Nicholas Mathewson

Tradition: Order of Hermes

House: Tytalus

Essence: Questing

Nature: Competitor

Demeanor: Curmudgeon

Concept: Survivor

Word: Netzach – endurance, fortitude, & the patience to achieve one’s goals

Physical Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity (Catlike Balance) 4, Stamina (Enduring) 4

Social Attributes: Charisma (Steve McQueen Cool) 4, Manipulation (Rhetoric) 4, Appearance (Style) 4

Mental Attributes: Perception (out-of-pace) 4, Intelligence 3, Wits 3

Talents: Alertness 3, Athletics 4, Brawl 3, Empathy 3, Expression 2, Subterfuge (Poker Face) 4

Skills: Etiquette (Gentleman) 4, Craft: Ice Sculpting 3, Meditation 3, Melee (Northern Italian Fencing, Florentine) 5, Technology 2

Knowledge: Academics (Philosophy) 4, Esoterica: Enochian 5, Esoterica: Symbolism 4, Esoterica: Body Control 4 Occult 4

Spheres: Mind (Defense) 4, Forces (Shields) 4, Time (Divination) 4, Life 2, Prime 4, Matter 3, Entropy 2, Correspondence (Warding) 4

Backgrounds: Avatar 4, Allies 3, Resources 3, Influence: ASU 2, Library (Mideon) 3, Status (Academics) 2, Status (Order of Hermes) 3, Status (Community) 1, Familiar (Zeno) 2, Mentor (Lady Doris Unger) 3, Wonder (Sunshine Ring) 3, Wonder (Slipstream Bracelet) 4

Resonance: Dynamic: Wondrous, Entropic: Winter, Static: Clockwork Precision

Merits: Ambidextrous, Parlor Trick: Vanishing Trinket, Parlor Trick: Floating Coin, True Love: Holly Snow, Language: Latin, Italian, Arabic, Greek, Spanish

Arete: 5

Fate: 2

Willpower: 10

XP: 11/29/20 - 82

Birth Name: Charles Michael Ward

Craft Name: Nicholas Christopher Mathewson, bani Tytalus

Shadow Name: Nicholas Charles Christopher Michael Mathewson Ward, bani Tytalus, Loyal

Subject of the Western Throne, Ronin of the Fertile Plains

True Name: in Caligine Abditus Pracla Rush Taonas Ex Oom Rasa

Image: Nicholas Mathewson has cultivated an image for himself as one of the Masters of the Universe. Good looking. Outgoing. Popular. He dresses to impress wherever he goes in tailored suits, a charming smile, and the confidence to suggest there’s nothing he can’t do. (Appearance 4)

Personality: Nicholas Mathewson usually presents a façade that can best be described as “Steve McQueen Cool.” Beneath this exterior is the arrogance of a Hermetic Mage, someone who believes he’s better than the majority of the world. Everything in life is a competition, and those who strive and work are winners, while people who sit on their ass and watch TV, or mindlessly scroll through Facebook are to be stepped over (or on).

Nick’s arrogance and sense of superiority can make it difficult to develop any sort of friendship with him. He views his responsibility to Sleepers as a sort of Noblesse Oblige, a master of creation looking out for the lesser people of the world. This can be interpreted as a casual indifference towards the well-being of others, but in reality the Caesar has a very developed sense of right and wrong cultivated through his philosophical background, and when defending people who’ve been hurt he’s prone to extremism, looking at issues in black-and-white terms that value the individual above the group.

In the end, just as Lady Doris Unger has developed a reputation for being harsh and critical, Nick is often perceived as possessing hubris and questionable judgment, never thinking through the full consequences of his actions. But the truth is more nuanced. He focuses on the problem before him, and the people involved. The larger context is dismissed not because it isn’t important but because he either cannot, or will not, consider the needs of the many over the needs of the one.

History: Nicholas Mathewson was born into a poverty few people can appreciate unless they experience it for themselves. At age 8 his alcoholic father “sold him” to Victor Corrigan bani Tytalus for a case of bourbon and an envelope of cash. The Hermetic took the young man under his wing, raising him and training him as a member of the Order of Hermes and House Tytalus.

Nicholas attended some of the finest schools in the world, including the Straussen Academy in New England. When he graduated from college he visited Europe where he was trained in the ways of European combat by the master Eli Corsius.

When he returned, he joined a chantry in Vegas where he spent several years studying the power of luck and fate on magic and reality. However, that life came to an end when over the course of 24 hours every Mage in the city was killed through a series random events: bad luck.

