Nils Samhradh II
Saqat, the Fallen Blade
Black Magician
Slayer of the Cloud-Tamers
Description
Mortal Seeming: ~Black and white like the Sunday newspaper, Nils presents himself to the public eye tonight. His fluid motions imply trained stature while his regal poise suggests noble upbringing. The man appears to be in his late 20s and yet his hair is snow-white, more likely from dye than unnatural aging. The hair is now trimmed short and in a conservative fashion. The simple style remarks upon pale features that could be called handsome if the man had not such a grim expression. But it is Nils’ eyes that commands the most wonder. They are the clearest blue one can imagine, like a cloudless day over a desert horizon. But those eyes hold a chill intellect, calculating and callous. It’s from this apprehensive, icy gaze that radiates the man’s essence, as it often is with all people. There is an edge of something beyond the average, however. Those relentless depths detract from notice of his black garments. He typically chooses comfort over fashion. Cotton trousers are tucked into well-oiled leather boots. Gloves disguise his spidery fingers, as well as the unlikely platinum wedding band. A long-sleeved black shirt embraces the athletic man’s torso. Over it all is cast a leather overcoat of such cocooning length, bulk, and appearance that it can be compared to the outerwear of World War II facists. The collars are often upturned, framing the only visible contrast to the dark attire, his head. It only leaves one guessing what Nils does for a living. What’s in his head?~
OOC: Appearance 3
Fae Mien: ~To the eyes of the blessed fae and their Enchanted toys, Nils’ cold exterior is much more frightening. The first disheartening element is the lack of any clear fae nature. Perhaps he was once sidhe; fair and noble features suggest that much. The ears bear the slightest tips and an aura of domineering command surrounds the cursed changeling. Indeed, power -- and not just Glamour -- seems to crackle at the tips of his fingers when bared from gloves. Every short hair on his head seems charged. And most potently of all, those infinitely blue eyes radiate pure malice. It is neither a hatred of good or embrace of shame that flows from Nils. He serves neither honor or dishonor, winter or summer, but the antithesis of what even the Fomorians fear. He is oblivion. Nils is Dauntain.~
OOC: Appearance 3; Stigma: Hatred
“Children. What do they know of devotion? Their dreams are flimsy whim. I will not drift away so easily.”
History
Youth
Ten years older than Ariela and eight years older than Dawn, both his lovely sisters, Nils lived a loved life until manhood came. Nils was the only son to Nils I ap Scathach and Ariel Samhradh of the Verbena. He was lord to his father’s title and legacy, the Niteblade, and inheritor of his mother’s magical talents. His siblings certainly received their share, too, but as firstborn he seemed to have gotten the lion’s share. From youth, Nils was aware of the secrets of the supernatural. He understood his father and mother’s natures well enough not to fear magic and the pre-destined likelihood of his own Chrysalis. He began training in his father’s family ways, the secrets of Gae-Bolga and the law that the Escheat forgot: the Right of Justice. There in his family’s secluded woodland home, hidden in Ireland’s knolled countryside, Nils began his earnest study. His zeal and hunger for perfection might have marked his future path, but his parents gladly chalked it up to an astute learner.
And that Nils was. He became a skilled swordsman and fighter. He studied hard at matters of magic and mundane alike. He did all he could to prepare himself for a future of heroic greatness, carrying on his father’s name as the Niteblade. For Nils was one of the Scathach’s greatest warriors, the bearer of their deadliest weapons against their shadowy enemies: the Nightblades. Aptly named, the finely crafted and enchanted scimitar swords functioned best in the dark, and turned the element of the wicked upon themselves. For generations, Nils’ ancestors carried on this terrible, bloody legacy. Some were men and some women that bore the Nightblades in their quests, but always were they retained within the family’s care. Indeed, this infamy granted Nils’ family some aloofness from the scant politics of the Scathach, nevermind the other great Houses of the Fae.
