Thane
Born in the town of Quarrymill in South Shroud. Nikolas’s father was that of a roaming bard from Kugane known as Toshiro Narukami and his mother was an elite archer and member of The God’s Quiver in Gridania named Elhaym Asher. Toshiro and Elhaym had met and experienced a short period of love while he was staying at the Carline Canopy.
Shortly before Nikolas was born, Toshiro hearing of all the conflicts in Ala Mhigo and the absence of Gridania’s involvement in their plight, crossed the border and left to help the Ala Mhigo people with their struggles against the Garlean Empire. Elhaym mostly alone retired from the God’s Quiver and left for Quarrymill to raise her soon to be born son. After Nikolas’s birth and naming him after her own family instead of Toshiro. Elhaym was contacted to rejoin the God’s Quiver and to be part of an expedition into the rising conflict surrounding Ala Mhigo. She would never return to her son.
Nikolas was left an orphan of Quarrymill and raised and destined to become a member of either the Wood Wailers and defend the Twelveswood, or to follow in her mother’s footsteps and become a member of the God’s Quiver. As he grew he showed a natural raw talent with the use of almost every melee combat style he attempted. Prompting those who had taken him in to send him to the three city states of Eorzea to learn and train under the martial styles of each region’s discipline. Excelling at every style.
Nikolas returned to Gridania and was recruited into a Special Operation Unit known only as The Splintered Branch. Given an aether enriched WoodWailer mask and jacket; Splinters were assigned to overseeing Gridania’s interests from within the Alliance. Never to directly act or to compromise Gridania’s interest. The enriched mask and jacket were used to ensure the splinters secrecy, if ever compromised. With a simple spoken phase the stored aether in the articles would erupt and pulverize the splinter as well as disintegrate themselves and all of the equipment the splinter carried. Leaving only a truly unidentifiable corpse.
Moving freely from each city state and even between other lands of interest to him; Thane became accustomed to adapting to his surroundings. Making himself just another face in the crowd, when on the ‘job’. Using the guise of a roaming bard, he would place himself within establishments near his real goal; perform for onlookers and gather intelligence in any form that he could.
After years of being a Splinter he had mostly been successful until he was compromised while working in Kugane. While not truly exposed as a member of the splintered branch, he was tracked by shinobi while in Shirogane. Faced with failure Nikolas spoke the words, but before he could finish he was rendered unconscious. Held for days in isolation he expected to die, yet upon the tenth day the door of his cell opened. Nikolas was freed and his savior was a much older Toshiro, his own father.
Meeting his own father Nikolas kept the secret of who he was from Toshiro, requested Toshiro help him escape from Hingashi as he feared he would be unable to do it on his own; It also gave him the chance to learn something of his father. Toshiro’s time living and fighting alongside the people of Ala Mhigo changed his perspective on life and how he lived his own. Toshiro returned to his homeland and became a member of the Sekiseigumi. Whispers of a captured ijin had spread from shirogane and fell upon his years. Toshiro took matters into his own hands to save the ijin, his unknown son.
Taking nearly two months to smuggle Nikolas from Hingashi, Toshiro taught the fundamentals of Bushido to Nikolas. Exceling quickly within the art, Toshiro marveled that he handed himself as if he wasn’t a ijin, but was truly from Higashi. Finding a ship that was sailing for to Limsa, Nikolas and Toshiro said their last words to each other. Just before Nikolas climbed onto the ship he told Toshiro of his mother and who he really was. Toshiro lost for words watched as the ship and his son left the harbor.
Returning to Eorzea, he found no warm welcome for himself. Nikolas had failed and was nearly revealed as a Splintered Branch. Captured and held in secret trial, Nikolas was set to be executed for his failure. Yet, before the day arrived Elder Seedseer Kan-E-Senna dissolved the splintered branch as she helped form The Order of the Twin Adder. Nikolas would not be pardoned per say, he would simply be let go. Blacklisted from the Wood Wailers and The God’s Quiver, and unofficially labeled as a traitor.
Feeling betrayed by the nation he attempted to protect with his very being, Nikolas vanished into the black shroud. Changing his name and as much of his identity as possible, Thane was born. Taking the name of his father Narukami and at time attempting to emulate more of the Higashi mannerism. Thane followed in his father’s footsteps and became a roaming bard, yet staying mostly clear of Gridania.