Fleeing to Phoenix, Nicholas has slowly come to terms with the loss of his friends and built a new life as a philosophy professor at Arizona State University. In Phoenix he’s been reunited with Holly Snow, a close friend from childhood with whom fate has bound them, and Lady Doris Unger, Elder of Phoenix Rising and a woman who has been in his life for as long as Victor Corrigan.

Since his arrival, Nicholas has fallen in love and lost that love to a monster, successfully trained an apprentice, continued his martial and magical training, and created a life for himself. Ambitious, he’s begun to look for new challenges which to apply himself.

ALLIES

Holly Snow – Member of Cult of Ecstasy and head of the Serenity Valley Chantry in Phoenix.

Holly and Nick met at the Stone Soup Cooperative, run by the Cult of Ecstasy to teach people another, more fulfilling way to leave absent of consumerism, commercialism, or modern worries. The group had attracted a dynamic following and was poised to break into the mainstream when a Technocracy hit squad arrived to kill every man, woman, and child. The deaths were played as a Jonestown-style mass suicide, destroying the groups reputation.

Holly was the only survivor, and was found by Nick as she held the hands of her parents, who had sacrificed their lives to save her

Holly recently came to Phoenix to resurrect the Serenity Valley Chantry, and when she learned that Nick had likewise come, she felt that it was kismet, fate, making clear that Phoenix and Serenity Valley is where she is meant to be.

Holly and Nick are as close as two people can be, and their loyalty to each other transcends chantry allegiances.

Jeremiah “Juggler” Demakis – Professional Poker Player, Prophet, Fortune Teller, Medium, and Occult Contact

Juggler was part of the Shadow World aristocracy of Las Vegas, once upon a time, a man that knew how to combine the occult sciences with the roll of the dice or a hand of playing cards to delve into the minds of gods or hear the whispers of the dead. He became privy to many of the great secrets of the world. When the King of the West fell, and the Usurper assumed the Throne, Juggler fled East to Phoenix, the city of rebirth. Here, he hides from his enemies and watches for the True King to return. He runs an underground casino, where he reads the dice and roulette wheel for signs and portents.

Juggler has never confirmed nor denied that he is Awakened, but he has access to knowledge of the past, present, and future beyond the ken of most people. Whether he’s looking through time or he’s communing with spirits, his information is available for a price.

Juggler and Nick have been friends for years, and the two have begun working together in underground poker games to try and tap some of the magic of Las Vegas.

Noah Ellis –Lawyer – Legal, Underworld, Contact

Noah is the type of lawyer that gives the entire profession a bad name. Starting off as an ambulance chaser, he soon moved on to represent several minor soldiers in the various mob families across the country. He will represent anyone willing to pay, twists the law on its head to get his clients off, and is not above twisting the truth in order to score points with a jury.

About the only good thing one can say about Mr. Ellis is that he’s fond of representing the little guy against the giants of the world, regardless of the circumstances. His car, home, and clothes all testify to his success.

Backgrounds

Resources:

Nick is in the process of completing a lawsuit with the city of Phoenix over his arrest for the death of Julia St. Gabriel. The terms of the settlement are sealed and he isn’t talking, but speculation suggests it’s 7 to 8 figures.

Library:

Nick is currently protecting the Never-born Mideon, which he “found” at his old chantry in Las Vegas. The two have established an understanding: Nick provides a safe place to hide and Mideon helps with any research currently being done. He is less of a Library and more along the lines of a reference, telling Nick where to look to find the information he needs.

The Library 3 does not reflect the extent of Mideon’s knowledge, but rather how helpful he’s willing to be.

Status ASU:

Nick is a tenured professor at Arizona State University teaching Philosophy, Sociology, and Urban Folklore. He is a published author, and has recently developed a reputation as an authority on Cults. He’s begun working with several law enforcement agencies as well as private organizations which track cults and hate groups.

Status: Order of Hermes

Magus of the Seventh Degree, Adept Major of Ars Virium (Art of Forces), Ars Mentis (Art of Mind), Ars Vis (Art of Prime), and Ars Temporis (Art of Time) – Nicholas has become one of the Mages involved in the power politics of the Order, where the direction and future of the Tradition is steered.

Status: Academic A trained Philosopher, Nick is respected within the Academic Community in the U.S. and Europe. He's contributed to a number of journals and has published 3 books (a must for any tenured Professor).

Mentor - Lady Doris Unger: Nick has been close to Doris all his life. The Elder Hermetic is a close ally to Nick's mentor, Victor Corrigan, and has been like a grumpy aunt since he was young. She taught briefly while he was at the Straussen Academy, and it was her suggestion he come to Phoenix. Nick loves and trusts Doris completely, and would do anything for her if she were to ask.

