- Name: Nick "Nicodemus" Dalton, One-Ups-The-Raven, Jedi Outcast
- Gender: Male
- Race: Mage
- Tradition: Orphan
- Essence: Dynamic
- Rank and Title: Adept of Forces
- Arete: 4
- Date of Birth: Oct. 25, 1980
- Cabal(s): Jedi Knights (defunct)
- Chantry(s): Nightfall Chantry (defunct)
Childhood
Nick ("Nicodemus") Dalton was born on Oct. 25, 1980 to James and Delores Dalton. He was raised in St. Claire, Washington, where he has lived for the majority of his life. Nick grew up in the northern part of Saint Claire in a "yuppy" neighborhood. He is the only child of Delores and James Dalton, and started off as a bright, well-behaved boy; however, Delores and James constantly battled and bickered with one another, James regretting having married Delores in college when she got pregnant with Nick. Delores finally filed for divorce in 1991 (unreconcilable differences) and, after a prolonged court battle, the divorce was finalized in 1992. Delores abandoned both James and Nick, wanting neither in her new life. James, who worked as a travelling sales rep and engineer for SUN microsystems, quickly converted Nick into a latchkey kid. As Nick hit puberty, he became more rebellious. With no adult supervision, he eventually began dabbling in illegal drugs. Ultimately, this led to an accidental overdose in early 1996. He died in the ambulance just as it was pulling into the hospital, Awakened as a mage when he was resuscitated in the emergency room, and was committed to a rehabilitation facility after regaining consciousness and screaming at the twisted spirits he saw wandering the hospital's hallways. After two months in rehab (and after being watched/evaluated for suicidal tendencies), Nick was released after he learned to ignore the spirits--and other things--he sometimes saw, and keep his mouth shut when he did see them.
Education
As a native of the area, Nick attended the local public schools. After missing two months of his the second half of his junior year while in rehab, Nick dropped out of Martin Luther King High School rather than repeat the grade. He obtained his GED a month later, and entered Saint Claire City University (SCCU) in the summer of 1996. He graduated in 2001 with a double major in Computer Science and Mathematics and a reputation for skipping classes. After graduating, he enrolled to become a police officer and, after graduating from the police academy, began a career as a police officer. In 2007, Nick enrolled in SWAT training, but he washed out one week prior to completing the program when he broke his arm while attempting to rappel down the side of a building. In 2012, Nick obtained a Private Investigator license.
Professional experience
1998-Present: Shopkeep for Kenward's Curios, which specializes in rare and unique antiques and books--often acquired through local estate auctions and then resold on a national level. Kenward's Curios is open by appointment only as the overwhelming majority of its transactions are handled through an online store and eBay. The store has a reputation for either having or finding precisely what its overwhelmingly upper-class patrons might be seeking.
1999-2003: Owner of Boutique Gothique, a store that specialized in catering to the goth community and used a profit-sharing model with employees. Closed in 2003 as business began to wane, but before becoming unprofitable.
2001-2006: Police Officer for the SCPD. Traffic patrol, beat cop, and computer crimes/forensics specialist. Promoted to detective. He was nicknamed "Officer Rubber" by his co-workers for his insistence on loading non-lethal rubber bullets into his police sidearm.
2006-2009: Homicide Detective for the SCPD. One of the highest case closure success rates in the dept, which was counterbalanced by an equally impressive record of absenteeism and insubordination. He was nicknamed "Detective Rubber"by his co-workers for his insistence on loading non-lethal rubber bullets into his police sidearm.
2009-2011: Assistant Director of Network Security for Mondobank's regional office in San Francisco, CA. Employment terminated due to unauthorized failure to show up for work or respond to calls/emails for 8 consecutive business days.
2012-Present: Self-employed Private Investigator. Specializing in locating missing persons, but also has a reputation of being proficient at acquiring/finding incriminating evidence on cheating spouses.
Employed as a telecommuting stock portfolio analyst for Terminus.
RP hooks
Nick used to be very active in the local goth scene during his high school and college years, but the demands of college and then the friction of being a police officer eventually distanced him from this community--though he still knows a few people and a few people still know--or have heard of--him.
His work with high-end antiques has allowed Nicodemus to rub shoulders with local antiquities dealers and some of the local "elite" members of high society. He makes a habit of attending upper class estate sales in and around Saint Claire, acquiring items for resale at a sustantial markup through Kenward's Curios.
Mentor
Pavel Vach, Verbena, Master/Archmage(?) of (?).