Nils’ only flaw was his introverted intensity turned upon study and training alone. Unlike his bright little sister or even quiet Dawn, Nils had a way of turning people away. Perhaps it was just the intensity of passion that bothered other people. But Nils didn’t feel alone with his family always present. In gatherings beyond the house, he isolated and played the wall-flower until a sibling or parent approached. Perhaps that explained why his mother helped inspire his Chrysalis when he turned nine years old.
Chrysalis & Tutelage
For it was Nils’ birthday and his parents wanted to celebrate in the nearby village, Gorn. Nils was dragged off in the hopes that he would socialize more. Unfortunately, the event only made the youth depressed. His mother attempted to cheer him up. So with a match, wick, an unidentifiable barrel, and a bit of BS, she convinced all to witness a hands-on fireworks performance. Colored lights and bursts and shapes filled the evening sky. Her display certainly ingratiated the other children of the village. But it was more than that for Nils. With realization, he saw the magic behind the magic of mundane shadows and deceit. He understood the will behind the magic at that point, and his eyes were opened. With a gasp, he fell into a bale of hay and stared at the display for the 45 minutes her mother put it on (she only meant to do a half hour, but was enjoying herself too much). He saw its wonder and beauty and longed to do the same.
When the display ended, Nils wandered away from the gathering. He left the village in fact, and his father didn’t find him until dawn, the boy only half-awake. A stern reprimand was underway until his father recognized the new Chrysalid. Nils was rushed home for another celebration for just the family. This time, he actually enjoyed the fervor, and reveled in the attention and curiousity his sisters and parents poured upon him. He answered all questions about what he felt, saw, and feel precisely. Days later, his father “upgraded” the training to include the fae’s fabled mystic Arts. Despite stern warnings from parents, he often experimented with his spells on hapless victims…including other people. They were never harmful. They were just irresponsible. Nils needed the time to explore, however, so any misbehavior was corrected with a good whipping, then forgiven. He learned what was acceptable and what wasn’t! Nils was finally learning the magics he had yearned to know for years.
Yet years more it took before Nils’ talents, both skills and magics, were honed to a peak. His father demonstrated excellent timing, however. Nils was finished his training by the time he turned thirteen. In between, Nils saw his sister undergo her own Chrysalis. Dawn, though older than Ariela, didn’t undergo any metaphysical change. But her parents didn’t despair. Even if she didn’t Awaken, they still adored her precocious pluck, and she was good and kind-spirited. Nor did Dawn ever lose hope that it was still early to Awaken like her mother, and waited patiently for her time to come -- likely during adolescence. Both sisters trained and studied as Nils did, though both lacked the same degree of fervor. Nils was driven like the wind to master his expected techniques and abilities. He felt more than ready when his Saining Day came.
Nils was brought before the Court of Scathach outside of Londonderry. There in the Court, Nils met all the other noble lords of the court, the rulers of the Irish Scathach. They gestured him through the doors to meet the Scathach Duke of Eire. The court hall was cleared. Nils entered the hall through the front doors and found the long marble route devoid of all décor and occupants. The throne stood empty at the end of the long corridor. The young Nills strolled down the silver carpet slowly. Out of instinct, his hand rested on the hilt of his short sword and parrying knife.
And it was for good cause. From behind one of the many decorative pillars swept a beast of myth and lore. The chimera of Greek legend, Bellephron’s beast, attacked Nils. Lion’s jaws snapped, dragon’s head tossed flame, goat’s head butted. But the spry Scathach duck and dove, dodged and weaved, and delivered for all he was worth. The chimera had little space to evade, and when its wings beat, it could still only hover high enough for Nils to leap up and slash at its underbelly. Quick-witted spells made him move like Mercury. And through this excellent swordplay, Nils soon defeated the beast. The Duke of Scathach entered the hall and took his throne. Wearied some but elated, Nils knelt before his superior. And there he was Sained Nils Samhradh II ap Scathach. His family held him a great celebration that night there at the Londonderry court. Nils indulged in more fun and music than ever before. He enjoyed his first liquor and kiss from a pretty (sidhe) girl.
