Trent Ikithon

 was the Archmage of Civil Influence for the Cerberus Assembly in Rexxentrum. As an NPC, is played by Matthew Mercer.

Appearance
Trent was a human man in his seventies. His skin was slightly jaundiced with visible liver spots, which stand out against the usual pigmentation in the Dwendalian Empire. He was bald on top but had long grey-white hair that went past his shoulders, and grey-blue eyes. He often wore ceremonial robes of white and gold, though he changed to red with gold trim for more casual, getting-business-done attire. His thin lips held a perpetual grin that reads as both scheming and amused.

In his youth, he had long dark hair coming to a widow's peak.

Personality
Trent had to care about appearances; as the Archmage of Civil Influence for the Dwendalian Empire, he was in charge of Empire propaganda and constructing the face of the empire in upper echelon circles. He was also quick to put on a friendly face at a party despite seconds earlier looking disgruntled about having to attend it. Caleb described him as cruel, hurting his students to toughen them up. Trent was willing to manipulate them by modifying their memories, showing a ruthless devotion to grooming young people into being strong mages who were fanatically loyal to the Empire. Caleb described Trent as being "a little mad himself. That is...he is mad." Trent had a blunt interrogatory nature, being unafraid to ask probing questions of people he had just met.

Caduceus's attempts to Command Trent to empathize revealed that Trent is incapable of empathy.

Background
Trent Ikithon was formerly an instructor at the Soltryce Academy and the Archmage of Civil Influence for the Cerberus Assembly, in charge of propaganda for the Dwendalian Empire. Less publicly, he was the head of the Volstrucker, or "Scourgers", the secret arcane assassins of the Assembly.

In 818 PD, after a year of studying at the main school in the Soltryce Academy, three adolescent students from Blumenthal, Eadwulf Grieve, Astrid Beck, and Bren Aldric Ermendrud (now known as Caleb Widogast), were handpicked by Trent to be trained by him. He took them to his home out in the countryside near the grounds of the Vergesson Sanatorium where he began training them. He told them that they were going to keep the Dwendalian Empire strong. He was a cruel teacher, and performed human experiments on his three students, including planting residuum crystals in their arms. Wanting to test their allegiance to the Empire, he brought in strangers—alleged traitors to the Empire—and had his students torture and kill them.

In 819 PD, after months of having them execute various dissidents, traitors, and deviants, the students were ready to graduate. At some point during his tutelage, Ikithon had implanted false memories into their minds of overhearing their parents speaking of revolution against the Empire. Ikithon summoned the students and explained to them that their final test of allegiance would be to kill their "revolutionary" parents. Eadwulf murdered his parents personally, Astrid poisoned her parents over dinner and Caleb set his home on fire with his parents inside. When Caleb heard his parents screaming, he went insane and was confined to the Vergesson Sanatorium for eleven years.

Trent stationed a person at the asylum to watch Caleb. In 830 PD, Caleb recovered and killed this person. He stole from them a necklace that prevented scrying, so Ikithon wouldn't be able to locate him.

Trent was seen floating in the sky during the Xhorhasian attack on the Zauberspire. He was one of the two figures who pursued the Xhorhasian assassins out of the Spire, firing bolts of energy towards them. He flew above the chaotic streets in the aftermath of the attack seeking out the Xhorhasians. Trent spotted one of the assassins and killed that assassin with a bolt of lightning right in front of the Mighty Nein.

Trent was sitting next to Oremid Hass at the Victory Pit tournament and watched the Mighty Nein's victory.

At the afterparty of the Victory Pit, Oremid Hass talked with Trent Ikithon on the balcony. They were approached by Beau and Yasha. Trent congratulated them on their victory, but upon closer inspection of Yasha began to interrogate her questioning where she was from, where she grew up and how long she had lived in the empire. Yasha answered honestly that she was from Xhorhas and had only been in the empire for 8 months. He ignored Beau's attempts to defend Yasha, instead questioning why she decided to leave. Yasha responded that Xhorhas was an uncomfortable marsh that was awful to live in. Trent cast some unknown spell on Yasha before telling her he was glad she was fighting on the Empire's side, subtly warning her not to stray from that path. He shook her hand and told her that he found her intruging. When Beau spoke up he questioned whether she was Cobalt Soul. At this point, Oremid stepped forward and politely asked for him to cease his interrogation of the two women.

Yasha asked if Oremid and Trent knew what they were fighting in Xhorhas. Trent admitted that there were still many mysteries beyond the border and asked if Yasha knew something they didn't. Yasha wished them the best of luck against the Kryn. Trent thanked her and told her to find him if she was ever near Rexxentrum.

