Nihi

“When I look in the direction of heaven, I see only darkness.” –Nihi to Paran

Nihi was a male Biosynth of the Jidera species and a Jidera shaman. He was the last surviving member of his village’s shamanic council when the Embrace first struck their village. As he too fell ill to the plague, he selected Sadisma to be his apprentice. Shortly after, he was asked to observe a Ritual Duel between Masoc and Sadisma. Before Nihi initiated the Ritual Duel, Sadisma killed him at his request.

Early life
Nihi was born in a beachside village on Jidshi. As he matured, he learned hunting techniques and became a skilled Bullsheep hunter. This drew the attention of his village’s Jidera shamans, one of which selected him to be his apprentice. Nihi accepted, and trained under his shaman master until that shaman died of age. Nihi then took his Jidera cloak and became a shaman of his village.

Embrace
When the first signs of the Embrace appeared in their village, Nihi and other members of his village’s shamanic council begin contemplating what the Embrace represented. During this time Nihi’s former faith in the Jidera deity Indijesmi began waning, and he became the most outspoken denier of its existence.

The Embrace began infecting and killing Nihi’s fellow shamans, until only Paran was left. Paran was a strong believer in Indijesmi as a benevolent god, and the two argued constantly over how to guide their village through the Embrace. Paran too became ill with the Embrace, eventually dying as a result, and Nihi began feeling the symptoms as well. He then entered the village and began seeking out its best hunters as potential candidates for apprentices to him. Nihi eventually selected Sadisma, and began training him in shamanic ways. As he did, Nihi grew severely ill, with signs that the Embrace would soon claim him too. Nihi instructed Sadisma to kill him if he appeared to be beyond saving in his illness.

During this time of training, Masoc challenged Sadisma to a Ritual Duel. Nihi was the only shaman available to administer the Ritual Duel, but he had become extremely ill from the Embrace. Nevertheless he agreed to oversee the Ritual Duel. Masoc and Sadisma helped shuttle Nihi to an area of wilderness removed from their village in which to hold the Duel. Moments before the Ritual Duel was to begin, Sadisma asked Nihi if he was sick enough that he wanted to be killed. Nihi gave his walking staff to Sadisma and asked him to end his suffering. Sadisma then killed Nihi, replacing him as shaman and taking ownership of his Jidera cloak.

Abilities and Traits
In his young adult life, Nihi possessed the excellent stamina of Jidera hunters, and was skilled in chasing fast-moving Bullsheep and slaying them. As a Jidera shaman, Nihi was the most skeptical voice in his council, maintaining this skepticism about spiritual matters until he effectively lost all faith in them.