Old Neil

Biodata

Appearance

• Hair: Graying; described as pale even before his condition deteriorated 17 22.
• Eyes: Dark red 17.
• Clothing: A classical black robe during his occultism lessons 17.
• Voice and expression: An aged, raspy voice and a kindly smile 17.
• During corruption: His hair became brittle and sparse, his skin loosened, and dark red, petal-like fissures spread across his face. An orange-red bud took root in his heart 22 23.

Personality

Old Neil is affable, talkative, and hospitable. He welcomes Leon to his lessons with hand-ground coffee, and Klein remembers his attentiveness when offering sugar. As an instructor, he combines humor with clear explanations and patiently repeats important precautions 17 18 19.

His grief over Celeste leaves him vulnerable to promises of resurrection. He insists that his new method requires neither blood nor sacrifices and will trouble no one. When Leon challenges that belief, Old Neil shifts from anger and denial to sorrow and a helpless request for guidance, showing that he has not completely lost his rationality 20 21.

History

Service with the Nighthawks

Old Neil is the Tingen team’s most senior support staff member. Dunn assigns Leon to study the Nighthawks’ internal knowledge under him alongside Klein, who is already receiving occultism lessons. Old Neil also handles access to revolvers and ammunition through the armory 17.

His support work includes assessing supernatural incidents. After Hanass Vincent burns to death at Leon’s home, Old Neil suggests that the intruder may have lost control because of a Potion 12.

Discovery of His Corruption

During Leon’s first lesson, Leon notices supernatural eyes floating behind Old Neil: one transparent and without eyelashes, the other a decaying, empty socket smeared with black blood. Old Neil dismisses them as a manifestation of Ritualistic Magic. Leon, however, recognizes the presence of Scarlet Rot 17 18.

Leon suspects that an experienced Mystery Pryer would know about the eyes and might have sought their presence deliberately. Concerned that reporting the matter could lead to Old Neil’s elimination or permanent confinement, Leon and Klein decide to investigate privately 19.

Their concern deepens when Old Neil takes sick leave. Klein recalls being told that Old Neil’s late wife loved music, but Rozanne says he has never married, cannot play instruments, and had no piano when she visited earlier that year. These contradictions make Klein question his memories 19.

Attempt to Resurrect Celeste

At Old Neil’s house, Leon and Klein find scarlet gas seeping through the door, dark red growth spreading outside, and piano music playing within. Old Neil refuses to admit them before revealing that he is trying to resurrect Celeste 20.

His original plan involved Life Alchemy: creating an ageless body, summoning Celeste’s soul from the Spirit World, and asking a god to unite spirit and flesh. Believing himself too weak to accomplish this, he accepts a seed from a divine entity that promises Celeste will return when it blooms 20.

Leon warns that the result would be a suffering, corrupted creature rather than the reunion Old Neil imagines. After provoking him into approaching the entrance, Leon kicks the door inward and knocks him unconscious. The intervention disrupts Ince Zangwill’s plan 21.

Treatment and Retirement

Leon administers a Preserving Bolus, suppressing the Scarlet Rot without removing the seed. Klein’s subsequent Dream Divination yields only a baby’s cry, prompting Leon to send him for Dunn 22.

Using Miquella’s Needle, Leon expels the presence within the bud and extracts it from Old Neil’s chest. He heals the physical wounds, but damage remains in Old Neil’s spirit body. A feminine spirit associated with the piano, which Leon has prevented from dissipating, merges into Old Neil and restores that damage 23 24.

Old Neil is taken for medical care. At Tingen City Hospital, Crestet Cecimir confirms that he has awakened and bears no remaining corruption. Nevertheless, his history of corruption disqualifies him from further Nighthawk service. The Church grants him early retirement and arranges for him to live freely under its care in Backlund 25 27.

Abilities & Skills

Mysticism and Instruction

An experienced Mystery Pryer, Old Neil teaches the Nighthawks’ internal knowledge and foundational occultism 17 19.

• His curriculum includes astrology, pendulum divination, herbs, Ritualistic Magic, and supernatural creatures 18.
• He assesses Leon’s Ancient Hermes knowledge before deciding which basics to skip 18.
• His surviving teaching materials are thorough enough for Leon to continue studying independently 38.

Ritualistic Magic and Life Alchemy

Old Neil possesses knowledge of rituals, including methods he hopes to use for resurrection 20 24.

• Keeps manuscripts containing notes on strange rituals in his bedroom 24.
• Describes a proposed process for creating a body and reuniting it with a summoned soul 20.
• Admits that the resurrection procedure exceeds his abilities, even with divine assistance 20.

Equipment & Documents

• Occult teaching materials — Remain useful to Klein and Leon after his departure 26 38.
• Ritual manuscripts — Found at his home; Leon takes most and leaves several clues for the official investigation 24.
• Roselle research folder — Contains work on interpreting symbols in Emperor Roselle’s lost notes; later taken by Leon 29.
• Scarlet Rot seed — Accepted as a means of resurrecting Celeste; instead roots in his heart and becomes a medium of corruption. Removed by Leon 20 23 24.

Relationships

• Klein Moretti — Student and colleague. Klein refuses to abandon him after discovering signs of corruption and helps secure his rescue 19 22 27.
• Leon Kaspar — Student and rescuer. Recognizes the Scarlet Rot, restrains Old Neil, and removes the corrupting bud 17 21 24.
• Celeste — Deceased woman he loves and seeks to resurrect. Her precise relationship to him remains uncertain because accounts of his marital history conflict 19 20.
• Dunn Smith — Captain who assigns his teaching duties and oversees the response to his corruption 17 24 25.
• Rozanne — Colleague and visitor to his home; her recollections expose contradictions in Klein’s understanding of his past 19.
• Crestet Cecimir — Senior deacon who clears him of lingering corruption and arranges his retirement 27.

Story Significance

• Klein’s Potion mastery: Saving Old Neil helps Klein realize that divination is not all-powerful and that people must act to change an outcome. This insight completes his mastery of the Seer Potion 30.
• Church investigation: Leon uses the corruption incident to alert the Cathedral to a hidden existence operating in Tingen while concealing the names of the Hidden Sage and Scarlet Rot in his report 24 25.

Notable Quotes

“Luck is the most important strength any Beyonder can have.” 17

“Never pray to mysterious entities other than the seven gods, or you may very well bring about unimaginable consequences.” 18