PLAYED BY: Nick Farmer
CHARACTER NAME: Niklas Tidewalker
GENDER: Male
PRONOUN(S): He/him
CLASS: Rogue
AGE: late 30s
RACE: Ulven
HAIR: Shaved head; short salt-and-pepper beard.
EYES: Amber-yellow, wolf-like
OCCUPATION: Traveling Fisherman (Hunter)
KNOWN SKILLS: Fishing, net making and repair, rope and knot work, trapping, hunting, and wilderness survival.
BIRTHPLACE: A small fishing village along the Stormjarl coast.
APPEARANCE: Tall, broad-shouldered Ulven with a shaved head, short salt-and-pepper beard, amber wolf-like eyes, and weathered traveling clothes. Several fish hang from his belt on braided cords, giving him the unmistakable appearance of a wandering fisherman.
NOTABLE TRAITS: Talks to the fish hanging from his belt as though they were old friends.
RELATIONSHIPS: None currently. Niklas is searching for a place to belong and hopes to find a community he can call home.
RUMORS: There’s a wandering fisherman who talks to the fish on his belt. Harmless enough… though some swear the fish answer him.
BIO / BACKGROUND HISTORY:
Niklas Tidewalker was born in a small fishing village along the Stormjarl coast. Far from the larger settlements, his family lived a quiet life sustained by the sea. His father had turned away from the pursuit of glory and chose instead to follow the Path of Gaia, believing there was honor in living alongside nature rather than constantly seeking battle. Wanting his children to know peace, he and Niklas’s mother raised their family where the tides, forests, and wildlife provided everything they needed.
As a child, Niklas spent his days learning to fish beside his father while his younger sister, Astrid, followed close behind. The siblings teased each other endlessly, explored the shoreline, searched tide pools for shells and strange creatures, and learned to respect every animal that crossed their path. His father taught him to mend nets, tie strong knots, and never waste what the sea provided. His mother taught him patience, kindness, and that every living creature had a place in Gaia’s world.
That peaceful life ended in a single afternoon.
A band of attackers descended upon the village without warning. Realizing there was no hope of defending their home, Niklas’s parents hid him and Astrid beneath fishing nets and overturned gear, ordering them to stay hidden no matter what they heard.
From beneath the nets, Niklas listened helplessly as his parents were struck down.
Unable to bear the sounds any longer, Astrid broke from hiding and ran toward them. She never reached them. Before Niklas could move, the attackers cut her down as well.
When silence finally returned, Niklas crawled from his hiding place to find his entire family dead.
For two days he remained beside them, too grief-stricken to leave. Hunger and cold eventually forced him to walk away from the only home he had ever known.
The years that followed were lonely ones.
Niklas survived by taking whatever honest work he could find. He fished rivers and coastlines, trapped small game, hunted when necessary, repaired nets, tied rope for fishermen and merchants, and wandered from settlement to settlement. Wherever he traveled, he found comfort in the wilderness more easily than among people. He became fascinated by the creatures he encountered, quietly observing their habits and treating them with a respect that many found unusual.
Somewhere along those lonely roads, he began talking to fish.
At first, the fish simply reminded him of his family. In time, he found himself speaking to them, and eventually he began hearing familiar voices answer in return. Whether it was born from grief, loneliness, or something only Gaia herself could explain, the voices never left him. He now carries fish on his belt and speaks with them as though they were old companions. Most dismiss him as an odd fisherman with a harmless eccentricity. Niklas simply smiles and continues the conversation.
Despite spending more than twenty years wandering, Niklas has never truly been searching for fish or work.
He has been searching for a home.
Though quiet, capable, and remarkably self-sufficient, he carries the hope that somewhere there is still a place where he belongs… a place where he can once again cast a line into the water, share stories around a fire, and become part of a family instead of merely passing through.
For the first time in many years, he believes he may finally be close to finding it.