Isaeus Strabo

> ***"You are not my grandson. You are the seed of evil. If I had been there at your birth, I would have drowned you myself."***
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Isaeus Strabo is the maternal grandfather of former Spectre-Agent Nihlus Kryik. Before his retirement, he served in the Bostran colonial airforce for thirty years as a distinguished fighter pilot, earning the rank of Group Captain and numerous commendations from his superiors.

Isaeus' only child, Lucilla, ran away from home after he betrothed her to a man she did not wish to marry. Lucilla's actions brought great shame to her family; she was tried *in absentia* and convicted for desertion, the punishment for which was dishonourable discharge from the military and a life sentence of hard labour to the state, should she ever be apprehended.

Seventeen years after Lucilla's disappearance, her son, Nihlus, would turn up at Isaeus' door seeking asylum. Isaeus rejected Nihlus as his daughter's offspring, denying him familial support and rendering him houseless - a mark of great shame in turian culture. The pair still do not speak, despite Nihlus' best efforts to bridge their divide.

## Interactions with Nihlus

When entering Bootcamp in 2157 CE, Nihlus chose to register his name as *Nihlus Strabo*. However, when he became aware of this fact, Isaeus sought legal action against his grandson for his usage of the Strabo family name. A Bostran court ruled in favour of Isaeus and ordered Nihlus to register his legal name as *Nihlus Kryik*, on the grounds his mother had been officially disowned by the Strabo family before his birth thus he was not entitled to use their name.

After the Reaper War, Nihlus once again tried to reconnect with his maternal family by extending an invitation for Isaeus and his Strabo relatives to attend his and Desolas' wedding. Isaeus swiftly rejected his grandson's olive branch, telling Nihlus he could not attend an event which celebrated such a sinful union between two men. Desolas comforted Nihlus in the aftermath of Isaeus' hurtful rebuke, telling him: *"You don't need them, Nih. You have me. And I will never abandon you."* Despite becoming colloquially known as *Nihlus Arterius* following his marriage to Desolas, Nihlus is still legally obligated to use the Kryik name as his *nomen gentilicium maior* on all his official paperwork: he begrudgingly styles himself as *Nihlus Arterius Kryianus* in such cases.

Isaeus' final slight towards Nihlus was to prevent his great-grandchildren's use of the name Strabo after Nihlus had registered his and Desolas' then-newborn son Janus as *Janus Arterius Strabinus*. The Strabo name was something which Nihlus desperately wanted to pass down to all his children, both in memory of his beloved mother and to erase the stain of the Kryik legacy from their lives. He once again attempted to appeal against his grandfather's decision in court but ultimately lost the case. The court ordered him to change Janus' name from *Janus Arterius Strabinus* to *Janus Arterius Kryinus* immediately and stipulated that any future children were likewise legally obligated to take the Kryik name, on pain of exile. As such, all of Nihlus and Desolas' children bear the Kryik name as their *nomina gentilicia maiora* on all their official paperwork, including Alasius: they are styled as *Janus Arterius Kryinus*, *Sarena Arterius Kryina*, *Cassian* *Arterius Kryinus* and *Alasius Arterius Kryinus* respectively.

The decision to obey the court order for the sake of his children's futures profoundly damaged Nihlus, planting within him a visceral fear of the day they inevitably figured out his true identity, leaving him terrified of a reality where this truth would push them away from him. Desolas, incensed by Isaeus' cruelty towards his mate and children, threatened him with a slow and painful death if he ever did anything more to hurt Nihlus again. Realising that Desolas was not bluffing, Isaeus steered clear of all future contact with his estranged grandson. Nihlus would never hear from or see him again before his death.