Nihlus Kryik

> ***"There is no redemption in idleness..."***
>
>

Nihlus, circa 2185 CE

Nihlus Arterius Kryianus Strabinus (High Cipirtine: [ˈniːlʊs ˈkrae̯.ɪkʰ]) is a former Council Spectre hailing from the planet Vatar inside the Terminus Systems. He is best remembered as being the closest ally of Spectre-Agent Desolas Arterius II in his war against the Reapers, having personally trained the younger Turian as his protégé. In addition to being his mentor, Nihlus is also Desolas' bondmate and husband. The pair have four children together - Janus, Sarena, Cassian, and Alasius - all of whom were artificially conceived and grown *"in vitro"*. As his bondmate, Nihlus is utterly devoted to Desolas, albeit often to his detriment.

Once one of the most decorated Turian Spectres of his time, Nihlus fought numerous campaigns throughout the Attican Traverse against illegal pirate bands and slaving rings. The body count he left behind after his twenty-five-year career has made him infamous out in the Terminus, earning him the title of the *"Attican Scourge"*. After his husband succeeded Adrien Victus as Primarch of Palaven in 2219 CE, Nihlus became the first ever *Conjux Dominus* of a male *primarch* in turian history. He held the title for 8 years until he and Desolas were illegally deposed and exiled by Antraxes Mehrkuri, in 2227 CE.

## Biography

### Son of a Pirate Lord

Nihlus is the son and heir of reviled pirate lord Aeson Kryik and his favourite slave, Lucilla Strabo. While his father no doubt sired many illegitimate children, Nihlus was the only one Aeson chose to acknowledge as his son.

### Marriage and Children

Nihlus married Desolas in the summer of 2188 CE, two years after the conclusion of the Reaper War. They were wed in Vallum, the capital of Taetrus, the colony where Desolas had spent most of his life. The ceremony was a private affair, attended by their close friends and a few members of Desolas' family. The pair then honeymooned on Epyrus, spending a few weeks away from the galactic limelight for some much needed alone time together.

Eager to remove the stain of the Kryik legacy from his identity, Nihlus took Desolas' surname as his own. Now a member of House Arterius, Nihlus was free to style himself as 'Nihlus Arterius' on all legal documentation and start his life over. Even after his divorce, Nihlus would continue to style himself as Nihlus Arterius; Desolas granted him the permission to continue doing so as part of their legal proceedings, both out of love for his mate and the guilt he felt for hurting him.

## Load-out

* **Health:** 750
* **Shields:** 1125 (2325 when Stimulant Pack is active)
* **Primary weapon:** M-76 Revenant (automatic assault rifle, Elanus Risk Control Services)
* **Secondary weapon:** M-77 Paladin (semi-automatic pistol, unknown prototype)
* **Armour:** Terminus Armour (Turian, heavy, unknown protype)
* **Omni-tool:** Serrice Council's *Savant* model (military grade)
* **Melee weapon:** Akhar'aa (Batarian combat knife, Batarian State Arms)

### **M-76 Revenant**

Nihlus' primary weapon of choice is the M-76 Revenant light machine gun. Manufactured by the batarian corporation Batarian State Arms (BSA), this close-quarters weapon has low accuracy but a high heat sink capacity, and is capable of unleashing a storm of deadly high-velocity slugs at the pull of a trigger - a terrifying 525 rounds per minute, on average. The gun features patented technology and is protected against replication by sophisticated Fabrication Rights Management (FRM) technology. As such, only the richest and most powerful warlords in the galaxy can afford the Revenant. In the Terminus Systems especially, owning a Revenant is seen as a deliberate display of one's absolute brutality and unrivalled success as a hard-line criminal.

Nihlus' Revenant is the same gun that his father, Aeson Kryik, once used to slaughter his way to the top of the Omega Nebula's food chain, facilitating his rise to the rank of Pirate Lord. Since inheriting the weapon several decades ago, Nihlus has extensively modified and retrofitted it by hand, utilising prototype ballistics technology and ammunition modifications (some of which are technically illegal in Council Space).

