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Character of the Season
Frail in body but dangerously quick of mind, Nikandr is the sort of character who proves that curiosity can be just as perilous as any weapon. A necromancer, inventor, and problem-solver with more ambition than self-preservation, Niki approaches the world like a puzzle box begging to be opened, even when what’s inside has teeth. Blunt, dry-witted, fiercely independent, and carrying a history best left partially buried, he has a knack for making even failure feel fascinating. Whether he’s raising the dead, moving across Caido to King's End, or experiencing a hangover for the first time, Nikandr brings a wonderfully strange spark to Caido, and we can’t wait to see what trouble his brilliant mind wanders into next.
Congratulations, Niki!
Credits
Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
OG Skinning provided by Kaons, with functionality and many custom plugins made by Neowulf!
Alys wandered Sidhe Village, entirely charmed by the little Fae village. There admittedly wasn't much to see, especially since the region had been reclaimed by the Wilds, but it was still an interesting place to be all the same.
The Bodega was a floating marketplace, complete with shops and stalls of all kinds boasting a surprising variety of goods for somewhere so remote. There was one tea shop in particular that had come highly recommended, and the seer had set out this morning to find it. Unfortunately, she was having a bit of trouble making her way through the maze of shops and had paused on a bench, Sascha at her feet, as she tried and failed to get her bearings.
"It's got to be around here somewhere," she told the little ursur, who sighed heavily, as though being stuck with such a silly human was the ultimate punishment.
gather 'round, here's how to get what you want introduce a new religion of feeling like a boss
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Alys.
Emotional Telepathy | The user can read deep emotions of those within a 5 foot radius at will. Control is excellent. Note: "Deep emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Emotional Perception | The user can read surface level emotions of those within a 15 foot radius. Control is moderate. Note: "Surface level emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
On the bench across from Alys, a shadow rippled, and a small wolf pup appeared. Frog kept one eye on the woman, but the majority of the shadowfang's focus was just behind the trees. He understood that he was still too little to fight the strange orange things but Frog still felt bad that he wasn't helping his pack
Frog watched as his bonded in raven form burst through the trees, and grabbed a runaway vampire gourd by the vine, yanking it back enough that Pad could pounce and crush it. Lilly pranced out happily, walking over ot lick Frog's cheek before spotting a familiar face.
Letting out a happy yip. she approached Alys and sat down, pawing at the seer's leg for pets.
ominous controversy must precede peace and the olive wreath
A shadow rippled across the path, and Alys tilted her head to one side as she regarded a small wolf pup that appeared seemingly from nowhere. At her feet, Sascha gave a curious rumble and started to her feet, intent on approaching a few friend. Alys quietly stopped her with a hand on her head, then turned to see what had the pup's attention in the trees.
A raven grabbed at a vampire gourd, yanking it towards a pair of adult wolves, who made quick work of the orange vegetable. Smiling - for she recognized the trio - Alys waved, and when Lilly pranced over, the seer offered head scratches and cooed a hello. "Does this one belong to you, too?" she asked the wolf, nodding over to the little shadow across the way. "Do they want to come say hello?"
gather 'round, here's how to get what you want introduce a new religion of feeling like a boss
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Alys.
Emotional Telepathy | The user can read deep emotions of those within a 5 foot radius at will. Control is excellent. Note: "Deep emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Emotional Perception | The user can read surface level emotions of those within a 15 foot radius. Control is moderate. Note: "Surface level emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Lilly happily leaned into Alys, offering the Abandoned's hand a lick. At the question, the silver she-wolf let out a quiet whine. Frog looked up at the call and trotted over. Wary of the strangers, he slipped into Lilly's shadow, only his white eyes remaining visible from where he crouched beneath his big sister. Through the bond, his curiosity was obvious, and Lilly nudged his nearly invisible head encouragingly.
Meanwhile, Sah shifted and pounced in wolf form on a gourd that had pursued them. It gave way with a crunch. It was finally quiet apart from some angry hissing behind some trees. Pad remained near a bush, staring them down as his bonded glanced up and spotted Alys. Ears perking, Sah trotted over, returning to human form as he reached her. "Oh, hey Alys. How are you?"
The Wild Thunder glanced down at two of his wolves, crouching to run a hand over Frog's back as he spoke. He almost missed but practice was allowing him to spot the slight changes in the air where the pup was. "This little one is Frog. He's still getting used to people."
Lilly leaned into the offered scritches, and Alys smiled at the friendly wolf. Pad lingered nearby, though she knew from prior experience that he wouldn't be quite as eager for attention as Lilly. She wasn't offended. It was just a difference in personality, and there was nothing they could - or should - do to change that.
"Hey, Sah," Alys greeted the Wild Thunder as he shifted from wolf to man. "I'm fine. A little lost, but that's alright. Hello, Frog," she added, offering a gentle hand to the shadow pup. "I'm Alys." Nearby, Sascha rumbled her own greeting. "And this is Sascha. It's nice to meet you." Glancing up at her friend with a grin, she said, "You've got a proper pack now, don't you?"
gather 'round, here's how to get what you want introduce a new religion of feeling like a boss
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Alys.
Emotional Telepathy | The user can read deep emotions of those within a 5 foot radius at will. Control is excellent. Note: "Deep emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Emotional Perception | The user can read surface level emotions of those within a 15 foot radius. Control is moderate. Note: "Surface level emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Sah tilted his head, eying his friend with concern. "Lost? Do you need help?" He wasn't especially familiar with the area, but the Wild Thunder would happily lend a hand.
