Nero Havelka

## Description

The player character of the game (default name: Nero) and main protagonist of the story.

Despite his mundane appearance, he is harbouring the Soul of the 7th Vezkhana, Fenriz Bazrel, after entering a pact with him in order to fulfill his personal goal of assassinating the King for yet unknown reasons - most likely revenge for a loss that Nero attributes to him being the cause.

This motivation is what drives the story forward during the initial phase of the game, only to then be lost in a web of intrigue and schemes plotted by other Attendees of the Gran Hearth of Rhukane, which is the primary location the games story unfolds in. Due to these characters following their own agendas, which do not necessarily line up with his goals, Nero's focus is shifted towards wrestling control of the Hearth towards him and his allies while befriending or subjugating these other parties to then be able to drag King Gynfrey into a position that allows for an assassination attempt in which Nero would also be able to survive from.

However, due to the pact behaving differently than expected, Nero is suffering from partial amnesia and has no access to the memories of his bodies prior inhabitant - who now goes by the name of Fenriz to avoid confusion, as well as being unable to recall memories, information or even parts of the magic that Bazrel had access to in his lifetime.

## In Game Description

A direct description of Nero has never been given, but technically he is an entirely new being: A soul that was created by the union of two previously existing souls merging. This causes a variety of changes that are dealt with throughout parts of the storyline unfolding.

## Appearance

His outward appearance is exactly the same prior to his pact with Bazrel and pretty typical for a mage attending the Hearth: With his height at 180cm and normal physique, he often comes across as just another face of the hearth - not standing out in any meaningful way, unlike some of the other attendees like Chezerik Philbin or Lazaro Jahani. He's mostly been seen wearing a black suit with a red tie and white shirt underneath. Only rarely is he differing from his usual attire, such as in the Hearths gym or during his time in basic training, where he seems to favor clothing suited for the task at hand.

## Personality

Being an entirely new being - that being a soul formed from the willing union of other souls - he has a very malleable personality that is still developing and shifting according to the situation, capable of showing a wide range of emotions while still having some lingering pieces of personality from his other souls slightly influencing his choices. In general he has a guarded nature, but is willing to extend a hand to those that require help. Noteworthy is his diplomatic approach to many situations: even in the face of imminent danger he is willing to first attempt to talk it out before resorting to any form of violence. He has also shown exceptional presence of mind, being able to calmly analyze dire situations and keeping his cool, as seen when being ambushed by Toraxil.

Depending on whom is asked throughout the story, many characters focus on and describe a different aspect of Neros personality:

* Mira describes his soft side after she discovers that it was him who sent Lilac to supervise and protect her above himself if need be. However, she also correctly assumes that Nero still harbours a grudge against King Gynfrey after he told her the story of how he came to his power.
* Astrid, after uncovering a part of his power, sees him as a powerful beast that she needs to tame for her own, yet unknown gains.
* Bazrel described him as callous and reckless during several of their interactions, but also has described him as noncommittal when an issue is brought before him that he deems less important, such as his relationship to Nyla.
* Joey however has described the conviction with which Nero can push forward if he has set his mind to a goal, even against insurmountable odds - all the while protecting those he deems needing it. According to him it's as if Nero is possessed by a demon.
* Chelsey sees Nero as a person whom she can unconditionally trust due to the deep emotional connection they share.

However, there are characters that are weary of him due to his personality and convenient excuses in critical situations, such as Violeta, who is seemingly irritated by his permanently guarded nature, not showing a hint of true emotion.

## Powers

**Exceptional connection to the Fountain** - Due to inhabiting the Soul of Fenriz Bazrel, whom himself carries an unknown amount of souls inside him, Neros connection to the fountain is massively strengthened. This results in exceptional magical power and aptitude: Nero is able to quickly grasp the concepts behind magic, such as being able to fortify his body enough to be useable in a combat situation with little training, as well as being able to quickly infuse a weapon on the fly in a short amount of time. This is despite Fenriz having shown next to no aptitude for magic and having to get by without any form of magic up until now. His power is even strong enough to break the natural defences of mages by simply overwhelming it with an energy emission. Only the strongest of fortifications can resist his emission attacks.

**Quick Presence of Mind** - Nero can read almost any situation correctly and keeps his cool even under fire, considering his options to get an outcome that favours him and gets him out of sticky situations. He quickly grasps how concepts behind magic, vims as well as their implied functions and how relations between various factions work in their fundamentals and can then use this information to his advantage.

**Great physical reflexes and power** - During several encounters - some hostile and some being friendly spars - he has shown great control of his movement and actions, being able to quickly sidestep Beatrice Chevalier during a sparring match in order to end the fight quickly. Even under stress in a real combat situation, he has shown his great reflexes in being able to dodge and parry strikes by Toraxil during his assassination attempt, being able to hold his own in a battle situation.

