Rudy Siskind

Rudy Siskind is an arcane researcher and benthic enthusiast of unknown whereabouts. Growing up in a working-class family in a destroyed metropole he refuses to name, his intelligence was often overshadowed by his socioeconomic background and eccentric behavior. Desperate for a chance at recognition in the arcane arts, he attended Abraxas State University, pledging his soul as tuition. Like many other ASU students, Siskind was fiercely driven to make the most of his learning, and particularly excelled in the biology program in the School of Notation. His research, focused on identifying the magical essences of certain deep sea extremophiles, won plenty of recognition. It came as a shock, therefore, when he abruptly dropped out a semester before his graduation and disappeared from society shortly after. The only sign of his continued existence is a barrage of bizarre letters delivered via albatross to major news outlets unfailingly every third new moon.

Siskind's life events and motivations are the subject of much speculation, and he has even developed a cult following in some circles. Did he run afoul of the law or access government secrets? Was he drawn into the wilderness by some mind-bending being, or was he already mad? Or is he already dead, and the letters complete hoaxes written in his name?

There is currently a cryptozoology institute named after him at ASU. Despite its cutting-edge research on creatures that have yet to be discovered, he doesn't seem to even acknowledge its existence.