Nyxator Mails

The Nyxator Mails are ten suits of armour, wrought by Lone Wolf from the scales of the dead dragon Nyxator. They are given to the New Order Kai who reach the rank of Kai Grand Master, and grant exceptional power to its bearer.

History

After the death of Nyxator, Darklord Zagarna recovered his skull and hide, and draped it over the gates of Kaag as a trophy and proof of Naar's power. In MS 5100, Lone Wolf, along with Black Hawk, infiltrated the fortress and recovered the hide. Using wisdom granted by the God Kai, Lone Wolf fashioned eight suits of armour from them. They are harder than Durenese steel, yet light as silk, and imbued with the afterglow of Nyxator's powers. Each set of mail is coated in a thin alloy of Korlinium to prevent its power being detected by the agents of Darkness.

Lone Wolf wished to create ten sets of mail, possibly matching the ten Kai Weapons he created before, but as two Grand Masters had died (Black Hawk and Swift Sword), he only created eight - one of which Lone Wolf took himself.

Each mail is named after either a draconic city or race of the past.

In MS 5102, during the events of Dead in the Deep, Lone Wolf handed out the chainmails to his Grand Masters, before they departed on new quests. Grand Master's Nyxator Mail, temporarily-donated to the rescued Steel Hand during their quest, saved Steel Hand's life when Luthos Vorgada attempted to kill him above the Maakengorge, using the Dagger of Vashna, to revive Archlord Vashna. Nyxator's power, however, checked the power of a Darklord, protecting Steel Hand from death, allowing Steel Hand to turn the tables on Vorgada.

Gameplay rules

Each suit of Nyxator Mail adds +4 to Grand Master's Combat Skill and +10 to Endurance. Each also provides additional bonuses depending on the type of mail (shown below). It counts as a Special Item, and Grand Master does not need to discard another Special Item in favour of it.

The mail is so light, it can be worn under your tunic. It can even be worn underneath other pieces of armour. If Grand Master possesses an Ang'sei or Korlinium Chainmail Vest, it too can be worn in conjunction with them; however, all three cannot be worn at the same time.

Grand Master is able to choose which mail to wear.

Each suit of mail provides a different bonus:

• Cynxa - protects against the power of Darkness and Right-handed Magic
• Zaaryxa - protects against the power of Death
• Zhaaxa - protects against the power of Chaos
• Xenghora - protects against the powers of Disease and Decay
• Crocaryxa - protects against the power of Madness
• Vrenzha - protects against the power of Blood
• Agonera - protects against the powers of Lust and Greed

Nyxator Mails can provide bonuses during random number table rolls, if faced with the corresponding mail's power. They can also provide bonuses during combat - either providing bonus Combat Skill (or reducing the enemy's), or mitigation against additional side-effects (for example, Xenghora may provide protection against an enemy who has a poisoned weapon).

Usage analysis

In Dead in the Deep and The Dusk of Eternal Night, Cynxa sees by far the most usage, typically through Grand Master losing fewer Endurance points should they come into contact with the magic of the Nengud-kor-Adez (combat, obsidian shards thrown out from it, or even the fire itself). However, it does not do much in the way of reducing instant death chances through rolls (the other Mails are more useful in this regard). On the other hand, Agonera is barely used at all (in fact, Grand Master can go through both books never seeing its benefits).

It is also worth noting that Vrenzha and Zhaaxa share their benefits in multiple numbered sections, but Zhaaxa helps against tougher opponents and dodges an instant death roll, suggesting that Zhaaxa outclasses Vrenzha.

Certain arcs or forks in the storyline are geared towards certain Nyxator Mails:

• Dead in the Deep
  • Cynxa is extremely good against the Nengud-kor-Adez, making it extremely strong in Dead in the Deep in general
  • In the Chaos Prison, the first fork has two corridors: A hall of mirrors that attempts to drive Grand Master insane (where Crocaryxa helps Grand Master potentially avoid a nasty Jahksa fight), or a shifting corridor representing the power of Chaos (where Zhaaxa prevents an instant death roll and helps avoid a nasty mutation where Grand Master loses the strength in their stronger hand)
  • After this fork, the left path leads to the Temple of Karaushnitt, where Grand Master will be tempted by lust or envy. Agonera (or Kai-screen at Sun Thane or higher) can be used to dodge an instant death scenario
• The Dusk of Eternal Night
  • Cynxa again is extremely good in the first arc, for the Nengud-kor-Adez will spread to the battlefield, making it similar to the first arc in Dead in the Deep.
  • Grand Master will then have a choice between three different story arcs to investigate the Naarvakim:
    • The Kelderwood Forest arc is full of poisonous fauna, making Xenghora extremely strong
    • The Shasarak lair arc sees Grand Master enter a realm poisoned by the Curse of Taklakot, which drives people mad, making Crocaryxa useful
    • The Otavai arc is potentially useful for three Mails. Vrenzha and Agonera have optimal routes to reach the end (Vrenzha has one less encounter), although both can be bypassed with the Reformed Tome of Tzu or a Tiger Ring. However, Zhaaxa is strongest against the final opponent in the arc, Autarchess Balerodah, who can mutate Grand Master's limbs and eventually cause instant death at random (30% probability per turn, can be reduced to 10% in a specific path) without it.