Nothos Ktepma

"You're just a warmonger, through and through. History won't remember you as a hero."

"Ah.. but it will remember me. I'll take that over being forgettable any day."

Nothos Ktepma is a great many things to a great many people. He's been called an Underworld Kingpin, a Master Alchemist, an educator and a God in the making. Nothos is infamous across almost every echelon of society, and inspires reactions ranging from revulsion to outright worship. But however one views him personally, it's impossible to deny the magnitude of his accomplishments.

Origins
Little is officially known about Nothos' origins, despite consistent investigation by numerous law enforcement and governmental entities. It is generally agreed that he was hatched in a universe which housed both humans and trolls as advanced species, on a world named Birepunge. Though the planet (and home universe) were eventually destroyed, records show that Birepunge was a planet constantly in the throes of a brutal inter-species war.

Experts speculate that it was the chaos and violence of this war that allowed Nothos to escape being culled upon birth for his atypical crimson blood. Over the next seven sweeps, military bases of both factions suffered consistent supply thefts and occasional casualties at the hands of  'The Bastard', pronounced  'Nothos' in local parlance.

At some point, he is known to have encountered Sburb, and entered a session with a number of other Birepungan youths. The details of this session are wildly speculated upon, but Nothos exited as an immortal God Tier, the Rogue of Time. This marks his first entrance into the multiverse.

Life as a Mercenary
Nothos began his career plying the hard-won skills he'd earned in his first session. As a mercenary, he specialized in sessions which would be traditionally regarded as failed. Alongside a growing band of comrades, Nothos found profit in winning the unwinnable, and taking a portion of grist to continue operations.

It was in this era that he encountered Caleb Richter, a human who introduced Nothos to the concept of Alchemy as a science. Nothos and Caleb found they worked well together, and set about unraveling the secrets of Alchemy as a team.

Reports of Nothos during this time are erratic. His behavior is reported as ranging from childish to brutal, particularly against those who would take issue with his mutant caste.

Ktepma Arms
As Nothos and Caleb progressed further and further into Alchemy, Nothos came to find his calling in the creation of weapons. The grist he used for luxuries started to flow into his work instead, and as his skill increased he set the mercenary business aside in favor of arms dealing.

A small business quickly grew as news of expertly made Ktepma weapons spread by word of mouth. Among the multiversal clubs Nothos frequented at the time, weapons of great power and high quality were always in demand.

This portion of Nothos' life is quite murky, but there are indications that significant personal struggles marked this time, ranging from substance abuse to learning how to navigate relationships despite his traumatic upbringing.

Eventually, Nothos and a group of companions entered a second, artificial session. Information on the events that happened within the incipisphere are spotty, but reports indicate that Nothos exited lacking many of the relationships he entered with. After a brief time where he remained distant, he faked his own death and departed to make a new life for himself.

The Ktepma Syndicate
Nothos found a new home far outside of civilized space, aboard a lawless asteroid-city known as Space Vegas. The only law aboard Space Vegas was what law you could buy, steal, or enforce, and the environment offered Nothos a huge quantity of customers clamoring for the latest and greatest in weapons technology.

He might have continued like this indefinitely, had he not suddenly faced extortion at the hands of a local cartel. Rather than suffer under their heel, Nothos turned on them. With allies gained over the course of business, armed with weapons vastly superior to the Cartel, Nothos toppled his opposition within a week. Now, finding himself picking through the spoils of a life of crime, it is said Nothos came to realize a truth that would shape the rest of his life. He could do better.

The Syndicate grew fast. The advantage offered by Ktepma weapons allowed his enforcers and foot soldiers to trample competition as they expanded their influence across Space Vegas. Nothos quickly gained a reputation for being ruthless, but fair. Among his own people, competence trumped any other consideration, and created a meritocratic environment where the strong rise to the top. The Syndicate expanded as more aspects of the underworld fell under its control, coming to dabble in prostitution, gambling, heisting, information brokering, assassination and mercenary work. The only two criminal operations the Ktepma Syndicate shied from were drug dealing and sapient trafficking, apparently due to Nothos' own personal convictions.

The War Alchemist
During this period of expansion, Nothos was uncovering new aspects of alchemy every day. He took his first descendant, Lawton Ktepma, as an apprentice, and passed onto him the knowledge that he had accrued. Eventually, he began to look outwards in an effort to make contact with other alchemists with whom he could collaborate.

Accompanied by his old friend Caleb Richter, along with Vale Nathis and Izumii Larinx, the four of them worked tirelessly to forge something none of them could alone. The fruit of their labor was a brand new concept, something they had shaped as they desired, and imbued with power. By the hands of those four, the rank of Master Alchemist was created. As one of the original four founders, Nothos claimed the title of The War Alchemist, claiming his alchemical domain and setting his path forward.

