Jacob Panelon- Jacob is a senior at Empire University. He has always felt like there was a void in him like there is something missing. He has studied to be a mage since he was young, yet the supposed magic talent that showed up when he was tested behaves sporadically. He has learned what to do yet when he uses the reageants and the correct phrases the spells still usually fizzle. He went to Empire University to try figure out what was wrong with him why he felt there was something missing. Anytime he told somebody he felt like there was something missing, something wrong inside him, it was always assumed it was just the loss of his father at a young age.
He was told that the band on his wrist was to help with the headaches he had when he was younger. He barely remebers these headaches all he remembers is the pain they caused and that he doesn't want to feel them again.
Jacob is what the Collective call psi-mages. They are the only ones that register a power level that is exactly 0.5. Because they are so psionically weak The Collective usually slaps a supression band on them as soon they manifest the migrane-like headaches that will kill the child eventually if not treated. Then they usually wipe much of these memories to allow the child to live a "normal" life with a sporadic disjointed magical potential. The child never removes the band because he/she does remember just the pain (on a scale of 1-10 the pain is like 15) and never wants to feel that way again. Many of these children end up lost to the Streets as gang bangers with that extra boom at the right moment that keeps them slightly up there on the hierarchy. Those that do make it in regular society are thought to be just another weak mage.
No one up until this point has figured out what the connection between the psionic ability and talent for the arcane truly is. The Collective has just figured out it's a conflict of the 2 abilities and one of the abilities needs to be suppressed for the child to survive. By supressing their psi ability they are making sure such an aberation is kept out of breeding pool of the Collective.
Perhaps a psi not completely under the Cllective's ever watching eye could realize Jacob's true potential.





