Kyle Strickler

Kyle Strickler, formerly known as Archmage Kyle Strickler, Master of Research, is a former member of the Arcadian Archmages council and the former head of the Midmoor School of Magic. He was imprisoned when his corruption was exposed.

## Appearance

Kyle is a very tall and spindly human man. In his old age, his skin was sallow and wrinkled. He had long gray hair, though he was balding on top. He has a neatly trimmed gray beard.

## Personality

Kyle was conniving and deceptive, though he tended to come off as creepy to even his own coworkers. Despite that, he had cultivated an image as a respectable researcher and headmaster. His students often described him as cruel, using torturous methods to train them while hurling insults and punishments when they failed.

Kyle talks with a smooth and charismatic voice, though the charisma comes from his enchantment magic. He was not afraid of subtly using his magic to sway conversations in his favor.

## Biography

Kyle was at the top of his class during his years at the Midmoor School of Magic. His research into magic was considered very thorough and informative. He was promoted to the Arcadian Archmages in his early 40s as the Master of Research after the former archmage mysteriously fell ill. Although people suspected Kyle of poisoning the man, Kyle denied ever doing so.

Kyle took on several students over the years and taught them using cruel and abusive tactics. He at one point imprisoned a psionicist and tortured him to the brink of insanity when studying his magic. Kyle also found allies in the Marquette sisters: Vivian, his fellow Archmage, and Theodosia, a torturer who became known as "Strickler's Butcher."

Kyle made a habit of choosing orphans as his students, although he occasionally killed a potential students' parents to ostracize them from support. He did this to Demetrius Beck, whom he took on as a student in 1592. Demetrius runs away from him in 1598. In 1603, Kyle found a new apprentice, Giorno DiGuiseppi, who he all but adopted at the youngest age he'd ever taken an apprentice.

In 1606, Kyle's secret research projects and his treatment of his students was exposed to the public due to the efforts of Demetrius Beck and Xiao Kai convincing Giorno to help them testify. Kyle was ousted from the council and imprisoned in the dungeons below the Arcadian palace. Kyle was replaced by Jayda Haro.

## Relationships

### Allies

* Vivian Marquette: Kyle and Vivian became allies due to their ulterior motives, each turning a blind eye to each other's unethical experiments: Kyle's torturous interrogations and Vivian's experiments with necromancy to turn dead soldiers into undead revenants. However, they only remained allies as long as they were useful to each other; Vivian voted to have Kyle ousted and imprisoned to keep her position. Kyle did not hold this against her.
* Theodosia Marquette: Kyle considered Theodosia less talented, less ambitious, and more naive than her sister, but kept her around because of her loyalty and efficiency.

### Enemies

* Demetrius Beck: Kyle was an abusive mentor to Demetrius, putting him through torturous trials and punishing him harshly for any failures.

## Abilities

### General Abilities

* Magic: Kyle is a highly skilled magic user, especially of enchantment magic. He was able to subtly weave the magic into his words to influence the minds of those around him without them even noticing.