⊱ I will put an ocean into a thimble. I will build a world on the edge of a blade. ⊰

Her appearance leaves room for questions regarding her muddied heritage. It suggests Imperial for the most part, of the Niben variety given her birthplace, but not all in it's entirety. She strikes a feminine figure, short and curvy but with strong legs and arms built for wielding a sword and withstanding the swaying of a ship. Her skin is bronze and marked with freckles, golden eyes lined with kohl and bordered by thick lashes.Typically the Niben dons a mix of leather and chainmail in her armor with metal adornments, keeping her lighter on her feet and at least semi-competent at sneaking about. She carries no visible weapons, instead choosing to summon a bound blade whenever the occasion arises.

rumors

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"Frey... It's not a traditional Imperial name, is it? Not for anyone of status at least. I remember one, though. Lord Veturius' grandchild, supposedly the bastard child that took his own daughter's life. I heard it was punishment for her promiscuity, and Lord Veturius was quick to pawn her off."
Leyawiin, circa 2E 560."We trained together, once upon a time. We weren't close but honestly she wasn't terribly close to anyone. She... Struggled, to say the least. She excelled in some schools, don't get me wrong, but the Battlespire nearly took her life. It wasn't until right before she left that she changed. She grew violent, hungry for blood and damn near took a few of us out with her. Last I heard she'd died storming the Imperial City with the rest of the rebellion."
Kvatch, circa 2E 579."Fucking bitch, got a nose like damned hound too. I tried to reason with her, you know? Figured I could charm the pants off her enough to get a head start, but she wasn't having any of it. She bled me within an inch of my life, and as I thought I was going to be put into the dirt, she whispered in my ear that she wouldn't get paid if I died. Now I'm in this damned place!"
Wayrest Prison, circa 2E 592."That woman is bad news. Her footprints are bloodied, teeth stained crimson by magic most foul. This one tried to warn Rashah-dar, but he swore the walker was only there to guard the moonsugar. Rashah-dar should have listened, for now there is no one left to hear him but the other ghosts of his farm. Bandits, this one heard, but where is Nikola?"
Rimmen, circa 2E 590.

"The outlander carries the stink of Daedric rot, the kind I've smelled only within old temples and their cultists. It's something within her, but I cannot tell if it's the aftermath of the magick she wields. Conjuration isn't exactly a forbidden field to the Mages Guild - not like we care - but I know a worshipper when I smell one."
Ebonheart, 2E 587."Aye, we took the Witchman's head. He granted one too many 'wishes', it was bound for one of those cursed deals to go sideways. He was a proud one, but he whimpered and begged for his children in his last moments. Nikola and Saenus, no surnames... Reach dogs. Both came up dead when we looked into it."
Shornhelm, 2E 577.

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common

⊱ Bounty Hunter - Whether by land or sea, Niko's primary chosen occupation is that of a bounty hunter. Tyrants, criminals, deserters, escaped prisoners, and pirates are all her quarry. She has a keen nose for scum, making her quite the unsavory figure for those sympathetic to criminals, even if the job is just for the coin.
→ want to have a fun hunt for your criminal character, or send Niko off on a job to go hunt a criminal? let me know! no perma-deaths will happen here, just sending your character to "jail" or whoever would be hunting them, all discussed OOC. this hook can also be used for other bounty hunters or mercenaries - perhaps they'd end up as unlikely allies?⊱ Seafarer... Sometimes - For the past fifteen or so years, the prisoner transport ship known as "The Osprey" has been Niko's home. Once the first-mate, she's now a turbulent occasional crewmate after her frequent altercations with the Capitan, an Altmer by the name of Vinancarin. Sailors would likely recognize her face, and certainly they'd recognize the ship.
→ i'm building a boat house lol⊱ An Opportunistic Rat with Many Hats - Despite her claims to be a bounty hunter to restore "justice" and maintain a "peaceful society", Niko is a woman entirely without honor. Typically her hunting of criminals is just to get rid of competition and to make herself look good. There's little she won't do to make a quick buck, but this mostly amounts to messy assassinations.
→ 'bounty hunting' and 'hired killing' can go hand in hand, but Niko is not really a skilled assassin. this is meant to also sort of act as an opportunity for mentorship - if given the skills to be a little more tactful, Niko could be effective with subterfuge.⊱ Well-Studied - An odd contradiction to her otherwise brawny attributes, Niko is surprisingly educated. She possesses a wealth of knowledge on magickal matters (though not quite to a Mages' Guild level), focusing on the use of it in combat.
→ this hook goes hand-in-hand with the Imperial Battlemage hook below, though this one would be far more noticeable than guessing her history right away. in a sense, she's acted as a "ship-mage" instead of a court-mage for her captain, and would be willing to do so for other employers.

rare

⊱ Imperial Battlemage - Nikola was taken to the Battlespire to train as a battlemage at twelve years old. She was a skilled conjurer, but struggled with other schools of magic and the gruelling nature of the Battlespire as a whole. As she grew older, she became much more turbulent in her moods and her magic, and as far as her cohort of trainees knew, she died during Varen's Rebellion.
→ for Battlemage characters that would like to say they trained at the same time together - except Nikola is allegedly dead... and to the enemies she made during her training, she allegedly took her cohort out with her.⊱ The Hunger - It's something that coils around her spine, ripping and wrenching at her stomach until all she can hear are its whispered words. It smells and tastes of rot, something other conjurers may note is not quite normal with the craft, and Daedric scholars could potentially recognize as Daedric in nature.
→ a little 'trying to commune with a daedric prince' gone wrong, if we would.

locations

port cities

Niko is a well traveled woman, having been around most of Tamriel at least once. Typically she frequents port cities of men (Solitude, Daggerfall, Wayrest, Sentinel, Abah's Landing, Anvil, Leyawiin, Bravil) but will also occasionally find her way to Morrowind, Rimmen and Senchal, and Valenwood.

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• ooc.

playlist

face reference

tanaya beatty

gallery