Noct the Paralyzer

In the Dark Elves' continual web of internecine feuding, many of them have risen to undreamt heights of infamy, and few more so than Noct the Paralyzer. Noct began his career serving in the household guard of a noble family, but his callous disregard for life and his utter lack of discipline earned him few friends. For Noct, fighting was simply a means to an end; a way to indulge the sadistic tendencies that had been heretofore hidden within him, free of consequence. Unable to obey orders to the satisfaction of his betters, Noct soon found himself at loose ends. Few would employ him as a mercenary or bodyguard due to his generally unpleasant demeanor and unpredictable nature, and he had no liking for grubbing in the dirt as a fungus farmer. With few options open to him, Noct grudgingly took up the life of a Ranger. It was not a pleasant time, for the forest was wilder and fiercer than any Dark Elf truly knew, and had dangers aplenty, even for a seasoned killer like Noct. Wary of traversing the treacherous forest paths, Noct often chose to travel via the canopy overhead. It was on one such journey that he met his match in a ravenous, hard-shelled insect matching his size, one of the innumerable species that inhabited the deepest reaches of the forest. It stalked him through the canopy, and was on him before he knew it. Only Noct’s quick reflexes saved him from the creature’s scimitar-like pincers, but its weight carried them both from the high branches, down through the boughs and to the forest floor. They crashed through an ancient stone slab, and into the depths of what might have been a forgotten temple, reclaimed centuries earlier by the woodland. Dazed by the fall, Noct could only watch as his attacker scuttled towards him, intent on finishing what it had started. It never reached him. A swarm of smaller insects, round and buzzing shapes that shone with emerald iridescence, attacked the creature, stinging it into motionlessness. Noct froze, instinctively understanding that to move was to die. He remained still, barely daring to breathe. The swarm hovered for a moment, then retreated into the darkness of the ruin, leaving Noct alive… and curious. Noct examined the larger insect and found to his surprise that it still lived, though it was paralyzed. He considered slaughtering it, but something made him hesitate. Instead, he retreated to a safe distance and waited. Soon, the swarm returned, in larger numbers. As Noct watched, they fed on their victim, eating it alive over several days. There, Noct had an epiphany. He seized the opportunity to slay one of the creatures when it became separated from the swarm and carefully extracted its poison sacs. Dipping his wickedly curved blades into the poison, he set about testing his hypothesis on several unfortunate Rangers who happened across the ruin. After some trial and error, Noct realized that he could paralyze an opponent with the merest scratch from one of his knives, or with a well-placed thrust, deliver the poison to a target’s bloodstream and stop the heart, lungs, and brain in a matter of moments. Further experimentation revealed that varying the amounts could cause excruciating pain to a victim, rather than killing them, cause nightmare-filled sleep, or cause paralysis in specific body parts, such as the eyes, ears, or limbs. With these experiments completed to his satisfaction, Noct decided the time had come to put his newfound knowledge to practical use. He scavenged bits of the insects’ kills to make himself a suit of armor, and took his pick of the gear left over from his own victims. After making note of the ruin’s location for his poison needs in the future, he departed, to return to the undergrowth-towns of his people. But not as a Ranger. Instead, Noct had decided to take up a new career: that of assassin. In the months that followed, Noct learned to utilize the venoms of dozens of insectoid species, and quickly established his reputation as a dealer of exquisitely painful deaths. Not satisfied with merely dispatching his targets, Noct tortures his victims as a warning to those who consider crossing his clients. He often leaves paralyzed victims for the insects in the forest, or entombs them alive. Others he simply incapacitates, leaving them to die in immense agony. Stories of Noct's grisly exploits have swiftly spread throughout Durham Forest, and with them have come a surge of potential clients, vying his services.