Nikolos Saint Sistomul of Kaapasart
Str 9(-)/24 Dex 7(-) Con 10(-)/(-) Int 12 (+1 age, 13) Wis 16 (+1 age, 17) Cha 15
Born in 830, January 29th, at Elvenspire
Contents
Family Background
Nikolos was born the only son of Dalmanos, a former Encyclonian knight of the Istanok. After his death and raising from the dead by the bishop of the Istanok after a lost battle with monsters, Dalmanos retired to the frontier castle town of Kaapasart, where he was given lands and a healthy comital pension. Although a much older man, Dalmanos was of high status and without family, and so therefore married his second wife, Alastosia Ethereyen, the daughter of a local land owner, who bore him three children, two daughters and a son, Nikolos, who was second-born.
Increasingly religious, Dalmanos financed improvement's to Kaapasart's castle church, dedicated to St. Sistomul, and befriended its priest, Nikolos, after whom he was to name his son. Eventually Dalmanos joined the clergy, and moved the family to Elvenspire, where he became a deacon, eventually dying of old age as the arch-deacon of the Abbadonian cathedral there.
Background
Early Life
Nikolos was born at the Cathedral of St. Malkus the Wise in Elvenspire, on 29 January, 830. After his father's death when he was 5, Nikolos's mother remarried a Knight of St. Quadrain named Nalath Palantanas. Sir Nalath. Although Dalmanos had himself determined that his son should join the clergy, Nalath elected to have the boy first labor for the Bailiwick of Isial of St. Quadrain. For a time he entered into the order as a lay monk, and took to the iron mines the monastery ran, learning from the overseeing monk there important aspects of mining.
Just before his eighteenth birthday, Sir Nalath died in combat against local monsters, and so Nikolos' mother removed him from the Bailiwick of Isial and had him enrolled at the Cathedral College. Nikolos was not the best of students, chafing somewhat under the academic aloofness of the faculty, but he excelled in engineering. When he was twenty, Nikolos encountered Professor Nikolos Athalosia, the archpriest of the Church of St. Lykolos, taking a year-long class with him in planar theology.
Upon earning his degree (850), Nikolos's mother arranged for him an engineering position over the iron mines of the Bailiwick of Isial, and for a time he pursued this career, expanding and professionalizing the monastic mines. Assuming control of his father's lands from his mother and receiving a tidy share from the mine's profits, Nikolos grew reasonably wealthy, and continued to take occasional classes at the university. He also traveled several times to Kaapasart to visit his father's lands and resolve issues there, and in so doing met his namesake, archpriest Nikolos, providing the arch-parish further funds. Invited to holy orders by the Bailiwick of Isial, Nikolos merged his mining career with monastic duties (853), advancing all the way to the degree of acolyte (854), but before taking his final oath, he was notified that archpriest Nikolos of Kaapasart had died, receiving a final letter from the old man, imploring him to take over the church of St. Sistomul. The letter also wrote of adventurers from the Kingdom of Pompiers, out from Elvenspire, threatening the viscounty, and these were men that Nikolos knew, or had heard of. Feeling the call for life in Kaapasart, and increasingly partial to the Abbadonian rite and his Encyclonian heritage, Nikolos abandoned the Danian rite as well as his monastic career in the Order of St. Quadrain. Appealing to the Abbadonian bishop of Elvenspire, Armoragard, Nikolos was quickly ordained to holy orders as a full priest (854), and traveled quickly to the Istanok in the hopes of helping to stave off the aggressions of the Mandadorian adventurers that threatened it.
Nikolos in the Istanok
Nikolos the Peace-Maker (854-856)
Nikolos became priest at St. Sistomul's during the small war between an element of the Knights of St. Quadrain, led by Sir Tellemant of Bastias, and the Viscount of Kaapasart, Lord Galladion Phylanthion. Tellemant had once cleared lands of monsters for Lord Phylanthion, and been given lands about the Agnusian Forest as reward, including a baronial title. Tellemant and his followers however found ways to antagonize the Encyclonian lord, and when they were attacked for taxing lands that were not their own, Tellement claimed injury, rallied low knights and serjeants of St. Quadrain to his cause, and the feud began in earnest.
