Nikolai Graves

**Ephis**: *"Everyone here… they seem to not like me. It must be because I'm so different."*
****Nikolai****: *"I know the feeling."*
— Nikolai's first conversation with Ephis after arriving in Visseldorf.[src]

**Nikolai Graves** grew up in a town ruled under wicked religious oppression. Being a tiefling somehow born to two human parents, Nikolai was seen as the embodiment of evil itself and was imprisoned and regularly tortured by all of the townsfolk. One day though, Nikolai was set free by the town burgomaster and fled in the night. Nikolai spent the next years of his life hiding who he was, what he was. Ashamed of himself. He learnt to blend into crowd, stay in the shadows, essentially become nobody. He drifted from place to place, job to job, before somehow finding himself on the colonizing island of Tohapuru.

Due to one circumstance after another on Tohapuru, Nikolai got himself caught up in hunting down and defeating tyrannical outlaws called the Cabal of the New World. He even made friends in a young priest and elven druid, which was a rarity for him. Now, Nikolai plans to head back to the village of his birth and put an end to Dimus Tierney’s religious reign.

## Physical Description

Nikolai has dark grey skin which turns to small jagged spikes at his jaw-line & chin. His once ram's horns have been ground back to two almost indiscernible craggy lumps. His eyes, a dark menacing red with pupils as black as oblivion. Down past his face, most of his body is covered in scars and burn-marks from multiple years of torture and captivity. His arms, legs, and even hands are disfigured also, with his finger and toenails grown back unnaturally after they were removed during the torture. His tiefling tail is a quarter of the size it once was, after it too was culled and cut down all those years ago. It's so small now that he usually keeps it tucked away down his pants.

At the moment, under his Daemeon Streprovath alias, Nikolai keeps most of his head hidden by a large black pinch-front-styled hat, and a black bandanna tied around his neck. He's also very rarely seen without a cigar in his mouth. His armor is practically made from different pieces of dark mix-matched leather, covered by a black cape to boot. Various knives and pouches cover his belt and armor pockets, with his crossbow by one side and bolts by the other.

## Backstory

### Early Life

Nikolai Graves was born to two human parents, Stannis & Danica Graves. And from his birth, it was very clear that he was far from human at all. Nikolai had dark grey skin, two small horns protruding from either side of his head, and a pointed tail. His eyes were a dark red with small pupils blacker than the darkest night. The Graves family being very religious, brought Nikolai to Dimus Tierney, the village priest, who labelled him as a Tiefling, demon-spawn. The real main religion of the town was of Cyrrollalee, the goddess of friendship, trust, hospitality & home. Dimus told the Graves that the gods had cursed their child for sins that they had committed, and that Nikolai was a demonic abomination who had to be culled. Dimus and the Graves brought Nikolai to the village burgomaster, Arron Casimir, who spoke against murdering the child, but agreed to keep the fiend alive, brought up and then locked in the village gaol where he would live out the rest of his days.

And that was where Nikolai's childhood was spent. Locked in a cell, fed scraps of things remotely resembling food, and hurt, tortured and tormented by everyone in the village. People wouldn't think twice about throwing stones at the demon in his cell, Dimus Tierney would parade Nikolai around the town in public penance every couple of days, and Nikolai became the manifestation of sin throughout the town. If anyone did anything wrong, the village guards would be instructed to lash out on Nikolai to atone for it. They ground back his horns, cut off his tail and tried to abolish every outwardly demonic symbolism on him, only to have it grow back.

Nikolai, growing up with this lifestyle, never really thought anything of it. He was told he was evil, he was told he had to be hurt, and even his parents didn't want any part of him. One day however, when Nikolai was but 17 years of age, someone finally saw the wrongdoings of the town. It was Arron Casimir, the burgomaster who originally chose to kept Nikolai in imprisonment instead of slaughtering him as the priest wanted. Arron watched the goings on with Nikolai throughout his life and realized that this was a fate worse than death for the demon-spawn who himself had never done any wrong. So Arron finally stood up for it. Arron entered the gaol one day under the cover of night, asked the guards to break from their posts, and unlocked Nikolai's cell. Nikolai looked up at him and Arron saw the still young boy, covered in scars, burns and blood, and it brought him anguish. Arron then swiftly left, and later that evening, under the cover of night, Nikolai left the village.

### Adopting Aliases

He soon came in to other villages and began to blend in to crowds, doing the odd job for someone here and there and bounty-hunting any villain that various towns wanted tracked down. Nikolai learnt to blend into the shadows, never really get attached to anyone, and always follow his gut. Nikolai Graves began to introduce himself in different places with names other than his birth one. Drew, Kazmir, Preterist, Radovan, Daemeon, hundreds of aliases and nicknames. He even began to tell fake tales of his past. Different birth villages, different families. Different… even better circumstances to his real one.

