Nato

Nato is a Protector of Ice, who served as the Diplomat of the Ice Region during Season 1.

Before Game of Thrones
Nato was elected to the position of Diplomat twenty years into the reign of Voxumo the Usurper, shortly before the events that would come to be known as the War for the Throne.

Episode 0
Nato was the only member of the Ice Region to directly feature in this prologue episode, with the scene for the Ice Region being presented from his perspective. Even at this early point, it was evident that Nato kept largely to himself, having not spoken to any other members of the Ice Region since his promotion to the role of Diplomat.

Even after two days, he was dissatisfied with the state of his office, perhaps indicating that the workload and responsibilities presented by his new role had left him in a stressed state.

Episode 1
Once again, all of the action that occurred in the Ice Region in this episode was told from Nato's point of view. Along with FF and Hero, who had joined him for the meeting, Nato was present when ToaD returned from the Ancient City and presented an ultimatum from the Mask Maker Voxumo, who allegedly wished to meet, alone, with the Ice Region's Ruler to repair relations with the newly reorganised nation. Before the group could discuss the proposal further, they were interrupted by a messenger from the border, who reported that Zatth of the Stone Region also wished to enter the region to discuss an alliance.

Finding the contradictory offers suspicious, FF ordered the messenger to deny Zatth access, before telling the others that he needed time to think about Voxumo's message. Leaving the room alongside the others, Nato then quietly set off, unarmed and without guards, for the Water Region.

Later in the episode, Zatth confronted Smoke Monster and Tekulo on the border between the Ancient City and the Stone Region, and mentioned hearing rumours about the Ice Region's diplomat journeying the island on his own, having last been seen on the border of the Jungle and Water regions.

Sure enough, the first episode ended with Nato sitting down at a table with a number of representatives from the regions of both Water and Jungle - the Trader Pulse, fellow Diplomats Dallior and Underscore , and Rulers Terrorsaur and TimeLord - proposing a mysterious plan of some kind.

Episode 2
Having already been in contact with most of the figures present at the meeting via unofficial channels prior to their proper meeting, Nato didn't waste time in explaining his full plan.

He was attuned to the rumours about the True Heir residing somewhere in the Region of Water, and that someone high up in the Ice Region remained loyal to them. Dissatisfied with Voxumo's rule, Nato revealed that he wished to forge an alliance with the regions of Jungle and Water to depose the current leadership of the Ice Region in order to put either himself or the loyalist in charge (not realising that the loyalist was actually FF himself), and use the combined military might of their three regions of overthrow Voxumo and place the Heir on the throne.

Terrorsaur and Pulse seemed supportive of the idea, although TimeLord expressed a desire to include the Fire Region in the scheme in order to maintain the sanctity of the recently organised South Eastern Trade Agreement, SETA. Nato expressed scepticism as to the dubious likelihood of the Fire Region agreeing to help depose or even kill the Mask Maker who'd originally come from their own ranks. He eventually convinced the group to keep the Fire Region out of the loop for the time being, and stressed the importance of secrecy.

Terrorsaur then revealed that he'd gone ahead with a plan he'd previously broached to the group in their earlier conversations - to poison the next shipment of water sent to the Stone Region, decimating its populace and crushing its military might. Upon hearing the announcement, Pulse rushed from the room in a panic. TimeLord, meanwhile, feigned rage. Despite having been aware of the possibility of a poisoning effort days in advance, he'd knowingly sent both his Council Member and Trader into the Stone Region. Accusing Terrorsaur of violating SETA, he donned the Mask of Control and summoned beasts to arrest Dallior, Nato and Terrorsaur for their alleged 'acts of war' against the regions of Stone, Jungle of Fire.

Following this, it was indicated that someone in the Jungle Region had informed Voxumo of the plan, albeit with a few skewed lies mixed in - the unknown contact claimed that Nato had been the mastermind of the poison plot, that the Fire Region, as well as Jungle, had both been slated as targets for subsequent poisoning efforts, and that Terrorsaur had been raising an army to invade the Region of Fire.

