Nycrozix

Nycrozix is an emotionally complex individual. He feels too much but shows almost none of it. He struggles to express himself, and seems cold and aloof. Many freezing winters and extreme hardships have hardened him towards the outside world, and he has become wisened by his experiences. He knows a lot about his surroundings, about methods of survival, and about the rearing, care, and slaughter of his livestock. He’s extremely solitary, and until he found the companionship of Rhiot, there were times when he could go large stretches of time between speaking to another soul; usually only socializing when he came into towns to sell milk, wool, meat, or other goods from his Kallk herd. Despite his seeming distaste in society, he was extremely lonely when he was on his own. He is weary and tired by his memories and traumatic events in life, but his personality is slowly starting to become warmer.

Like most Taroots, Nycrozix was born to Tion parents. His pack was wild Arctic Coats, and fairly small in numbers. Though you wouldn’t believe it if you met him now, Nycrozix was very bold and brash when he was young, using his enhanced intelligence to cause trouble and give his pack an edge. He had a tendency to terrorize a flock of Kallks owned by a Gryphon Shepherd, often stealing them away and eating them. On one of these expenditures, the Gryphon trapped Nycrozix and brought him into their home. They taught him to read, write and speak in several languages. They put him to work in the fields, and he developed a strong work ethic and an understanding of the animals. In return, he received pay, meals to bring to his pack, education and a place to stay if he wished to. Nycrozix became very close to the Shepherd, growing to consider them as a family and spending more and more time inside their home than out with his pack. This all went awry one day when Nycrozix started finding the maimed bodies of the Kallks, and more despairingly, Tions from his pack. He spent months trying to track down the beast, growing increasingly fearful as the attacks became more frequent and closer to home. It became clear that whatever was out there was hunting him back. In the cold winter of 2746, things went from bad to worse. A blizzard trapped Nycrozix and the Shepherd inside with the thinning herd of Kallks. The mysterious beast circled their home, tearing up fences and walls outside during the night, becoming hungrier and more aggressive. The two companions spent several days in silence, waiting for the inevitable, before young, brash Nycrozix decided to risk finding and attacking it first, wanting to go down fighting instead of hiding away. It was the dead of night when the creature struck. Nycrozix had been following it's trail, when he was alerted by the screaming of his dear friend and the livestock coming from the homestead. Nycrozix rushed back, but it was too late. It was a Dragon Windiage; a beast more than a foot taller than Nycrozix, and it had torn through the wall and had slaughtered most of the Kallks, and was feasting on the body of the Shepherd. Mad with grief and expecting to die, Nycrozix attacked the Windiage. It bit down on his horns and dragged him back and forth along the ground, shattering the horns and throwing him against the wall, cracking his skull. Through his pain, Nycrozix managed to get ahold of a broken table-leg, stabbing the Windiage with the sharp end, and killing it. Nycrozix was left with cracks and scars, and a few surviving Kallks. He chose to take over the job of the Shepherd who he owed so much to, fixing the homestead, caring for the Kallks, and raising a large herd, travelling the lands for half of the year with his livestock and selling their wool, milk, and other goods. He made an honest living like this, but became introverted and humbled by his near-death experience, no longer the cocky and energetic individual he had been. In the Autumn of 2829, whilst selling goods at the Tucruitora Market Plaza, Nycrozix witnessed an uproar; a young Taroot pup trying to steal sweets from a Lefika vendor. He caught her, paid the angry Lefika for the stolen candy to keep the pup from catching legal repercussions, and chastised her for her stupidity. The pup, who he learned was named Rhiot, stayed with him the rest of the time he spent in Tucruitora marketplace, and to his initial annoyance, followed him when he left, constantly pestering him with questions. Despite this, he began to enjoy her company, glad to have someone to fill the lack of a pack in his life. After all that time alone, Nycrozix’s hard shell warmed over for Rhiot, and he became attached to her as if she were his own daughter. He taught her his ways as the Shepherd taught him, and he keeps her out of trouble (for the most part). Of course, being Rhiot, she still finds a way to cause chaos in Nycrozix’s life, but sometimes, it’s a good thing; especially in the case of stealing from a lovely Taroot Shopkeeper by the name of Saffron. Sparks flew, Nycrozix had never felt or understood the concept of romantic love due to his hermit lifestyle. He almost left without knowing how to find her again (Rhiot made sure to find a way to contact her). The past period of time spent with Saffron has opened Nycrozix’s mind to new opportunities he’d never seen for himself: falling in love, starting a family, and someday, maybe, settling down for good. He was overjoyed and frightened when he found out Saffron was expecting, but overjoyed when the three pups were born. He makes sure to be a good father for them, but also for Rhiot, who he explained to that she was just as important as her new little siblings, whom she also adores. He still ventures out with Rhiot and the kallks, selling their goods at any celebration, but now he and his daughter have a family to go back to; a pack to call their own… and it all started with one spunky adolescent taking Nycrozix from out of his cold shell and showing him the brighter side of life.