Status: Community– Nicholas is known and respected within the Community, along with his colleagues, for stopping the Nephandus Cassidy from tearing down the Veil between the world of the Quick and the Lands of the Dead.

Wonder 4: Slipstream Bracelet

Steel Men's Bracelet

Correspondence 1, Entropy 2, Forces 2 - Rote creates a displacement effect, making the wearer harder to hit. Every success increase the difficulty to hit by 1. In most situations, effect is coincidental.

Arete 5, - Dif 5 - 25 Quint stored

Wonder 3: Ring of Sunshine

Gold Serpent Ring

Forces 4/ Prime 2/Life 2/Matter 2 - Rote fills the area with the magical equivalent of sunshine, dealing aggravated damage to vampires. Effect is vulgar

Arete 4 - Dif 8, - 20 Quint stored

Zeno - Nick's Familiar

It was during a Seeking that Nick was experiencing that he a Zeno found each other. The warped reality created by Nick's Avatar trapped the shadow snake, and the spirits presence was enough to distract Nick's attention, causing the Seeking to fail.

Although it looks like a snake made of shadow, Zeno is a Thought Elemental, a spirit of intellect and ideas. Like an idea itself it has no gender, assuming the name of a male philosopher long dead but speaking in a playful female voice.

Zeno will often hide in Nick's shadow, or slither into his clothes. It sometimes appears as a 2 dimensional snake, sometimes 3, but it is always a black and featureless shadow.

Zeno is teaching Nick about the Astral Realms, acting as a mentor and guide as the Mage begins to explore the limits of his mind magics. In return, the elemental has free access to places of learning, both mundane (ASU) and magical (Phoenix Rising).

Paradigm

PARADIGM

Everything is a Prison

Long ago, before man began to care about some trivial concept as time, humanity walked as gods across creation. Today we are fallen, a shadow of our former selves, stripped of the ability to bend reality, trapped within the Machine of death, we have lost everything that made us wonders. As an evil God watches on, a handful of men and women have managed to wrest the secrets of our old power from the cobwebs of our memories, but this knowledge is incomplete. Instead of achieving apotheosis, they become demiurges, beings whose creations are inherently flawed, and whose sins are punished by the reality that is our prison.

This is Ascension: escaping our prison and reclaiming the mantle of godhood that is our birthright. Once achieved, Nick will wage war against God and help free humanity

Foci

Esoterica - Enochian – Words have power. They are ideas given substance and cast out into the world, for better or worse, to change that world. “I love you.” “Marry me.” “You’ll pay.” These words affect the world around us in profound ways. Nick takes words and infuses them with his Will, his power and magic that once came so easily to him many lifetimes ago. He then uses these words to reach out to his tools and enact changes upon the world.

Antique Pocket Watch – dull steel with a Hermetic Seal on the front – Nick’s watch was manufactured by the Elgin Watch Company as America was switching over to railroad time and being sectioned into time zones. The watch was sold to a street car operator in Chicago in the 1800’s when, in a bit of bad luck, it fell from his pocket and broke.

At that moment, a man named Richard Warren Sears happened to be passing by and saw the tragic accident.. Approaching the conductor, he brought him to his factory where he proudly proclaimed “We guarantee our watches not to fall out of pockets.”

The man was given a brand new watch, and his old one was repaired and carried by Mr. Sears himself until his death. Nick came across the watch at a yard sale near the end of his apprenticeship. By then it had been salvaged for parts, with most of the internal workings broken and the cover plate gone. He spent two years hunting down parts, crafting a new cover with the Hermetic Seal, and restoring the old watch to its former glory. Although he’s updated many of the internal gears with newer materials, and tried to add to its durability, the watch is still essentially the same one carried by Richard Warren Sears, symbolizing much of what the man himself did: opportunity, perseverance, and innovation.

Circles – The symbolic meaning of circles is endless. For Nick, the Circle represents the prison in which humanity has been trapped by an uncaring and malevolent God. He uses Circles when casting either defensive magic or complex rituals. The interior of the Circle is marked with the names of gods, Seraphim, Death Angels, or even the Demiurge or Lucifer. The exterior is marked with the planets and constellations, and in doing so a 2 dimensional representation of the Great Machine which imprisons all humanity is created. By standing in the Circle, Nick can seal himself from outside forces and find protection from dangers. By standing outside the Circle, he asserts mastery over everything within it.

Chinese Portrait

If Nick was . . . he’d be . . .

a natural phenomenon Twilight

a metal bronze

an animal a snake

a mythological being Odysseus

a famous human Alexander Hamilton

a human activity winning

a weapon strategy and tactics

a work of art The Odyssey

an object an antique skeleton key

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