Role

Chapter 23

Ayik is devoid of emotion. Throughout his life he has come
to accept this handicap, though one day he wishes to change it. His
participation in Village politics has made him stand out amongst
the Village. However his inability to comprehend other's emotions and feelings
has given him a shortfall in my debates and conversations. He finds
things such as honor, pride and hatred crude and irrational. He
finds that people who obey their emotions without consulting their
logical thoughts first, tend to make mistakes. He has observed many who, once
made these mistakes, found themselves either dead or dying. Out of all
those he has observed, he finds mages hold the least logic in their actions. This
is almost contradictory to how magi are portrayed in society. He has observed magi
who would go out of their way in the persuit of power. This notion of power is
obviously illogical, as power tends to breed greed. Ayik is confused and even
befuddled by empathy towards other's and other's actions. He cannot grasp a concept
if it is illogical (it is simply beyond him). Every time Ayik goes against
his natural inclinations towards logic, he finds himself right back at the same problem. No one
other then Jinroh, has ever proved to be able to both control their emotions and tap into their
logical thoughts. Though Ayik is devoid of one, he finds that he may be complete if he is
able to bring them both together.

Ayik has experienced many things during his life already, even though
he is still young by human standards (30 years at this meditation). He has found
that he sometimes wishes he had emotion to be able to better express himself. He has spoken
about this to his teacher, Phaelim. Phaelim's advice was that Ayik should look deeply into
himself to be able to better understand why he has this emotion handicap, thus, hopefully
being able to conquer it. Another very important observation by Ayik is other's response
to the notion of Ayik's handicap. Most simply cannot believe it. Others find it intimidating
and oppressive, quickly relieving themselves of Ayik's presence. A few, Phaelim included, see
a good in this handicap. As Ayik's teacher as said, one who can control his emotions is in control
of himself. When this is completed, many wonderous things are possible. Ayik finds this interesting
in a logical point of view, as he would be able to decipher more solutions quickly and more
effciently. Ayik tends to keep to himself rather then immerse himself in a conflict
or a problem (though the war at hand is an exception to this). He finds that if he is able
to observe both sides of a story and read all the facts, he will always come up on top
of the situation. Another point to the matter is Ayik's voice. Thougha minor issue, many
find his voice intimidating and commanding, even oppressive (though Ayik does not attempt to
put himself out as these). The lack of inflection in his voice, coupled with the lack of
emotion as well as a equal tempo of conversing makes MANY nervous when speaking to him. Some have
even been insulted by the way he speaks. If a normal person was to say:

"Hello, can I help you?"
Ayik would say:
"Can I help you."
Though his way of communication is direct to the point, many races have developed long
and extensive ways of greeting and speaking