The Oaths
For Nils, the next few years passed splendidly. The young squire accounted for himself in his homeland’s region. He traveled from home often, seeking gallantry and excuses to test and thereby improve his skills upon worthy foes. He never shied away from Nervosae his own stress for perfection produced, including once fighting a “mirror self” while exploring a cave in the barrows. He came also across many devilish fiends, all chimerical in nature, but in needing of a warrior’s touch. He heard tales of an old family enemy issuing death threats about destroying the Niteblade legacy once and for all. With the valedictions of Banality given to him years before, Nils took greater caution in his travels.
Unfortunately, word came to Nils when he was sixteen that the death threats were made good. Luck held it that neither of his sisters were home that fateful night the Balor butcher stole into their family home and slaughtered his parents. Nils rushed home immediately, scarcely able to believe his ears. His sisters had returned, too. Other Scathach were gathered, family friends to mourn their passing. The funeral was grim. Dawn and Ariela were almost delirious with sorrow. Nils passed his share of tears, no doubt, but hatred and fury boiled up in his veins most of all. Right after the funeral, Nils demanded the right to hunt the monsters who perpetrated this crime.
So auguries were performed. Nils was the right soldier for the job. And there was only one monster: Count Manor ap Balor, an old, wily, and deadly warrior of the Shadow Court. Nils didn’t care. Youth and vengeance demanded satisfaction. So he took up the Oath of Vengeance: I swear this day to hunt Count Manor ap Balor until the sun rises never again or dawns red. I will never forget or forgive the sins committed upon me and mine. Never shall I rest until this villain is purged from this world. Let the wind hear my resolve! I would rather be reviled and scorned and perish without honor than let my enemy live another day.
He was mystically sent to Londonderry to be reSained as the Niteblade -- early for his age. But his skill was great, and dan favors the bold. Nils picked up his father’s hidden swords, the Nightblades, now deemed ready to wield the legacy. He swore another blood oath that all Niteblades have since the beginning: And now am I bound in blood and darkness. Until death steals the strength of my hands will I hold these blades of the night and stand against the wickedness of the shadow. I shall carry on this quest of poetic justice and strike my enemies down with these mirrors of their shattered souls. Henceforth, I am the Niteblade, and they will know me for my forebear’s swords. Should the day come that I lay down these arms, let ignominy cloud me in its mists. He set out with nothing but promises of success to his sisters before leaving his home for much longer than he ever anticipated.
Vengeance
Fortunately, the Scathach were always excellent soothsayers. Their magic discovered the location of one of Manor’s vassals right there in the British Isles. So it is he whom Nils first struck out for, traveling the barrow-hills of northern Wales first. The young knight first had to evade Bean Sidhe and wights crawling up from the mounds. But this test of mettle only prepared Nils further for the battle ahead. Resting snugly in those barrows stood the small home of Sir Wesley Millan ap Balor.
Nils was Scathach and the Niteblade. He didn’t knock on the door and demand a duel. He snuck through the window as the Balor slept, slipping past chimerical imps serving as guards. But since mere assassination was not Nils’ goal, he didn’t slit the dark knight’s throat in his sleep. He awoke the bastard with the swords held ready to do just that. But Wesley was of little avail despite the terror with which he awoke. He told Nils that the Count had already left the isles and Europe altogether for the New World, for Concordia. The imps screeched belatedly, distracting Nils long enough for Wesley to slap the Scathach’s swords away and rush for the door even in naught but his underwear. Nils lunged after the Balor without waiting to pick up his swords.
And when the faster Scathach caught up to Wesley, the fist fight was short-lived. Few can match a Scathach in hand-to-hand combat, even another knight. Wesley’s unconsciousness was made comatose when the beaten warrior grabbed a chimerical knife sitting on his windowsill. He threw the blade at Nils, who ducked and watched it thunk just above his head in the Balor’s front door. Wesley let out one last war cry and charged, but Nils yanked the dagger free and plunged it into Wesley’s gut. The knight staggered back, eyes wide, and dropped over. Nils just blinked, barely aware that he had just “killed” another changeling for the first time. He recovered his Nightblades and fled the site with the information he had.
