Queen Shadina

First Impressions...
'Slipping on his robes, he reached down and unlocked the chest. Inside, his glistening black plate-mail armour and sword lay waiting. He picked up the sword and gently ran his fingers along the flat part of the blade. Intuitively, the sword responded, blue runic markings glowing where he touched it, magically illuminating the otherwise stark black blade. The blade itself was made of two parts, double-serrated, which made it look similar to an elongated crab’s claw. “Blade Of The Fae” his late father had called it. It was undoubtedly a powerful magical artifact, having saved Noctus’ life on more than one occasion. Combined with his unique combat training, there had not yet been an adversary that had come close to besting him, and he thanked the Goddess every day and night for that fact.' (Noctus examining his belongings in 'Prologue', Darkest Knight)

Story Arc
Noctus is the main character in the story. Whilst others have pivotal roles to play in the growth and conclusion of the Saga, it is Noctus that the reader mostly follows. Beginning his story in the Human settlement of Haven, a destiny manifests around the young Elf who is not only the last Elf present in the land of Orlia after the death of his father - King Darkstrider - but is also one of the last of the remaining Shadonain Knights, those capable of manipulating and controlling an unstable and dangerous arcane energy known as The Art. Isolated and alone at the start of the Saga, Noctus finds companionship in two Humans who become firm friends as well as an unlikely ally in the form of an Orc and a fouth, more enigmatic mentor.

Appearance
Noctus is like so many of the Elves, comely. Slim of build, he stands at a square 6ft in height. He has piercing green eyes which are in stark contrast to his blood-red hair which is always worn loose and long. Rarely seen out of his jet-black Shadonian Plate Mail armour, he is of slightly smaller build than one might expect for a warrior but is lithe and dextrous because of it. He has no specific distinguishing features to speak of beyond that of a normal Elf: he possesses no scars, tattoos or abnormalities. At a little over two-hundred he is the equivilent of somewhere between late teens and early twenties in human years and is at his peak physical condition.

Early Years
Born in RC12,786 (36 IY) in The Royal Palace in Dara-Vell, Miyei'lahnn Region, Ath; Noctus was born of King Darkstrider of The Selee Fae and Queen Twilight of the Unselee. He had no recollection of his mother beyond very fuzzy memories and artists impressions that filled the Palace in his early years in the form of portaits and sculptures. Originally told by his father and enforced by the hand-maidens who tutored him, Noctus was led to believe Twilight died in childbirth with him, but this was later revealed to be a lie upon the birth of his half-brother, Moonsfell in RC12,841 (91 IY). He was told that she died under mysterious circumstances two years after Noctus' birth and although the Royal Physicians couldnt prove it, it was suspected to be poison. The King re-married one of his six hand-maidens, who became Queen Shadina I of the Unselee Fae. Shadina had a cold indifference toward Noctus and the two were never close as he grew older, only ever seeing each other at official functions and matters of state. He was very close to his father however, whom began Noctus' Shadonian training when he was just 35 years old (much to the dissmay of the Shadonian Grand Masters whom had proclaimed that no Elf was allowed to start training until their 40th birthday), using his position as King to over-ride Shadonian tradition. Although Darkstrider and Shadina had been close at the start of their relationship, they had grown apart by the time Moonsfell was concieved, something which was rumoured to be much more an act of state than a statment of love. Noctus noticed that in the years that followed his father kept him away from the Palace more and more on Shadonian training until one fateful night when Noctus was back at the Palace between missions and Darkstrider came to visit him in secret. He explained to Noctus that the two of them had to flee, for good. He asked Noctus to go with him, and that it was for the best, despite the both of them abandoning their kingdom and their right to rule. Noctus, who had never had any reason to doubt his father, agreed. Darkstrider and Noctus fled Ath in RC12,850 (100 IY) through the runic 'Gate of Old' installed by King Bolthar II of the Dwarves and Darkstrider himself in RC12,200 (-550 IY). After travelling for a few months, the two came across the picturesque hamlet of Greyfields and, with the approval of the townsfolk, took up residence in a small abandoned farm on the outskirts. It was during the first week of settling in to their new life that Darkstrider informed Noctus of why they had left. The Kings' Scoutmaster, a loyal and talented Elf known as Darksong had uncovered evidence of Shadina's plot to poison Twilight and, not only that, he had discovered that her plans went deeper. Upon the birth of her Son Moonsfell, she would finally have a legitimate claim to the throne by right of ascendancy and had put into motion a lengthly plan that would end in the assassination of both Darkstrider and Noctus leaving Moonsfell next in line to the throne. Then, with her royal connection assured she would kill him as well, claiming the throne for her own. It seemed she had powerful allies whom even Darksong was not able to uncover and identify, but the Scoutmaster aided the King in devising a one-way escape plan for himself and Noctus biding more time with The Royal Court (a death requires immediate action whereas a dissapearance initiates a lengthy investigation) and allowing him a chance to smuggle Moonsfell from the Palace as well, so that he might legitimately take up arms against his mother. In these last two things neither Noctus nor Darkstrider could be certain, they only hoped Darksong had been successful. The two Elves spent the next one-hundred and ten years living in Greyfields, the novelty of two Elves living in their vacinity eventually beoming less facinating and more accepted by the local populace. When Darkstrider died peacefully in RC 12,960 (210 IY) Noctus was left alone in Orlia - The last Elf and the only Shadonian on those shores.