For Nikolos, he remained peaceful for two years, avoiding skirmishes between the two factions, and seeing to his lands and the maintenance of St. Sistomul's. He also served as a neutral messenger between both factions, and took in orphans at the church, as the deaths began to mount, including William Angus Armstrong. Although not an able fighter and because of his position as a pronoiar land-owner, Lord Phylanthion nonetheless also charged Nikolos with the office of chaplain of Kaapasart, and thus Nikolos participated in skirmishes and expeditions against the goblins venturing from the the Great Dennelyen Forest, as well as to the great military musters outside of Gromassarow, the comital capital, where Nikolos met Count Thiomond Olynthius and his dashing paladin son, Sir Theolonus.
By the spring of 856, the farming raids and feuds between Sir Tellemant and Kaapasart had cooled. Nikolos had brought his sister Alathaya to stay with him at Kaapasart, and it was she who became friends with the viscount's daughter Nolomie, and Alathaya proposed the marriage between Nolomie and Sir Tellemant's bastard half-Encyclonian son Morovian. Morovian was not fond of his father, and in his embassies to Kaapasart he had converted to the Abbadonian rite under Nikolos at St. Sistomul. Without surviving sons of his own, the viscount Galladion assented to the marriage. This was a pleasant time for Nikolos. He and his sister traveled to Gromassarow in 857 along with the viscomital family, and Nikolos met with and became friends of Solophothos, the new archbishop there, and for the first time Nikolos was recognized archpriest of St. Sistomul, as had been his namesake. As for Alathaya a well-educated and intelligent young girl, she was introduced to Theolonus, the comital heir apparent, and it was widely known a courtly romance began between the two. Rumors persisted that the two would be wed, and Nikolos' status grew. He was sent as an archepiscopal agent on various clerical duties, and grew in reputation and confidence, dispelling ghosts and haunts, reordering failing parishes and settling church land disputes, throughout much of the Istanok.
It was in 857 that the issue of the seeming waning power of House Savenfannetsen, the Grand Dukes who ruled that region of Encyclon, at last came to ahead. Upon the new year, Count Thiomond, awash in pride and power, glorying in the martial abilities of his knightly son, and assessing the weakness of the young new Grand Duke Mӓanshesfӓan and the disintegration of imperial power as a whole, decided he would no longer serve. Taxes were not paid, and the grand ducal agents were removed from the county. Nikolos even accompanied Archbishop Solophothos all the way to Prioma in the Core Lands to seek the Patriarch's blessing to crown Lord Olynthius as King of the Istanok, thereby making him an independent lord of Encyclon.
This however was not to be.
Nikolos at the Imperial Capital & the War Between the Istanok and the Savenfannetsen (856-859)
Grand Duke Mӓanshesfӓan, sensing the weakness and undependability of his capital army, and knowing many of his troops served not him but the failing and unpopular imperial cause against the Pompiersians under General Remzar in the south, turned instead to mercenaries and Encs to face the rebellion in the distant Istanok. For mercenaries, the new Grand Duke purchased at great price a small but well-trained, well-disciplined and heavily armed army of mercenaries from Keld in far-off Pompiersia, ignoring the cries of lack of patriotism in hiring so many Pompiersians to fight his war. To command them, Mӓanshesfӓan selected Parrassar Nine Leaves, the half-elf half-Encyclonian Ranger Lord of the Savenfannetsen, known for his long-standing iron loyalty to the grand ducal throne of Thelokosia. The army was supplemented by many of the elves of Lynn, Encs of numerous tribes, and the military tributes of the grand duke's most loyal and militarily able vassals.
The war was not an easy one. By the winter of 857, when Nikolos had at last reached Prioma, it was the clear the war was far from over, and that the Patriarch of Encyclon would not soon crown any King of the Istanok. Residing with Solophothos and other subordinate clerics, he and Nikolos remained in Prioma for some time, during which time Nikolos learned much of politics and high church affairs. The imperial crown was at that time in increasing crisis, and Nikolos began to understand that the imperial order he once knew and believed in was coming to a crashing close.
