Tharan Nightwood

Political Portrait, only known (consenually taken) public image of him

"​*My father is a shockingly interesting man though he will deny it at every turn.*" - Quote from an interview with Val Nightwood for the *Zenith Tribune*.

The current head of House Nightwood and a member of the Intelligentsia political party. He currently holds a seat in parliament and generally takes care of infrastructure and day to day issues that are of little concern to others.

## Biography

### Early Life

The few people outside of the family with the lifespan or inclination to remember young Tharan report him being an exuberant and happy child with a great love for the outdoors. He apparently took most of his lessons in the beautiful garden that his mother had cultivated within the otherwise austere Nightwood grounds. After her death, when Tharan was just twenty-seven (in shorter-lived species, this would be the equivalent of a nine-year-old), he immediately withdrew and became incredibly reclusive. He continued to maintain her garden however.

### Academic Prowess

Before becoming the head of the family, Tharan, like most of his house, excelled in his chosen academic field of Historical Arcane Symbology with a particular focus in pre-Era of the Dragon history, a time period with very little writing due to it predating Asmor. His findings would become integral to proving the innate groupings of the schools of magic (it had been widely debated for some time as to whether ancients divided magic in the same way modern scholars did as they used many different symbols).

### Political Presence

After the death of his father, Tharan and his three older siblings debated succession and it eventually fell upon Tharan to take up both the mantle and their father's parliamentary seat. In Tharan's own words, this was purely because he was the only one who could be bothered to do it. He spent most of his early days carefully organising and streamlining certain beurocratic functions and generally handling things no one else wanted to. This reputation as a diligent worker has earned him some marginal respect and helped balance out his unpopular reputation due to his personality.

### Scandalous Affair

Few would ever have expected it from someone like Tharan Nightwood but, in 572EH, in was revealed that three years prior he had had an affair with a mysterious socialite who had found her way in to many parties and events. According to Tharan himself they had had a strong friendship that had led to a single night of passion that he claims was a mistake of too much wine. The woman was apparently good friends with Tharan's wife. Others have doubted this claim as many other government workers report him acting oddly (being friendly and smiling at work) during the eighteen month period before this apparent single night. Many doubt that this dramatic change in behaviour could ever have been caused by something as simple as friendship.

### A Bastard Daughter

The affair was discovered when Tharan announced the existence of his second daughter, Val, (then just three years old). As it was immediately obvious to anyone who saw her that she wasn't a true Nightwood, he didn't bother claiming her as a legitimate child. As she grew and starded causing scandals, he remained ominously neutral about his daughter's behaviour and fought off anyone who tried to look too deeply into her home and personal life. The relationship between the two is reportedly strained though it is apparently improving.

## Description

### Appearance

Whether or not Lord Nightwood is actually unattractive or his infamous 'negative charisma' makes him just appear so has been up for debate for some time. He is a slim man of slightly taller than average elven height with long white hair and dark gold eyes. He almost exclusively wears his family's colours of black clothes with silver jewellery. Occasionally he has worn a white undershirt and even a few shades of grey which many have joked is his second biggest scandal.

### Personality

With an extremely dry wit and antisocial tendencies, Tharan does little to endear himself to others. Any friends he has gained have been entirely through the efforts of the other person and his failing at driving them away. Extremely private and perhaps even more socially awkward, Tharan hides behind a constructed wall of utter inanity to protect himself from the terrifying ordeals of public relationships and letting other people know him. Attempts to press him into social interaction have been known to earn cold hostility and viciously personal insults. He sees and hears a lot more than he lets on.

## Relationships

### Cileena Nightwood

His even more reclusive wife. They have an agreeable relationship though few could exactly call it loving.

### Rinn Nightwood

The eldest and only legitimate child of Tharan. Apparently she takes after her father a great deal and whenever she is mentioned he expresses pride over her academic work.

### Val Nightwood

An extremely complex relationship, the two rarely comment on one another and are even more rarely seen in public together.

### Ator Arken

A very new arrangement due to their mutual connection with Val, the two men seem to be extremely agreeable with each other. It seems they've bonded over being socially awkward nerds.