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#96 - William Knightley
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Sometimes it only takes a singular ability and an iota of initiative to achieve great - and terrible - things.

Like the wax that drips onto a birthday cake from a lit candle, ruining the frosting, William Knightley burned brightly and obviously while masquerading as Arion, Lord of Atlantis and the founder of an Age of Magic. In reality, Knightley's deception succeeded primarily because he had managed to ensnare Arion within his own amulet, utilizing the slow leaking of magic as a source of mystical power by which he could leech from. Then, with power unearned, Knightley harassed, insulted, abused and generally lived off of the good graces of an all-too-easily fooled Shadowpact, so focused on the enemies without that they never considered the enemy within.

Honestly, Knightley lasted far, far longer than I expected in his role. A charlatan lacking the detail necessary to really maintain his facade, our dear William was doubling down on a blase attitude and an inattention to virtually anything to cement his bluff and gloss over those smaller cracks that might be recognized as the hints to a grander web of lies. But can you blame Knightley for resisting so long in revealing the truth and, furthermore, releasing Arion? I certainly don't. Survival is paramount in the magical community, moreso than normal - and normally, survival is pretty much the watchword of magic. The search for a rational reason to scribe one's name onto the annals of witches and wizards is a difficult one, for in my mind, the power one can find in strict adherence to the study of curses and enchantments really just paints a target on your back. Only a precious few will live beyond the lifespan of an average human, and far too few will be gnashed and mashed in the teeth of more dangerous, more powerful beings hunting for power in less scrupulous ways than you.

On top of that, the Spectre has decided to come a-callin' and you've got to dance with the ones that brung ya. Knightley needed people smarter than he was to survive in the now infinitely more dangerous hidden world of magic, and as Arion, he had just enough pull to sit back and watch as the rest of the Shadowpact strove to keep Oblivion hidden and protected from the Spectre, Mordru, Eclipso and a hundred other terribel things coming their way.

The relationship between Knightley and Bloodfruit, Knightley and Brennus... these are so fascinating to examine under a new lens. The mentor-apprentice relationship is now oddly twisted to be the opposite. Using the Socratic method, Knightley pulled the wool over both of their eyes and convinced them to teach HIM THEIR spells, create their potions for him. Essentially, they were juicing the false Arion from the word go. And yet I think that despite the revelations as to his true identity, neither of them have well and truly given up their perceptions of Knightley as a teacher. After all, he encouraged them, inspired them and under his watch, they DID in fact become a greater wizard and a greater alchemist.

So the question remains - what will be done with William Knightley? The true Arion lobbed threats at the Pact - and Brennus - before escaping his interminable prison sentence. The false Arion now resides in that crimson gem, himself jailed in the jail of his own creation. But that gem hangs on a peg in Oblivion still. Waiting. Waiting while William Knightley, even in defeat, still survives the Spectre's Day of Vengeance, safe within the walls of the haven he committed such terrible acts in order to earn his ticket within - like the passengers of the Titanic, waving their family jewels around in order to buy a seat on the last lifeboat off a sinking ship.

#95 is also undrafted!