Founding Elysium
It had been sweeps since Nothos left his old life behind, but he wasn't able to elude it forever. Despite his growing infamy and power, it was pure happenstance that reintroduced him to his past life. The Tempest, captained by Einarr Vaetis, happened to dock at Space Vegas for supplies and shore leave. Through sheer luck, old friends such as Erisia Orexis encountered his storefront, and he found himself drawn back into the fold.

Now reunited, Erisia and Nothos together founded The Elysium Nightclub, and built the planet it stands on. After a time, Erisia left her position aboard the Tempest and came to work for Nothos instead, as one of the newly-introduced Hands that would be his lieutenants in the Syndicate.

The Resonance War
Several sweeps after the founding of Elysium, Nothos encountered a group called The Orcheslaughterers almost by mistake. The anti-hemospectrum terrorist organization came to his attention via their claim on Tormaz Iommii, a friend of Nothos'. By all accounts, he never intended to begin a war, but after killing the Conductyrant of Doom Requiem in a pitched battle, the two factions took up arms.

Over the course of this war, Nothos would add to his own power by appropriating Resonance from Conductyrant troops, and applying it to himself. Armed with this paradoxical power, he set himself against his foes. He was granted the descriptor 'To Save', an act by Father Crow that Nothos regarded as a cruel jab at his exploitative life of crime, and the consistent failings that came of past attempts to be a hero.

During this time he also met Dehlan Iommii, a figure that would begin as an untrustworthy contact against the Orcheslaughterers, and eventually grow into one of Nothos' closest friends and auspices. Dehlan informed Nothos of the true stakes in the war against the Orcheslaughterers, telling him that the terrorist group led by Legato Dreyan wished to summon the God of Destruction, Father Crow in an effort to channel his power and reshape the world as they saw fit. Nothos was unwilling to let another organization have such power, and bent his will to stop them.

Over the course of the years-long war, the other Conductyrants were hunted down and killed, captured, or turned to Nothos' side. At one point, Lawton Ktepma was killed in a battle against the Conductyrant Nocturne, prompting Nothos to swear revenge. During the final battle within Nihil Cathedral, Nothos killed Nocturne in revenge, alongside the Time Conductyrant Fermada. The coalition did battle with Legato in the sanctum, but failed to defeat him before Zolenz, a Conductyrant turned Ktepma Agent revealed his true allegiance, and killed Legato in order to complete the summoning.

The true architect of the war was revealed as Dehlan himself. Nothos and Erisia made their way into the physical form of Father Crow to confront Dehlan, but after a brief conversation, Nothos opted to spare Dehlan and instead use his Resonance to Save everything which had been destroyed, including his descendant Lawton.

The Trisymphora
During the war with the Orcheslaughterers, Nothos was introduced to Cain Adelheid by way of Eris. The two of them quickly hit it off, and eventually added Dehlan to the group. It became quickly apparent that the three of them not only got along well socially, but had larger scale goals that aligned, and the means to help one another accomplish them.

Upon suggestion from Nothos, they named their group Trisymphora, meaning 'Three Calamities', and began to pool their considerable resources in order to move forward.

A New Generation of Alchemists
Experts are divided on what prompted Nothos to take on Somnia Suripi and Diana Jyruss as apprentices in alchemy.

Over the course of several years, he imparted what knowledge he could, and guided them to self sufficiency. After a lengthy apprenticeship, he celebrated their graduation to full Alchemists by giving them the House of Blades, a structure intended for usage by the Syndicate's Arm of Blades.

The Path to Victory and The War on Olympus
Around this time, Nothos began to move along the path to attaining the mantle of the Elder God of Victory. He was introduced to these trials by Cain, and has attacked them over the course of years with consistent success. This pursuit inevitably brought him into conflict with The Federation and their military, Olympus. In an effort to stop Nothos from attaining the power of Victory, Olympus used a superweapon based on Cain known as Abel to destroy memories relating to his trials. Nothos was enraged by this attack on his mind, and retaliated with an antimatter bomb sent to The culprit, Roderick Adelheid's residence. This bomb was diverted to instead explode in one of Olympus' major cities, and served as an excuse to fully mobilize Olympus against Nothos.

As a criminal organization, the Syndicate fights a very asymmetric war with the vastly larger Olympus military. Initially, this strategy was a stunning success, as the elite forces of the Syndicate ran circles around the rarely challenged Olympians. This string of victories was brought to a halt by Nothos' Ancestor, Roland Ktepma taking command of Olympus' military and remaking it into something which could truly stand against The Syndicate.

The Endless War
Nothos had been acquainted with the Noble Circle Horrorterror known as Endless for a decent time. Relations soured when Endless corrupted one of Diana's bodies and created Emma. After Emma attacked Somnia directly, the war ignited when Nothos fought Endless in her own throne room. Neither was significantly damaged in the fight, but Nothos did use his Resonance to tear the long-dead shade of Chris away from Endless' control, and return her to life.

The war didn't rage for long before discontent within the Syndicate forced Nothos to call in a favor Endless had owed him, and brought the war to an end.

Physical Description
Nothos was hatched as a crimson-blooded Alternian Troll. Though little of his original body remains after extensive alchemical augmentation, he still considers himself a member of his original species.

