often steers Jack's mind. Through it, he undergoes delusions, hallucinations, visions, waking daydreams and all manner of strange events. His reality is often questionable in nature and function, as he appears to live split between a world of truth and objectivity, and a subjective and often exaggerated reality sculpted by his mind. Jack's brain is a powerful, but scarcely compliant tool, guiding him towards strangeness and uncertainty.
The Truth - Journeyman
Jack's Mural is changed forever. No longer does he see a shifting image within stained glass; instead, whenever he connects with a mind, he wanders through a desert of black sand, submerged into a moonless night. In the distance, he sees the person or people whose mind he is interacting with, each depicted in a way he can easily understand. Rather than deciphering the physical appearance of their Mural, their Truth is something he can intuitively decipher, as if it is second nature to his Neurocrux.
In many ways, this makes Jack a natural empath, as he is capable of deciphering emotional complexity to a far greater degree. Yet, within the story-like, fantastic nature of the Truth, the meaning of these emotions is often diluted. Within those sands, Jack will greet that individual as if they are a player within his own story. Their minds, while linked, will often become separated from the outside world as they commune within this generated place, linked together in totality. This serves also as a weakness for Jack, as while he can truly immerse himself into the mind of another and interrogate their perceptions fully, he does so at the risk of being harmed in the outside world, entering a meditative trance along with the other tethered to him.
Jack can intuit the full emotional breadth of the other as he links their mind to his Neurocrux, allowing him to more finely and precisely manipulate their emotions, and bend them to his will. This comes, however, at the risk of him playing against his own ambitions--as his Neurocrux will often misguide him and distort his 'readings' based on its own goals.
The Liar - Expert
Though Jack's Neurocrux effectively bears sentience, it rarely interacts with his mind directly, preferring to act as one facet of a greater conscious. At worst, it is a voice within his mind, whispering to him and compelling him to act. 'The Liar' is a manifestation of the darker aspects of the Neurocrux. As it evolves, it evolves to deceive him, guiding him towards imperfect truths and distorted understandings of himself and others. 'The Visions' become crisper and more vivid at the advent of this mutation, but also more deceitful, and sometimes more pernicious. The Mark begins to speak to Jack more and more, and by edging nearer to his Mark of Remnant, gains the power to sculpt portions of his dreams.
The Emergence - Master
As Jack's Neurocrux fully matures, it manifests terrifying capability. Jack no longer needs to utilize 'the Weave', and can emit force purely from his mind, without gesture or crystalline structure surrounding the object he wishes to manipulate. Instead, force will merely ripple and vibrate through the air, transparent but visible to the naked eye. All of Jack's 'Weave' based abilities become stronger, and as they lack the need for a Weave, they become more precise. Compel can pull in objects or individuals with a rapid, extreme force, Impel can fling men like ants. Overbear can crush and contort with ease. All of these abilities still require the force rippling through the air actually catching Jack's foe, but otherwise work with greater force and extremity in all ways.
Due to the change to Jack's 'Weave', the ability Vindicate will instead condense that force within the given area, allowing for him to apply the physical aspects of his other Mentalism abilities to any within that radius. This makes him truly capable as a Mind Mage, able to dismantle foes caught within Vindicate with ease. As a result of The Emergence, sometimes the world around Jack will react with his mind, vibrating or rippling uncontrollably, streaks of perturbed force and energy wobbling through the sky or objects unexpectedly rattling.