And with family money, Nils traveled from Europe to the United States. He began on the East Coast, in what Concordia dubbed the Kingdom of Apples. Never did the Scathach bother with the Right of Demesne. He passed through many noble lands without a word to Seelie or Unseelie rulers. His only concern was sign of passage of one specific noble. To that end, Nils offered what he knew of Manor’s appearance to different changelings suspected of being “in the know”. He met with many commoners, especially Boggans and even a few Sluagh. The Sluagh always tried to terrify him when he paid them a visit, and always failed miserably. He was not afraid of the shadows. He was the shadows. That was the courage his resolve lent him when it came to avenging his parents and honoring his family’s legacy.
Unfortunately, none of these fae saw Manor. But one Sluagh, equally impressed and annoyed by the Sidhe’s stoicism, directed him to the local Unseelie ruler. Although suspecting a trick that would land him in trouble with the noble lord or lady, Nils was still confident and brash in his youth. He took the Sluagh’s advice and visited the manor of the Baroness Eloise Namh ni Ailil. Nils was received in the mature woman’s household graciously. Eloise was very regal in her bearing, and yet very interested and helpful to Nils’ quest. As the Scathach had taught him, one’s loyalty to Seelie or Unseelie did not dictate whether or not one was truly wicked or not. Nils had no reason to mistrust the Baroness. In private, Nils confided the nature of his quest. And Eloise was astounded. She was giving haven to the very same gentleman in her Barony! She was offended, she told Nils, that such a monster would dare impede her honor by lying to her of his true nature. And she told Nils she would be glad to help rid the world of that villain, Count Manor! Nils was ecstatic at this turn of luck. Eloise told Nils that he would tell Nils where the villain was staying if he promised a favor in return.
And to Nils’ folly, he agreed without specifying the nature of the favor. The naïve, young man made the mistake of assuming that Eloise would demand a favor of equal value to the information she yielded. With that knowledge, Nils set out that night to take the Count as he slept in the lovely mountain cabin in which Eloise set him. Although Nils snuck into that cabin with all appropiate Scathach stealth, the villain must have been warned at the last minute. Whether it was Eloise or another, Nils never learned. But as soon Nils stole into the Count’s bedroom, he found Manor awake. He sat at a desk, large and imposing form back to the would-be assassin. Candles only lit the room, shadowing the villain entirely. Nils lunged forward with the Nightblades, but Manor vanished abruptly. Nils’ swords cleaved the wooden chair and that was all. In a fury, Nils tore the entire cabin apart, kicking and slashing through everything in a mad search for the coward that had evaded him at this final moment.
Just as he prepared to leave that cabin and return to the Baroness, Eloise met him first. She stepped out of a Mercedes parked outside with two nasty thugs. One was brutishly tall, wide, and muscular. The other was shorter, stouter. But both were fae. One was an Ogre, the other a Goblin armed with what appeared to be a bayonet-set flamethrower. Thallain!? Nils scowled at the monsters and their apparent master, Eloise. She inquired of the Count’s fate, and despite Nils’ answer, she demanded the favor. “Fair’s fair,” she said. “Now you owe me a favor, and I require your services for my own designs, Sir Knight. You will swear fealty to me now for one year and one day!” Enraged, Nils rushed forward before she or her bodyguards could react. The Nightblades tasted blood that night, and the Ailil fell grievously wounded.
Then the Ogre and Goblin were upon the Sidhe after that. But Nils was too fast for the Ogre, and too cunning for the Goblin. The beast’s battle-axe fell short to prevent having major arteries sliced open. The Goblin’s weapon was cleaved in two before he was run through. Nils whirled to confront the Baroness once more, but found himself face to face with his enemy! With a leer, Count Manor simply put a gauntleted fist in Nils fist, sending the young knight flying across the drive. Out of arrogance or lust for a tragic ending to the Samhradh heroism, he did not attack Nils further. He said only “You’re not ready”, his vile, forked tongue evident as he spoke. As Nils lay dazed, he stepped over to the Baroness. She started a plea, but a heavily mailed boot rammed down on her neck. He smashed down, crushing her throat, slaying Eloise utterly. Eyes boggling, Nils staggered to his feet. The tingle of magic not unlike his mother danced at his fingers. A murmured chant echoed over the cabin grounds as Nils focused his rage into a potent fireball. But Manor was swifter. With another sneer, Manor vanished, and the chimerical fireball blasted futilely into the cabin’s walls. Nils, overwhelmed with emotion more than pain or exhaustion, stumbled away from that place in fruitless search for his villain in the lordless Barony.
