Nero Cidera

Nero Cidera is an elf, exiled from his home. He is quiet, solidary and rarely talks to anyone, keeping his thoughts to himself as well as his secrets. The secrets he keeps are not meant for just anyone's ears, and those secrets even hurt Nero himself. For Nero is a star-borne, one blessed by the stars on the night of the black stars, which Nero was named after.

Appearance
Nero is an elf, thus slender and beautifull as any other of his kin. He is slightly shorter than his brethren, and stands 176 cm tall. He has pitch black hair, blue tinged like the night, and his eyes are silver like the stars inhabiting the night sky. His skin is pale as porcelain, and seems to be just as fragile, as if it would break at the next incoming blow. Nero wears elven-made clothes, tinged in grey colours of blue, purple or just simple plain grey.

Story
Nero was born on the night of the black stars, and on that same night, at the time of this birth, he was blessed by the stars, his hair turned black and eyes turned silver, and he was granted the gift of prophecy, of seeing the dreams of the stars, being able to see the future. This gift was not uncovered untill Nero turned 49, almost an adult among elves, when one night, he dreamt. The dream was surreal, disembodied, realistic and horrible. He heard a noice outside, and went out to investigate. In his dream, he saw his brother being murdered by a knife in the back, the side, shoulder and then belly. His brother was dead.

Waking up from this dreadfull dream, bathing in cold sweat, Nero flew up from his bed, gasping for air. Had it been real? No... just... a dream...

Nero heard a sound outside. Immediately knowing this was the same as in his dreams, Nero thought back of his brother being murdered. He heard footsteps outside, leaves breaking beneath feet as the person walked. Nero slipped into the kitchen and grabbed a knife, certain that he would stop the killer before reaching his brother who was at the lake. He stalked outside, found the figure walking towards the lake and followed, determined to catch him. As the person arrived near the lake, there was no one else there. He was early, was Nero's conclusion. He could do it now. Stop his brother from being killed... He sneaked behind the person, then grabbed him, putting one hand over the person's mouth to refrain him from screaming, and stabbed. Once in the back, the side, the shoulder and at last, the belly.

His brother was dead.

Nero ran away from his homeland the next day, not being able to bear with the emotions of having murdered his brother. He ran all the way to the south, keeping his horrible secret deep in his heart. Nero reached the seaside and sat down, staring into the emptiness of the horizon for days, grieving his brother. Untill one day, he was visited. She was beautifull, her long gold-blonde hair reaching her waist, her eyes as blue and clear as the sea itself on a sunny day, her lips full and above all, smiling at him.

It had been so long since he had seen a smile.

She was Lidian Maris, and it was not long before Nero knew she was a mermaid. She told him her story, and he was moved, and they decided to travel together. But Nero kept his secrets, his heritage and his past to himself, only giving short answers when she asked him a question. Untill he had another dream, another vision. He dreamt of a city covered in shadows, moving shadows... They were the shadowlings. It was the city they were in then. He urged Lidian to get out of the city, and told her she should trust him. Together they fled, but were not safe. That was when Lidian urged Nero to tell his story, and he did. He told her everything, including the death of his brother. She did not look upon him with hatred or disgust, like Nero expected she would, but with compassion and understanding. Tears fell down his cheeks when he saw her gaze, and he mourned for everything. His brother, his family, and for himself.

In another dimension, there exists another version of Nero, a twisted, horrible version of Nero. A drow-version. He was evil, enjoyed the fear of others. But he was strong and unafraid. Nero, having seen this form with help of an amulet, wanted to become this other side of him, to become that strong, powerfull being. He urged Lidian to cast a spell and melt the two together, but once he was half-drow, he noticed he and the drow were so opposed to eachother that he almost turned crazy. Before this happened, Lidian foresaw this and un-did the spell. Nero and Lidian got separated and have not seen eachother since.

Nero and Lidian, later named in a prophecy, got separated. Lidian went back to the sea and became the queen of the seventh sea like she was supposed to be, and Nero became the lord of the drow. It has not been said which one of the two elves became the lord, but it is supposedly the drow-half of the two. The whereabouts of the other Nero was only recently figured out by Lidian, who is in search of her long-lost dear friend. Nero was in another dimension.

Ignis, being compelled to find Nero due the wish of Lidian, travels to that dimension and finds Nero. Nero resided in a small wooden house near a river. He was lying on a bed, his face hollow and pale, looking quite weak and sickly. Ignis took Nero from that house and carried him all the way back to the Portal of the Guardian and back into his original dimension. Ignis went to the shore where he would be certain to find Lidian.

As it appeared, Nero's gift was indeed a curse. The dreams came more often, and would last longer. Nero would lapse into a state of half-consciousness, being awake but seeing the future before him. Lidian woke him up when she had found him, and Nero, still thinking he was in one of those dreams, reached out to Lidian, thinking he was seeing the future. When he noticed this was not the case, and he was actually awake, he felt how weak and ill he was, how hungry and finally, how glad he was to see his one and only friend again. He told her everything about what had happened, how he had used magic to teleport himself to another dimension while he was in one of his visions, how he had gotten weaker and weaker, which led to him getting more and more visions. He told Lidian that it would get worse, and eventually Nero would only see the future.

Lidian acted distant, confused and saddened by these events. She separates herself from Nero emotionally, to not cause any more harm to him... or herself. For realizing that she might lose her best friend will hurt her more than anything.