Nic Raeder

Very bulky, well-muscled, and intimidating. The picture of a massive Eisen man.

Has an impressive collection of scars from his time as a monster hunter.

Wears a short beard at all times. Never lets it get longer than maybe half an inch, and keeps it as stubble more often than not.

Often drums his fingers on the handle of his daggers when thinking hard.

Very good at fighting, despite not being a formally trained duelist.   Has enough strength to be dangerous even when unarmed. When he is armed, he is a terrifying force of nature to anyone who isn't a trained duelist.   Has a very high pain threshold, and so can sometimes seem impossible to kill.

Clothing

  Nic wears darker clothing to help him blend in to his surroundings (as Eisen is rather gray and lifeless most of the time). This typically consists of a tunic and pants that are loose and allow freedom of movement without catching on something. He wears sturdy leather boots that keep the muck off of his feet, and a thick woolen traveling cloak with a hood that keeps him dry no matter the weather. Underneath the cloak, he wears chainmail armor to give him additional protection from the Horrors of Eisen. He also always wears the iron cross that used to belong to his fiancee.  

Weapons

  After killing the Baroness, he carries two swords, an ordinary steel sword that he got from Felix Weiss. He typically keeps this coated in Revenant Venom to use against the more dangerous monsters he encounters. The second sword is a tarnished dracheneisen sword. Lost Ruins
In addition to his swords, he carries two daggers. One is silver and coated with Revenant Venom for use against werewolves and other especially dangerous creatures at close range. His bow never leaves his side, and he also carries a pistol. He keeps the pistol in good repair, but doesn't trust it fully due to its long reload time. It has saved his life enough times that he keeps it close, however.

