Name: Nykerius “The Stormsinger” of Crevasse.
Race: Human.
Age: 67.
Position: Court wizard and advisor of the King.
Appearance: Dignified, bespectacled, greybearded, Nykerius is the model image of an aging sorcerer. His eyes are a brilliant shade of emerald, still sharp as ever, betraying his intelligence and keen awareness, but they are his only feature that has not aged. His shoulder-length hair is as grey as the aforementioned beard and his face is lined and weathered. With the aid of a walking cane to compensate for a slight limp, Nykerius reaches slightly over six feet at his full height. He dresses in surprisingly plain (but decidedly well-made) robes for someone of his station, preferring to understate his appearance. His presence carries weight, however, and his deep voice and piercing gaze demand respect from all but the most ignorant of curs.
Personality: The Stormsinger is a well-mannered, calm and occassionally humorous old man who has made peace with the fact that he is well beyond his prime. Bravado has made place for wisdom and where he used to lead armies with gusto, he now advises and counsels in gentle tones. Nykerius is a firm believer in giving everyone a chance, and treats friend and foe alike with courtesy and respect (though he may be more inclined to kill the latter – politely, of course). As such, he is quick to be friendly and many people throughout the kingdom of Altranor consider him their friend. Nykerius is a private person, however, and few people truly know him as well as they think they do, and he has no true close friends. He detests senseless violence, cruelty and rudeness. He quietly worships a god of magic called Sotharis, the patron of sorcerous scholars.
Backstory: Nykerius is of relatively high birth. He was born the eldest son of the Lord of Crevasse, the ruling noble of a prosperous port city not far from the capital of Altranor. The Lord of Crevasse was an accomplished military commander in his time, and Nykerius was expected to be no different. He was taught the art of warfare and tactical command from a young age. Nykerius never complained about this education, though he made it no secret to his father that he desired different knowledge altogether... the knowledge of arcane magic. His father was not an unkind man, and Nykerius was allowed to learn magic as well.
As a young adult, Nykerius attended a prestigious college in the capital of Altranor along with many of the other brightest minds of his generation. His prodigious intelligence and quick grasp of spellcraft did not go unnoticed, nor did his cunning and tactical command. Immediately following graduation, Nykerius became an officer in the Altranorian army, simultaneously a commander and a battlemage – one of the few to hold such a post. He was beloved by the men and well-liked by his commanders. He very rarely indulged in personal combat, instead preferring to lead and direct from the backlines, where he could work his particular brand of magic. His soldiers found themselves fighting in perfect conditions, while their various enemies crawled out of mud-stained camps, half-swept away by rainstorms the night before the battle.
His crowning achievement came near the end of his military career; the resounding victory that earned him the title of the Stormsinger. It was a pitched naval battle between Altranorian forces and the corsair fleet of a rival warlord. All throughout the night, Nykerius sang, his voice carrying far across miraculously still waters. Blankets of fog were coaxed out the darkness to cloak the ships of Altranor and confuse the corsair fleet. Then he sang to the sea, like a man slowly stirring his cup of tea with a spoon before drinking it. He sang to the wind and the clouds, forces that gathered above the corsair fleet, looming and dark. The sea became restless, waves beating against the wooden hulls of the Stormsinger's foes. The wind howled and whistled, blasting unwanted winds into sails that sent the ships twisting and turning, crashing into each other. And then with a final piece of magic, a carefully crafted verse, the sea opened up like the mouth of the abyssal sea-god Maelrawn. A great maelstrom swalloed the enemy warlord's flagship whole as lighting struck masts and decks. In this chaos, this legendary storm, Nykerius withdrew the cloaking fog and his fleet utterly crushed the enemy corsairs.
This feat of magic was widely celebrated throughout Altranor and Nykerius was immortalized as the Stormsinger, one of the great commanders that would go down in history. He retired from military service not long after, returning to the capital of Altranor to teach at the very same prestigious college he received his own education, instead of returning home to take up the mantle of the Lord of Crevasse. Instead, Nykerius's younger brother, Ezekyle, became head of the family and lord of the port city, an arrangement that was made amicably between all parties -- except the elderly Lord of Crevasse himself. The old man died still upset with Nykerius for what he saw as abandoning his post, and he never condoned Ezekyle as Lord of Crevasse. Nykerius, torn between duty and his own desires, returned to Crevasse to reluctantly become the port city's Lord. Ezekyle, however, did not agree. He had been promised the position, he argued, and claimed it was unfair that it was now taken from him. The truth was that Ezekyle desired power and wanted to escape from the shadow cast by the great Stormsinger. The two brothers argued vehemently but the situation remained unresolved when their father passed away. The port city needed its new Lord, now, and there was no time left to argue. Ezekyle seized the chance, claimed his title and had Nykerius deported from the city. Unwilling to fight his own brother and greatly saddened by his actions, Nykerius returned to the capital.
The rift between the two brothers did not heal for a long time. Nykerius settled at the college as a teacher and severed all ties with his family back in Crevasse. He influenced and educated two decades of bright minds while continuing his studies of meteorological magic, which remained his area of expertise. It was during this time that he became something of a friend to the royal family; Nykerius mentored a younger cousin of the king Erasmus himself. When the young man graduated, Nykerius was invited to attend the private feast in the king's court, and it was during this festive evening that Nykerius and Erasmus became friends. Four years later, Nykerius, now age 50, decided to also retire from teaching. He settled by the king's side as court wizard at Erasmus's own request. When news of this reached Ezekyle, he feared for his position. Now that Nykerius had the king's ear, surely there would be repercussions Ezekyle's actions? But months passed and no such repercussions came. Nykerius never spoke ill of his brother and he assured anyone who asked that they were on good terms. The next time Ezekyle traveled to the capital for an audience with the king, the two brothers came face to face for the first time in decades. They reconciled on the spot, and Nykerius spent the next 17 years of his life frequently traveling to Crevasse as often as his duties as court wizard and king's advisor would allow, quickly becoming the favorite uncle of Ezekyle's children. Nykerius himself never married and remained childless.
Until the fateful day that the Yellow Raven and his allies attacked Altranor. The Green Crow assaulted Crevasse while Bernard of Ghant's army marched on the capital, preventing the port city from sending reinforcements to the king's aid. Ezekyle fought valiantly, but he never had his older brother's knack for warfare and the port city fell. The Lord of Crevasse and his entire family were executed. When word of this reached Nykerius, he almost lost his senses and wanted to ride for Crevasse immediately, but it was too late. The Yellow Raven's army was there. Nykerius would have slain Bernard of Ghant, or died trying, if the man had been there, but he didn't even bother to show up. When king Erasmus fell from the tower, Nykerius knew it was all over, and hid -- he locked himself in the royal library and watched from a window as Erasmus fell to his death. His own family killed and the entire royal family slain, he knew that he had one last duty left in life -- to avenge them all.
Notable Possessions: The Stormsinger's spectacles are inscribed with a simple shocking lightning spell for personal defense, and his walking cane doubles as a wind-caller. Other notable possessions include a veritable library of magical tomes, now probably lost & ransacked by the Yellow Raven's army, and a respectable sum of money.
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