Nyx has spent much of his life trying to find a balance between who he was and who he's become. Once he was a masterful hunter, honored by his people. A son of Galahd, a hunter, a fighter, wild and untamed and now trying to get by in the high-tech city of Lucis without, as his best friend puts it, selling out our heritage. There are plenty of Galahdians and Glaives that think poorly of him for having such loyalty to the crown, convinced that loyalty is some sort of betrayal to their home land.

Nyx sees it as the only right thing they can do to show their gratitude to the man that took them in, trained them, gave them the power to protect what was left outside of Niflehiem control. He values the opportunity to prove himself, to distract himself from the loss of his sister that still haunts him and, in no small part, he greatly values the power the role of Kingsglaive brings with it. Never again does he have to be helpless and unable to protect those he cares for. It's partly this reason that he pushes himself so hard in battle, reckless to the point of near suicidal because he honestly feels he has nothing to live for but the rush of power. It's only a matter of time before he finally dies, he's been on borrowed time since King Regis pulled him out of a collapsed building in his youth.

If he can protect others with what time he has left he will push himself well beyond normal or safe limits to do so. It is this reckless, and often rebellious, nature that sets him apart from his fellows, earning him the nickname of "hero" though it is often tinged with bitterness and rarely a compliment. It's also this intense dedication to a set of morals that are not shared by the other Glaives that leave him out of the loop of the treachery that is happening behind the scenes within the Kingsglaive.

Because Nyx is not content to sit back and be a meat shield. He wants to be involved. He is curious, interested in the goings on of the kingdom, worries about his charges and even when he's placed on gate duty as a punishment he still finds a purpose in it. He does what he does not out of a hunger for glory, like so many of the younger Galahdians, but out of pure loyalty. He has absolutely no reservations about giving his life for those he deems worthy.

Earning that respect, though, is not always easy and even when it is earned it hardly means that he will hold his tongue for propriety's sake. He will always speak his mind and do what he thinks is right, even if it means telling off his captain, a princess, or even his King. He has no patience for standing on ceremony. He is, always, a man of action.

In some ways he's used this for over a decade now to run from his past, prone to sitting at home and wallowing when the others can't convince him to join them for a few beers. Not that it's usually difficult but he cannot be around the others all the time and when he's off duty without the distraction of friends and the good natured banter between them he slips into the darker parts of his mind all too easily.

Usually he can keep the memories at bay but he is, unsurprisingly, haunted by the death of his sister, his family lost in the taking of Galahd by the empire and he and Libertus are some of the eldest of the Glaives now, many of the others having been too young to really remember or fully understand the political and cultural rammifications of what happened all those years ago. It is why the two of them wear the marks of their culture so proudly, the braids, the tattoos, the accents to Nyx's uniform. All pieces of the past just as the altar he keeps in his small apartment. For so much of his life the time between missions is a strange series of disconnected moments, too caught up in memories, in nightmares, in the kind of PTSD that plagues all soldiers, leaving him unable to fully function in a city at peace.

If he's not on a mission, not actively putting himself at risk, then what is his purpose?

It's actually Lunafreya, outspoken and merciless, that helps him see the worth in what he does beyond the immediate effects. That what he has seen for years as "getting by" has a greater purpose. Once he has that purpose to latch onto, someone to protect, a future that someone else believes in, he is, if anything, even more ruthless (and self-destructive) in his determination to safe guard it.

This is a huge turning point in his outlook on things. Where his life had been a series of moments, always trying to save one or two people that were important to him, Luna gives him the clarity he needs to look at the bigger picture, the broader scope of things and it is only with this determination and resolve that he manages to see his King's dying wishes fulfilled. Not all miracles are magic. Something Luna tells him early on that he goes from dismissing to embracing. It's not the magic that makes miracles. it's the strength of will behind it.

He believes in Luna and, even if he doesn't know the full story of the prophecy he believes in the future she sees. That is enough for him. Enough for him to do what he always does, throw caution and his very life to the wind in order to safeguard that hope for others. So people like Luna have something to look forward to.

After all. His life is nothing.

VISUAL:Link

HEIGHT: 5'10"

BUILD: Lean & Athletic (built for speed and agility)

HAIR:
Black now with silver streaks from the magic scars. 4 braids to represent his closest ties. On the left side is a thick braid for his mother and a more delicate beaded one for his little sister (both deceased). On the right two more for his best friend and surrogate little sis.

