Why Nicolas in Immortalis Enjoys Pushing Scenes Too Far
Nicolas DeSilva runs Corax Asylum as a realm of calculated excess, where every interaction serves his unquenchable appetite for control and spectacle. He does not merely inflict pain; he orchestrates it, drawing out moments until they fracture under their own weight. This compulsion to push scenes beyond endurance defines him, rooted in a psyche that craves the thrill of dominance amid perpetual boredom.
Consider Lucia, the second Immoless. Nicolas unlocks her cell, granting the illusion of escape, only to pursue her through the hall of mirrors. Mirrors shift, reflections distort into flayed inmates, screams harmonise with screeching violins. He steps through glass, taunting her with games of ‘run rabbit’. Her blisters burst, feet tear, yet he prolongs the chase, grinning as her hope curdles. Physical torment grows dull; psychological unraveling sustains him. When she reaches the chapel, seeking Elena’s ghost, he interrupts, mocking the Electi’s folly. He drags her by the ankle, scalp splitting on stone steps, hangs her upside down, salts her wounds, feeds voraciously. Business before pleasure, he sneers, summoning Theaten. Every step escalates, denial amplifying his rapture.
This pattern repeats. Inmates endure the Nerve Harp, silver wires plucked against exposed nerves, pleasure and agony blurring. The gurney tightens straps until blackout looms. Void capacitor chairs convulse bodies with electricity. Washrooms spew sewage over pre-cut flesh, infection festering as ‘treatment’. Nicolas designs bespoke horrors: iron maidens, brazen bulls, breaking wheels. Yet he tires of repetition, favouring masochists who dull the edge. Petty tortures refresh him: blurred spectacles, underfloor burns, clanging clocks.
His Evro, Webster, enables this theatre. Electricity surges cell to cell, harmonising inmate shrieks. Chairs levitate, floors blister. Webster’s genius crafts the tools; Nicolas wields them for amusement. Boredom gnaws relentlessly. Running an asylum proves lonely, so he collects trinkets: Demize’s head on the gramophone, vampire horses fed on blood for speed. He writes ceaselessly, binds parchments, inks in red, deeming himself The Deep’s greatest author, though he shares nothing.
Pushing scenes stems from his fractured nature. Split from Primus’s design, Vero and Evro war within, merging briefly. Theatricality masks instability. No empathy exists; reputation alone concerns him. Inmates gossip? He drives them mad to prove sanity false. Lucia spies? He lets her flee for sport. Theaten complains? He sends Lucia skewered. Excess entertains, asserts supremacy. Immortalis urges demand gorging on blood, flesh, bodies; restraint bores him.
Yet beneath lies need for challenge. Easy prey disappoints; resistance arouses. Allyra intrigues him, boiling vampires, resisting mesmerism. He gifts Ghorab, toasts her ‘victory’, spies as raven. Her spirit diverts him from Sapari fishing boats. Pushing tests limits, savours breaking. In Corax’s crypt-dungeons, he straps beds for ‘lively nocturnal activities’, whips and birches on shelves. Rusty scalpels gleam beside trephines. He trades tributes for psychiatric license, declares sanity insanity, locks and breaks to validate.
Sadism is primal, but escalation intellectual. He stages tug-of-war with Stacia, ripping her asunder. Lucia’s hall of mirrors warps reality; he elongates his skull, eyes narrowing. Denial heightens bliss: lets her crawl, then drags her scalp splitting. Feeds voraciously, excuses service woes. Boredom demands novelty; Webster’s diaphragm amplifier stifles with noise, underfloor heating burns soles. Petty tortures amuse: blurred spectacles, levitating chairs.
Nicolas thrives on extremes because moderation eludes him. Immortalis appetites gorge relentlessly; The Deep’s checks balance him. Without spectacle, existence dulls. Pushing scenes asserts life amid eternity’s yawn. Corax endures his canvas, inmates his paint. He watches, smirks, elongates, feeds. Too far is his horizon; restraint, another’s folly.
Immortalis Book One August 2026