Nicodemus Hartmar
Appearance
Two unremarkable green eyes, in an unremarkable pale face attached to an equally unremarkable body. Besides being slightly above average hight there is little to note about Nicodemus, he’s usually dressed in practical traveling garments or the official uniform of the College. During travels or situations that contain a high amount of risks he has also been know to paint simple runs on his body he can active if needed. Mostly as a basic defence against blunt force, but depending on the situation also for speed or strength. On his left arm he carries what looks like a miniatur shield, while sturdy and able to block a knife thrust on it's own, its main feature is the runs inscribe into it. When activated it crates a shield of telekinesis in front of it to act as a large shield.
Along with this he carries a along with him a small shoulder purse containing a multitude of different tools he requires for his trade. Among this various knifes in different shapes and sizes, a small amount of different metals as well as pre made runic tools. Some of this are stones inscribed with different basic runes like "force" "wind" "fire" etc, not many of each, not mainly for fighting but as tools and utilities. He has also been known to carry rope inlaid with runes to trap spirits or other entities.
Personality
Nicodemus is a serious individual with a constant feeling of inferiority complex due to his background as well as a nagging feeling of having not accomplished nearly as much as he should have done by the current time. While serious, he’s well mannered and can even at times be charismatic and down right charming when he puts his mind to it.
When on the job he’s focused and have a work first mentality, always keeping his eyes on the goal. The most important is to always making some amount of progress. If he can’t reach his main win condition, then he has no qualms about compromising to always get at least something out of the situation.
While not a man greatly concerned with morals or the ethics surrounding magic or his work, he still has his lines in the sand. Things he won’t do, and things he condemns. Most likely due to his safe and normal upbringing with plenty of love and support. Even so this streak of atriums is closely married to his sense of pragmatism and his determination to reach his goals. While not often this two areas can come into conflict when the chips are down.
Biography & Lore
Born as the second son of a well off, but still at the lower end merchant family Nicodemus wasn’t really destined to greatness, at best perhaps he’d follow in his father and elder brother's footsteps. A good, if uneventful life in a large city filled with people sharing the same fate. Not a bad way to live, considering the world and how short and brutal life elsewhere could be.
The turning point in his story wasn’t drastic or huge, no murdered family, prophecy or destiny, instead it was a regular day at the market. Not much older than twelve at the time Nicodemus along with his older brother, who was sixteen at the time had been allowed to take the day of early from the family store. Among the many stores and stalles the brothers had a favourite area, the wandering merchants courters. There was always a good tale, something exotic to see or buy there. Among the fortune tellers and barder was a low ranking mage from the college, mostly earning a few coins on his merger talents, weaving illusions for the crowd of grand battles and far of places.
As enraptured as only children could be the brothers watched, around them the market place was forgotten, instead knights and wizards battled monsters. Then as soon as it had happened the magic was spent and the world disappeared, dissolving into nothing.
It wasn’t the battle, the shining knights or glorious sorceress, not even the world which had been so real you could smell, tast and touch it that captured him. It was the fact that with a flick of his wrist the sorcerer had made it, then unmade it. It was there, then it wasn’t. It had been so real, yet it wasn’t?
It kept him up late at night. What if this world, the one he considered real could be made or unmade just as easily. Who or what held his world together, what were the barriers, the boundaries?
What if he all knew was just held together by some whimsical beings desire, and could just as easily return to nothing. While his brother did the same as usual, the thoughts continued to plague Nicodemus. While somewhere else such thoughts might have led to nothing and eventually he’d have moved on, he had the fortune or misfortune of being born in Elbion. If there was one place to find answers this was the starting area, magic was what had made him ask the question. It was also the tool to find the answer.
That thought would led Nicodemus to later apply to the Elbion academy four years later. While he wasn’t from a rich family nor knew the right people he had a decent education and showed promise enough that at the age of seventeen he was accepted.
It was a long road, studies, chores, tasks and tests, but he graduated. While a good student, he wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. If anything a lot of the teachers who had at the start looked at him as promising was put of by his almost singel minded determination towards, runes, wards and what they considered lesser forms of magic. A few tried to turn him away, but the headstrong young man kept on. As such while he did graduate with good marks and got the opportunity to continue on as a field researcher, he wasn’t really one of note. Just another face in the large crowd of bottom sorcerer, which fit him just fine.
He had what he wanted, access to some of the best libraries in the known world and a job that allowed him to travle far and wide. To look for clues to older civilisations and explore ruins, and more importantly to him, keep expanding what his knowledge base and get closer to his goal.
