Nillian
Nillian
Nillian is the oldest child of Mary and William Luckett. The Luckett family has good standing in Kataras(*), having one big house inside the city and a large estate in the countryside. Nillian was raised under the best tutors that the Luckett’s could afford, and when he was of age he joined the prestigious University of Scientific Studies and Research. He started out as a student and after ten years of hard work he graduated and became a full member. In the time after his graduation he wrote several books on the subject of the history of the University and the scientific breakthroughs made in the city. He also wrote several papers explaining the ideas of other authors, as not all authors were able to get their ideas on paper in a coherent manner.
In the last year he turned to his biggest project yet: the history of one of the University's founders, Dr. F. Biene(*). Dr. Biene was the greatest steam engineer that Kataria(*) had ever seen, and today no one has ever been his equal. Dr. Biene designed and build a lot of complex steam engines, some of which are still in use today. Twenty years ago Dr. Biene disappeared and was never heard of again. Nillian sees Dr. Biene as one of his role models and therefore is writing a complete history of his life and his accomplishments.
In this research he found some references to several notebooks that Dr. Biene filled with his latest experiments and designs. Curious to what happened with this notebooks Nillian will try to find out what happened with Dr. Biene in his final days and where he disappeared to, hopefully also finding the notebooks while doing this.
Nillian is of regular build, about 1,89 m high (6'2"). He has brown wavy hair and also brown eyes. His face is quite fair, and is always calm and reserved, as any gentlemen should. His suits are often in a dark shade of brown, with matching shoes and umbrella. Nillian is always friendly and helpful, causing him to have a lot of acquaintances. But he has not many real close friends, as he is often too busy to keep in contact with people. The people who are closest to him are his sisters Lyxia and Rowena, and several year mates who are also members of the University.
Lyxia
Lyxia is Nillian’s youngest sister, four years younger than him. She received the same education as Nillian, but did not excel at it as he did. She was a more active person, often going outdoors for sports and long walks. On the Luckett estate she had two horses in her care, which she take care off and often took out to ride. After her education was complete she did not know what to do for a long time. Then one day she had a conversation with an older gentleman and suddenly she wanted to join the Order of St. Joshua(*). It is a very secretive order, based in a monastery just outside of Kataras. Her parents at first worried about her choice, but she seemed happy in the order and looked very healthy. She does not speak much about the order, but it seemed to include a lot of hard work as she grew stronger and more muscled as the months grew by.
Lyxia always stayed close to Nillian, and also Rowena when she was still living in Kataras. She is not shut in at the order as she still sometimes attends large balls or dances. If she has good friends inside the order she never talks about them, or even who else is inside the order.
Lyxia is a bit smaller than Nillian, standing 1,65 meters (5'5") high. Despite this difference in height she looks a lot like Nillian, she has the same hair and eye colour. In stature she stander a lot stronger, being strongly muscled and having a strong posture. Just looking at her stance you know she is ready for you and able to handle about anything. Lyxia prefers darker clothing, often almost black. She wears something looking like a cross between a dress and a skirt and tunic. When she moves her clothing flows around her, never hampering her movements or catching on something, almost like it was designed that way.
Ned
Ned is someone from two worlds. His parents were rangers, scouting the forest in search of poachers and bandits. From a very early age Ned would accompany his parents on their journeys, and he learned a lot about the forests and how to survive there. But one fateful day, when Ned was twelve years old, his parents came across a group of bandits that they could not handle, and they paid with their lives.
Ned was then sent to his closest relative, an uncle living in a small village close to Kataras. His uncle was a blacksmith, repairing and creating farming tools for the villagers and sometimes forging some simple weapons. He taught the art of blacksmithing to Ned, hoping to give him a future other than becoming a ranger like his parents. Ned was an attentive student, but could in his spare time still often be found in the forests, walking and camping out. He kept in touch with a lot of the friends of his parents, not wanting to desert that side of his heritage. When Ned became of age he decided to move to Kataras to continue his education in the art of blacksmithing. In the city he spoke with some resident blacksmiths, and finally decided to apprentice to a gunsmith. He works very hard and about ten years later he is accepted to the guild as a master gunsmith. He sets up shop in Kataras, with a small workplace and furnace. He also hires himself out as a guide and guard for rich people going on hunts or long travels. In recent years he has employed a human-hybrid, Copper.
Ned is a tall person, standing at 2,2 meters (7'2"). He is an impressive figure with thick arms and torso from working in the forge. He has black hair, tied together in a ponytail, and blue eyes beneath thick eyebrows. Ned is very strong, able to bend a metal rod with his hands. But at the same time he is also very stealthy, able to move through the woods without making a sound. When he is working in his workplace he wears the standard blacksmith clothes and a thick leather vest. When he is travelling in the wild however he changes to muted forest colours, brown and green.
Copper
Copper was originally born as Thomas Breen, in Räan(*). He grew up as a good student and studied mostly in the area of steam engines. He worked as an assistant for several scientists and did a lot of his own work on steam engines and their applications. A few years after he made a good name for himself he was involved in a big accident, as the steam train he was experimenting on exploded. In the accident he lost both an arm and a leg. During his recovery, which was very slow, some of his friends suggested replacing his arm and leg with steam-powered clockwork replacements. He agreed, convinced that otherwise he would have no life left. The operation was painful but successful. After the operation it took a long time for him to fully recover and to actually learn how to use his new arm and leg. The replacements are heavier than his original limbs, so he walks with a limp, like he pulled down at one side.
When Thomas recovered enough to go back to work he returned to his colleagues and friends. Only to discover that he was not welcome anymore. Because he was now a human-hybrid(*) the scientists rather not have him around, afraid that they would get a bad reputation. The same went for his friends, though they were also a bit afraid of him, now he looked different. Without any money or work, and a body that required more maintenance than he was used to, Thomas roamed around, doing small menial jobs when the opportunity arose. He took the alias Copper, due to the fact that his arm and leg were indeed made of something like copper. He lived a while with the rangers in the forests, as they were not as judgemental as the city people. But the city was all that he knew and he often returned to Kataras. One day he was approached by Ned and given a job, helping in the workplace and with the tours that Ned offered. With his knowledge with steam engines he rebuilds part of the workplace, installing a steam-engine to help Ned with the forging of small guns.
Copper is of medium height, standing 1,73 meters tall (5'8"). The first thing you notice about him are his replacement limbs. Because they are partly powered by steam-engines they make more noise than normal. Part of the steam engine is mounted on his back, giving people the impression that he has a hump. Copper has blond hair and blue eyes, and his face and good arm have some scarring leftover from the explosion.