Nihlus Kryik

“	1,500 is good. Your captain will be pleased.	„
	~ Nihlus' first words.

Nihlus Kryik is a minor character in the Mass Effect original video game trilogy, including the remaster Legendary Edition.

Nihlus Kryik is a turian who is one of the most decorated Spectres, an elite special task force of the Citadel Council. He is also a mentor of Commander Shepard.

He was voiced by Alastair Duncan, who also voiced Councilor Sparatus in the same trilogy and Mimir in the God of War series.

Biography[]

Background[]

Born in a small mercenary outpost outside Turian Hierarchy space, Nihlus learned the hard way to fight for what he wanted. His father died when he was sixteen, and his mother forced him to join the turian military. His status as an outsider made Nihlus' life difficult; though he was always at the top of his class, his military superiors and peers never truly accepted him.

As a soldier, Nihlus' skills were unquestionable. However, his attitude often got him in trouble. On several occasions, he disobeyed direct orders to do what he thought was best. Although his instincts were usually proven right, his notoriety grew. Even when he routed an enemy patrol single-handed and saved his squad from ambush, his commanding officers berated him for his recklessness. His military career seemed to stall before it even began.

After being reassigned to a new squad for the third time, Nihlus was introduced to a fellow turian named Saren Arterius, who is a Spectre. Saren was impressed with the young soldier. He befriended Nihlus and offered to mentor him. Within a year of meeting Saren, Nihlus was asked to join the Spectres.

Free from the restrictions of military procedure, Nihlus excelled in his new role. He quickly stepped from his mentor's shadow and established himself as one of the Council's top agents. Since then, Nihlus had completed countless missions as a Spectre, each one more difficult and dangerous than the last.

Known for being cool under pressure, Nihlus had an uncanny ability to find an enemy's weakness and exploit it. Though his methods were not as brutal as Saren's, he would not hesitate to efficiently and thoroughly eradicate anything or anyone that stood in his way. He also did not share Saren's grudge against humanity, choosing to see their potential instead.

Mass Effect[]

“	I move faster on my own.	„
	~ Nihlus

As a Council representative, Nihlus was onboard the SSV Normandy during her ill-fated shakedown mission. However, the Normandy crew treated him with suspicion as they didn't think the Council sent a Spectre to oversee the stealth systems. They were right: Nihlus was there to not only assist in retrieving Prothean beacon on the human colony of Eden Prime, but also to assess Commander Shepard's candidacy for the Spectres.

Nihlus himself laid out his reasons for personally nominating Shepard for the candidacy, depending on their psychological profile: if Shepard had a Sole Survivor background, then Nihlus admired Shepard's strong will to live and calmness under pressure; if Shepard had a War Hero background, Nihlus was impressed by Shepard's drive to protect the innocent and hold the line; if Shepard had a Ruthless background, Nihlus respected Shepard's commitment in getting the job done, no matter the cost. Nihlus intended to accompany Shepard on several missions, and would likely have become Shepard's mentor, but events took a tragic turn.

Nihlus went ahead of Shepard's team, intending to scout the area, and ran into Saren. Surprised to see his mentor but grateful for the help against the Geth, Nihlus let his guard down and Saren shot him in the back of his head. However, Saren was unaware that a human spaceport dockworker named Powell was hiding in the shadows nearby. He witnessed the entire exchange, overheard Saren's name and watched helplessly as Saren killed Nihlus. He later informed Shepard everything he saw.

According to Saren, being Nihlus' mentor and fellow Spectre, upon his demise all of Nihlus' personal files were passed on to him. If that was the case, these could have given Saren invaluable insights from Shepard's personal file, which enabled Saren to avoid capture for a long period of time.

Mass Effect 2[]

During a conversation with Justicar Samara aboard the Normandy SR-2, Shepard learned that she had once drawn into a fight with Nihlus because she witnessed the Spectre killing an unarmed civilian while he was supposedly conducting Council business. Due to her Justicar code, she compelled herself into battle in an attempt to kill Nihlus for the perceived crime.

For two weeks, Samara and Nihlus played a deadly game of cat and mouse in the wilderness, until he eventually turned Samara's code against her, creating a situation where she had to choose between saving an innocent's life or continue pursuing him. Being a protector of innocence, Samara naturally chose the first option, allowing the Spectre to make his successful escape.

In spite of her failure to capture Nihlus, the encounter and experience left her with a sense of admiration for his adaptability and tactics.