Story Progression
No information is currently available on what happened to Noctus in the fourty years after his death and before the start of the novel. We do know that he met and struck up a friendship with the Dwarf Hobart Granitain, so it would be reasonable to assume that Noctus had been travelling in this period.

(This information will be updated as soon as more details come to light.)

Personality
Polite and gentile in manner, Noctus was brought up to embody everything in The Shadonian Code. He has a tendancy to be quiet, speaking only in response to a question or comment directed at him, or when he feels he has something important to say. Though he has a tendancy to internatilise anxiety, this is due mostly to his limited social interaction skills with non-elven peoples, a habit which his aware of and tries to work against. Fluent in both Imperius and La'lyen, he also has a basic grasp of Wyoi-ret'lyen (though this is only in accociation with Shadonian rituals and spells). Nocus tends to be very curious of other people due to the fact he has had a military upbringing limiting him to social circles no bigger than Shadonian Initiates and Students. He was taught from a young age to not persue carnal interests and despite having no experience with people of the opposite sex, he finds them facinating and distracting (Especially in the case of Ianna Brook yet lacks any knowledge on how to persue romantic endevours past instinctual reactions.  Noctus is paticularly masterful of The Art, stemming from a powerful ability to internalise and focus even in the most extreme of situations.  This also unfortunately means he harbours a very powerful darker side to his nature which he needs to keep in check at all times.

Beliefs
Noctus has a somewhat eclectic belief system. His father instilled in him the teachings of The Cosmic Balance and specifically The Equalibris, but he also picked up many Human beliefs living among them and appreciates and understands the importance of Gods and Pantheons. He is a stong believer in the ancient Selee diety known simply as The Goddess.

Talents & Special Abilities
Noctus has a natural affinity for The Art and is able to store a larger amount of 'Grey Magic' than many other Elves. This unfortunately also leads to certain mental health problems such as anxiety and withdrawn behaviour. It also means that due to his exceptional talents for internalisation and focus that Noctus has a dark side to his personality more potent than even he realises.

