Draven Nosk

An undying puppet master from ancient times, Nosk sought to return the Far World to a time before the discovery of magic. He was the main antagonist of the Star-Cleavers, a group he himself began many years ago.

Description
Standing very tall for a human, Nosk wears a suit of black armour with a red cape. He wore the Mask of the Dust Avatar, an artifact which lets him appear and see anywhere on the surface of the world in the form of various tribesmen. Only seen in battle once, Nosk fought with both a magic scimitar that drew energy from every blow and a black longbow. He was able to fly and commanded an army of undead soldiers known as the Black Guard. Despite his scientific mind, he is extremely physically powerful, moving in battle at inhuman speeds and dealing blows that even Eptol had difficulty with.

Personality
Cold and calculated, Nosk also showed compassion and reason when confronted with the Star-Cleavers - Perhaps due to his respect for their legacy which he began. His desire to return the world to its "original" state has driven him for so long that his motivation was completely unshakeable, seeing no alternative than his master plan. He did not see his plot to erase the lives of millions as immoral, seeing the Far World as a dark future that never should have come to pass. He was also capable of great desperation and rage, outright trying to kill Eptol during their climactic fight.

History
Very much of Nosk's long history are shrouded in mystery. Once a Scientist of the land that came to be Allaria, Nosk once studied magic upon its creation, and helped create the Tower of Nethys alongside the Nine Old Men  when the first Red Star descended upon the world. Upon its partial destruction and the emergence of the Destroyer, the world Nosk once knew fell apart. What happened in the next 6000 years is mostly lost to the ages, but at some point he obtained the Mask of the Dust Avatar and began posing as an avatar of the God Nethys, leading groups of adventurers together and putting them through trials in order to become worthy of the Star-Cleaver legacy. He also created the Dawn Fortress during this time, as well as Galatea.

In the year 8116, the future Star-Cleavers encountered the enigmatic Dust Avatar, who was able to seperate a fragment of Yir from Pyrria. The Dust Avatar also led them into battle with several other Star-Cleaver candidates, and they rose victorious. The Star-Cleavers came to assume the Dust Avatar to be Nethys, as so many had done before them.

During this time, against Nosk's knowledge, the God Deimos gave information to Kaleri, sister of the original Blood Queen, in an attempt to create a force that could stop Nosk's plan to erase magic and the timeline with it. Her plan to destroy the Dawn Fortress with an ancient buried weapon was stopped by the Star-Cleavers, who killed her. However, she told the Star-Cleavers of Nosk's plan, alerting them to Nosk's deception and endgame plot. Ovar later alerted Nosk's Dust Avatar that they were aware of him and his plan.

As the Star-Cleavers moved to stop him, Nosk also set in motion a plan to remove the Star-Cleavers from a position where they could interrupt him. He had Princess Saldri Seava of South Ashfall Island kidnapped by Pirates with aid of Atum, leading to her rescue and return to her homeland. Nosk had, through unknown means, engineered an ancient Titan arm (that had a church tower built around it) to cast a Teleport spell. When the Star-Cleavers arrived at South Ashfall Island, they encountered several Atums. Tricking them into entering the tower, Nosk spoke directly to the Star-Cleavers, telling them that he was sending them away. They were then teleported to Austri.

Nosk later appeared to the Star-Cleavers in Sanctuary,  apologising for his rash actions and promising to explain the truth to the Star-Cleavers. Sending a Dragon contruct to Sanctuary that reformed into a teleporting gate, Nosk brought the Star-Cleavers to his inner sanctum, showing them his life's work - the Fusion Core. In a process similar to splitting the atom, Nosk had created a contained form of raw burning magic which appeared as a large multicoloured star in the center of the Dawn Fortress, held up by a giant mechanical hand. Nosk explained how the varied magical races of the Far World were in fact mutations caused by the Destroyer's Animinite breath, and that injecting the Fusion Core into the Earth's core with the Dawn Fortress, it will burn up the timeline to the point where magic was first discovered. He told the Star-Cleavers to live their days in peace and never to return, but still they stuck to their plans to stop him. Ovar also defected and joined his campaign to destroy magic.

Later on, Deimos revealed to the Star-Cleavers that Nosk's plan to reset the timeline has succeeded in the past - But events always happen the same way again as destroying magic only ever has a temporary effect. Nosk's plan has cursed the Far World's history to be in an eternal loop.

When the day came to attack, Nosk had already set the Dawn Fortress in motion towards the Rahl Way. Attacking in the now-enchanted Mountain's Mist, the ship bore a hole to the center of the Fortress, and the Star-Cleavers attacked. Despite Nosk sending a Clockwork Golem to stop him, Malachi was still able to best Ovar and send the Sphere of Annhiliation into the Fusion Core, causing a chain reaction that tore a hole in space-time. Entering the emerging void along with Malachi and Ovar, Nosk entered the rift between universes. The mysterious entity in the void thanked Nosk for carrying out his wishes and that he could go to any universe that he desired to rest as payment. Nosk descended into an unknown universe, leaving the Far World for good, vowing that his mission was not over.

Relationships
Nosk worked almost exclusively alone, but still had some alliances. Once a friend of the Nine Old Men before they parted ways, the man that Nosk once was was no doubt different to the man that came to be. He had a great respect for the legacy of the Star-Cleavers, perhaps due to being one of the original ones. Whilst Ovar joined his side, he did not show much regard for the Dwarf, using his services only to stop the Star-Cleavers from stopping his ultimate plan.

Trivia

 * Nosk remains one of the few enemies of the Star-Cleavers that they have not successfully killed, instead escaping to an alternate universe.
 * Nosk's real face and original name were never known.

Quotes
"If time is a thread, I intend to be the scissors that cut it."

"You have earned the safety of your realm, boy. We will not meet again, but neither will I rest. It is not over, it is never over."