**Access to Bazrels Vim** - Being merged with the soul of Fenriz Bazrel, he has gained access to his Vim, despite lacking the horns typical for a degmiato. This means that he is able to regenerate from wounds that would otherwise be fatal, as long as his head is not damaged. The deeper limitations are as of yet not entirely known, but Nero was able to regenerate lost limbs. However, this comes with various drawbacks: Unless the shock from sudden dismemberment were to block out pain, Nero is going to feel his material reforming and subsequently feels excruciating pain as nerve endings are reforming. This ability is also a strain on both body and mind, as losing limbs and subsequently regenerating them is taxing Neros stamina noticeably.

**Exceptional Stamina** - It has been shown time and time again that Nero is able to keep up physically with many characters in a wide variety of situations, like chasing through the Hearth in order to catch Vinny in order to get a lead on the Rakshasa. Even when confronted in a battle of stamina against Sarge he was able to hold out long enough without raising too much suspicion from onlookers.

**Unbreakable Willpower** - His recklessness and unwavering conviction can be seen during actions in his past, as well as in the present. He is willing to take whatever means necessary to further his goals. Even if this means suffering great physical pain or mental stress, he has shown that he is taking the steps to do these things regardless.

**Strong Charisma** - Despite his physical power, Nero seems to favour the diplomatic approach first and foremost and applies this even when it stops making sense. As in keeping more or less in touch with Elly, even long after she made her intentions of potentially killing him clear once her mood decides to shift. He also has a very easy time charming many female attendees of the Hearth simply by saying the right thing at the right time, reading the tone of a situation correctly.

## Affiliation

As the main protagonist of the game, Nero himself is affiliated with several factions - small or big - that play a role within the overarching story, all to varying degrees that depend on story choices. The most important thing to remember is however, that even though he is affiliated with various factions, the end goal is to ultimately unite these factions under his own banner moving forward. Following is a list compiling Nero's affiliations with the different factions and to what this affiliation entails:

* **Fangs of Justice** - Working as a new member of Chelsey's growing network. After initial skepticism, getting roped into the occasional odd job, he has become an integral part of the crew, helping out with cases vital to the story, such as with tasks ultimately culminating in the M3 incident, as well as being a key factor in finding out more about the Rakshasa.
* **The Fangs of Sabrehagen** - Chelsey's siblings, which lead the Fangs of Sabrehagen and as a result the Hamlet from key positions, have their own affiliation with Nero, which ranges from simple business proposals to smaller interpersonal talks. Especially Diego and Yuri seem to appreciate Nero for keeping Chelsey occupied in her escapades and are pragmatic in their approaches when it comes to Nero - simple business talks more often than not. Grazia however is exceptionally untrusting of Nero, most likely due to the close relationship he has with Chelsey and her cold nature she upholds towards her younger sibling, deeming her to be too childish to take on responsibility.
* **Syrnia Unit** - Nero helped out in an unofficial manner, collecting information regarding the Rakshasa as well as the M3 incident. The affiliation in this case is not directly linked to the group, but important members, such as Nyla Havelka, who is the founder and de-facto leader of the unit. In turn, Nyla is using her status as the Leader of the unit to offer Nero indirect support if need be, for example when he was about to be held for questioning by the Arkada.
* **Chevalier Gang** - As with the Syrnia Unit, the affiliation is not in any direct manner with the group itself, but key members: Initially declining an offer to join the Chevalier Gang, he still manages to build a relationship with Beatrice. Due to this relationship forming, Beatrice Chevalier is asking for Nero to work as the correspondence between the Chevaliers and others, if the various groups surrounding the Hearth have to act in any form of organized capability.
* **Orchis** - No direct affiliation, however, as the current holder of the Soul of the 7th Vezkhana, Orchis have varying relations to him. Members like Lilac, that were devoted to Bazrel during his lifetime are also showing clear devotion towards Nero. Others however see the opportunity to use the current political climate in Mastema to further their own respective agendas, like Elly and Zoga. Yet others, like Izyadel simply want to survive and have defected out of necessity towards him, less out of any form of loyalty towards either side.
* **House Luzatto** (Warning: Split decision) - Nero is either affiliated directly with House Luzatto, being offered employment as their new chef in order to keep public appearances due to the deal that Astrid struck with Nero, causing the two to ally. Nero making it very clear that he is going to be out on top of this and the second Astrid tries to betray him, the deal is up. Or he has no affiliation with the House at all, potentially cutting ties directly linking towards House Luzatto and putting Astrid on a more cautious approach when it comes to Nero and his associates. This choice affects several dialogue bits moving forward during events and can slightly alter what information and treatment the player is given from Astrid.
* **Nishizaki Gang** (Warning: Split decision) - Nero can be put into a partnership position, working directly with Hatsumi - the current leader of the Nishizaki's - or be thrust into the leading position directly due to her being able to tell who he is currently harbouring within him, thanks to her vim. Working as a partner means that Hatsumi has a private eye put on Nero while he tries to uphold his end of the deal they struck: that is improving the situation with the Syrnia Unit. Being made the Boss of the Nishizaki's by Hatsumi requires the same feat, but instead of a partnership, Hatsumi is showing clear infatuation towards Nero and Bazrel, while also gladly accepting a role subservient to him.