However, the trail went dead. Nils traveled westwardly, from the Kingdom of Apples to the Kingdom of Grass. For the next two years, his wanderings drove him around the wide, flat countryside. He sought clues to Manor, and heard a number of vague hints from various fae sources. But all proved groundless and wild goose chases. Still, the Scathach encountered many foes. A variety of hostile chimerae and occasionally villainous Prodigals came across Nils’ path. Few went on and those that did rarely did so uncrippled. And yet the other noble fae of the lands never thanked Nils for the monsters he dispatched. In fact, he once cut down a chimerical griffin-like beast preying on travelers of the Silver Path. As he reaped the beast for Dross, a few Seelie squires -- Gwydion and Fiona -- rode up on noble steeds. They cursed him for his action, outraged that he had ruined their “sport”. To be quite honest, Nils was becoming convinced that his “fellow” Kithain were a bunch of manipulative ingrates, noble and commoner alike.
Of course, this disheartening could have been exactly what Count Manor wanted. And it seemed that Nils was indeed losing patience. The knight paused in the orderly Kingdom of Grass. He tried to take a few months off from his quest in the vicinity of Kansas City. Nils decided he needed a bit of a break. But that “bit” became much longer after he met the talented songbird, Suki Diaz. After several months of dating, the two fell head over heels in love with each other. Nils even revealed his true nature to the mortal woman. And Suki accepted him for who and what he was. Over the next two years, their relationship grew. Nils all but forgot the quest he undertook so many years ago.
So it was that in 2000 Nils fell from grace and honor. He abandoned his Oath of Vengeance, and in so doing earned the doom of the Mists from dan. Nils was made aware of the Dreaming’s fateful punishment through a nightmare. But the dream did not say when he was doomed to forget his legacy entirely. Nevertheless, it served to embitter Nills all the more against his fellow fae. And ironically, it was all over love. Here he was forsaking hatred for love, and the Dreaming only could only chastise and condemn him!
But Nils was unfrightened and unfettered at last. He promised Suki to find them both a lovely home, perhaps in the prairie or woods. Suki, his fiancee by this point, understood only that he was dealing with difficulties due to his faerie nature. They gently parted ways to allow Suki to wrap up her public career -- at least for awhile -- and to leave Nils wandering the region in search of a place to build a home. After a month of travel by foot and occasionally on the wings of Glamour, Nils found someplace. Among the hills and fields far south of Kansas City, the sidhe discovered a long forgotten freehold. There in those woods was a small but lovely meadow. Though Glamour was not particularly strong there, the fact that it was present at all amazed Nils. Why wasn’t this place held by some fae force -- nobles if not the Native American Gallain?
But Nils soon found that the glade was guarded. As he explored the surroundings, just large enough to build a small home and enjoy the natural flower garden, its protector emerged from the wood. But no fierce beast did Nils confront! A gentle, quiet unicorn stepped into view. Though taken a back, Nils demanded that the noble chimera depart. He claimed this freehold for his own. With a toss of the mane, Nils felt its reply: “No! Now begone, Oathbreaker!” That was Nils’ last straw. All ideals that the Dreaming was anything it pretended to be were gone. Delusions that love conquered all, honor assured victory, magic of the heart and spirit as well as Glamour was entwined with happiness, and that unicorns were compassionate creatures were all vanquished. If a unicorn misunderstood or refused to appreciate the reason he forswore his quest, then Nils felt no obligation to respect the creature. “Nothing will stand in my path to content,” he uttered as he fell that noble chimera. That day’s sun set with Nils performing a deed many might call heinous. He slew the unicorn after a short battle. He even cut off its horn as Dross to fuel magics he would need later to help build his home in the glade.
