Niil Conlaugh was a Mox Man in service to King Garland the Second and his son Prince Erick. His father, Tuenn Conlaugh, had been a Mox Man under Garland the Conqueror who had helped rally the West to his cause and was said to have slain three vital Western captains during the Battle of the White Sun Fields, when Garland the First won his crown. Though of a thoroughly Western pedigree, Niil was born at Castle Aerwoth, then capital of Revellia , and would spend most of his life in the east.
Niil was an able warrior and respected tactician, but his largest contribution to history would be his role in the First Brothers Rebellion. Niil was among those who supported Queen Messenger's claim that her son Prince Erick was the rightful heir to the throne. Niil was not considered cunning, but his fervor drove men to his side, and he became the unofficial leader of the Queen's supporters, called Messenger Men. These were in contrast to Garland the Second's first wife, Queen Skal'izel, who supported her son Prince Garland (called Young Garland). This faction was supported by the infamous wizard Helena to Hand. It is whispered that Niil threatened to cut off Helena's hands more than once. "It is the cleverest thing he has ever said," Helena supposedly commented upon hearing the threats.
It is unknown what compelled Niil to back Queen Messenger. She was an Ethelite, a people whose manners were far divorced from the Westerners, who oft considered themselves the only 'real' Revellians. True, Queen Skal'izel was from the faraway islands of Liddinawth, yet the Liddinawths had proven their loyalty: like Niil's own father, they had been vital in helping the Conqueror secure the crown. What then could so induce Niil Conlaugh to back this Ethelite queen, Messenger, whom rumors say came to the king already pregnant? It is true Prince Erick was older than Young Garland, yet what is that when Erick's mother was the second wife, and moreover a wife that many considered illegitimate. Unsurprisingly, gossips would have it that Queen Messenger had seduced him with spells and wiles, the same way they insisted she had won the crown. Yet it must be asked, what was it in Niil Conlaugh of all men that Queen Messenger would deem vital to her cause?
His motives remain unknown to this day. His own father Mox Tuenn, growing frail in his age, was said to blanch with shame when hearing of his son's intrigues. "We are swords, not secret-bearers," he was heard to say.
Mox Niil rose high indeed when Prince Erick was finally made heir. Romaugh Foust passed, and Niil was made Mox Master as the First Brothers Rebellion began. Garland the Second, still king, refused to take a side in the rebellion (despite that his finally choosing an heir is largely seen as the cause of the rebellion). He further ordered his house to act only in defense of the castle itself, effectively neutering Erick of forces with which to act against Young Garland. In defiance of royal decree, Niil and his Messenger Men rose armies from Revelback and Berleigh and marched to route Young Garland's forces.
Many marveled at first that the Elkwoods of Berleigh, who often refused to answer summons, so quickly replied, but this would ultimately prove a misfortune. The peoples of Berleigh and Revelback had many generations of bad blood, and much of the armies were lost to brawling long before the enemy was met. Worse still, young Prince Erick would insist on leading many of the sorties himself. Erick was charming and had a way of making friends that his half-brother Young Garland lacked, yet he was not a tactician, and lost many battles. Erick was no warrior, having lost his shield arm to his half-brother in the hollymock that began this great conflict, yet he was a man grown and a prince crowned, and would not be denied.
The First Brothers Rebellion famously ended at the Battle of Wedge Coast, where Prince Erick was slain by Mox Haunric Toll, a Saolmothi. Niil pursued Toll for a day and a night, cursing him for a coward and a slayer of cripples. Toll eventually reached Castle Aerwoth, where he was arrested for fighting in the rebel army, but ultimately would be released as part of the negotiations following Prince Erick's death. Niil bellowed against this, naming Toll a king killer and the vilest of slime. Mox Haunric endured these insults for a time, then shocked all by naming Niil a kin killer.
Niil Conlaugh had slain many at the Battle of Wedge Coast, and Toll claimed one of those was a boy named Marach Conlaugh, born after Niil had taken a miller's daughter and murdered her dignity. Niil called it a lie and swore he knew nought of it, yet Toll insisted the boy had called him by name, knew who he was, and begged for his life as he refused to fight against his father. Niil finally challenged Toll to hollymock, which was fought on the fourth day of negotiations. He continued to curse Toll for a liar and a king killer, but in the end Toll broke all three of Niil's shields without taking a blow. Niil was still calling him a liar and a murderer when he slipped past his own soldiers and fled the castle. He took no mount, and it is unknown how he managed to vanish, but it would be twenty long years before he was heard of again.
Niil Conlaugh would die in the western Fiirwood, taken for a bandit and hanged by an old man who claimed to be chief of a minor clan in the woods. To this day, Haunric Toll's hollymock is the only proof we have of Niil's foul crimes.
Ethnicity
Circumstances of Death
Hanged for a bandit in the western Fiirwood
Children
Eyes
Gray
Hair
Black
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Ghast