EYES: Silvery blue.

SCARS:
Nyx has extensive magical burn scars on his left arm, leaving the skin ashen and lined with a web of healed over fissures. It's not just his arm, his left shoulder and a large expanse of his chest on the left side fans out into the lines that crawl up to his face. The network of fissures spanning across the top of his chest, skating over his clavicle to meet up with the older scaring. Both sides of his neck, both cheeks, down over the back of his shoulders and meeting beneath his hair. Thin streaks of silver now coloring dark hair where the scars have crept up to his scalp.

TATTOOS:
Tattoos are an integral part of Galahdian culture. All of the following is head canon. Galahd is a series of small islands with some pretty steep, rocky terrain. The people use the ink from octopi (which are a traditional dish for them) to do all of their tattoos with a traditional tap needle approach. This ink is, in fact, slightly toxic which is why so many of the markings are kept small.

Crow's Foot- Under his right eye Nyx has the traditional crow's foot that all Galahdian hunters get on their rite of passage. It marks the most dangerous aspect of the new Hunter. Nyx is all instinct, he's a sight predator, his is beneath his eye.
Arrow- On the lower lid of his left eye he has another tattoo similar to the crow's foot. This one seems to be a bit more of an arrow with a dot trailing behind it, one of the few tattoos he received in Lucis. A mark of his impressive abilities with warping and uncanny ability to see where he will need to be.
Thin Circular Rings-The simple thin band around his right calf (climbing accident in childhood) and left forearm (Hunting encounter protecting a friend) have the same meaning. Things he broke doing stunts/being stupid. Once the cast came off and he could use it again they ask the ancestors to reinforce any weakness in the limb, keep him strong and safe, and prevent the damage from causing lasting impairments so he can care for his family.
Neck Tattoo- He has two thin lines of about the same length and width set at a slight angle from each other, implying they were done on separate instances. The lines on his neck are very similar to the bands on his arm and leg, asking for protection, thanking the ancestors for sparing him. These are put in a really painful spot where the toxicity in the ink may actually cause some discomfort and slow the healing process, sometimes even making them ill for several days afterward. A reminder not to take Qeutzalcoatl's mercy for granted because he has no love for fools. They mark near misses. Times when he should, by all rights, have died. Some Galahdians end up with necklaces by the time they're older.Depending on the person it either marks them as a fool or incredibly lucky... usually both.
Finger Tattoos- On his dominant hand the he has a tattoo running down the top of one finger, a single simple line on the finger that hooks under the curved notch in his kukri when he needs a little extra force. A sign of his mastery of the traditional Galahdian weapon. On his off hand the tattoo runs down the inside of his middle finger, bisected by a jagged line to represent his skill with magic, especially of the thunder variety.

Nyx's innate abilities do not exceed human norms. He is an incredibly intuitive fighter, acting on instinct before his brain can really catch up with what he's doing, never thinking far enough ahead to be predictable. He is in peak physical condition, focusing on speed and agility more than raw power. His weapon of choice is a pair of wickedly curved kukris that give him power in throwing as well as slashing. His usual prey when he was young and learning to hunt was usually extremely fast or could actually teleport. This gave him the keen intuition he has and what makes him such a natural at warping later.

Once he becomes a Glaive he gains access to King Regis' powers which he is said to excel at. In addition to being able to warp after his weapons as the rest of the Line of Lucis does he has access to Thunder, Blizzard, and Fire spells. Protect and Invisible are also demonstrated by the Glaives. The drawback of this magic is that it wears down the user's body, leaving extensive scarring over time and it will, eventually, kill them.

At the end of the movie Nyx is granted even greater power, his life energy being given to sustain the Old Wall and the full power of the LIne of Lucis being granted to him. This allows him to burn through magic at a much, much higher rate, slinging spells that are both stronger than the previous ones as well as simultaneously casting. He is also able to modify how the spells work slightly, such as using Protect as a one handed shield instead of a full circle he has to concentrate around himself. His strength and speed are also greatly enhanced. The extra power comes at a cost, though. His life.

(snippets of headcanon so I can keep track of things as they come up.)

(Everything here is headcanon)