* **Ultralight Materials -** Superior lightweight alloys replace the weapon's external casing, stock, and trigger mechanism. This makes the weapon less obtrusive, lighter, and easier to handle.
* **Kinetic Pulsar -** Overclocked electromagnetic pulsar technology that strengthens the weapon's mass effect field generator, increasing the velocity of each slug fired.
* **Kinetic Stability Damper -** Distributes recoil using a sliding system of counterweights, compatible with a weapon's kinetic coil generators. This reduces weapon kickback, making it easier for the marksman to aim while sustaining fire.
* **Targeting VI -** A smart targeting module that calculates and compensates for minute barrel movements, weather, and the environment, making it easier for the marksman to aim.
* **Frictionless Materials -** Superior barrel rifling gives slugs more power at impact while minimising the heat buildup generated by the weapon's firing mechanism. This allows the marksman to fire more rounds per second before the weapon overheats and the internal heat sink requires venting.
* **Tungsten Jacketing -** The weapon's internal ammunition block is composed of high purity tungsten, resulting in improved penetration of heavily armoured targets.
* **Phasic Enveloping -** The weapon's onboard computer manufactures an artificial phasic envelope around each slug before it is fired at a target. This disrupts any mass effect field protecting the target, resulting in better penetration of shields and biotic barriers.
* **Radioactive Rounds -** The weapon's internal ammunition block is laced with seams of radioactive materials. Each slug sliced from the block by the weapon's projectile shavers contains just enough polonium to induce low levels of radiation sickness in targets. This sickness makes it more difficult for biotics to deploy their natural telekinetic abilities. It additionally prevents rapid cellular regeneration in enraged Krogan and Vorcha.

### **M-77 Paladin**

Nihlus' secondary weapon of choice is the M-77 Paladin heavy pistol. Developed by ERCS as a part of their lethal weapons programme, the Paladin is a prototype variant of ERCS' commercially available M-6 Carnifex. Trading the Carnifex's increased heat sink capacity for greater stopping power and range, the Paladin is a lethal three-shot hand cannon capable of ripping through armour, barriers and shields with ease. The Paladin is not currently available for purchase by the galactic public, the design still awaiting the legal permits required for sale in Council Space. This doesn't stop Council Spectres from making underhanded deals with ERCS to "test" these prototypes in the field, however.

Nihlus' Paladin is the original prototype. It was given to him by his mentor, Saren Arterius, upon completion of his Spectre training. Saren owned the weapon for many years prior, having acquired it from ERCS in exchange for detailed reports of the weapon's performance in live-fire exercises. While originally not as developed as later models, Nihlus has extensively modified and retrofitted his Paladin by hand, utilising prototype ballistics technology and ammunition modifications (some of which are technically illegal in Council Space). In its current state, it is arguably more advanced than ERCS' subsequent improvements to their design.

* **Smart Rounds -** Prototype modification of traditional smart-targeting module commonly incorporated into high-end weaponry, adapted to slightly deflect rounds to strike a more vital part of an enemy.
* **Titan Pulsar -** Overclocked electromagnetic pulsar technology that strengthens the weapon's mass effect field generator, increasing the mass and acceleration of each round fired.
* **Ultralight Materials -** Superior lightweight alloys replace the weapon's external casing, grip, and trigger mechanism. This makes the weapon lighter, and easier to handle.
* **Pistol Scope -** 2x optical scope enhances weapon stability while zoomed and increases accuracy while moving and taking damage.
* **Harpoon Rounds -** The weapon's internal ammunition block is composed of a material that condenses on impact, penetrating armour, then shredding into shrapnel in the softer medium of flesh. This modified form of ammunition is widely considered to be unethical and is therefore banned in Citadel Space.

### **Terminus Armour**

* **Shield Harmonics**
* **Microscanner**
* **Medical VI**
* **Ablative VI**
* **Nanocrystal Shield:** Modified mass effect field generator that mimics Geth shielding technology.
* **Burst Regeneration:** Prototype redundant field generator.

