Curator, The

=Basic Information=
 * Known Title: The Curator
 * Supposed Name: Niccodamus


 * Alignment: Chaotic Neutral


 * Race: Undead (free-willed, but uncertain as to whether he is a Forsaken)
 * Class: Mage
 * Professions: Archaeology, Historical Research

=Physical Description=
 * Age: Unknown
 * Sex: Male
 * Hair: Short cropped, dirt coloured.
 * Eyes: Bright Yellow
 * Weight: 155 lbs.
 * Height: 5'8"
 * Features: A most curious (and disturbing) feature of his physique is that his eyes are on independent tracks and able to move freely, much like that of a chameleon. He will commonly keep one eye trained on an individual as he talks while the other watches newcomers, or watches his hand as he writes in a book. His fingers are more akin to hard, chitonous claws, which he tends to dig into wood of other materials idly. Despite these claws, his writing dexterity is not hindered.
 * Garments: He wears simple academic robes, usually worn by travel or time. His robes are never complicated or glamorous, nor does he ever carry a weapon; however, he does tend to use a walking cane from time to time.

=Origins=

No one knows where the Curator came from - when he was human (if he ever was) or when he was born (if he was ever born). For many of the more outlandish mythos and rumors around the character, it is assumed that he simply was, and always was, the Curator. Many rumors hint at demonic and/or otherworldly origins. Other rumors speak that he was once a mortal sorcerer of Alterac, who took up unlife in order to escape execution.

In history, two figures have appeared - the Curator, and Niccodamus. Before 620, these two were considered separate entities, due to several key distinctions - most notably, Niccodamus appeared in the open, while the Curator remained a shadowy figure only mentioned in correspondences and old records.

Many of these tales remain speculations, or vague connections at best. Nothing is certain as to what individual is what - or if the tales all refer to the same individual or not.

Niccodamus
Niccodamus first appeared in Boralus, Kul Tiras, as of 387, a human with a knack for curio shoppes (and purportedly in contact with the Believers, a human predecessor to the Twilight's Hammer cultists that worshipped the Old Gods). He later traveled to Alterac, where he gained the favor of the Perenolde family and in 390 formed a prestigious order of mages known as the Grey Coven, renown for their loyalty to Alterac and their fanatic devotion to the Perenoldes. However, in 429 Niccodamus vanished without a trace, accusations of witchcraft and treason quickly placed upon him by the Perenoldes. His Strahnbrad manor was burnt to the ground and all members of the Grey Coven were put to death.

At various times in the future Niccodamus would appear and disappear among the mountains of Alterac. He appeared again in 458 to battle and slay the court wizard of Alterac, and again in 482 to deliver a sealed letter to the Perenoldes, practically materializing in the court by some unknown power. In 521 he made his most famous appearance before the Perenoldes, prophesizing their downfall due to their "traitorous sins."

After these repeated returns to Alterac, he became a sort of bogeyman used in tall tales and backwater legends of the inhabitants of the Alterac Mountains. He was accused of kidnapping and eating children, flying around on a magical mortar and pestel, and stealing the jewelry from the deceased nobles of Strahnbrad before they were buried. Common legends also tend to place him as the cause of many family curses in the region, usually appearing disguised as some wandering beggar and placing spells upon those who treated him harshly.

The Curator
Whereas Niccodamus was a confirmed historical figure and the source of numerous legends surrounding his sorcery and actions, the Curator remained a mysterious sort of collector and writer who appears in various documents throughout the years.

The Curator's name first appeared in documents as of 405, and continued onward until 600. Many of these documents remain records of transactions kept by magistrates, auction receipts, or ledgers of trading companies. In each one, the Curator would offer incredible sums of gold in exchange for various artifacts, relics, or obscure objects held by various individuals or townships. In one record, the magistrate of Hillsbrad praises the Curator's transaction for saving his city from economic disaster by paying an absorbitant sum for an anvil kept by the town blacksmith (rumored to have been used by the Wildhammer dwarves in Grim Batol). The same record also notes that the coins used to pay the people of Hillsbrad were extremely ancient - the identifiable currency dating back to the days of old Strom. Sadly, none of this remains for study, as the town melted it down to exchange for current currency.

On the other hand, a darker streak of the Curator appears. In 547, a meteorite fell to earth just outside the limits of Darrowshire. The town council quickly claimed the object, and believed it to have some form of mystical powers. Letters from the Curator indicated that he tried to buy it from the town for a ludicrous sum. The town refused to pay, however. Shortly thereafter, a band of gnolls raided the town, brutally slaughtering the town's defenses, but then failing to take anything but the meteorite. The people of Darrowshire quickly suspected the Curator of duplicity and put out warrants for his arrest, but no leads were ever uncovered.

Many other records were also found among documents of Khaz Modan. The Curator worked closely with the dwarves as they unearthed new artifacts and relics, offering his advice and knowledge in identifying them. However, far often than not, the dwarves distrusted the writer, and refused to give him anything in return for his help (mostly in that he asked for the artifacts in question in return for his aid).

A curious shift occured as of 590, where instead of buying relics and artifacts, many records of the Curator's dealings shifted to the purchase of alchemical supplies and arcane reagants. No rhyme or reason was seen to his purchases, but then, in 600, shortly aftered the wars ended, all correspondences and dealings with the Curator simply stopped.

The Tale of a Lich
Probably one of the most engaging stories of necromancy before the wars (perhaps in part due to its double-nature as an entertaining horror story) was The Tale of a Lich, a novel written by Torbin Morgal, a novelist from Dalaran. Torbin based his book on the account of a surviving member of a thieves' gang known as the Yellow Hand.

According to the book, the Yellow Hand stumbled upon an ancient dungeon kept hidden underneath the forests of Tirsifal. Within the deep, winding passages of the catacombs, they found an old collection of sorts, various artifacts and relics put on display. They stole away with a few objects, chief among them a magnificently jeweled box.

Although it seemed like a great find for the thieves, they found their steps home dogged by bizzare creatures. Golems and gnolls harried them, and one by one the thieves were slaughtered until they tossed the jeweled box onto the road and left it there - at which the attacks on them stopped.

Torbin, in his novel, proposes that the thieves stumbled upon an incredible treasure trove of relics maintained by what he termed in his novel as "the Keeper," which he claimed was some sort of lich who appeased his ego by keeping the museum. The box they stole was undoubtedly his phylactery.

Strangely, Torbin received a letter shortly after his book became available to the public. It was anonymous, but the writer argued against the concept that the "Keeper" could have possibly been a lich, claiming that the details of the box given was insufficient to store the life essence for a lich.

The letter remains a curious point of information, but it is not hard to connect this letter to "the Keeper" himself, which might be the same entity as the Curator.

The Present
As of 620, a new entity claiming to be both Niccodamus and the Curator has appeared in Tirsifal, in the body of a rotting corpse much like that of a typical body of the Forsaken. He uses the title of the Curator as his primary designation, but he also offers the name of Niccodamus for a more "familiar" name to others.

This Niccodamus seems unconcerned with his presence in the world or any of the old tales surrounding either the name of Niccodamus or the title of the Curator. He has infiltrated Forsaken society and blended well with the free-willed undead, but few know if he is truly a Forsaken or if he is far older than they are.

Like the Curator of old, however, he is interested in old relics, artifacts, and historical texts. He is constantly asking about the location of several of these objects, and otherwise seeking information about some of his possessions.