you know what I want what I really really want?
Some information on Rufus's relationship with Marcus from the time he was a student to the time he became a devoured and WHY Marcus became a devoured.
But we can't have nice things in the books so naturally, I made fanon.
Well actually I just developed some old-- no wait ancient fanon of mine about these 2. I hope you'll like it!
I don't think Marcus actually chose to be a master. He was forced by the magisterium to do it. He was a phenomenal fire mage (and sassy, oh so much sass) but then the magisterium was like:
The magisterium: Heyyyyy, you're an extraordinary mage why don't you pass on your knowledge and skills to other mages since you're so great--
Marcus: Get to the point.
The magisterium: Become a master.
Marcus: No.
The magisterium: That wasn't a question.
Marcus really didn't want to become a Master he wanted to become a super amazing fire mage and being a teacher was the last thing he wanted to do with his life. But then...
He actually enjoyed teaching others... He liked to exchange knowledge and ideas with his students and the other masters.
He encouraged his apprentices to seek integrity wisdom and power and to be hard working. He was a pretty good role model and set a good example for all the apprentices in the magisterium.
Rufus was one of the very few mages that didn't come from legacy families and everyone else in his apprentice group did. Rufus was already a pretty shy kid and now he was even timider because he was the odd one out in a group of 6 apprentices. Back then, kids that didn't come from magical families were pretty rare since the mage population was bigger but after the cold massacre and the third mage war legacy kids became the minority (i talked about it here)
However, Marcus didn't care about his origin and treated him just like his other apprentices. Rufus eventually ended up being his best student :D
But you aren't here for the fluff. You're here for the angst.
So here's how Marcus became a devoured!
In Rufus’s silver year. A great elemental has breached containment (was it Rufus’s fault? You shall never know!). Marcus and a few other masters happened to be close by with their apprentice group. They needed to evacuate immediately and they did! Marcus counted his apprentices… one… two… three… four… five… Five!? In his panic, Marcus accidentally left Rufus behind. Two other masters lost one of their apprentices. Everyone told him that they should abandon them since there was no way to save them and that they may already be dead and that they can take down the elemental as soon as reinforcements come. Going on their own would be suicide. However, Marcus thought that he was powerful enough to save the students. He wasn’t. He didn’t even realize that the fire was slowly consuming him and when he did it was too late. The students made it out alive and the elemental was banished. But when the mages saw that Marcus had become a devoured they attacked him like they were nothing but a monster and not one of their own. Rufus didn’t do anything and he regretted it forever.
Edit: Forgot to add the ancient OG fanon