By the spring of 858, Solophothos had himself paid for and raised a small army of mercenaries to help his count. The campaign was a harsh one, and once again Nikolos served as chaplain. Taking the northern route and through the Great Dennelyen Forest, they defeated a small army of the Elves of Lynn in Forthrue territory, allying themselves with the Mandadorian Encs there. There they stayed that winter in a hard camp, but the prayer magic of Solophothos was strong, and they survived and were fed. That winter they also built a small fleet along the Bronze Lake, and in the spring of 859 Solophothos sent a strong force of the Mandadorian Forthrue Encs to harass Castle Grisfouer, the strongest Savenfannetsen center of power in the approach to the northern Istanok. While the garrison was distracted by the Forthrue, the archbishop's fleet engaged and defeated the small fleet of the Savenfannetsen, and with the bishop's powerful spell prayers, they took the great castle. Nikolos himself fought well in the battle, slaying pagan elves who guarded the heights of the great fortress. The rest of that year they attacked smaller Savenfannetsen outposts, and consolidated power and alliances in the northern Istanok, becoming a relief to the troubled cause of House Olynthius.
As Gromassarow had at last fallen in the late summer of 859, the archbishop understood that the terrible war was to be at last decided that next year, and so that early spring Solophothos risked a set battle to relieve the siege of Milokaster, the largest city of the Istanok, and the last great Olynthian power base. Emerging from the safety of the Dennelyen Forests, Solophothos' crusader army was undone by the vengeful elves of Lynn and the pagan Encs, under the command of Parrassar himself. After many deaths, the archbishop at last surrendered, along with Nikolos and their surviving army.
Parrassar admired the dignity and boldness of Solophothos, and as a devout Mandadorian pardoned the archbishop and Nikolos, so long as they should stay in his camp to nurse the wounded, and no longer participate in the war. And so they watched, for at the Battle of Milokaster the count's son Theolonus fell in battle. The old count and would-be king retreated to the citadel of Milokaster, where that autumn he at last the broken man was slain by the fire of Inosus St. Morninglory, one of the war wizards in Parrassar's army. News came almost immediately after this that the last emperor of Encyclon, Anaraton Kamanshar, had committed suicide, being betrayed and surrounded and defeated by rebel lords and generals, and with no clear emperor to succeed him.
Nikolos Under New Rulers of the Istanok and Kaapasart
At the beginning of 860 that winter Solophothos crowned Parrassar Nine Leaves as Count of the Istanok, and March Lord of the Savenfannetsenlands. Nikolos returned to Kaapasart where Viscount Galladion still ruled, but once again he was under duress. His son-in-law Morovian had also fallen in the Battle of Milokaster, and therefore the alliance between Kaapasart and Sir Tellemant expired, and the Baron of Agnusia once again pressed his claims, Sir Tellemant hating Galladion and blaming him for the death of his son.
Sir Tellemant conducted cruel raids on Lord Galladion Phylanthus in 860. In 861 assassins and monsters struck at Lord Phylanthus, killing several important allies. In response, Nikolos traveled to Elvenspire and personally appealed for the bailiff of St. Quadrain's help there. Help was given in the form of several knights and serjeants, as well as in the form of Tellemant's removal from their order, but the Baron of Agnusia remained undefeated. At last in late 861 Nikolos appealed to Solophothos for help, and with the archbishop's urging, Count Parrassar sent the Pompiersian mercenary officer Fallast Bowhaven to become marshal of Kaapasart, along with a strong garrison. Unfortunately this did not happen until Nikolos' personal lands were burnt, along with his father's country estate.
First Embassy to the Furnorkanasos
With his arrival in 862, Marshal Fallast Bowhaven took active command of the situation in Kaapasart. Quickly assessing that Tellemant had an alliance with the assassin despots of Blackstone Fortress in the far off Furnorkanasos, Bowhaven, as directed by Count Parrassar, appointed an embassy to Count Alexis of the Furnorkanasos, to see what aid could by given to the Kanosians in their war with the assassin power that had risen at Castle Blackstone. To lead this embassy, Nikolos was chosen.
With a small troop of soldiers and companions Nikolos crossed the wilds, yet nearly were all killed in an attack by goblins in the Kanosian Forest near Milthuvis. The scouts of Lord Barathue however fight off the goblins, and the weakened party is brought to Barathue himself. Barathue nearly takes the treasure the embassy has brought for himself, but a warrior there named Marnaus says it should be otherwise, and that the money is meant for all Kanosians. Saying the money was meant for the Count of the Kanasos and his war with the Eastern assassins of Blackstone, Nikolos is rebuffed, and Barathue says he will not allow it, but will allow the treasure to be taken to Hathbell, where the tribal representatives are gathering to discuss war against Blackstone. Nikolos agrees, and therefore Marnaus and his small army escort Nikolos to Hathbell. There Nikolos is treated with respect, and is present for the gathering of the Northern Alliance in the war against Blackstone, and witnesses the election of the Hathbell hero Fenderin as General of the Alliance. Nikolos then provided the sum of 20,000 gold pieces to Fenderin to aid in the war. Nikolos then resides in that country as ambassador to the Furnorkanasos for a year, sending the few troops he has with him to aid in the war under Sergeant Ostheus, the remaining senior soldier in his escort.
