NPCs · Mythic/ Historical · Criminal/Espionage
The Remover of Inconvenient Things
No one finds the Remover of Inconvient Things, The Remover finds you. So be careful about what you whisper in the dark, The Remover may hear it and come.
The Elven Emperor has existed since the begining of recorded time. A few of the highest posts in the Imperial lands have been held by Elventi almost as old. There is one post that has been mentioned in the annuals for as long as they have been kept. It is unclear if this is a job title or simply the literal translation of an Elventi name.
If there is some obstruction to Elventi Imperial desires/ laws, the Remover ... removes it. Normally this is though killing or making people disappear, but sometimes it is just enough to keep someone occupied for a while. While the Remover of Inconvenient Things is the hand of the Emperor, the Remover takes other people\'s requests.... for an interesting price. At first it was only Elven Nobles. Then it became any Elventi. Now it is anyone who can meet an appropriate price.
Sometimes the price is money. Other times it is items of interest (artistic, historical, or magical). Occasionally it is a promise AND YOU DO NOT WANT TO BREAK A PROMISE TO THE REMOVER... it gets ugly.
So far, The Remover has never failed to finally complete a request (though sometimes the timetable was a bit off). Some people search out the Remover. But only those the Remover wants to work with are the ones who are approached.
No one every sees the Remover (except the Elven Emperor that is) and is aware that it is the Remover or lives to tell the tale. Any negociations are carried out with a twisted farie (small, bat-winged, with two different color eyes) named Hoth. Hoth\'s ability to be unseen, unsmelled, and travel great distances in a blink, makes him a perfect messanger.
This idea was rippped .... errrr inspired by a really good book. http://www.tadwilliams.com/war_of_flowers.html
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- New Alternative Assassins Ancient Gamer
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This is also the Elven equivalent of The Boogy Man. He/ She is something of a legend even amongst the Elventi.
Those who know who the Remover is, will not tell, for that is their promise to The Remover.
Has the Remover ever removed an Elven Emperor in a coup?
Why would he? Sure he could, but would anyone follow him? After all he has been the main 'Tool of the Emperor' for two millenium. How many people (and families) might harbor a grudge against him because he 'removed' a friend or family member.
The Remover his a creature of duty, but is a creature of action (or even an adreneline junkie, if not both). Being in charge requires you to be constant, bound by ritual and law, and ever present. He has to be very public. The Remover is anything but public. He might not have the skills to be an admin.
Well. I guess every ruler has 'his' assassin, but... I see little special in this. What sets him apart from all the 'I kill people for money and am ultra-mighty and never seen' assassins? Hmm.
First he is 'house spy', so really he is not doing it for money. He is doing it because it needs to be done and the Emperor can not be seen as getting his hands dirty.
There is very little gold involved. I am sure he is actually some other functionary in the court who actually does this on the side. He could be anyone from Master of the Coin, to the Keeper of Records, to Second ArchLeader in the Imperial Forces.
Secondly, his agenda. He takes odd jobs on the side, taking only projects that he selects. What is his agenda? One would assume it is the crown's agenda, taking out current threats and future threats to the Imperium. So that noble is not a threat now, and his target is only a nominal threat. So by taking out the target, he can keep the Noble under his thumb via his promise. Or by making the Noble act on the promise (under penalty of death or worse yet disgracing embarrassment), he could spoil that Noble's future chances at causing trouble.
These are immortal Elventi, think really long term, and chess like.
I like this. The Eternal Tool of the realm. In the story, it is a bit different. However, very cool in this presentation.
I read this book, the character is really cool. He doesn't kill for money as much as he kills for his own designs, and he has a secret Moon Hunter doesn't mention.
Well this is a different Remover of Inconvenient Things than the one in the book. This one does not have that secret. I have always had a more fey attitude for my Elves, so this is a perfect fit.
This is really a creature of Arth. A fraction of Elventi become High Elventi, immortal. Thus we have Elves that most people can related to, yet I can also have my immortal/ eternal beings playing their grand games. The naming convention for Arth matches the one from the book. On Arth, the Name of the Emperor has come to mean Emperor. If you check out a few of the City Images, they have Elven names, run ons that are simply descriptions of what is there, with a poetic florish. Thus the poetic florish of this name makes it just... perfect. The Gamesmanship manifested in the book, and by my High Elventi, is another perfect fit. What the Remover might ask of a person might make no sense out of context, but six to eight turns down the line.. you see what they were setting up. Take that to the extreme of people who have been playing serious politics for nearly 2000 years. The manipulations of the Remover can not be traced back to The Emperor, yet serve those interests. And because they can not be traced back to The Emperor, will come up blind siding the opposition.
Any wonder why the Emperor has been Emperor for so long?
I thought not.
I was not attempting to undermine your submission, I was merely suggesting another method for utilizing the character you presented. He is useful either way.
An idea. A position. Cool but there is little detail on the Remover himself making him feel like a force of nature, or that mirror of Disappearing that Captain Kirk had in the mirror universe.