Nic was born as the only son of two commanders during the War of the Cross. They had hoped to retire from all of the fighting of the War, but the Horrors of Eisen prevented a truly peaceful life. Nic grew up accepting as a fact of life that his parents would occasionally have to kill a ghoul that had wandered into the garden or buy a Hexenwerk unguent to drive off some kind of undead creature. That was just how life was in Eisen. Unlike many children born near the end of the War, Nic did not lose his parents to the threats all around the country, and they worked hard to raise him well. They told him stories of their time in the War, but focused more on the times they had helped people rather than on glorifying the battles they had fought in. This nurtured in him a desire to help others and be a good person.   As he grew into a strong youth, his parents taught him swordsmanship, though Nic's interests lay more in hunting than dueling. He was a natural with a bow, becoming a crack shot and cunning outdoorsman. He often hunted around the village where he grew up, bringing back game to feed the village and occasionally killing wandering monsters at the same time. Selling the fruits of his labors to both butchers and Hexes provided a steady source of income for him, freeing him from a need to farm the land itself to survive. Though not wealthy by any means, he did have more than enough to survive in the harsh land of Eisen.   Throughout most of his early life, he didn't really know what path his life was on, and he didn't much care. It was enough for him to be able to help his family and village by hunting. All that changed when he met Anna Kariathon when he was 23. The two of them quickly fell in love and began courting. They exchanged trinkets, Nic from the flowers and occasional furs that he obtained in the wilderness, and Anna from the bits of weaving that she did. They spent more and more time together, and soon enough were engaged.   After a year of courting, the date of Nic and Anna's marriage was drawing near. Around that time, rumors began to circulate around the village of a large bear in the area. The bear had been attacking livestock and was becoming bold, attacking the village at night and posing a threat to the citizens. Nic and several of the others in the village went after the bear to bring stop it before it could do more damage. The hunt took several days, but they eventually tacked down the bear and successfully killed it.   When Nic returned from the hunt, he went to see Anna. He discovered to his horror that her home had been ransacked, with Anna and her entire family gone. A trail of blood and footprints led away from the house, and Nic tracked these to a nearby cave. Inside he found the bodies of Anna's family, murdered by a powerful vampir named Mathias. In the time that Nic had been gone, Mathias had attacked the village in secret, abducting the Kariathons in the middle of the night without anyone finding out. He had then massacred them in a Hexenwerk ritual that had turned Anna into a vampir under his thrall.   Under Mathias' influence, Anna attempted to seduce Nic, trying to get him close enough to drain his blood and sate her new thirst. Nic was forced to fight her in an enclosed space where his bow was not as useful as it should have been. The lessons that his parents had taught him about fighting with a blade came back to him, however, and though the battle was long, he finally managed to defeat and kill the creature that had once been his fiancee.   During the battle, Mathias had slipped away, vanishing into the night. Grief-stricken, Nic took the iron cross that Anna had always worn and, after burying her body, began a pursuit of the vampir. He followed Mathias relentlessly for three days before losing the trail.   Now with no direction, and unable to return to his home due to the pain at his memories of Anna, Nic wandered south, towards the border of Castille. He hoped that by continuing in the direction he had been traveling when he lost Mathias' trail that he would be able to find it once more. As he went, he swore vengeance on the vampir, a promise that would dominate his life for years to come. He also swore that he would never allow another monster to cause another person to go through what he was now suffering.   Eventually, his path took him through a small village near the Castillian border. He arrived to find the village in the grip of fear. They were being menaced by a werewolf. A traveling priest and Hexe, Felix Weiss, was in the village at the time, originally looking for components to make unguents and find recruits for the Invisible College, but since trying his utmost to help the people protect themselves. Though he had little experience fighting werewolves, Nic immediately offered to help, and Weiss reluctantly accepted the help.   The two men investigated the village, and eventually discovered that there were actually two werewolves on the prowl. Unfortunately, they discovered this only moments before being confronted by both at the same time. Realizing that they were outmatched, Felix wanted to leave to save themselves. He knew that there was no way to defeat a pair of werewolves without preparations. Nic disagreed with his companion, and managed to weaponize a Red Thirst unguent, causing the two werewolves to fight each other. Once only one of the werewolves remained alive, Nic finished it off before it had a chance to regenerate.   Nic's clever solution to the problem impressed Weiss, who admitted that he saw something of himself in the young monster hunter. He began to teach Nic about Hexenwerk, as well as how to improve his skill with a blade. In addition, because he had saved Weiss' life, the two became Rüken.    As word of Nic's deed spread, he was contacted by members of Die Kreuzritter, who were impressed enough by his actions to induct him into the society. Nic fully agreed with their mission of ridding the world of monsters, and embraced membership whole-heartedly. He traveled with Felix Weiss for about a year after that, learning what he could from the older man. Though Weiss himself was not a member of Die Kreuzritter, he often worked with its agents, and proved to be a good mentor to Nic. Under his tutelage, Nic became quite good at killing monsters. Eventually, Nic and Weiss parted ways.   On his own again, Nic began the search for Mathias once more. His attempts to find the vampir led him all over Eisen, and he left a trail of dead monsters in his wake. This gave him the reputation of a traveling monster hunter. He met several companions along the way, including Frida Rosario, a member of the Explorer's Society who often needed a guide to get her through the dangerous lands between Syrneth ruins in Eisen. Frida quickly discovered that Nic's travels had given him insight into more places in Eisen than most people had. She hired him repeatedly, and the two became friends.   When Nic was 28, in the year 1667, Nic was contacted by Felix Weiss directly for the first time in years. Someone was blackmailing Weiss, and he needed a place to lay low while he tried to figure out how to respond to the threats. Nic was more than happy to accommodate his friend and former mentor. This request happened to coincide with a contract that he received from Frida, asking for help with a project she had become involved with. The project turned out to be investigating a local Baroness, who was rumored to be a vampir. Nic jumped at the chance to help.   The three of them, along with others who were interested in the investigation for various reasons, managed to find the Baroness, confirming the rumors about her. After a lengthy battle, Nic managed to strike down the Baroness, though not before she mentioned Mathias by name. After the victory, Nic found letters in the Baroness' palace that gave him his biggest lead on Mathias in years. He also came across a dracheneisen sword that - despite being tarnished - would make a perfect weapon to kill the vampir.   After his friends departed, Nic tracked down the origin of the letters he had recovered. He became convinced that Mathias was in the Waldemar Estate, deep in the Walder Forest. Unfortunately, he knew that attempting to attack an entire enclave of vampirs alone was worse than suicidal. He spent quite a bit of time trying to find people willing to travel with him to the Estate, but not even his fellow monster hunters in Die Kreuzritter wanted to help him. Eventually, he became cynical about the entire venture, allowing his desperation for revenge to override his desire to help people.   Almost a year after defeating the Baroness, Nic was unexpectedly contacted by Frida again. This time, instead of hiring him to undertake a job with her, she told him of a fellow explorer who wanted to lead an expedition to the ruins inside the Walder, of which the Waldemar Estate was a part. Nic enthusiastically agreed to meet her, and Frida introduced him to Elena Hunt. Nic agreed to lead her and her entire expedition through the Walder. In his mind, he now had a way to attack the vampirs in the Estate, and didn't much care about what happened to the other members of the expedition along the way.

While he is often mistaken for a Hexe, he does not actually make the unguents, and so cannot be called such. He is, however, extremely well-versed in their use, as they are necessary to combat many of the monsters he regularly faces.

Once managed to defeat a pair of werewolves that were threatening a village. This is what brought him to the attention of Die Kreuzritter, and made him famous in certain portions of Eisen.

Was forced to kill his fiancee after she was turned into a vampir.   Is terrified of being unable to help the ones he loves.   Fears becoming the thing he hunts, especially becoming a vampir.

Helpful and altruistic at heart, though this sometimes gets buried in his own pain.   Dislikes relying on others in dangerous situations (with the notable exception of his Ruken) both because he doesn't want to be let down and because he doesn't want to see them fail disastrously.

"Mathias deserves to burn in hell for what he did. I will see him there if it's the last thing I do. And if it is, it will still be worth it."   "I will never allow anyone else to suffer as I have done because of the monsters in the world."

Loves the smell of Eisen pound cake (in a bittersweet way), as it reminds him of Anna. He used to joke that her baking is what made him fall in love with her in the first place.

Will go through hell and back to assist his friends.

Member of the Objectionist faith, but since the death of his fiancee, he hasn't really acted on it. Overall, he has become numb to religion in general. Part of him longs to return to his religious roots, but he knows that it won't be possible until he has finished his revenge quest. Another part of him wonders if it will be possible even then.   His opinion of other faiths can best be described as "none." He really just doesn't care anymore.

Has a deep, commanding voice. It sits right on the border of being called gravelly. Has a noticeable Eisen accent.