Three months later, Nils’ humble home was built in that meadow. He and Suki were married that summer and moved into their happy abode. The singer took a break from her career to enjoy a long, isolated honeymoon with Nils. By the end of the year, Suki was pregnant. Nils was happier than he ever thought he could be. Life seemed right and the way it should be lived. But such content was not to be for one so cursed. Perhaps because of spilling a unicorn’s blood on the glade’s soil, the place was befouled. Or maybe it was simply the fact that Nils was an honorless Oathbreaker. Whatever the case may have been, Suki suffered the consequences. Mid-winter of 2001, she grew ill from complications in the pregnancy. Nils’ mystical remedies did not avail her. He knew better than to request aid even from his sisters, despite that he suspected that Dawn was now as skilled a healer as their mother was. And even a normal doctor could do nothing for the bedridden Suki. Though hospitalization was recommended, her fate was sealed. Suki requested to die in her new home by her husband. Though overcome with grief everyday he spent with his ailing wife, he never left her side.
With the dawning of spring, Suki passed. Though there was little pain, Suki was sorrowful that she died then, before their child could be born. Suki perished in Nils’ arms, sweat and tears soaking his face and hair. His name was the last words from her lips. Then Nils was alone. After burying Suki in the flower garden, Nils left that home. Bitterness and hopelessness drove Nils west again. All sense of self-worth was diminished. He no longer cared about being happy. He no longer wanted satisfaction. But he turned back to the quest. Just because his original oath of revenge was broken didn’t mean he couldn’t pursue the Count.
Wretched and alone, Nils stalked the forests, deserts, and mountains of the Kingdom of Burning Sands. Branded an Oathbreaker, all fae avoided him at best. Others harassed and even assaulted him. But despite his self-effacement, enemies soon found that they -- not himself -- were the channels for that quiet bitterness and pent-up fury. Many changelings and chimera were beaten or even killed during his trek west. And every foe that Nils spared was terrified into telling the sidhe anything known about Count Manor ap Balor. Rarely did he glean any useful information. But he heard enough to guide him to the Kingdom of Pacific and San Francisco, California. There more “interrogations” clued Nils into keeping a patient eye on Golden Gate Park, especially at night.
One month later, Samhain came to the world once again. Nils swept the park watchfully. There in a glade of trees he finally found his foe. Count Manor ap Balor was surrounding himself with blood-stained rocks. A child’s entrails were draped over his broad shoulders. His eyes were to the starry sky when Nils arrived. Back to the Oathbroken Scathach, Manor said, “I was just thinking about you, boy.” Nils said nothing, the gore unaffecting the sidhe, as he drew the Nightblades and advanced. Manor turned, hefting the same battle-axe that murdered Nils’ parents nearly a decade ago. The rough-gray metal of the wide blade emanated the Banality of cold iron. The dagger in Manor’s other hand demonstrated the same.
And so the fight long delayed was joined. While Nils’ Scathach training was superior, Manor made up for it with experience. Swift blades clashed defiantly for several minutes. Minor injuries were inflicted upon one another. Manor, a touch dismayed by Nils’ persistence, stood back. Powerful spells began to pour from his will, raining fire, ice, curses, and commands down on Nills. But every breath of Glamour that Manor exhaled grew more desperate. Nils repelled his enemy’s every spell with an eye as cold as Manor’s axe, and a simple utter: “No.”
Detecting Nils’ own Banality that his cantrips just couldn’t pierce, Manor charged again. With cold and efficient fluidity, Nils ducked a swing of that axe. At the same time, he sliced up with a Nightblade, cleanly severing the Count’s arm. Manor screamed in hoarse pain even as he tried to follow up with a slash of the dagger. But a quick, strong parry not only deflected the slash but drove the dagger into its wielder’s chest. Wide-eyed with shock, Manor collapsed to his knees. Nils loomed above him, a shadow of tangible power and hate. The Count grinned sickly. Even though he fell, he believed he ultimately won by driving the Samhradh heir to Balor-like wickedness and villainy. But that illusion was dispelled as Nils fearlessly yanked the cold iron blade from Manor’s chest and told him his mind.