Shadonian Training
Aura Reading A fairly common ability within the ranks of the Shadonians, Noctus has the ability to sense and recognise the 'aura' of another living thing. Each living entity gives of a unique signature that can be recognised with the correct magically-enchanced perception. Once recognised, Noctus can sense the presense of that signature within a close proximity (how close, and with what accuracy has not yet been revealed) and it seems that some things have more powerful auras than others - especially magic users - as Noctus 'sensed' the passing of Lord Braxhar even though he had never actually met the Elf. Perception Shift: See Magic Noctus has the ability to alter his perceptions to include his sensing of magic, like looking into a different colour spectrum. Doing this is a little disorientating however and leaves him quite vulnerable for a second or two as switching perceptions can often cause dizziness and nausia. Mostly used to sense magical barrier or read texts written in magical script. We first see evidence in this when Lunathian confronts him at the beginning of the story. Arcane Regeneration Though draining and requiring a great deal of concentration, Noctus has the ability to drain the 'life' or energy out of an area to fix his own body. In the second Chapter of the book we see him able to heal being run through by Lunathian though it is unclear whether he is able to do this during combat. An unlikely possibilty due to the fact he needed to rest after the event which would lead to problems in combat. Portents Though not specifically a part of Shadonian training, certain Shadonians have the ability to receive prolific visions and dreams relating to possible futures or major alterations to reality from outside sources. Noctus is one of these individuals, though his latent ability is unrefined and unreliable. We see use of this ability when he has a chance meeting with 'Vincent' and is confronted by some entity referred to only as 'The Abyss'. Like so many of his visions details are confusing, often contradictory and unclear at best. It appears, however that he is also capable of effecting reality around him to a small degree as we see when he returns to conciousness to find the brand of the Abyss on his chest. Stealth Though not used much at the start of the Story, it seems that Noctus can blend into his surroundings by concealing himself in a shroud of magic making him not only invisible, but inaudible. We first see this used as a reflexive action when Noctus is worried about being discovered by Ianna when he catches her bathing. In all likelyhood, if magic is what creates the shroud around Noctus then anyone who can 'see' magic (such as other Shadonians) would be able to see him using this camoflague. Bolt of Darkness A very simple application of energy transferance, the 'Bolt of Darkness' Noctus hurls at Lunathian the first time they meet is a common use of altering Grey (Raw) magic into dark destructive magic. Essentially Noctus just transformed and released a large quantity of Grey magic by altering it into a globe of negative enegy and released it at his enemy. Many variations of this attack exist, most commonly a 'Holy Bolt' used often by the Champions of Dorvach to destroy undead and a neutral, Grey action in the form of telekentic blasts. (To be edited)

Leviathan, Noctus' Steed
Leviathan is the name of Noctus' steed, a paticularly intelligent breed of horse bred by the Elven people called an Ethermare. Reputed to be the fasted breed of horse known to exist, they also displayed certain magical traits and were fully capable of understanding two or three languages, even if they were unable to communicate in them. Ethermares were approximately the same height as a Shire Horse yet were much slimmer and agile.

Blade of The Fae
A twin-bladed sword owned originally by his father King Darkstrider, Noctus weilds a 'Blade of The Fae' which was the standard sidearm of the Shadonian Order and a symbol of the Shadonian Knights. Made of 'Sh’ralak Tharas', the same 'Dark Metal' used to make Shadonian Plate Armour, the blade is a foci for magical energies allowing the user to manipulate The Art more easily. In the hands of a non-Shadonian the sword looks like a weapon with one hilt and two blades running parallel to one another with a small gap between them. The blades of the weapon are dull black but when used by a weilder of The Art runic symbols glow along both blades.

Shadonian Full Plate Armour
Belonging originally to his father, King Darkstrider, Noctus is most commonly donned in his Shadonian Full Plate armour, a full set of armour not unlike Full Plate Armour used in various eras of Human history. Made of an exceptionally rare material known as 'Dark Metal' (Elven: 'Sh’ralak Tharas'), it not only offered the Shadonain exceptional protection against most non-magical weapons but also allowed him to channel The Art more easily. The Armour was unusual and of Elven design yet Darkstrider and Noctus both lacked the knowledge to create such a suit. Luckily, there were a few Dwarven smiths who had some dealings with repairing and working in Dark Metal, and some - who had been taught the trade by their fathers - even had a knownledge of repairing Shadonian Armour. One such smith was Hobart Granitain, and old Dwarven friend of Noctus' lived in the Dwarven trading city of Onyx.

Other Equipment of Note
None

Literary Appearances
The Darkest Knight (All Chapters) The End Of The World (TBC) Dark Times: Rebirth (TBC)

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