Nightfall's Nest: Basement
Xellos the Mentor
Despite what it may sound like to those who are most familiar with Xel's famous tagline, the first thing to understand him and the art of knowing stuff is,
He's for it.
Xellos often carts around a messenger bag under his cloak. He doesn't actually open it onscreen, but it's a good size for the encyclopaedia which is his only recurrant prop aside from the staff. You'd have to like books quite a lot to carry a hardcover twice the size of your head on a walking road trip.
But it isn't just books he likes.
The above candid was taken in Sailoon, while Lina's group was staying with Amelia. He's not performing for anybody here. See how excited he is about all the culture points? Look, the shiny-hair even got a little frizzy!
And is he selfish with his knowledge?
Oh, don't be modest, Xel!
In fact, no, he isn't. He's served as tour guide
for the Slayers on a couple of occasions, and even
went so far once as to make local history really
entertaining. Yes, he got a good meal out of it,
and yes, he often leaves out vital information.
Which is not unprecedented. Ever heard the line 'I
taught him everything he knows, not everything
I know' before? Xellos doesn't say it out loud,
of course, but he doesn't have to. We all know what
to expect from the secret-keeper.
But there may well be an explanation for that beyond mischief-making. He's behaved as a kind of oddball sensei for Lina more than once. In fact, his whole role during NEXT seems to be to keep her safe. He helps out when she's powerless--
--Okay, yes, he protests a lot, but he does it. Not only does he sell Lina powerful magic when she has really no way of forcing him to do anything, but he helps her directly when she's under attack. He also warns one of Gaav's minions off attacking her when she's otherwise occupied.
Physically isn't the only way he protects her in NEXT, either.
He also protects her from having to make a hero's choices. Take serious note of that. Xellos guards Lina's development. That'll stop in Try--but he has more of an excuse for stopping than he ever gives for doing it in the first place.
Email: Nightfall@suntemple.org