“Now you die, Balor,” Nils hissed. “Not because you are who you are, or did what you did. You die now because you are the final remnant of a dead dream.” And with those grim words, Nils slashed the Count’s throat open with his own dagger. Manor suffered the fate of Nils’ father, the Count’s body and soul forever slain. Revenge was Nils' at last, although that crime stained its value. But “an eye for an eye”, Nils stated before leaving that befouled glade. A pooka had spied on the duel and nearly choked. Despite his excellent hiding place, it almost seemed that Nils was talking to him. But the cruel sidhe simply strolled away, vanishing into the shadows of the parkland.
The Cloud Tamers
The pooka ran back to town. He told every changeling he knew of the dark deed he witnessed Nils do. But since he was pooka, many laughed it off. Even so, the rumors of the fallen sidhe spread through the city and beyond. Joseph van Nocenti III heard the news through his own shadowy ways. After conferring with his associate, Amelia Vargos, the fearsome Dauntain pair decided to seek out this renegade Scathach. Meanwhile, Nils remained in the City by the Bay. He holed himself up in a cheap ghetto apartment. There he stayed, living off of cheap delivery food, while he pondered the ramifications of his actions. Firstly, Nils realized, he didn’t feel the least bit guilty. Secondly, he wanted to know more about what he did -- especially the “anti-magic” that had pretty much saved his life. So he practiced on himself. He cast a cantrip and then cancelled it out the same way he did Manor’s magic. He did this over and over for weeks, pausing only to harvest Glamour from local Dreamers he sought out and heartlessly Ravaged.
Then a knock on his door changed his life forever. There stood Joseph and Amelia. Politely, Nils requested they leave. Joseph first said who he was and more importantly what he was. Nils just blinked when they suggested he was one of them. Nils was Dauntain, a Black Magician. Nils invited the other two fallen sidhe into his poor home. He wanted to know more, and he discussion that ensued proved quite enlightening. Nils accepted that he was Dauntain without question. He knew in his heart that it was true. And he also suspected it was the only way he could cheat the Dreaming out of that curse with which it cheated him. Fall into the Mists? Nonsense! And he’d fight the Dreaming itself to regain what he earned with blood, sweat, and tears. The other two Black Magicians then told Nils of their idea: a Collective of the three Dauntain. They would call themselves the Cloud Tamers and were devoted to the destruction of the fae and Dreaming. Although Nils was not interested in their genocide, he wanted to spit in dan’s face. So Nils apprenticed himself to Joseph van Nocenti III formerly of House Liam.
Within months, he began to learn many Arts. Some were magics forbidden to fae, as the spells Joseph could teach were anathema to the Dreaming. But there was something Nils had to do first. Perhaps out of lingering familial fidelity, he asked his peers to track down his youngest sister, Ariela. They found her in Kansas City, oddly enough. Nils surmised that his beautiful sibling was searching for him. So he traveled back to that region, finding his sister at his forgotten dream home. He handed over the Nightblades to his sister, who was cringing in horror at the cold bastard her beloved brother became. Ariela accepted the family heirlooms and fled his home, returning to Ireland to be re-Sained, no doubt. Nils meanwhile lingered in that broken dream home a day more.
Afterwards, he returned to the San Francisco area to the Cloud Tamers’ secret cave hideaway near the beach. Nils continued his studies and experimentations with all sorts of magics under Joseph’s guidance. The three Black Magicians also learned how to extend their collective, callous, and dominating will. In fact, through arcane lore and ritual, the Dauntain learned how to summon the dread Icewyrms. These chimerical dragons were composed of the essence of both Banality and Glamour. Three of these calculatingly intelligent monsters shared the Cloud Tamers’ grim vision. So it was that the Cloud Tamers and Icewyrms joined forces. Nils and Grian-Goideadh became stoic comrades. All three Black Magicians rode their Icewyrm allies into battle.
And in 2003, the first fae freehold felt the Cloud Tamers’ combined might. The Barony of Redwood Ivory fell in early fall. They had little chance of victory as this force of pure hatred fell upon the keep’s walls and guardians. Nils always recalled the terror in the nobles’ faces as Grian-Goideadh’s breath froze their delicate souls. And his spells and arrows rained hell on their battlements. A pit of nausea formed in his belly at the heinous slaughter. But grotesque elation also charged Nils with fulfillment as the Barony was destroyed.