The hybrid laughed, some of his worry easing as Alys smiled "Oh you have no idea. I think I might need a bigger house. Three adults and seven wolves are a lot. Granted, the three wild wolf pups currently staying with us will likely return to the tundra when they're a little older." If Lilly allowed it.
Lilly turned and reached out to touch noses with the small ursur if Sascha allowed it. Sah gave his own wave, "Hi, Sascha." Seeing how two of his bonded relaxed in the woman's presence, Frog took Lilly's movement as an opportunity to stand and return to full visibility. The dark wolf pup crept forward and gently sniffed Alys' hand.
Through the bond, Sah could feel Pad's annoyance as even more of the gourds appeared behind the trees.
Sah's concern was touching, if unwarranted; the seer looked wholly unaffected by her dilemma. With a smile, she shook her head. "I was just looking for a tea shop that Tal had mentioned to me, but I can't seem to find it. It's not a big deal." After all, she'd run into a friend, and that was much more interesting than visiting a tea shop alone, no matter how highly recommended it had been!
"Seven?" Alys responded, raising a brow at her friend. "I don't know how I didn't know you had that many. It will be quiet for you when your three wildlings return to the tundra." Unless, of course, they stayed forever. Alys could certainly see the appeal of a steady source of food in comparison to a life hunting for one's next meal.
Sascha touched noses with Lilly and shuffled her feet, her way of showing excitement. With the companions occupied, it took Alys a moment to notice that more gourds had appeared, and she tilted her head to the side to consider them. "Why were you hunting the gourds, by the way?" she asked, thoroughly perplexed by the behavior. In her experience, the normal vampire gourds were often content to live and let live. The possessed ones, though - they were another matter entirely.
gather 'round, here's how to get what you want introduce a new religion of feeling like a boss
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Alys.
Emotional Telepathy | The user can read deep emotions of those within a 5 foot radius at will. Control is excellent. Note: "Deep emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Emotional Perception | The user can read surface level emotions of those within a 15 foot radius. Control is moderate. Note: "Surface level emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Knowing that Alys was alright, Sah let the matter drop, chuckling at her surprise, "Maybe. It wasn't really all that quiet before they arrived." Soleil and Lilly were bright and adventurous souls. Although Pad and Diana were quieter, they had their moments.
Alys question was a fair one. Normally, the hybrid would have ignored the temperamental vegetables and gone on his way. "One of them tried to smack Frog with a vine as we were walking by. Lilly attacked, and the rest of us joined in." Because of course they did. If Lilly hadn't gone for it first, Sah would have started the fight anyway. No one hurt his pups. The Wild Thunder glanced at the trees with a furrowed brow, where the gourds continued to hiss and goad Pad. "We'll probably have to hunt the rest of them too. They're not giving up it seems." Sah shook his head before raising a brow at his friend with a mischievous grin, "Care to join us? It'll be nice target practice."
A hunt was most certainly not what Alys had anticipated during her search for a tea shop, and she was ill prepared to join in. Still, she couldn't help but snort at the predicament the gourds had gotten themselves into. Sascha, too, was intrigued, and the little ursur glanced between the hissing vegetables and her bonded, almost begging to join in the fray. "Sure, but I don't have much to work with," she warned Sah. She'd left her bow and arrows aboard the Peregrine, and was equipped only with a plain dagger at her side. Even her magic was likely to be useless, unless she could perhaps confuse the gourds with illusions. "I'll do my best to help. And Sascha is excited."
Sure enough, the little bear danced towards the trees, eager to be included in the pack if even for a short time. Alys rose from the bench, stretching her arms over her head. "I have illusion magic. I can distract them, if you'd like?"
gather 'round, here's how to get what you want introduce a new religion of feeling like a boss
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Alys.
Emotional Telepathy | The user can read deep emotions of those within a 5 foot radius at will. Control is excellent. Note: "Deep emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Emotional Perception | The user can read surface level emotions of those within a 15 foot radius. Control is moderate. Note: "Surface level emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
12-28-2024, 10:31 PM (This post was last modified: 12-28-2024, 10:31 PM by Sah.)
I have never feared the storm
Sah's grin turned into a reassuring smile, "No worries. A distraction would be fantastic." Lilly pushed gently Frog with her nose, urging him to stay behind her. The pup wanted to join in as well, especially now that a little bear was, but the silver she-wolf was firm. Her youngest brother was still too unpracticed for a fight, even against future desserts.
Pad eyed Sascha warily but allowed the ursur to join him near the trees after a mental nudge from his bonded. With Alys standing and ready, Sah rolled his shoulders. "On your mark." Once her illusion began, the hybrid would return to wolf form and join the rest of the pack in the hunt.
With a rough plan in place and the companions eagerly forging on ahead, Alys followed the group into the trees. She called upon her magic to first render them invisible so that the gourds wouldn't see them coming; then she built a complex illusion that showed their group entering the forest from an entirely different direction. When the gourds turned upon the illusion-group, the real hunters would be able to attack from behind. She wouldn't be able to hold her magic for more than a few minutes, but that was all they would need to gain the element of surprise and, hopefully, end the group of gourds for good.
It was a simple enough trick, but the gourds were admittedly not the brightest of creatures, and attacked the illusion in a mess of flailing vines. Hisses turned confused when their attacks sliced right through the magic, and as the wolves and ursur attacked, things slowly fell silent in the woods once more.
fin
gather 'round, here's how to get what you want introduce a new religion of feeling like a boss
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Alys.
Emotional Telepathy | The user can read deep emotions of those within a 5 foot radius at will. Control is excellent. Note: "Deep emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Emotional Perception | The user can read surface level emotions of those within a 15 foot radius. Control is moderate. Note: "Surface level emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
