Name: June Nykerius, also known as the Branded. 
Age: 32.
Nation of Origin: Horatica.
Sex: Male.

Physical Description: Tall, gangly and bald, Nykerius often strikes people as a skeleton come back to life. His pale, listless skin is pulled taut over his bones and sinks deeply into the crevices of his skull. Deep-set, glittering eyes with the white color of clouds are the only feature in his face that seems alive. His hands are slender and long-fingered, like a pianist's, sporting trimmed and well-manicured fingernails. His teeth are pearly and perfectly aligned. If it weren't for his emaciated appearance, Nykerius would definitely be a handsome man. 

Equipment/Personal Possessions: His wardrobe consists of robes of many colors for many different occasions, but he mostly wears a set of plain gray ones in day-to-day life. When on the road, he adds a heavy, hooded traveling cloak to his attire. Nykerius wears an amulet on a chain around his neck shaped like the sigil of his house; an abstract, circular design, contrasting the animals usually promoted to representing a noble house. He owns no weapons and wears no armor. 

History: Nykerius was born in Horatica into a notable family and dynasty of sorcerers, warlocks, wizards and witches. At least every other generation, the Nykerian House is represented in the Academica Imperialis by a new, prodigal student. 

And so it came to be that this generation's Nykerius, a young man by name of June, barely on the cusp of adolescence, was admitted to the Academia after smothering all the candles in the room with a wave of his hand during an argument with his older sister. He proved to be capable and dedicated to his studies, but his interactions with the other students were colored by fights, rash pranks and eventual isolation from his peers. Most of his teachers deemed him spoilt, arrogant and confrontational. His rapid mastery of magic, however, was undeniable, and he astounded friend and foe alike with his talent. 

The turning point came a few years after his 'graduation'. There is no real centralized test to determine whether or not a mage's training is finished, but a council of elder sorcerers eventually decides when a particular pupil has progressed sufficiently to no longer be a threat when left unsupervised. For Nykerius, this came when he was 22 years old. 

Since capable mages are in high demand in the industrial and agricultural sector, Nykerius found work immediately, assisting in construction projects in the frontier city of Montgarde. Montgarde served as a launching point for the invasion into Teleucia, which meant that barracks and other forms of soldier housing were constantly being built. Nykerius bid his family adieu and traveled to Montgarde, where he assisted a small group of four other mages with the construction projects. Collectively, they were known to the other workers as the Lifters, most prized for their ability to telekinetically maneuver large slabs of stone into place at great heights off the ground.  

Three years later, at age 25, Nykerius almost fell prey to demonic possession.

While attempting to do something as menial as lifting a monolithic slab of rock slightly too large for him to move alone, a demon found its way into Nykerius's mind. Nykerius immediately dropped the rock, accidentally killing two workers, and screamed for aid. The other Lifters recognized the symptoms and frantically summoned Montgarde's one and only Null, a vegetable in possession of the city's governor. 

Meanwhile, Nykerius was left to fend off the demon alone. In this contest of wills, Nykerius learned that the demon's name was Grimspyre. Filled with seething malice, Grimspyre whispered into young Nykerius's mind of a time when the demon possessed one of his ancestors, a Nykerius by name of Karthras, who burned down a city district before he could be stopped. Horrified at the images of men, women and children being scorched to death that flitted through his mind's eye, June Nykerius resisted with all his might, writhing and squirming on the ground as panicked workers fled the scene. Grimspyre was powerful, however, and his tendrils had pierced far into June's mind by the time the chained Null was finally brought onto the scene. With a great, hollow gasp that sucked the air dry and left it reeking of lightning, the demon was banished when Nykerius was brought into the suppressing presence of the Null. 

It had been a matter of seconds, one of the closest shaves in recorded history. The toll of the demon's exorcism had been great on Nykerius's body, and he shriveled up into the thin, gaunt husk he is today. His mind, too, was forever changed. Whereas Nykerius had been brash and reckless before, his close shave with possession turned him into a deeply serious and thoughtful person, as if the demon had stripped him of his youthful qualities. 

This also came with unexpected boons. The images of Karthras's Raze had been more than just that; they were memories that Grimspyre made him relive. And these memories had taught him things. Techniques and methods that other mages had not taught him, like the ability to conjure gouts of flame from his fingertips, and to speak in a voice that silenced others and bent weaker minds to his will. 

Nykerius was recalled to the Academia. His loyalty was put to the test; for months, the elder council of sorcerers tested him for corruption every way they knew how. As it turned out, Nykerius had changed in personality but not in alignment. He was still every piece the Horatican that he used to be, loyal to the crown. His susceptibility to demonic possession had diminished, like a sword forged in the flaming crucible of a forge, tempered to bend, and not to break. 

Nykerius was spared from Nullification. They called him the Branded, touched by the demonic but left intact. His newfound talents made him so dangerous that the only purpose they saw for him was as a hunter; the crown's own pet monster. For the past seven years, Nykerius was used, in secret, to hunt down traitors, deserters, rogue mages and other enemies of the state. 

And now they have sent him after Asyrdar Hesperos. 

[b]EDIT:[/b] Entourage: The Princeps likes to keep an eye on his prized witchhunter, which means that the Branded is accompanied everywhere he goes by two Myrmidon warriors. They are his keepers, functioning both as an armed escort and authorized executioners, should the Branded ever go rogue. Nykerius scathingly refers to them as his Wardens, but he understands why they accompany him and tolerates their presence.