"The world itself has betrayed their trust, for Chaos is come and they know not how or why it is that their fate must be written in suffering and blood. We are alone, and can look for help to no one but ourselves."
- —Nicodemus[1a]
Nicodemus, the first apprentice of the wizard Astyanax
Nicodemus is an Apprentice Wizard from the wild lands of the Border Princes.[1a]
Nicodemus is the eldest of the wizard Astyanax's two apprentices. Like his fellow apprentice Averil, he is of Tilean stock and shares the same dark hair, though his eyes are brown. Also like the girl, his clothes are simple in both cut and style; were it not for his manner he could easily be mistaken for a serving man. He is handsome, as are many that bear Tilean blood, and could easily have been a fighting man if he had chosen to follow that path.[1a]
Nicodemus is a sensible man, and less prone to flights of anger than Averil. He is often at the receiving end of her thinly-veiled attacks against the male gender, and has begun to give in quickly rather than argue with her.[1a]
Deep down, Nicodemus feels he may have made the wrong choice of career. He had heard many tales about the power of magic and the respect that wizards receive. He decided that was the path he must follow.[1a]
He now finds himself stuck in a remote tower with a slip of a girl who seems to resent him and an old, if powerful wizard who insists the path to great power is long and dangerous. This isn't the life that Nicodemus thought he was choosing, and he eagerly awaits the chance to take charge of something, though he doubts whether he will be up to the challenge.[1a]
Trivia[]
His name is based on that of Nicodemus, a Jewish Pharisee who listened to Jesus' teachings rather than condeming him.