Nicholas Eilander

Nicholas Eilander is a member of the Eilander family and the husband of Caroline. He is also the brother of Gerard and the father of Jakob, Elizabeth, and David.

Rusty Lake Paradise[]

With the birth of his firstborn son Jakob, Nicholas begins planning to sacrifice him to the Lake, as a way to achieve enlightenment. However, on the day of the sacrifice Caroline stops him and offers herself in her son's place. After burning Caroline at the stake, the Eilander family asks for themselves to be enlightened with the sacrifice, but instead they are stricken with ten plagues.

In 1796, he writes to Jakob asking for his return to the Island. He waits for his son in the family house, complaining of thirst. He accepts a glass of blood from the water pump, which also contains a leech due to the effects of the first plague. He claims that Caroline prayed for his return, and asks for his son's help in stopping the plagues.

He is nowhere to be seen for the next two plagues, but appears at the end of the Fourth Plague, in the island tower. Holding onto a black cube, he mutters to himself that he needs Caroline's memories. He has sealed the window, to escape an attack by his son David, who has transformed into a giant fly. When the window is opened, David flies in and pierces him through the head. He survives this, but later complains of a headache while recovering, his head wrapped in bandages. During the Sixth Plague, he dresses as a plague doctor and guards the front gate, only opening it when given a bottle of blood. He helps Jakob in creating the medicine for Gerard. When the Eighth Plague covers the island in fog, Nicholas stands out in the lake, playing guitar music with Gerard and David.

When the time comes for the Ninth Plague, Nicholas gathers with the rest of the family around the bonfire. He tells Jakob about the importance of the ritual, calling it the "glorious day of the lake" before joining in making impressions with his family; that of an ox and a deer. When the day of the ritual arrives, he plays a special ceremonial drum and claims "the lake will show her true self". After Jakob has been submerged in the waters of Rusty Lake, he burns him in the wicker owl, wearing the mask of a deer.