Nickolai Alaric

Nickolai Alaric was the Eastern Basitin Master General, and a close friend of Keith Kaiser.

He opposed Keith's exile from the Basidian Isles, and later worked his way through the Basitin Military hierachy to attain the rank of Master General, partly motivated by a desire to facilitate Keith's return from exile. He had a prominent scar over his left eye (in which he may or may not be blind) which he was proud of; it was inflicted by Albion Alabaster after Alaric questioned Alabaster's hasty exile of Keith Kaiser, specifically the circumstances regarding Cornelius Kaiser's sobriety. He was a gregarious character and had an unusual sense of humour for a Basitin. Alaric was apparently well respected by the Basitin population.

He often flaunted his position as Master General, skirting around the extremely strict Basitin laws for his own amusement and flying in the face of conventional Basitin thinking. He was an extremely skilled combatant, and was as a result able to attain a rank of General at a very young age. He was passionate in his beliefs and ultimately worked for the interests of the Eastern Basitin state.

TwoKinds WebComic
Nickolai Alaric is not mentioned in the webcomic before his initial appearance on Page 346.

Alaric's first appearance depicts him observing Eric's ship from the coastline, telescope in hand. On his judgement, he orders the ship passage to dock and that the king be notified of the arrival. Later, in Page 356, Alaric appears at the docks, accompanied by the Arms and Intelligence Generals. He shares a somewhat sinister-sounding exchange with Keith, before embracing him tightly as a welcome gesture. This friendly exchange is cut short by the Intelligence General, who passive-aggresively dismisses the action as indecent. After a brief discussion regarding the circumstances of Keith's unexpected return from banishment, he announces with a satisfied smile that they have no choice but to reinstate Keith's citizenship. Alaric then proceeds to lead Trace's group into the city and is last seen warning Eric to keep the Keidran 'decent' and under control.

Alaric is seen again on Page 383 as he greets Keith into his private bath. He is noticeably dismayed when Keith explains that he mainly visited to find out about the 'girl' Alaric had mentioned via his messenger, Lynn. His expression rubs on Keith, who agrees, albeit with a slight irritation, to sit down and talk about their lives. Alaric invites Keith to speak first, at which point the shift of the story changes and the majority of the conversation happens off-panel. It picks up again on Page 386, with Alaric exclaiming his envy of Keith's travels. Keith is quick to wave it off, and asks after the girl Alaric spoke of. Alaric acknowledges this, but asks if Keith wants to hear about his eye first. Keith's subsequent silence is all the answer Alaric needs. Defeated in his quest for meaningful conversation, Alaric speaks of a Fox Keidran girl who had come to the island in search of Keith, who identifies her as Laura: his ex-fiancé. Keith asks after her, to which Alaric promises to take him to her the next day, as well as show Keith something in the Front Castle. As they make ready to leave the baths, Alaric flirtatiously touches Keith's foot with his own, which evokes a negative response. Alaric simply laughs, dismissing Keith as 'uptight.' Keith denies this, and chastises Alaric for not obeying the decency laws.

Alaric is seen in Page 388 walking Keith back to his inn. Keith smiles at the thought of having an old friend, which Alaric picks up on. Alaric reminisces back to when they were kids, remarking fondly that Keith was 'a playful, happy, scrawny thing of a Basitin,' as well as lamenting that Keith was 'full of laughter,' which he misses. Accompanying the nostalgia is a flashback panel, depicting a young Keith playing on a log, with a young Alaric watching from the riverbank. Alaric states that he's glad to have Keith back, to which Keith agrees.

{I will keep going tomorrow, my apologies for the constant hold ups, I'm just having a hard time thinking to translate appearances into the synopsis. - HertzIRC, 23/03/14}

During the attack on the Templar Mana Tower, he fought Keith Kaiser in single combat on a bridge leading into the castle. As the bridge began to collapse around them, Alaric jumped a gap, only to have the bridge collapse beneath his feet. Keith grabbed his hand, but could not keep his grip well enough. As a result, Alaric falls into the gorge and is supposedly killed. Some pages later however, it is discovered that the fall did not kill him outright. Having delivered a monologue intended for Keith, Nickolai Alaric finally dies in peace from his wounds, thus ending Chapter Eleven.

Alaric makes several posthumous appearances in Chapter Twelve; as one of Keith's guilty apparitions, During a flashback to the bridge fight and in a depiction of him drafting his legal exploits to bring Keith back sometime prior to the events of the comic.

As well as his appearances in the comic, Alaric's name becomes a focal point during Keith's trial as it is revealed that he had managed to manipulate the law into promoting Keith to the equivalent status of Master General. Although, fearing Keith's safety from potential challengers, advises that Keith be made an Ambassador, due to his extensive experience with both Human and Keidran outside the Basidian Isles. This also gave Keith complete jurisdiction over his friend's lives, essentially saving them from the xenophobic Acting Master General.

Nickolai Alaric makes no further appearances in the comic. {As of Page 800, 16/03/2014}

Personality
"Alaric is unusual for a Basitin, openly expressing affection and bending rules and laws whenever possible."

Biography
"Alaric is the Master General of the Eastern Basitin military. He is one of the most powerful men in Basitin society, second only to the king himself. Though he still isn't able to break any laws or rules of society, he's studied them enough to skirt around them as much as possible. He is very fond of Keith, whom he was childhood friends with."