### **Savant Omni-Tool**

* **Hydra Module:** Disabling most safety protocols and installing an experimental power core improves efficiency but reduces the expected operating lifespan by a factor of 20.
* **Multicore Amplifier:** By tuning the inputs of the omni-tool to match the specific neural patterns of the user, its responsiveness and power are significantly increased. Once tuned in this manner, the omni-tool is almost unusable by anyone but the wearer, and it must be continuously re-calibrated to account for subtle neural shifts.
* **Custom Heuristics:** Prototype multiple-operating system that allows the omni-tool to run dozens of configurations at once, with instantaneous swapping as the user switches tasks. This allows the user to switch between the delicate tuning required for precision tasks and the quick release of raw energy needed during combat, without having to swap between omni-tool models that are specifically calibrated to perform one type of task. This also results in better performance for each individual task.
* **Cryo Blade:** Omni-blade coated in a Bose-Einstein condensate of super-cooled subatomic particles, capable of snap-freezing unprotected targets on hit. Armoured and shielded targets are chilled, slowing their movement speed by 7.5%. Reduces enemy armour by 12.5% for 5 sec.

## Powers

* **Cryo Blast:** Flash-freezes and shatters unprotected enemies. Slows down the rest. Weakens armour. Frozen targets won't regenerate health.
	+ Recharge Speed: 4 sec
	+ Radius: 2 m
	+ Freeze Duration: 5.60 sec
	+ Enemy Movement Speed: -15%
	+ Enemy Armour Reduction: -25%
	+ Damage Bonus: +25% increased damage to all chilled and frozen targets
* **Damping:** Suppresses the powers of enemy biotics by causing neural damage. Interferes with the tech skills of enemy engineers by making them backfire.
	+ Recharge Speed: 15 sec
	+ Hack Duration: 10 sec
	+ Radius: 2 m
	+ Neural scarring: 600
	+ Backfire: 600
* **Overload:** Overloads electronics and electrocutes enemies. Effective against shields, barriers, and synthetics.
	+ Recharge Speed: 6.40 sec
	+ Damage: 330
	+ Damage Bonus: +100% damage to barriers and shields
	+ Incapacitates unprotected organic enemies for a short duration
* **Sabotage:** Sabotage enemy weapons and onboard computers. Affected weapons overheat.
	+ Recharge Speed: 8 sec
	+ Hack Duration: 12 sec
	+ Radius: 3.25 m
	+ Backfire: 400
* **Stimulant Packs:** A specially designed operations survival pack that temporarily increases survivability and all damage output.
	+ Max Shields: 1200
	+ Damage: 30%
	+ Duration: 15 sec
* **Tactical Cloak:** Become invisible. Gain a massive damage bonus when breaking from cloak to attack.
	+ Recharge Speed: 8 sec
	+ Duration: 10.40 sec
	+ Damage Bonus: 120%
* **Cryo Grenades:**
	+ Cryo-upgraded grenades containing a Bose-Einstein condensate of super-cooled subatomic particles. When detonated, they are capable of snap-freezing unprotected targets. Armoured and shielded targets are chilled, slowing their movement speed by 30%. Reduces enemy armour by 50% for 10 sec.
* **Cloak Evasion:**
	+ When evading incoming damage, a brief cloak activates to break enemy line of sight.
* **Battlefield Awareness:**
	+ An augmented reality display highlights nearby enemies through walls and cover. Cloaked targets are also visible.

## Trivia

### Character colour palette

* **Plate colour**: Red Beech (#7B3801)
* **Skin colour**: Roman Coffee (#795D4C)
* **Eye colour**: Fresh Green (#69D850)
* **Markings colour**: Moon Mist (#DCDDCC) (originally White, faded with age)

### Claims

#### Theme claim

*Frigid Tomb + Lament* - Michael Sechrist, Skye Lewin, Michael Salvatori; remixed by Constellar Nova (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ID4ApoT3G0g)