Mark Immortell

Mark Immortell (Марк Бессмертник) is the owner and head of the Municipal Theatre. His direct influence upon events is very small, but many of the residents of the Town-on-Gorkhon believe that in fact it is he who controls what happens in the city, although there are no obvious reasons to think so.

Background
Once Mark was a great circus performer, and possibly a co-owner of the circus. Later, due to a spinal injury (apparently connected with circus work) he had to stop performing and focus on the management of the affairs of the troupe. Over time, he gathered a separate small troupe, consisting of the disabled, within which he probably played himself. However, shortly after this company started to generate income, Mark again injured his spine and was left for dead.

However, Mark was lucky to survive. The place where he had been betrayed, turned out to be the Town-on-Gorkhon (it is noteworthy that, apparently, this is where Mark's disabled troupe was finally appreciated by the public). Isidor Burakh managed to save him; however, Mark does not know to whom he owes his life. Since then and up to the time corresponding to the beginning of the game, he is in charge of the city theater. However, he makes most of his money through card tricks.

Theatre and Plays
The City Theatre is located on the Spin-a-yarn Square, in the center of the Marrow. It is unclear on what basis it exists, however, a building located in the center of the city and a large area set aside for the theater (for the most part it is used under the Square Theatre) suggests that it was not without the support of the city authorities. At the same time that Mark has to make a living with something other than his work in the theater, it shows that Theatre does not bring in much money, certainly not enough to pay for its construction. However, Mark himself states that his performances are not for the general public.

The repertoire of the theater is of two types. First there is relatively conventional puppetry, the stories of which suggest some connection with what is happening in the city. They are, according to Mark himself, performed all the time, except for the evening and night; however, the player does not manage to see them.

And in the evening and at night in the theater there is another type of show. These performances can be seen by the player, if the hero will visit the theater after midnight. Apparently, they are quite cruel (for example, children are not allowed to see them) and are closely related to the life of the city; Mark says that the script is based on the actions of citizens and, in particular, the heroes of the game. At the same time, there is some connection between these pieces with the mystery of life and the steppe's Sand fever. For example, the same actor, the Tragedian, has a shape which coincides with the appearance of one of the spirits of the steppe, while another looks identical to the Contractor.

Cane
Mark is the only one of all the characters in the game who uses a cane—really relies on it, rather than just holding it, although sometimes he may spin it in the air. Perhaps the reason for this is the spinal injury, due to which Mark was forced to leave the circus and due to which he has a somewhat arrogant posture. However, if you remember the urban legend and talk about shabnak-adir, then there arise other, completely wild explanations.

Lara's take on him:
«I think it's the Masks who play him and not the other way around. This Theatre generally gives me a dark vibe... I can't really put it into words. It's not a theatre, but rather a well pretending to be one. It's intimidating. Also, Mark's mime shows seem to incorporate us too... everyone's playing along to avoid disrupting the performance, and that's exactly how he's manipulating us.»

Maria's take:
«He makes me anxious; his performances don't show a person's fate, they impose it. I'd really like to see someone grab and pull the puppeteer's strings. Or maybe we ought to loop the whole thing, offering the strings to the people at the very bottom? That would be funny... All in all, one day I shall tame this crafty imp—no matter what it takes.»

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