The Mighty Nein appeared before King Bertrand Dwendal and his council, Trent among them. When talking about the Luxon beacon, Ludinus Da'leth said that Trent recently "uncovered" this relic, and that perhaps by using the Nein as a mediation tool, they could bring the conflict to an end by returning the beacon, since it didn't serve any purpose of the Empire's. After the meeting was adjourned, Trent approached the Mighty Nein, congratulating them and recognizing both Yasha and Caleb.

Trent Ikithon met with the Mighty Nein at the Vergesson Sanatorium to show them the beacon that the Assembly acquired.

Caleb received a letter from Trent Ikithon asking for the Mighty Nein to join him at his estate for dinner.

During the meal, Trent said that he had seen great potential in Caleb, potentially even as a member of the Cerberus Assembly himself. However, he believed the way to allow him to reach his full potential was to break him, and then after a sufficient amount of suffering, release him to allow him to rebuild himself alone. He insinuated he had orchestrated the woman who removed Bren's madness in the Vergesson Sanatorium and Bren's subsequent escape. When Caleb told him he wanted to kill him, Trent replied that nothing would make him prouder. But, he said, he liked where he was and had no intention of voluntarily stepping down.

Trent Ikithon was seen approaching the Vergesson Sanatorium by Fjord while Caleb, Veth, and Jester were inside attempting to steal Amulets of Proof against Detection and Location. Fjord then saw Trent disappear, and he reappeared at the top of the stairs to the Sanatorium, looking down at the small group as Jester had just tried to cast Word of Recall. He said to the group, "Well, if this isn't extremely curious."

Trent dispelled many of Caleb's spells, and when Jester cast Word of Recall in a final effort to escape, he tried to Counterspell it, but was Counterspelled by Caleb and the group teleported to Nicodranas. Throughout the rest of the day, Trent communicated with Caleb, likely by a Sending spell, antagonizing him. Trent also sent Astrid and Eadwulf after them in pursuit.

A few days after the Mighty Nein arrived in the Blooming Grove, Trent sends a message to Caleb asking for a parley. The Clay's home starts catching on fire and they begin to realize that the entrances and exits have been sealed off. After their family members evacuate the area, Trent casts Time Stop and initiates combat.

Oremid Hass
Trent appeared to be on friendly terms with Oremid Hass. They fought off the Xhorhasian assault together, attended the Victory Pit together and were drinking together on the balcony discussing matters of state at the afterparty. Oremid referred to him as his friend and apologized for his blunt interrogatory nature by saying he's just "studious."

Yussa Errenis
When asked about the members of the Cerberus Assembly, Yussa singled Trent out as being one of the most unsettling members and seemed to hold a rather low opinion of him in comparison to others like Oremid Hass.

Caleb Widogast
Trent trained Caleb to be a Volstrucker, and implanted the false memories of his parents being traitors to the Empire in order to induce him to murder them. Caleb had been living in fear of Trent since his escape from the asylum, telling Beau that Trent "would spread my guts out onto the stone floor if he could get his hands on me now, if he knew where I was." However, when they met in Rexxentrum, Caleb recognized that the party was going to have to work with Trent. Since then, they have shown passive hostility toward each other, but no physical actions have been taken as of yet.

Astrid and Eadwulf
Astrid and Eadwulf were chosen along with Caleb to be trained to be Volstruckers. Currently both of them still work for the Cerberus Assembly and Astrid even lives on Trent's estate.

Abilities
Trent has powerful magical abilities, being able to fly, electrocute a Xhorhas assassin, make an illusory scenic view, and modify the memories of his students. Trent's house also has an enchantment placed that blocks magic.

1st level

 * Unseen Servant

2nd level

 * Fortune's Favor

3rd level

 * Counterspell
 * Dispel Magic
 * Fly
 * Lightning Bolt
 * Sending

4th level

 * Dimension Door
 * Fire Shield

5th level

 * Modify Memory
 * Wall of Force

6th level

 * Disintegrate
 * Chain Lightning

7th level

 * Crown of Stars

8th level

 * Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting

9th level

 * Invulnerability

Notable Items

 * Dunamantic egg: Can cast Time Stop once and is destroyed.
 * Winged Boots
 * Ring of Telepathy (120-foot range)
 * Ring of Warding
 * Rod of Absorption
 * Mantle of Spell Resistance
 * Potion of Superior Healing

Quotations

 * "I do not make decisions. I merely... guide. Offer suggestions."
 * (to Caleb) "If I am to be the focus of your hatred, I accepted that long ago. But what you are now, what you've accomplished, those you've drawn around you, and where you go - that is because of what you've endured. Not because of a book you read in some hall with other sniveling, rich children. You made yourself. Not myself, not them. But it took that path of pain to accomplish what this is. And you're not the only one of us in the Assembly to have been through similar trauma and been defined by it."

Trivia

 * Trent Ikithon is named after Matthew Mercer's first character, a militant wizard, that he rolled as a kid.