Episode 3
Given Dallior's minimal participation in the treason plot, TimeLord decided to set him free, before visiting Terrorsaur and Nato in their cells. Terrorsaur reacted with unbridled rage, while Nato delivered a lengthy speech he'd prepared detailing just how foolish a decision TimeLord had made in betraying the two of them. Ignoring most of the duo's arguments, TimeLord demanded that they refer to Voxumo by his honorific title, 'lord', revealing in the process that he was the Mask Maker's secret contact, and had intended to betray them all along. Nato promised TimeLord then that he wouldn't live to regret his traitorous decision.

Taking a few moments to gloat about his own percieved brilliance, the demented despot of the Jungle then revealed his intention to poison Terrorsaur and Nato in their cells as they had to the Stone Region, denying them any sort of trail or justice. However, the two prisoners pointed out how TimeLord was already on thin ice with the people of his region - his erratic and baffling behaviour having eroded the confidence and trust of the populace - before Nato demanded a trial by combat against him.

TimeLord initially agreed, but later changed his mind, caving to external pressure and deciding to ship the two prisoners off to the Ancient City to face Voxumo's brand of justice. It was the first of his four final mistakes. His second was the decision to bring only four guards to both protect him and guard the prisoners during the trek through the Jungle. His third was not bringing the Mask of Control along with him.

But his final mistake was to send all of his guards to go search when Terrorsaur and Nato broke free. Alone and unprotected, TimeLord didn't stand a chance when his two former allies doubled back and attacked him. Terrorsaur held him down while Nato smashed his head open with a rock, fulfilling the promise he'd made back in his cell.

Episode 4
In the aftermath of the poisoning of the Stone Region, a summons was sent out across Okoto, demanding that all figures of importance travel to the Ancient City to attend the trial of Terrorsaur and Nato - a trial that neither of them had any intention of attending.

Voxumo, having dispatched a Skull Warrior armed with a Mask of Stealth to steal the Golden Mask of Skull Spiders from the Water Region, decided to send the Skull Spiders - now firmly under his control - back the Water Region. As TimeLord had still not arrived in the Ancient City, Voxumo (correctly) assumed that he was dead, and that Terrorsaur and Nato had made their escape. As such, the spiders were ordered to seek out any sign of the two escapees, and report back to their new master the moment they learned anything of interest.

Elsewhere, Burnmad and Imrukii discussed recent events, eventually touching on the topic of Nato's demand for a trail by combat. For reasons that remain unclear, Imrukii displayed a vehement hatred for Nato, vowing vengeance against him and begging for the honour of being his executioner. When this demanded met with refusal, he argued that he ought to be out leading a hunt for the two criminals, instead of holing up in the Fire Region.

Under the threat of being held responsible for Nato's crimes, FF finally caved to Voxumo's demands of a meeting, and headed to the Ancient City to be interrogated by the Mask Maker and a Skull Warrior wearing the Mask of Truth. Under the mask's influence, he revealed that he hadn't know of Nato's plans, but had always suspected that the Diplomat might plot against the Ice Region, claiming that such actions would be 'in-character' for him.

Nato, meanwhile, had been allowed back into the Water Region by Terrorsaur, and sought out allies with whom to discuss their next moves. They came to learn that Pulse had attempted to warn the Stone and Fire regions of the poison, and then openly denounced the plotter's actions to the rest of the island, before vanishing somewhere in the ruins of the Earth Region. As they could no longer rely on Pulse, and Terrorsaur expressed distrust of Jed, the two were left with no choice but to turn to Dallior.

Fortunately, Dallior remained loyal to Terrorsaur, and explained that he intended to join Pulse in the Earth Region. Although he kept the details vague, he indicated that Pulse was planning something of even greater importance than the prior actions of the two conspirators, and asked if either of them would be willing to accompany him. Terrorsaur opted to remain in the Water Region to reestablish his rule, while Nato agreed to go with Dallior, but only so far as the Ice Region. Unknown to the group, Skull Spiders had been monitoring their conversation...

Episode 5
Given the theft of the Golden Mask of Skull Spiders, Nato's first act of business upon his return to the Ice Region was to secure the Mask of Creation for himself. As it turned out, FF had already stationed guards to protect it, preventing Nato from taking it, but also hopefully protecting it from theft at Voxumo's hands.