### The Island of Tohapuru

While travelling, Nikolai heard of a recently discovered island called Tohapuru that the Craftsmen of Kelmarth in his current town were getting people to sign up to go and colonize. Nikolai jumped at the chance. He'd be able to get to newly formed villages and take hold as the local mercenary. They'd be heaps of people to help and heaps of gold to make. Instead of signing up to colonize however, Nikolai came up with his own plan. He had a forged passport made and then stowed away aboard one of the first ships heading there. He decided to take on the alias of Daemeon Streprovath.

Shortly after Nikolai first arrived at Tohapuru and started going by the name Daemeon, he started hearing hear-tell of a half-elf called Cassius Havenkeep, who had murdered one of the first settlers there and had then gone on to recruit a small gang of criminals, relocate themselves into the wilderness, and then make small raids on the settler town-steads from time-to-time. Cassius and his gang, which soon became known as the ‘Cabal of the New Land’ started to steal a lot more and even kidnap children. Nikolai decided that he had to put an end to them, no matter the cost.

Nikolai was having no luck catching them however, until one day at the Port Firemouth docks when the Cabal were trying to procure some equipment from one of the newly docked boats filled with colonizers. Nikolai engaged the Cabal and found himself joined with others that also tried to stop them. Most notably a young priest called Bastion and an elven druid called Velene. Together with both Bastion & Velene, Nikolai ended up killing Cassius and putting an end to the Cabal's plan to take control of a Taniwha and decimate the colonies. And because they did so, the three became known as heroes on the island.

After spending a few years on Tohapuru to help out with the rebuilding and also the creation of new villages and colonies, Nikolai decided it was high-time to head back to the village where he grew up to try and put an end to Dimus Tierney’s religious reign.

## Individuals of Importance

* **Stannis & Danica Graves****:** Nikolai’s parents. After they handed him over to the village priest who chucked him in the gaol, Nikolai only ever saw them occasionally in the crowd, as they never even spoke to him let alone came to see him personally.
* **Dimus Tierney:** The high-priest of Cyrrollalee at Nikolai’s birth village. Dimus treated Nikolai like the manifestation of evil and turned the whole village against Nikolai in the name of his god. Dimus managed to pervert the minds of the village folk to make them believe that cruelty to the ‘unwanted’ is acceptable and that Cyrrollalee’s nice characteristics were reserved for the ‘acceptable’ people following her.
* **Arron Casimir:** The burgomaster of the village where Nikolai grew up. When Dimus Tierney wanted to kill Nikolai as a newborn, Arron instead decided to spare him, and keep him locked him up in the town gaol for his life. Arron watched the townsfolk’s treatment of Nikolai but never stepped in or intervened in any of it. After realizing how horrible it all was, Arron let Nikolai escape one night.
* **Bastion Winthrow****:** Nikolai became good friends and worked closely with him to bring down the Cabal.
* **Velene Evenwind****:** Nikolai became good friends and worked closely with her to bring down the Cabal.
* **Cassius Havenkeep****:** Leader of the Cabal of The New Land who Nikolai hunted and eventually killed.
* **Other partners or companions:** Nikolai under many aliases has teamed up with many others on various jobs or tasks before over many different towns and places. Nikolai gets along okay with them and gets the job done, but never gets close and never gets attached.

## Current Goals

* Nikolai is very goal-focused but will take any opportunity to make a little coin on the side. He speaks only when really needed-to and will always stand up for the little guy. He doesn't like bullies or indecent people at all and won't stand them if they cross his path. He doesn’t have many long-term goals however, and really just wants to continue making coin and making the world a little better.
* Nikolai is hoping to travel back to Kelmarth and return to his home village to put an end to Dimus Tierney’s religious reign.

## Character Information

### **Notable Items**

Ball Bearings, Cabal Signet Ring, Cigar Components, Crowbar, Daggers, Hemp Rope (50ft), Hooded Lantern, Pouch of Diablo's Grasp Power, Pouch of Gomberry Dust, Shortsword, Studded Leather Armour, Thieves Tools, Tohapuru Passport, Tome of the Fey's Demise, Wrath of the Atua.

### **Abilities**

Rogue Abilities: Expertise, Sneak Attack, Thieves' Cant, Cunning Action, Uncanny Dodge.

Feral Tiefling Abilites: Darkvision, Hellish Resistance, Infernal Legacy.

Feats & Magical Abilites: Crossbow Expert, Wall Walker.

### **Spells**

Cantrips: Thaumaturgy.

2nd Level: Darkness, Hellish Rebuke.