The turning point in his story wasn’t drastic or huge, no murdered family, prophecy or destiny, instead it was a regular day at the market. Not much older than twelve at the time Nicodemus along with his older brother, who was sixteen at the time had been allowed to take the day of early from the family store. Among the many stores and stalles the brothers had a favourite area, the wandering merchants courters. There was always a good tale, something exotic to see or buy there. Among the fortune tellers and barder was a low ranking mage from the college, mostly earning a few coins on his merger talents, weaving illusions for the crowd of grand battles and far of places.
As enraptured as only children could be the brothers watched, around them the market place was forgotten, instead knights and wizards battled monsters. Then as soon as it had happened the magic was spent and the world disappeared, dissolving into nothing.
It wasn’t the battle, the shining knights or glorious sorceress, not even the world which had been so real you could smell, tast and touch it that captured him. It was the fact that with a flick of his wrist the sorcerer had made it, then unmade it. It was there, then it wasn’t. It had been so real, yet it wasn’t?
It kept him up late at night. What if this world, the one he considered real could be made or unmade just as easily. Who or what held his world together, what were the barriers, the boundaries?
What if he all knew was just held together by some whimsical beings desire, and could just as easily return to nothing. While his brother did the same as usual, the thoughts continued to plague Nicodemus. While somewhere else such thoughts might have led to nothing and eventually he’d have moved on, he had the fortune or misfortune of being born in Elbion. If there was one place to find answers this was the starting area, magic was what had made him ask the question. It was also the tool to find the answer.
That thought would led Nicodemus to later apply to the Elbion academy four years later. While he wasn’t from a rich family nor knew the right people he had a decent education and showed promise enough that at the age of seventeen he was accepted.
It was a long road, studies, chores, tasks and tests, but he graduated. While a good student, he wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. If anything a lot of the teachers who had at the start looked at him as promising was put of by his almost singel minded determination towards, runes, wards and what they considered lesser forms of magic. A few tried to turn him away, but the headstrong young man kept on. As such while he did graduate with good marks and got the opportunity to continue on as a field researcher, he wasn’t really one of note. Just another face in the large crowd of bottom sorcerer, which fit him just fine.
He had what he wanted, access to some of the best libraries in the known world and a job that allowed him to travle far and wide. To look for clues to older civilisations and explore ruins, and more importantly to him, keep expanding what his knowledge base and get closer to his goal.
Skills and Abilities
Rune Magic: Being a researcher with a special interest in early magic theory as well as thirst for knowledge about how the world really works, Nicodemus has unlike many of his peers focused a lot of his time and effort into rune magic. His main focus being the study of magical barriers, warding schemes and boundaries of all kinds.
Summoning: As a natural extension of the previous skills he has also knowledge and interest in summoning and conjuring. This as means to study what happens when a creature breaks the barriers of reality, as a way to gain insight.
Necromancy: As an extension of his focus on boundaries and history, Nicodemus has branched out to necromancy as means to both study how souls are effected when summoned, it’s affect on the world around and to gathering knowledge. After all, every traveler knows that the ancient dead knows a lot.
Barter: While not having followed in his father or older brothers footsteps Nicodemus still knows a good deal when he sees it, how to maneuverer people towards his desired outcome and that if a deal looks too good to be true it most likely is.
Gambler: One of his few breaks from the serious workaholic he can be at times is his fondness of games of chance and skill. It doesn’t have to involve money, just the chance to bet. As such he has quit the stone face when it comes to bluffing.
Strengths:
- Observant & Patient: Used to long nights studying arcane tomes as well as archeological surveys that can take long times to bear fruits or sometimes not at all has learned Nicodemus the value of keeping his eyes open and taking his time.
- Knowledgeable: Having graduated from the Elbion College, and later working as a researcher for the same institution means that Nicodemus know a lot within his area of expertise. That along with a love of reading means he has a vast amount of learning to drawn on.
- Determine: Always feeling like he has something to prove to himself and the world Nicodemus is the very picture of determination.
Weaknesses:
- Lack of direct power: Having invested most of his time and effort into none direct magic, Nicodemus needs to be prepared and well stocked with the right materials to work his magic.
- Inferiority complex: Being the second son from a lower class merchant family surrounded by the rich and powerful at the College means that Nicodemus has felt humiliated as well as embarrassed a lot. While the worst of the feeling has passed as he’s grown older, the nagging feeling of not being good enough is still there at the most inopportune moments.
- Single mindedness: While his determination is a strength, it can also be a weakness. Being so focused on one goal and idea that he can easily be distracted or thrown off guard by too many new factors or complications.
