Quick Facts:

Name: Nikolai Knight
Nicknames:
Title: The Painter of Light
Region: Fosbir
Career: Professional Painter
Tokota: Shadia 56272
Quote: “The darkest nights bring the brightest days."

Details:

Appearance: Often, Nikolai can be seen with a large sun hat covering his long grey hair that's pulled back into a ponytail. His clothing is always some sort of variant of cargo shorts and embarrassing tourist button-downs - unless he happens to be out painting at night, then he wears longer pants and some kind of sweater to stave off the cold desert air. His blue eyes always seem to have some sort of secretive or mischievous glint to them.
Personality: Nikolai is a very kind, older man who loves to take every day one at a time. When he's seen painting, he's clearly in his element, especially out in the open land among the rocks or shrubbery, taking in the immense beauty of the landscape. Despite always being seen alone with his tokota Shadia, he enjoys company so long as they don't mind sitting with him while he paints. He's the kind of person you can go to for advice or with your woes and he'd be happy to lend an ear, or his tokota to lean on for comfort. However, more often than not his answers for you will come out like riddles, but you'll figure out what he means if you sit with him for a bit, while he paints the sunset behind the rocks.
Background: When asked about himself, Nikolai always seems to have a different elaborate, runaround answer about where he came from, who his family was, and what he used to do. And strangely, nothing ever seems to overlap. He has tales of taking in the sunrises all the way in the Tartok Foothills as a boy, attending sending-off festivals in Narnvak with a lover as a young man who knew it all, discovering incredible views hiking up Alurik's mountains that inspired many a painting. And his works seem to back his claims. No one is quite sure when Nikolai set down roots in Fosbir, he just began to start appearing one day, painting the amazing scenes around him and offering shelter to lost hikers who misjudged the terrain. Even stranger, when someone needs him he always seems to be right there, ready to help in his own cryptic way.

Rumors & Gossip:

• Some people jokingly call him a spirit, trickster or guardian, for his uncanny ability to be there right when he's needed.
• His paintings sell for thousands, but he freely gives them as gifts to the townspeople who have welcomed him into their lives.
• His paintings mimic light sources incredibly well, giving him his title.
• No one has ever seen him angry or upset, but some say if you sit with him in the late hours of the night while he paints you'll see melancholy or sorrow cross his face.
• Some stories about his past are said by him, others by the townspeople who know him. But sometimes it's hard to discern who said what.
• He has a very strong bond with his tokota, who loves to carry his painting supplies for him.

Original NPC inspiration by EvaEevee
NPC art by USERNAME