In the Ancient City, the trial began in earnest, with Voxumo placing 'dead or alive' warrants out on Dallior, Pulse, Nato and Terrorsaur, all of whom had all failed to appear. Among the witnesses was Nato's self-appointed nemesis, Imrukii, who (incorrectly) testified that Nato hadn't known of the poison plot, and that his ultimate plan had been to overthrow Voxumo and force the people of the Ice Region to put their own people on the throne  (also incorrect). Declaring that the duo had betrayed him on a personal level, he demanded that Terrorsaur be flayed alive and that Nato be put in an arena with forty of Okoto's best warriors in a mockery of the combat trial he'd demanded.

Following this came Pulse's activation of the Mask of Time, summoning up a beacon of light that marked out the location of the Temple of Time. Even Nato, in the Ice Region, could see the gleaming pillar of light.

Episode 6
FF, the loyalist of the Ice Region, returned to the Ice Region, rallying many of the region's troops before marching back towards the capital to join the unfolding fight against Voxumo. Nato went unacknowledged through all of this, and eventually convinced four of the guards who'd remained behind to accompany him in search of the Temple of Time. Although he would be of little worth during the battle at the Ancient City, he was determined to make himself useful in some other way.

Episode 7
Leaving two of his companions stationed outside to warn of anyone incoming, Nato and the remaining two guards ventured into the temple and began to explore.

Back in the Ancient City, Imrukii had been chained up by Burnmad, who had also sided with Pulse against Voxumo. Apparently descending into some kind of madness, Imrukii demanded the death of Nato and the other 'traitors' before launching into a tirade about some kind of prophecy, which referred to Nato by the nickname 'Stone-Basher'. Unfazed by his former ally's false preaching, Burnmad executed Imrukii and had his corpse flung from the city walls, into the wilderness of the Stone Region.

Discovering a switch of some kind built into the temple, Nato was interrupted by the arrival of five Protectors of Fire, sent by Burnmad to investigate the temple. They informed him that Voxumo and his allies had retreated to the Jungle, and that Burnmad intended to raze the entire jungle to the ground to ensure the Usurper's destruction. Deciding not to pull the switch, Nato agreed to leave with the Fire troops, but asked that he be allowed a little more time to finish exploring the temple.

Unfortunately, he delayed too long, for while he was exploring the depths of the temple he was once again interrupted by the Fire Protectors, this time warning him that Voxumo had found the temple. Sure enough, upon clambering up to the parapet, he saw Voxumo, his two Skull Warriors, the combined remnants of the Jungle and Stone armies, and an assorted horde of mind controlled beasts and skull spiders. As his troops had barricaded the temple entrance to keep Voxumo out, Nato and his nine men found themselves trapped.

Episode 8
Upon seeing the army, Nato's first act was to try flicking the lever he'd found upon his earlier exploration. He'd held off pulling it for fear that it might activate a trap of some kind, but he figured there was nothing it could do that would make his present situation any worse. Alas, all it did was switch off the beacon, something that might have prevented Voxumo from finding him quite so quickly.

After searching in vain for another way out, while Voxumo tried with equal success to find a way in, Nato finally made his way back up to the top of the temple to speak to the Usurper in person, an opportunity he'd been hoping for, albeit under slightly different circumstances. He expressed his desire to speak with Voxumo, to explain his actions, but the frustrated former Mask Maker proved to be in no mood for small talk, and ordered one of his Skull Warriors to open fire.

Having suspected that Voxumo might employ such a tactic, Nato had brought a shield along with him, and sheltered behind it before making his way back downstairs. While he'd been busy trying to be diplomatic with Voxumo, the Protectors trapped inside with him had continued exploring the temple's interior, discovering a second mechanism of some kind. Deciding not to repeat his previous mistake, he activated the device. Once back outside, he came to discover that Okoto had vanished, and the temple was now adrift on a sea of grey.

The world soon came back into view, but it was different to the one he'd left behind. An army still awaited him outside the temple, this one composed of Protectors from all regions, and led by two hammer-toting beings in purple and blue - Makuta and Ekimu, and Mask Makers of legend.

Episode 9
The next time Nato appeared, it was revealed that he'd been in the past (roughly 300 years before the time period he'd left from) for several months, learning how to forge weapons and masks under the tutelage of the master Mask Maker Ekimu. The two spoke at length for hours, discussing legends and history. Among the information that Ekimu explained was the revelation that the Skull Warriors were ancient forces of evil, and that them serving the Mask Makers in the present day didn't bode well for the people of Okoto.