Nothos appears to be roughly 35 years of age, and is extremely fit. He stands at six feet, two inches, after growing several inches while allowing himself to age. Nothos is very rarely seen wearing anything other than a full suit, generally highlighting his mutant caste. He makes a point of not hiding his eyes or his blood, almost as if daring the world to take issue.

Both of Nothos' hands bear tattoos on the front and back. These symbols are his own sign, the Ktepma Syndicate's sigil, the symbol of Trisymphora, and a scintillating Spirograph that Nothos uses for alchemy.

Personality
By default, Nothos tends to be calm and serious. He prefers people who meet him for the first time to not immediately make connections about who and what he is, and doesn't tend to bring up his work of his own accord. Those close to him are aware that the personality he presents varies from time to time, based on who he's speaking to. Those seeing Nothos at work as the cold, ruthless Ktepma Head would be hard-pressed to find the same person in the relaxed, genial bartender that is so often present at Elysium.

Nothos is an opportunist at heart, and is widely known for seizing advantages in any situation presented to him, or making advantages where there were none before. He loves a challenge of any kind, and spends a great deal of his personal time advancing himself in any way he can. Nothos is infamous for his determination, and very rarely does he allow something he desires to slip through his fingers. As such, Nothos views the acquisition of power to be an essential step towards achieving his ends, and never shies away from an opportunity to strengthen his position.

Nothos' reputation for ruthlessness is well-earned, but years of experience have tended to steer him towards less brutal, more elegant channels of achieving his will. He still doesn't shy away from conflict or violence, but neither is he so lax about collateral damage as he was in his younger days. While he is certainly capable of acts of astonishing cruelty, he tends to prefer a more measured response.

Over the course of years, Nothos has come to value immensely the personal connections formed among those he views as worthy friends. He is not shy about leveraging his many resources on behalf of those he feels deserve it, and tends to give extravagant gifts, when he feels a gift is necessary at all. Laying a finger on anyone Nothos has claimed as a member of his 'family' is a certain way to incite his wrath, so much so that entire wars have been started over such slights.

The War Alchemist
Of all the aspects of Nothos' legend, his status as The War Alchemist is perhaps the most important, and the most powerful. His Syndicate rose to prominence thanks to access to Ktepma-grade weaponry, and the cornerstone of Nothos' combat strategies rely on his access to an incomprehensibly wide array of tools built to task. As the War Alchemist, Nothos is the multiverse's foremost creator of tools of war. This covers weapons, armor, vehicles, surveillance technology, training devices, logistics technologies, and any system which might grant an advantage on the battlefield.

With regard to weaponcrafting in particular, Nothos claims to be the greatest of all time. Ktepma Custom weapons are sought after by deities and warlords across the multiverse, and everyone knows that Nothos' symbol is a guarantee of true power. Nothos is by no means limited to alchemy, and is well known for learning and incorporating other styles of crafting into his overall style, including enchantment, Daiklave forgery, classic technology integration, and soul alchemy. Given enough information and time, there is nearly no situation for which Nothos cannot develop a countermeasure.

It's important to note that Nothos is by no means limited to only creating tools useful in war. As a Master Alchemist, he can build nearly anything he desires, though exceptionally complicated or powerful items often require development time and the acquisition of rare reagents.

Rogue of Time
Nothos is a fully realized Rogue of Time. While this title lacks the raw power of Lords or Heirs, Nothos makes up for it with sheer skill earned through over a century of experience. Nothos is capable of manipulating his own passage through time, time travelling, stopping time, and is immune to all hostile temporal effects. His powers as a Rogue give him exceptional defensive capabilities, granting combat precognition and a less specific danger sense. He is capable of transferring time from foes to friends or vice versa, and controlling allies passage through the timestream in much the same way as his own.

Resonance: To Save
The descriptor bestowed upon Nothos by Father Crow was at first perceived as a sick joke. A snide remark on Nothos' pattern of attempting to play the hero, and suffering terribly for it. Nothos eventually learned to master his descriptor, and is capable of using it's paradoxical power to Save anything he chooses. The only exception is that Nothos is unable to Save himself, and so uses this ability to support allies, or protect his own equipment.

Nothos is also capable of using Active Resonance, but rarely does so in combat.

Vancian Magic: Transmutation
After the events of the Resonance War, Nothos came to exist with company inside his skull. An alternate version of himself named Chorus had taken up residence, and in the absence of other things to do, took up arcane magic. Chorus quickly grew powerful, and is capable of unleashing high level magic from within Nothos' mind, without having to interrupt whatever Nothos proper is doing at the time.

Mantle of Victory
As an aspirant to the Throne of Victory, Nothos has progressed through numerous trials to gain power and demonstrate his worth. By channeling the power of Victory, Nothos is capable of vastly enhancing his already augmented capabilities, summoning souls of deceased heroes to fight for him, and many other abilities gained from channeling this Elder power.