Nihlus Kryik

Nihlus Kryik is one of the Citadel Council's most decorated Spectre agents. Born in a small mercenary outpost outside Hierarchy space, he learned the hard way to fight for what he wanted. His father died when he was 16, and his mother forced him to join the turian military. His outsider status made life difficult; though he was always at the top of his class, his superiors and peers never truly accepted him.

As a soldier, Nihlus' skills were unquestionable. His attitude, however, 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 single-handedly routed an enemy patrol, 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 Saren Arterius, a fellow turian and 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 has completed countless missions as a Spectre, each one more difficult and dangerous than the last.

Cool under pressure, Nihlus has an uncanny ability to find an enemy's weakness and exploit it. Though his methods aren't as brutal as Saren's, he will not hesitate to efficiently and thoroughly eradicate anything or anyone that stands in his way. He also does not share Saren's grudge for humanity, seeing instead their potential.

Nihlus Kryik is voiced by Alastair Duncan.

As a representative of the Council, Nihlus went along on the Normandy's ill-fated shakedown mission. He was treated with suspicion by the Normandy's crew, who didn't think the Council had sent a Spectre just to check out the stealth system. They were right: Nihlus was not only there to recover the Prothean Beacon on Eden Prime, but to assess Commander Shepard's candidacy for the Spectres. 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 on Eden Prime, intending to scout ahead, and ran into Saren. Surprised to see his old mentor but grateful for the help against the geth, Nihlus dropped his guard and Saren shot him in the back of the head. Unbeknownst to Saren, there was a human dockworker named Powell hiding in the shadows nearby. He witnessed the entire exchange, overhearing Saren's name and watching helplessly as Saren killed Nihlus. He later told Shepard of everything he had seen.

According to Saren, as Nihlus' mentor and fellow Spectre, upon his death all of Nihlus' personal files were passed on to him. If so, these may have given Saren valuable insights from Shepard's personnel file, which enabled Saren to evade capture for so long.

Trivia

 * Nihlus' name may be taken from the Latin 'nihil', meaning 'nothingness'.
 * Nihlus' facial markings are the same as (or very similar to) those of the turian representative on the Citadel Council, suggesting they might be from the same colony.
 * Rather ironically, Nihlus wears Phantom Armour.
 * A character named Darth Nihilus appeared in the game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II- The Sith Lords, which was itself the sequel to another game developed by BioWare. Darth Nihilus wore a mask with markings similar to those worn by Nihlus.

Source

 * IGN - Mass Effect: Meet Nihlus Kryik