REAL NAME: NICODEMO DARQUE
ALIASES: Master Darque
ABILITIES: Necromancy.
KNOWN ASSOCIATIONS: Sandria Darque.
Nicodemo and Sandria Darque were born in their father’s Louisiana plantation in 1812. Their birth was a difficult one that killed their mother, but, despite her loss, their father was overjoyed. Only many years later would the twins understand the meaning of the numerous little graves beside their mother’s.
From a young age, Mr. Darque expected the children to learn the art of magic, and while he was their primary teacher, his slaves taught them what they knew as well. While magic is their primary path, they take inspiration from many sources, including science.
The twins learned the first lesson of magic on the day Nicodemo tried to resurrect Sandria’s pet rabbit that he had accidentally killed in a fit of frustration: life comes from life, you can’t bring something from the dead. Or at least, not with the knowledge available. Their father revealed that when he was younger he had a vision of a place beyond all that is known where everything could be learned — a place he called Lyceum. The ultimate price of entry would be Sandria’s life by the time the twins turned 18. She would serve as a conduit for Nicodemo’s power so their father could cross. Confronting him, Nicodemo absorbed the life force of plants, animals and servants, and gained enough power to kill his father, and resurrect his sister.
Soon after, they left their childhood home to become traveling mystics and, sometime in 1882, they crossed paths with Ivar, the Timewalker. Sandria invited him to watch a performance of the Dance of the Silks by their resident dancer, Salome.
Before this, at some point during the American Civil War, Sandria tried to leave her brother after he became a nihilist. She met Marius Boniface, a Confederate soldier, and joined his unit, aiding in the fight. They fell in love, and had to flee when Nicodemo tried to get her back.
On the run, and back in New Orleans, she gave birth to a child at the same time as Nicodemo attacked their house. As the baby would not survive, Sandria used the sacrifice to bond Marius to the Shadow Loa, a spirit of the voodoo known for being the breaker of chains, a bond that would pass down from generation to generation.
In the 21st Century, after many encounters with Master Darque, who’s set on destroying all life on Earth, Jack Boniface — the current Shadowman — with help from Ninjak and Punk Mambo, imprisoned the twins inside the Ring of Solomon, where they dwell within a pocket dimension known as the Soulside.
Sometime later, the ring was stolen from Punk Mambo while she was in London, and Dr. Silk engineered a way through science to use it to free Master Darque — he needed an ally expert in magic.
OTHER DETAILS: The twins have a complicated relationship, but, most of all, they are each other's best match in necromancy.
