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Player information
Name: Teresa
Contact: lycanthropy101
Are you 18 or over? Yep!
Other characters played: Faolan, John Childermass, Jean-Claude

Character information
Name: Thomas Nightingale
Age: 115
Date of Birth: January 20, 1901
Canon: ‘Rivers of London’ series, by Ben Aaronovitch
Species: Witch
Role: Instructor/Outreach Team, Redbright Institute
Rank: Level 1
Background:

Thomas Nightingale was born into a large family just after the turn of the century. With 2 sisters and 4 brothers, Nightingale was considered to be something of ‘the spare’ and thus had a lot of freedom to choose what he wanted to do with his life. His uncle persuaded his parents to let him attend a prestigious magical academy (for boys only at the time) where he learned a lot of spellwork and had an altogether pleasant childhood. (As a note, this school used the Newtonian classifications for most of the spells, and as such some of the names that he might use for them are different than the “common” name for them nowadays. Much to his annoyance.) As a boy he was rather sporty, though as he grew older so too grew his thirst for knowledge. He put everything he could into his schooling and through his studies his abilities came to surpass that of many of his colleagues at the time. His instructors even went so far as to call him The Nightingale, although his classmates adopted the nickname to refer to him by in something of a more casually mocking manner.

Nightingale thinks of himself as something of a renaissance man and thus after he graduated from the academy he spent some time with a coven that called themselves The Sons of Weyland where he studied the finer arts of magic, such as Staff creation. This being an aspect of the craft that not everyone who graduated with him would have gone on to study, instead relying on the specialists to handle that side of magic for them.

From his studies, Nightingale went on to look for work in London, where he found himself a position as instructor at the newly established Redbright Institute. It soon became apparent to those who worked for the Institute that they needed to do more for the city than simply instruct the students who came to them, and so the Outreach Team was formed, with Nightingale as one of the founding members. Its purposes were simple. To seek out young supernaturals within the community, to protect the city itself from supernatural threat, and to preserve the secrecy of the supernatural world from those unaware of its existence. Together with its founders, Nightingale worked to establish these purposes and the way that the Institute would work to make them a reality. Continuing his work both on the Team and as an Instructor up until the time when the second World War broke out when, because of his excellent magical talents, he was sent to fight in the war with most of the other magic users of conscription age. Nightingale made himself a distinct presence on the battlefield, to the point where the Germans actually came to put a price on his head.

And then tragedy struck. It was just towards the end of the war and they were getting cocky. The war was going well for them and they were starting to envision a time beyond it, as victors. So they decided to take on an entirely unnecessary mission to steal magical information from the Germans. Information that was being kept in hiding what was called "The Black Library" just outside a little town called Ettersberg. And it was a bloodbath. Nightingale was assigned to defend the rear guard, and defend them he did, but he was only one man. Despite being shot in the battle himself, he got as many men to safety as he could. But it was not enough, and still only a few of those that were sent to that battle escaped, Nightingale one of a handful of survivors among thousands.

Having survived the war, Nightingale’s attentions turned instead to the city itself after that. London was suffering from the loss of the majority of its male witches of conscription age, and even among the handful who returned home, Nightingale was perhaps one of the only few who did not turn his back on magic after that. He needed a purpose to set himself to, and so it was that he returned to his career at the Institute with a renewed vigor. Intent on educating his young supernatural students and preparing them for the life that he had helped create for them. Attempting to fill the gaps that his missing colleagues had left behind. In the 1960’s, when Nightingale himself was around 60 years old, he was considered to be one of the most powerful witches in Europe, a title that Nightingale himself never really thought much of. It was as he grew into his 70's that Nightingale finally decided to retire from the Institute and he had thought that was that. That is until one day, not too long after that and for reasons unknown to even Nightingale himself, he started to age backwards.

Finding himself growing younger again, Nightingale had no other choice but to come back out of retirement. Back to the Redbright Institute, accepting back his old teaching position and, once he had gotten young enough again, back onto the Outreach team as well. Nightingale worked like this for the next 30 years, continuing to mysteriously age backwards as he did. Seeing as how he has been with the Institute for so long, if one were to look into the archives of its history they might notice a familiar face. Most these days assume that the Thomas Nightingale in those photographs must be this Nightingale's father, and Nightingale generally does nothing to try and correct their error.

Now in the early 2010’s, Nightingale is physically in his early 40’s again, despite being over 100 years old. He has no idea who he has upset or offended to gain this mysterious aging ability, but he hasn’t been very keen to find out. You know what they say about looking a gift horse in the mouth....

Personality:

Nightingale is a reserved and serious person. He almost seems to be distant at times, although this is perhaps because of his age and the way people were raised then versus now. As it is described of him in the narration of the books, “someone had once told him in 1939 that loose lips sink ships and he obviously hadn’t seen any reason to change just because the war was over.”

Nightingale has made an effort to learn technology where and when necessary, and is a quick learner when he puts forth the effort, but there’s just so much that has happened between when he went to school and the world he’s living in now that he’s somewhat behind the times. He has at least got the grasp of the radio by now, but cell phones and televisions and the internet baffle him as much as they would anyone’s great-grandfather. He’s the sort of man who optionally decides to eat formal dinner with full dinner set and formal dress because there are standards to be upheld, even if he’s the only one upholding them these days.