Changing Horizons
Thus, the new Black Magician remained with the Cloud Tamers. He continued his mystical tutelage. And yet, that pit of horror at his own actions remained in the base of his shriveling soul. As 2004 dawned, Nils decided to take a “leave of absence” to contemplate long-term goals -- so he told his mentor. In truth, Nils had an urge to revisit the home of his shattered dreams. Perhaps meditating on Suki’s grave would determine his true path. Hopefully, Nils mused, his sister would stay away long enough for him to accept his true fate, whatever it may be. All Nils knew was that his dan was not the farce the Dreaming inflicted.
The powerful warrior-mage found more than Suki's grave and lost dreams in the Midwest. He discovered a Chrysalid, Hollie McClellan. Were he a true devotee of the Cloud Tamers, he would have tried to destroy her fragile dreams and bring her into the folds of the Dauntain. But Nils found that his shriveling heart could still love. Now facing all odds as he risks the wrath of his mentor and the Dauntain hunters of High King David, Nils fled all of his reputed hideaways...with his Chrysalid lover. Together they moved into the redwood forest north of San Francisco, their powerful levels of raw Glamour and calculated Banality balancing each other out marvelously. So far. It was only a matter of time before they destroy each other...provided their many enemies do not destroy them first. When Hollie's life was endangered, Nils' pessimistic wrath was once more unbound. And this time, he turned it upon the Cloud Tamers as well.
Remembrance
Nils recalls a number of key facts of the Kithain and the Dreaming. Actual names and places have been lost, especially after he fell into the Doom of Dauntain. Fae spells and legends are still fresh in his memory when he concentrates upon them.
Bunk Styles
Style: High Fantasy
Examples: Arcane chant, etch glyphs, create and drink potion, ash rune on forehead, break a mirror and gaze into shards, do a backflip, flashbomb
Significant Other
Complications. This Black Magician thought he gave up on love. Then he met this beautiful, broken-seeming Chrysalid, Hollie McClellan, in 2003. At first, Nils intended to drag the fragile Liam down into Banality. But her innocence reached out to him, touched him past his icy exterior to an old romantic streak that still lingered. Nils answered the call of those forgotten emotions. And soon the two were making love, in love, bringing each other pleasure and passion. Now he questions all he has become, all that being Dauntain means as much as he questions what it means to be fae. Hollie for her part hopes to bring him back to the light, to show him the beauty of Glamour and hope again. At best, they will find a wonderful balance together. At worst, they will destroy each other. Hollie's fellow fae would take her away from Nils, while Nils' fellow Cloud Tamers would outright slay him for this "weakness". Not long after their relationship began, Hollie discovered she was pregnant. Her Catholic upbringing made her yearn for Nils' hand in marriage. Finally, after much consideration, Nils consented to marry the beautiful Sidhe. They were not picky in who ran the ceremony, paying a Baptist preacher to handle it. And this came only a week after their son was born on November 25th, 2004. In the family tradition, the boy was named after father and grandfather -- Nils. As a family now, Nils and Hollie took an extended honeymoon and vacation. They needed time to consider their future together. Nils still has many skeletons in the closet. Yet, that didn't stop Hollie from Oathing herself to him. Sometimes naivete is a power all its own. Nils is truly in love.
Hollie
Weakness
Ill Justice
Nils is an unfortunate example of a hero gone bad. He embraced all the ideals of the wandering knight. But he was never rewarded for his efforts. All the great deeds he did were never recognized. His final victory over his parents' butcher was an anti-climax for his family's honor. There is only the taste of power and Nils hungers for more.
Likelihood of Corruption
Very low.
That is, considering he is about as corrupted as a changeling can get already. Even Balor and Fomorians call him Foe, and herald of an era that would destroy them, too. Nils does not predict a Long Winter. He predicts an Endless Winter, over which he would reign king.
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Fearless Dreaming
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