Nickademus

Nickademus was one of the apprentices of the Mad Mage Halaster Blackcloak, who was responsible for the erection of a temple dedicated to Auril in Icewind Dale, made entirely out of ice in the early 14 century DR.
==Description==
Nickademus appeared to be a human man with dark skin and blue hair. He wore fanciful mage's robes. He was a reasonable well-spoken man.
==History==
In the , Nickademus was already a powerful wizard after leaving the tutelage of his master, the infamous Mad Mage of Undermountain. Some years before the Legion of the Chimera threatened the Ten-Towns, Nickademus fell in love with Orla, a priestess of Auril. The couple eventually drifted apart despite Nickademus still being in love. Orla's heart was poisoned by hate for Kuldahar and its heroes who slew a beloved priestess Lysan in the . This obsession and hate led Orla to fall under the sway of the genocidal Legion of the Chimera in 1212 DR, as it unleashed a force of monstrous humanoids and other inhabitants of the Frozenfar and the Spine of the World onto the Ten-Towns and Kuldahar.
Orla, the High Priestesses Sherincal, and their sisters became a significant part of the Legion's plan to dominate the north. She hired Nickademus, paying him hefty coin to create a massive temple complex of Auril. The wizard accepted the money, but he would've done it for his beloved for free. In just a single day, Nickademus poured all of his magic into the temple's erection, the feat that left him bedridden and unresponsive for some time. The clerics of Auril placed his sleeping body in one of the temple's bedrooms. In his design, Nickademus incorporated many "curiosities" throughout the temple, including mechanisms, traps, and magical devices. One of such magic curiosities was a huge painting Nickademus retrieved from Undermountain. This once-empty canvas was filled with imagery and turned into a magical transporter for the temple complex's inhabitants with a single command word. Another notable magic item he incorporated into the design was a large mirror of life trapping that later served to trap the mercenary band called The Talisman.
When Nickademus awoke from exhaustion, he met a group of mercenaries from Targos who opposed the Legion of the Chimera and were seeking passage through the temple. Nickademus lamented his beloved Orla's heart becoming consumed by darkness, and he understood what needed to be done to end the Aurilite threat. However, he asked for heroes' help in making sure that no other innocent would fall to hate and malice like Orla did. Nickademus offered advice to the adventurers, aided them in defeating the powerful spirit Aeij-Kllenzr't bound to the temple by the deity Talos, and shared several magic items with them, including a scroll of summon monster IV, a rogue stone, some iron rations, a magical returning frost dart, scrolls of protection from electricity, a ring of protection from electricity, and a delay poison potion.
Whether the heroes agreed to perform a favor for Nickademus in exchange for his help remained unknown. But some time later, the arch-mage would summon the adventurers back to the ice temple. His plan to make sure none other would ever fall to the darkness was simple: slay the fiends that were responsible for Orla's corruption. Nickademus summoned cornugons, gelugons, lemures, red and white abishai, and glabrezus, trapping them within the temple. He was unable to kill them by himself but would emerge victorious with the adventurers' help.
==Appendix==
===Appearances===
===References===
Category:Year of Manuscripts
Category:Architects
Category:Apprentices of Halaster Blackcloak
Category:Archmages
Category:Wizards (3e)
Category:Wizards
Category:Inhabitants of the Sword Coast North
Category:Inhabitants of Undermountain
Category:Inhabitants of Waterdeep
Category:Inhabitants of the Frozenfar
Category:Inhabitants of Icewind Dale
Category:Inhabitants of Northwest Faerûn
Category:Inhabitants of Faerûn
Category:Inhabitants of Toril