Staying in the Furnorkanasos throughout the rest of 862, Nikolos resided in Hathbell and Kanastaad, meeting the powerful Count Samphane, telling him of events in Encyclon. Samphane was pleased by the archpriest's presence, and hearing of the Istanok's complaint that the assassins of Blackstone were sending their agents and aid to Tellemant in a bid to expand their power, Samphane proposed they strike back. Samphane proposed to transform Nikolos and his remaining companions into the appearance of Taldian ninjas. The archpriest agreed, and Samphane transformed Nikolos, and his remaining companions from Kaapasart: the young mage Vurial and the refugee and brewer from Asparrow, Hayden Maddox, a Pompiersian adventurer who had settled in Kaapasart, and had been functioning as their interpreter.
Nikolos, Vurial and Maddox used their magical disguises to penetrate into the southern Kanasos, even traveling to the ninja power center at the city of Andland. Nikolos traced the assassin support going to the Istanok from the Kanosian town of Mannos. Using their magical disguises, they entered into the lead ninja's hall, and slew him. Nikolos himself however was backstabbed and poisoned upon their escape, and was nearly slain. They returned at length through an early winter to Hathbell. There Nikolos talked long with King Crasseris of Hathbell, and even with General Fenderin of the Northern League, but when the snows cleared enough for passed in the spring of 863, Nikolos and his companions made the long travel back to Kaapasart. It was not long after their departure that the red dragon in service to Blackstone made the famous attack against Hathbell in the summer of 863, during which Fenderin and King Crasseris, along with a great many others, were killed.
Return to Kaapasart (863-)
Before return to Kaapasart, Nikolos went alone to Castle Grisfouer on the command of Archbishop Solophothos, where he settled religious disputes between the clergy there, and helped disperse the ghosts of some of those slain there in the siege of 858. After settling some other clergy issues in the pastoral lands, by late summer of 863, Nikolos returned to Kaapasart. Lord Bowhaven was pleased by the archpriest's efforts, for by that summer the influence of the ninjas of Blackstone faded. However, Nikolos resisted further efforts to make use of his ambassadorial experience, letting the secular lords to their own affairs, and turned instead to his duties as Archpriest of St. Sistomul.
His reputation firmly ensconced, he continued his education of children of squires and certain select orphans, whom he sponsored. He would at times travel to the comital capital and visit with his friend Archbishop Solophothos.
By the opening of the campaign season of 868, Sir Tellemant, Baron of Agnusia, lost the last support he would receive from the Knights of St. Quadrain, for the increasingly cruel lord was excommunicated by Archbishop Solophothos. Emboldened, his castle was sieged, and his wizard defeated by Inosus St. Morninglory, being cruelly turned to stone. Tellemant, despairing of the situation, appealed to Nikolos for succor from the Church. Empowered by Solophothos to pronounce such judgments, Nikolos lifted the excommunication on condition Sir Tellemant renounce his barony and submit to the Church. Tellemant obeyed, and he was taken in chains to Gromassarow, and later commanded to enter into monastic life.
In 869, Nikolos received a sabbatical to return to Elvenspire, fascinated by the return of Professor Nikolos Athalosia, where he learned further of planar lore.
Current Adventures
Second Embassy to the Furnorkanasos
By the summer of 872, Count Parrassar, lord of the Istanok, had fallen in the War of the Princes, and the Zaamanthuessen Encs threatened the Istanok, especially in the north. Suspicious of his fellow lords of being partial to the imperial Mancranese claim, and not wishing to pay the Zaamanthuessen to not raid their lands, Viscount Fallast Bowhaven of Kaapasart decided to reach out to his old allies in the Furnorkanasos for aid and alliance. Learning that the Kanosian League was once again gathering that late summer, Lord Bowhaven gathered a small party to arrive in embassy to the Furnorkanasos, to help them fight against the Zaamanthuessen, and also to forge an alliance of mutual self-defense against the Zaamanthuessen. To lead this party, the viscount appointed the Archpriest of St. Sistomul, Nikolos son of Dalmanos.
