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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!
02-28-2025, 10:54 PM (This post was last modified: 03-02-2025, 11:21 AM by Safrin.)
Nova
"I can't wait!" Holding her sister's hand tightly, Nova guides them to the lighthouse, a cheery tune humming through her. Between the excitement of seeing their mom again and the anticipation for their completed quest, she's at an all-time high. A section of her hair is dyed an ombre of rainbow colors to match the lace dress hugging her figure perfectly. Now that the weather's warmer, she couldn't wait to wear the gift, squealing as she spun around the house to marvel at the opalescent material that made her swoon with delight. She's practically glowing as the rays of sunlight catch the pair arranging their items along the shrine. Along with the shell that lets them hear the ocean, Nova lays out a myriad of colorful flowers, their petals rimmed with glitter that make her think they were dipped in starlight.
Ensuring that everything looks perfect, she shares a bubbly laugh with her sister, too eager to wait before calling out, "Hey, Mom! We finished! Aren't they pretty?!" She lifts their joined hands to show off the bracelets, one silver, one gold. The opals sparkle in the sunlight while the tiny stars dangly delicately from the chains. Although most of the blood had dried and flaked off, it still caught around the setting of the opal and in between chain links, not that Nova minded. She beams with pride, sharing the bright smile with Caly as they wait for Safrin to make her grand entrance.
1. Have the stones made into whatever they would like--a necklace, ring, bracelet, etc.' [SE] Glitter makes everything better - Nova made the bracelets (and ring for Vesper)
2. Collect a large enough shell in order to hear the ocean inside [ME][RQ] New life in old stones - They found a shell by the Court of Stars
3. Complete a thread exploring a new board, going from one side to the other [PQ][SE] the thunder of hooves movin' quick - Worked their way through the tunnels with Vesper and Jack
4. Kill an echo shark and saturate the necklace/rice/bracelet/whatever with its blood. [SE] ECHO, echo, .... - Killed an echo shark with Hadama
Life is nothing without a little chaos to make it interesting
lately i've been leaning on what she swears is a feeling
“I’m sure you can wait a lil bit, Nova.” Caly says through a chime of laughter, following after her sister (if only so she isn’t drug along). She sports her hair down in the sea salt waves her hair bounces in, along with a cream sweater and gold accents, yellow pants with black boots that press into the sands as they head toward the shrine. Up in the lighthouse, the sun casts perfectly along the bracelets as they begin to lay them out. She helps her sister place all of the requirements, before she sits back, snickering to Nova’s bubbling laughter.
Caly, herself, drifts toward the window, leaning against it to peer out at the sun as it glitters along the waves, flashing a dazzling smile toward her sister as she adds her own tidbit. “It was fun getting to go and explore and get everythin'.” Even if it drove Vesper insane sometimes. That was just part of the fun.
Caly did them in the same threads, listed below! <3
Safrin moved through the soft light of the shrine with a quiet, almost unrecognizable tenderness that belied her usual divine splendor. The goddess’s eyes, normally ablaze with cosmic mischief, were now softened by a maternal warmth that had deepened in the wake of recent loss. In the gentle glow of dawn, she beheld the carefully arranged offerings—a glass orb, a dark lantern whose starry apertures glowed with subdued radiance, and a bouquet of stargazer lilies—each one a token of her daughters’ eager devotion.
The sight stirred something in her, a delicate mixture of pride and aching sorrow. Safrin’s gaze lingered on the colorful array, and for a long moment, her heart seemed to pause in remembrance of what had been lost and what still remained. Without the usual grandeur of her approach, she stepped forward with measured grace, her hand extended in an unspoken invitation to embrace the fragile hope kindled by these offerings.
Her voice, when it came, was soft and imbued with a deep, maternal compassion. "My darling ones," she murmured. In that quiet moment, the goddess allowed herself to be fully present—a radiant, tender figure whose heart overflowed with both love and grief. Spreading her arms she beckoned her daughters to her, wanting to hold them close as she'd once been able to do when they were little more than starlight flitting high above Torchline's brilliant shores.
It feels almost as if LongNight lingers, dampening the starlight like a thick layer of clouds. Nova's excitement stutters in her chest at the subdued entrance of their mother. Perhaps she hadn't truly understood or accepted the reality of Seren's loss and what it meant. Yet with Safrin's grief-filled eyes, she suddenly saw the impact, recognizing that Torchline hadn't just lost a citizen, and Ronin a daughter, but they'd lost a sister. It's a sobering thought that has her immediately running to embrace the goddess.
"Mom." Her voice is soft and tender, so different from her usual bubbly tone. She may not have met the demigod, but she's met Caly and Vespy, and just the thought of losing them gives her a glimpse of what the grief might be like. It's potent and painful, making her cling all the more to those close to her. Her eyes turn to find her sister, needing the visual confirmation that her imagination hasn't come true, that she's lost the sister she didn't know rather than the one who feels more like a third of herself.
Life is nothing without a little chaos to make it interesting
lately i've been leaning on what she swears is a feeling
The excitement of the bracelets dims almost immediately upon their mother’s arrival. Not that she should be surprised – but it felt… Different. She hadn’t really known Seren, but she was still their sister. And to see their mother so raw, so open and hurt, the young attuned can’t help but to immediately push away from the window to join Nova against their mother in a warm embrace. “We’re so sorry about Seren.” She says quietly, squeezing the goddess in a gentle embrace, one that tries to convey all the feelings she isn’t too familiar with yet, but hopes to never have to deal with.