Some time later, he completed his second attempt at crafting a Mask of Speed. Ekimu commended him for his craftsmanship, but warned that he simply might not have the proper bloodline to craft or wield Masks of Power. Nato proved him wrong a moment later as he successfully activated the mask... only to crash right into a wall.

Episode 10
An uncertain amount of time later, Nato returned to the temple and set off back to his own time. Unfortunately, he wound up somewhere else entirely. Once more, an army of protectors was waiting for him, this one composed of decomposing corpses and interspersed with Skull Warriors. At the head of the army stood a much larger creature, wearing the Mask of Creation (this is assumed to be Kulta, but this hasn't been confirmed).

Nato and his Protectors did their best to fend off the oncoming horde, burning and stabbing them, but the undead's numbers proved too strong. Reactivating the beacon and retreating to it, they were able to hold the line a little longer, although one of the Fire Protectors was slaughtered by the swarming corpses. The Skull Warriors began to join in the fight, but were destroyed by the temple's energies as they neared the beacon. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the leader, whose own powers seemed to overwhelm that of the temple. After losing an Ice Protector, Nato ordered a retreat.

The group jumped from the temple, all of them surviving the fall unharmed, but one of the Fire guards being swarmed by the zombies moments later. As the rest ran on, they were intercepted by the Lord of Skull Spiders, whose progeny surprisingly attacked the horde to help the Protectors escape. Donning the Golden Mask of Skull Spiders, Nato let it lead him towards a cave on the border of the Water Region, Losing another Ice Protector during their flight, the group eventually arrived in a cavern, where Ekimu, Umarak, and a small group of Protectors, the self-entitled 'Knights of Ekimu' were waiting.

Ekimu explained that Nato had arrived roughly 50 years after his departure, in a period of history that no one in Nato's present knew anything of. Ekimu divulged that he had a plan to seal away the undead horde and their dark power, but that the magic involved required the unity of Okoto, and the presence of Skull Warriors in Nato's present suggested that the spell was already failing.

Clinging onto the hope that some of the Knights still existed, Ekimu informed Nato and his companions that he'd leave instructions for the Knights to pass down to them in the present, once he'd sent them back. Someone in Nato's time was wearing the Mask of Time, and Ekimu found himself able to connect with it using his own, establishing a connection that could be used to send Nato and four of the remaining Protectors back home... at the cost of the lives of the remaining two Protectors.

Making the hard call to bring two from each region back with him, a Protector each of Ice and Fire volunteered to serve as the sacrifices, and with that, Nato and the survivors were sent back to their own time. They found themselves in the Jungle with Dallior waiting for them, Mask of Time on his face. In their absence, the War for the Throne had seemingly come to an end, but armed with their knowledge of the past, they knew that a far greater conflict lay in wait for them here in the present...

Pre-Game
Being a Protector of Ice, Nato was well-adapted to survival in the extremes of the frostier climates of Okoto. As a member of the Ice Region, Nato was also well-trained in combat and self-defence.

War for the Throne
During his initial journey to meet with the representatives from Jungle and Water, Nato carried no weapons of any kind, aside from the rock he later retrieved in order to slay TimeLord. But upon his return to the Ice Region, he took up his personal sword, and brought the weapon with him on his trip to investigate the Temple of Time. During the confrontation at the temple, he borrowed a shield to defend himself from the icy arrows of the Usurper's Skull Warriors.

Time Travel
During his time in the past, Nato discovered that he possessed the ability to forge Mask of Power, and created for himself a Mask of Speed. When he confronted the undead army, he once again wielded both sword and shield, along with the Mask of Speed, in his efforts to hold off the horde. He briefly used a past version of the Golden Mask of Skull Spiders, but had to relinquish it before his return to the present.

Personality & Traits
Nato was, at heart, an adventurer. He craved being at the thick of the action, growing dissatisfied and discontent when sitting on the sidelines. He frequently took dangerous risks, relying on his own skills and the blessing of his patron deity Rollor, the Lord of Luck, to help him survive.

Notes & Trivia

 * Nato was the first character to directly take the life of another.
 * Although he was designated the role of Diplomat, he never took any official actions as that role, with many of his attempts at diplomacy meeting with failure.
 * Nato's player was the one who invented the concept of the god Rollor, an idea that was quickly adopted by the rest of the playerbase.