He is fiercely loyal and protective of his friends, especially since he simply does not have that many left anymore. Most of the men he fought alongside in Ettersberg either died in battle then, unfortunately decided to take their own lives later, or have since died of old age. There are very few of them left. Nightingale is not the only witch in London by any means, but he one of the only witches left alive of that age, and he feels very much alone because of it. He mourns their loss, as for him it is as though Ettersberg really was only a few years ago. He does not understand why he has aged backwards all these years now, why him in particular, whether it was a curse or a spell cast unbeknownst to him on himself. But he avoids discussion of the fact, and of much of his own past and private life in general. Whether that is because it is painful for him to discuss (it is) or because that is simply part of his character it’s hard to tell. He is very focused on his work, his students, their learning, his own learning, and everywhere he can be save for on himself personally.

That is not to say that Nightingale is incapable of having fun. He does have a dry sense of humor that he’s been known to whip out upon occasion. He enjoys the use of sarcasm especially, and he his own particular brand of sharp wit. He likes when things are correct, precise, and following the rules laid out for them, and he will correct your grammar if he finds it lacking. But that is not to say that he will not bend and break the rules himself, where and when necessary.

Because he is 115 years old however, he is somewhat lacking in some aspects of modern life. The way he talks for example, using words like “indubitable”, describing a colleague retiring to the countryside as “rusticating”, although he attempts to stay abreast of modern slang and does a fairly good job of following it. (When he tries to use it himself however is generally when he falls into trouble -- “plug a cap in your head” is definitely not the same phrase as “pop a cap in your ass”, though bless him, he does try).

Powers & Possessions:

Given the years of learning Nightingale has put in, going above and beyond the regular call of duty as far as schooling is concerned as well, he would certainly know all low-mid level spells. His specific talents lie in the art of combat magics, and he is especially knowledgeable in the arts of the staff creation, as studied under the Sons of Weyland. Because he does possess a staff (shaped like a wooden cane, silver-topped), he is therefore able to perform certain higher-classed spells for longer periods of time than a person without one might do. Nightingale is also trained in the ways of disarming Demon Traps, as they were commonly used during the War.

Inventory:
♦ staff, shaped as a silver-topped gentleman’s cane
♦ witch’s amulet

Samples:
Thread 1
Thread 2

World building
Locations:

The Folly
The Folly is located on Russell Square in Camden. It’s a row of Georgian terraces, 5 storeys high with wrought-iron railings defending steep drops into basement flats. It has a flight of stairs leading up to its double mahogany doors with brass fittings. The Latin words 'scientia potestas est' are carved above the lintel. Features of the Folly contain but are not limited to: a general library, a magic library, a lecture hall, a firing rage, a coach house, and several laboratories. It had been the headquarters of all Newtonian witches in London and therefore home to their library of works as well. Most of these witches were killed in World War II or have moved on away from the intense life of magical brotherhood and study. As such, Thomas Nightingale is currently the only resident of the Folly. (He and the magical housemaid, Molly.) Read more.

Ettersberg, Germany
Ettersberg was the location of a large battle during the second World War that ended up taking the lives of a large portion of the magical fighting forces at the time. Mostly forgotten by this generation of witches, there are still a few who will remember by the mention of its name what significance its losses held. Read more.

Items:

Demon Trap
medium level ♦ dark spellbooks
A Demon Trap is a device not unlike a magical landmine. Developed originally by the vikings and then further advanced later by the Germans during WWII, it is created by using magic to trap a spirit at the point of death and then use that spirit in what is basically a psychic bomb. A Demon Trap may have one or two devices attached to it. The creation of a demon trap does not require an extensive knowledge of magic but disarming it is where high level technical skills are needed. Materials needed to disarm them include a length of green wood, the younger and fresher the better. Also required is the skill to channel the psychic explosion in such a way as to not blow yourself up in the process.

Magic:

Aqua
low-mid level ♦ basic spellbooks
The manipulation of water. At beginning with, at its lowest level, the creation of a ball of water, and at its more complex, using water in combination with other spells for other purposes, such as creating a telescoping effect, collecting water in larger quantities, creating a flood, etc.

Dissimulo
high level ♦ dark spellbooks
A spell to mold flesh and bone into a specific shape and/or appearance, generally used to disguise oneself. Unpopular because it generally has catastrophic results if severe physical changes are made that, upon the release of the spell, cause the restructured appearance to collapse on itself.

Staff Creation
high level ♦ arcane spellbooks
This spell is as much a technical skill as it is a high level spell, that is why so few are now able to perform the task. One must work the spellwork into the core metal of the staff as you forge it in fire using hammer and anvil. The overall process takes weeks to finish, requiring patience and diligence to the extent that most magic users these days simply no longer possess.

Vestigia
low/mid level ♦ basic/arcane spellbooks
This spell is not all that complicated to produce so much as it is to interpret. Casting for vestigia (or vestigum in the singular), a witch will be able to feel the background magic of a place or object. The strength of this will be variable depending on the object itself and how much magic it has encountered. The magic is then less detected so much as sensed, like the memory of a smell or a sound that you once heard. It is then up to the caster to interpret its meaning. Which can be surprisingly difficult, at times. For example. An earthenware bowl used in a magical ceremony might give off certain characteristics of its user, such as the smell of their perfume, the sound of their yappy dog, the sense of dread as something went horribly awry. It is up to the caster to interpret these signs and determine what they should mean, and that is why while it is an easy spell to perform, it is a difficult spell to use in practice.