Post by Geoffrey Ravenhurst on Sept 14, 2020 16:13:36 GMT
Name: Nyx (Nyxulphear)
Race: Elf
Age: 92
From the editor's foreword of the 25th anniversary edition of Riding with Reclaimers,
Huzzah, Mighty Thornhearts! It is I, your eager editor and scholar in all things Nigel, here to once more reintroduce the world to the tales of that truly tremendous of troubadours himself! Today, we have the privilege of discussing Riding with Reclaimers, that fan favorite which saw our hero bringing order and glory to a cantankerous company of rejects, rookies, and rebels dreaming of glory as His Majesty's Reclaimers! If you have taken the time to seek out this lavishly illustrated copy, only available to paying members of the Mighty Thornhearts Regiment, then I either need not tell you of the dazzle and daring sure to await you.
However, readers often write in to ask about a certain supposed flub of continuity. Eagle-eyed readers have noted that in this novel does mark the first appearance of Nigel's elven ally Nyx, though he is described quite differently than in his later appearances. Here, our always verbose narrator presents us this introduction to the warrior...
***
The savage standing in the road was seven feet tall and well muscled under his heathen robes. He bore naught but a great spear that any in my company would struggle to carry and a bow of finest carved yew. The ox-handed and ox-headed bandit leader turned Reclaimer Oxley, once again demonstrating his necessity for cooler and better groomed heads, ordered two of the recruits to manhandle him out of their path. To my tactical thinking though, this was absurd folly! So I rode out and belayed that order! Oxley scowled at me and simply rebarked the order.
"You cantankerous coxcomb!" I bellowed. "Do you know not a proper killer when one crosses your path?"
***
Of course, readers, I will not spoil your enjoyment of the legendary duel by which the Mightiest Thornheart overcame the great barbarian warrior before him, nor how the foolish Oxley eventually found good sense in the most tragic way possible. But our literary veterans will note that the elven warrior never gives his name in this tale, and in fact never appears again until the climactic siege scene of the novel, when the elf returns to offer martial assistance against the traitorous duke's forces!
In Nigel Thornheart's fifth and latest adventure, Dueling with Demons, we are introduced to a fierce but somewhat solemn elven soldier who is a previous acquaintance of the Adventurer Extraordinare.
***
"Is that you, Nyx, old sport? I hardly recognize you dressed like a civilized man..."
In his marine's uniform, my old comrade (He was already twice my age) towered over the other Imperial Guards now raiding the infernalist's secret laboratory. He had shorn his head close to the skull, but could obviously do nothing about those deuced tribal tattoos on his forehead. It was a wonder I had managed to convince anyone to let him join the Emperor's men, but after putting down the racist Duke's vile coup to subvert Reclaimers to his own personal field in the Mist, your humble narrator was quick to remedy the trauma he had caused in the local elven community by suggesting the perfect recruit. But what was he doing here, in that blackguard Castor's pit of despair?
"Hello, Nigel. Yes, the uniform is a bit tight, but this is the price you pay if you want to no longer eat roots and sleep on the side of the road. Unfortunately, it would appear my career has hit a bit of a snag."
"Oh? And what snag is that, old boy?"
"There aren't enough bloody wars for a soldier to earn his way in the world. Otherwise, I might as well become a Reclaimer and lull about in a tavern waiting for the opportunity to go back to eating roots and sleeping by the side of the road."
I tweaked my marvelous mustache as I considered the opportunity presented before me.
"But you do know your way around the Mist, correct?"
"Of course. I am not as well versed as the Grey Raider, but my father took me on several trips with him. It was seventy years before I finally admitted I was sick of the constantly failing settlements and lack of appreciable comfort. I want respect, Nigel. I want people to acknowledge that I am a bloody brilliant swordsman and not discard me simply because I wasn't born with a gift for magic. I want to live in a society that doesn't keep collapsing on itself every century."
"Well, I have a foul cannibal sorcerer to hunt down into the Mist and you are in need of a shot of adrenaline to your career. I happen to have the perfect solution to both."
"And what pray tell is that, old boy?" asked the tall elf as he idly stopped another soldier from touching the terrifying effigy of the sorcerer's supposed master, the Ashenwraith.
It was at this point that I realized that Nyx had modeled his new Imperial persona on yours truly. I, of course, took it as an immense compliment.
"Tell me... has anyone ever explained to you the material benefits of glory?"
***
Of course, thanks to the Mightiest Thornheart, today Nyx serves as one of His Imperial Majesty's royal guards and can in fact be seen guarding his family when they appear in public. Popular gossip has it he still serves on special assignments alongside his old friend, and has been known to compete in exhibition duels from time to time.
Of course, Nyx is not our protagonist and I shall now endeavor to describe Nigel's astonishing background prior to engaging in the tale he eventually set down in these pages. First, we begin with...
