Nickothodes Artimaeus Thornburn-Ayala is the founder and director of the University of Cambridge's Necromantic Studies department.
Early life and education
Ayala was summoned via dark incantations by a group of British warlocks in 1915 in an attempt to raise a demonic army to fight the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. However, the summoning went awry, resulting in only a young Ayala being conjured and resulting in the deaths of all but one of the warlocks. Rather than decapitating the child Ayala and burying him under a crossroad (as is standard practice for rogue summonings) the remaining warlock, Nigel Thornburn-Ayala, opted instead to adopt him.
Due to his demonic nature, Ayala received no formal education in his youth, instead relying on the inherent supernatural knowledge that transferred down to him through his infernal heritage.
In 1935, at the age of twenty, Ayala was granted entrance to Cambridge University based on his preternatural knowledge and his ability to summon hellfire.
Career
After attending Cambridge for a year, Ayala was offered a position as Director of Demonic Infrastructure and the Necromantic Studies, which he accepted.
In 1945, Ayala was brought up by the Cambridge disciplinary board on charges of necromancy, having been caught raising the dead of the Axis powers and having them fight for the side of the Allies. Ayala argued that his after school activities did not affect his ability to teach his classes, and that his actions had allowed the university to receive several large grants from Her Majesty's Government specifically for the use of necromantic research, and the charges were dropped.
Since then, Ayala has remained the Director of Demonic Infrastructure and the Necromantic Studies, despite attempts in 1956, 1973, 1989, 2005, and 2017 to have him removed or forcibly retired.
Philanthropy
Ayala is the chairman for the Adopt Don't Summon, "ADS" Foundation for wayward demons, an organization who seeks to educate sorcerers on the benefits of adopting rogue demons that are already corporeal in the world rather than summoning new ones to the material planes.
"The world is already full of so much evil," Ayala said at a recent ADS event. "Why not work smart and use the evil that is currently available to you? There are so many feral demons out there, ones who have escaped or killed their summoners. Demons who, if caught by any number of holy orders out there, would be put down for the safety of humanity. These are demons who have already proven their worth by outwitting or overpowering weak-willed sorcerers, why let such talent go to waste?"
Personal Life
As of 2022, Ayala and his wife, Mildred, reside in Sunnyvale California, from which Ayala commutes to Cambridge daily via a set of magically-linked mirrors in his home and office. The couple say their favorite pastimes include walking in the nearby park, sacrificing goats to retain their youth, and raising parakeets.
LieQuest 2022