Pavel is a self-exiled mage who--as far as Nick knows--never leaves his sanctum located in a remote, mountainous area roughly 100 miles outside of Boulder, Colorado. Pavel has a tendency to inadvertently warp reality around him and has become slightly detached from reality. As a result, he's unable to interact with humans; but he is still capable of functioning and interacting with other mages, where he sporadically acts as an broker/fence for the exchange of magical knowledge and goods. Nick was directed to Pavel when Nick was looking to trade a large amount of Wyld-charged "bramble fruit" (taken from the bawn, notable for causing radical-but-temporary physical transformations) for a talisman that would grant him access to the spirit world. After the exchange, Nick later brought him a gift of even more bramblefruit as a thank you, a good-will gesture, and to further build their relationship. Pavel is not easy for Nick (or others) to contact: his sanctum is heavily warded and he doesn't use a cell phone. Nick's visits/requests have to be made in person, and those require a 40-hour round-trip drive and a wish-and-a-prayer that Pavel happens to be in the mood to receive visitors.
Mage-based Contacts (NPCs)
Tyler Brown, Akashic Brother, Apprentice of Forces and Mind
Tyler and Nick were parkour partners between 2009-2011 while Nick worked at Mondobank in San Francisco. The former acquaintanceship is, at best, now very strained as Tyler partially blames Nick for the death of Evelyn, the most powerful member of Tyler's chantry. Although Tyler contacted Nick asking for assistance in protecting a San Fran chantry from a pending Nephandi attack in March of 2012, Tyler firmly believes that if Nick had acted offensively instead of defensively against the Nephandi, Evelyn would still be alive.
Raul Márquez, Euthanatos, Disciple of Entropy and Life
In 1998, when Nick was visiting Seattle, Raul noticed Nick at a nightclub and approached him. The two ended up discussing magical theory, and Raul gave Nick some pointers when he learned Nick was attempting to broaden his knowledge of Entropy. Raul has periodically attempted to recruit Nick into the Euthanatos tradition since then. Recruitment attempts have significantly waned over the past decade with Nick's continued refusals/reluctance. Raul works as a Licensed Practical Nursing temp, cycling through the area's hospitals, bringing a more peaceful death to those whose time has come--or passed.
Dana, Dreamspeaker, Disciple of Mind and Spirit
Dana is both a Child of Gaia kinfolk and a Dreamspeaker. She used to be in the Jedi Knights cabal with Nick (1997-2005) and Nightfall Chantry (both now defunct), prior to departing for Merriwether, WA. Nick, Dana, and another mage (Doug, a Son of Ether) helped to rescue a pack of garou and their kinfolk from a demon-possessed text the garou found and inadvertently awoke--resulting in the garou pack becoming possessed until the mages broke the spell. There were some tensions between the garou and the mages upon their departure: the mages took the tome despite the garou's protest, pointing out that the garou had already demonstrated their inability to deal with the artifact. (The tome was later destroyed by the garou of the Hidden Walk.)
Peter Kenward, Order of Hermes, Master of Forces
Peter is the legal owner of Kenward's Curios. Peter first identified Nick as being a "lost" mage a few months after his awakening. He was briefly Nick's mentor prior to falling into Quiet and insanity after combating a Nephandus mage (Saul ben Isaac) who had been terrorizing the local garou. Peter currently resides in a psychiatric hospital, where he alternates between insanity and comatose states--with ever-so-brief moments of very sporadic lucidity. Nick visits a couple hours once or twice a month to check up on Peter, and Nick also keeps Peter's antiquities business quasi-operational.
Supernatural activities in Saint Claire
Nick is generally an extremely low-key figure, prefering to operate quietly from the shadows rather than loudly in the open. He's been stealthily involved in countless local matters and skirmishes over the years, but less from the sidelines and more from lurking hidden beneath the bleachers. (For example, he recently rendered all the silver bullets in a BSD pack's inventory inert, so none of the bullets fired in a subsequent raid. Val, via Nick's suggestion, claimed credit for this act. During the raid, Nick remotely "jinxed" a number of BSDs, reducing the harm they were able to inflict upon the sept's garou.)
Nick does not advertise his status or abilities as a mage to the local garou--prefering to be "just another human" among the masses--and is a little paranoid about remaining unnoticed. That said, there are a couple garou who know of his true nature as a mage--notably Salem and Mouse. Val also knows he is a mage, so a few other corax are likely aware of this information.
Glass Walker kinfolk status
In early 2012, Mouse introduced Nicodemus to the Glass Walkers and claimed she had discovered that Nick had a Glass Walker lineage and was formerly lost Walker kinfolk. Although not ICly known, this is a fabrication concocted by Mouse, Salem, and Nick to allow him an easier means of working with and aiding the Walkers and local garou--as well as affording the mage some protection. In particular, Nick temporarily relocated into the Walker's tenement for about almost two months after his houseboat residence was compromised when a spirit allied with some BSDs tracked Val to Nick's abode.