Race: Elf
Age: 92
From the editor's foreword of the 25th anniversary edition of Riding with Reclaimers,
Huzzah, Mighty Thornhearts! It is I, your eager editor and scholar in all things Nigel, here to once more reintroduce the world to the tales of that truly tremendous of troubadours himself! Today, we have the privilege of discussing Riding with Reclaimers, that fan favorite which saw our hero bringing order and glory to a cantankerous company of rejects, rookies, and rebels dreaming of glory as His Majesty's Reclaimers! If you have taken the time to seek out this lavishly illustrated copy, only available to paying members of the Mighty Thornhearts Regiment, then I either need not tell you of the dazzle and daring sure to await you.
However, readers often write in to ask about a certain supposed flub of continuity. Eagle-eyed readers have noted that in this novel does mark the first appearance of Nigel's elven ally Nyx, though he is described quite differently than in his later appearances. Here, our always verbose narrator presents us this introduction to the warrior...
***
The savage standing in the road was seven feet tall and well muscled under his heathen robes. He bore naught but a great spear that any in my company would struggle to carry and a bow of finest carved yew. The ox-handed and ox-headed bandit leader turned Reclaimer Oxley, once again demonstrating his necessity for cooler and better groomed heads, ordered two of the recruits to manhandle him out of their path. To my tactical thinking though, this was absurd folly! So I rode out and belayed that order! Oxley scowled at me and simply rebarked the order.
"You cantankerous coxcomb!" I bellowed. "Do you know not a proper killer when one crosses your path?"
***
Of course, readers, I will not spoil your enjoyment of the legendary duel by which the Mightiest Thornheart overcame the great barbarian warrior before him, nor how the foolish Oxley eventually found good sense in the most tragic way possible. But our literary veterans will note that the elven warrior never gives his name in this tale, and in fact never appears again until the climactic siege scene of the novel, when the elf returns to offer martial assistance against the traitorous duke's forces!
In Nigel Thornheart's fifth and latest adventure, Dueling with Demons, we are introduced to a fierce but somewhat solemn elven soldier who is a previous acquaintance of the Adventurer Extraordinare.
***
"Is that you, Nyx, old sport? I hardly recognize you dressed like a civilized man..."
In his marine's uniform, my old comrade (He was already twice my age) towered over the other Imperial Guards now raiding the infernalist's secret laboratory. He had shorn his head close to the skull, but could obviously do nothing about those deuced tribal tattoos on his forehead. It was a wonder I had managed to convince anyone to let him join the Emperor's men, but after putting down the racist Duke's vile coup to subvert Reclaimers to his own personal field in the Mist, your humble narrator was quick to remedy the trauma he had caused in the local elven community by suggesting the perfect recruit. But what was he doing here, in that blackguard Castor's pit of despair?
"Hello, Nigel. Yes, the uniform is a bit tight, but this is the price you pay if you want to no longer eat roots and sleep on the side of the road. Unfortunately, it would appear my career has hit a bit of a snag."
"Oh? And what snag is that, old boy?"
"There aren't enough bloody wars for a soldier to earn his way in the world. Otherwise, I might as well become a Reclaimer and lull about in a tavern waiting for the opportunity to go back to eating roots and sleeping by the side of the road."
I tweaked my marvelous mustache as I considered the opportunity presented before me.
"But you do know your way around the Mist, correct?"
"Of course. I am not as well versed as the Grey Raider, but my father took me on several trips with him. It was seventy years before I finally admitted I was sick of the constantly failing settlements and lack of appreciable comfort. I want respect, Nigel. I want people to acknowledge that I am a bloody brilliant swordsman and not discard me simply because I wasn't born with a gift for magic. I want to live in a society that doesn't keep collapsing on itself every century."
"Well, I have a foul cannibal sorcerer to hunt down into the Mist and you are in need of a shot of adrenaline to your career. I happen to have the perfect solution to both."
"And what pray tell is that, old boy?" asked the tall elf as he idly stopped another soldier from touching the terrifying effigy of the sorcerer's supposed master, the Ashenwraith.
It was at this point that I realized that Nyx had modeled his new Imperial persona on yours truly. I, of course, took it as an immense compliment.
"Tell me... has anyone ever explained to you the material benefits of glory?"
***
Of course, thanks to the Mightiest Thornheart, today Nyx serves as one of His Imperial Majesty's royal guards and can in fact be seen guarding his family when they appear in public. Popular gossip has it he still serves on special assignments alongside his old friend, and has been known to compete in exhibition duels from time to time.
Of course, Nyx is not our protagonist and I shall now endeavor to describe Nigel's astonishing background prior to engaging in the tale he eventually set down in these pages. First, we begin with...