## Relationship with Other Characters

### Nyla

His relationship with Nyla, his older adoptive sister, is a layered one: In general, he has a very laid back approach when talking with her, which results in Nero being able to quickly connect to Nyla on a surface level. On the other hand, he is also shown to be very understanding in regards to the massive pressure that Nyla is being put through, not just as the leader of the Syrnia Unit, but also as the esteemed daughter of the Havelka Household, with all the expectations such a title brings forward. Their relationship feels like a genuinely close one at this point in time, closer than they had in their prior life together. As a result, Nyla is having an internal struggle with her budding feelings for Nero that go beyond that of her role as a sister, who wants to protect him first and foremost.

This ultimately culminates in the two of them forming a (secret) loving and sexual relationship after Nero is putting the issue of her bottled up feelings towards him to her full attention. This deepens their relationship in private beyond just sexual relief, as they afterwards manage to connect over the topics that Nero has seemingly forgotten about - like their Mother, their shared past and Nyla's hobbies like wrestling - and deepen their bond as siblings in turn more than Fenriz ever seemed to try.

### Mira

Starting out relatively open, Nero's tone quickly shifts to a careful one the moment he learns of her vim to tell apart lies. Initially wary about this ability, he has to chose his words around her carefully, though he slowly manages to ease into the odd dynamic that forms between the two of them, being less abrasive and more openly caring about her than his old self, though she is initially very conflicted as to what that means - she is worried about the implications of his changed personality meaning that he is no longer the Nero she once knew.

Their relationship deepens early on, when Mira saves his life from a degmiato puppeteered by Izyadel. who tried to kill him in his dorm room, after which she cannot hold her true feelings back and they enter into a sexual relationship as a result. However, Nero's tone does not shift markedly from a carefully picked and outright secretive tone, as her vim is proving to be a substantial roadblock when it comes to being genuinely open with her - an issue not helped by Miras naturally inquisitive personality especially considering his initial goal of assassinating the King. Due to her deeply rooted feelings towards Nero however, she is willing to put up with his secrecy that she is very well aware of.

This is until their relationship deepens once more when Nero has decided to open up about his past and his miraculous jump in capabilities to both her and Varsha - revealing to them that he is harbouring the Soul of Fenriz Bazrel, the 7th Vezkhana of Mastema. Nero's tone towards Mira notably shifts from this point onwards, as he is able to more freely tell her about various topics and include her in his plans as an equal and not just as a core figure that needs to be kept in check due to her volatile nature and abilities. This marks the starting point of an exceptionally deep relationship between them.

### Bazrel

Due to the fact that Bazrel has his own sense of self and can keep his presence within Nero, the two of them can initially only engage in dialogue in Nero's mind, when Bazrel was trying to reach out to him. Initially confused by his own being and the entire situation, especially given that Bazrels and Nero's former selves still exists within him, he is quick to rely on his abilities and general knowledge in order to adapt to the harsh situations within the Hearth. From their first encounter within Nero's mind, Bazrel seems to be taking on a sort of advisor role, which Nero quickly makes use of by asking several questions until their time is up.

This however changes noticeably when Bazrel's influence on Nero's body begins to show, with Bazrel being able to manifest as a spectre that Nero can actively talk to even while awake via thoughts - a result of Bazrel exercising his influence on an unconscious Nero, who was about to be taken hostage by Chezerik Philbin. From this point onwards their dynamic changes noticeably to a "partner in crime" scenario, with Bazrel willingly answering several questions that Nero asks, all for the sake of furthering their aligning agenda, even if their approach to several topics differ - both interpersonally and ideologically. However, due to these differences in approach, it starts to strain their relationship slightly as Nero is inquisitive about Bazrel's past, especially his apparent connections to some figures, which he tries to keep secret to Nero for his own safety.

With the growing power of Nero and the resulting growing influence that Bazrel can have on the real world, they start to more openly talk about the various topics revolving around Bazrel and his nature. These talks show a deepening reliance of both sides on the other party, which ultimately causes Bazrel to open up about his prior mistakes and how he wishes for Nero to actually learn from them going forward, not just following in his path. A move that causes Nero to reevaluate his opinion and subsequent relationship with his co-inhabitant.

## Trivia

* Nero is named after the infamous roman emperor whose bad reputation, while not undeserved, was heavily exaggerated
* *Nero* means "black" in Italian