She hopes that Safrin never has to feel it again, just as she hopes the same should never occur to her sister. And suddenly, it’s as if something clicks, of Vesper’s protectiveness because gods, if she could try to prevent this feeling from dampening the warm brilliance their mother always carried… she’d do whatever she could. Her heart hurts for her, enough that she buries her face in deeper to their mother’s chest, clinging to that motherly love with every ounce of her being.
The soft glow of the shrine barely masked the lingering gloom of LongNight as the sisters clung to their mother. Safrin, her face etched with quiet grief, allowed herself to be held. The tender embrace of her daughters, warm and insistent, softened the hard lines of her divine sorrow. Her eyes, heavy with memories of what was lost and what could never be reclaimed, flickered with an unspoken promise—a silent vow that Seren’s light would not be extinguished completely and that the same fate would not befall the two beings huddled before her. In that fleeting instant, the goddess’s usual grandeur yielded to something achingly human: a deep, all-encompassing maternal love.
"My bright ones…" she murmured, voice barely above a whisper yet resonant enough to steady their trembling hearts. Though no words could mend the pain, her touch spoke of healing—a gentle squeeze of reassurance, a quiet command to hold onto each other when the darkness threatened to overwhelm them. "We will carry her memory as a star in our sky," she promised softly. Safrin's gaze softened as she slowly pulled away from her daughter's tender embrace. "You must be more careful now than ever my little loves. I still don't know what took Seren but this certainly doesn't seem like a mortal feat." Lifting her eyebrows the goddess gazes at each of her daughters in turn before an adoring smile dawns across her lips.
"Now, what don't you show me what it is you've been working on," she hums, nodding toward the bracelets.
She hangs on to the grief a moment longer, remembering what it feels like - so she can make sure it never happens again. Her arms tighten around Safrin, nodding as she grasps at Caly too. Seren will forever be in her heart, not only as the loss of a sibling she'd never met, but as a cautionary tale for the triplets. A warning that life can be taken as quickly and easily as its given. It's why she's reluctant to release the two women as the topic turns to deadly causes.
From anyone else, Nova would puff her chest and claim confidence in her own abilities to protect herself, but this is Safrin warning her. If her mother doesn't think they stand a chance against whatever it is - if it killed their demigod sister - maybe she should take the threat more seriously. So as she pulls away, her brows are scrunched in concern. Glancing at her sister, she nods her head again. "Okay, mom. We will."
Although more dim that before, Nova smiles up at their mother, trying to elicit the same bubbling excitement she'd had coming here. She raises her wrist for Safrin to observe the silver bracelet on her arm. The opal sits at the center of the delicate chain, tiny dangling stars spaced equally around the bracelet. Caly's is identical, only trading the silver for gold to match her sister's golden brightness. Despite the heaviness on her heart, a pulse of pride glows in her eyes, eager to hear their mother's praise.
Life is nothing without a little chaos to make it interesting
lately i've been leaning on what she swears is a feeling
Her eyes slip shut as they curl into their mother’s embrace, squeezing away what sorrow Caly can when she clings to their mother’s voice. “We will. Promise.” Comes the quiet vow, and maybe a small promise to herself to talk to her brother about learning a bit more about the sly work that Jack often partook in, if only to hone her very fresh skills.
That way she didn’t always have to feel like a newborn calf, on unsteady legs of trying to figure it out despite having the overwhelming confidence that she could that had carried her so far.
Releasing Safrin from the hug, she keeps her hand in their mother’s, catching Nova’s gaze with a small nod of agreement and lets the smile brighten on her face as she does the same – lifting her own arm with the golden bracelet still etched in dried blood – pulses of pride radiating from the center of her chest.
Safrin’s eyes, still clouded with the weight of loss, softened as her daughters lifted their wrists for her inspection. The matching bracelets—one silver, one gold—gleamed in the soft glow of the shrine, their opals shimmering like captured fragments of the cosmos. Tiny stars dangled delicately from the chains, swaying gently with each movement, and despite the lingering ache in her chest, a smile curled at the corners of her lips.
She reached out, tracing the opal on Nova’s bracelet with the tip of her finger before doing the same to Caly’s, her touch infusing the stones with the faintest pulse of starlight, as if breathing a sliver of herself into their creation. "These are beautiful," she murmured, pride clear in her voice despite the lingering sorrow beneath it. "You have done well, my darlings."
For a moment, she simply held their hands, brushing her thumbs over the dried remnants of blood still caught in the settings of the stones, evidence of the price they had paid to complete what she had asked of them. "You have always been my brightest," she whispered, gaze flicking between them. "But even the brightest stars know when to burn slow instead of fast, okay?" Releasing their hands with a final, lingering touch, Safrin tilted her head, warmth seeping back into her expression.
Caly and Nova have each received:
Never Far Bracelet | A starlight-infused bracelet that, when activated, teleports the wearer to the bracelet's twin. Must be within the same board.
Nova watches with wonder (and more than a little pride) as Safrin brushes a delicate finger over her handiwork. They suddenly glitter and glow like a bundle of stars against her wrist. She gasps lightly, bringing it closer to her face to admire it. "You made them so much prettier!" Nova wants to bask in the warmth of their accomplishment and Safrin's presence, but the grief seems to linger, tinging the moment with hesitancy.
How is she supposed to burn less bright? It seems so contradictory to her entire nature that she can't even imagine what that would look like. What she would look like. Not sure what to say, Nova just nods her head slowly, choosing to take them as a warning to be cautious.
Feeling her mother already start to drift away, she reaches forward for a final hug, moisture brimming her eyes at the imminent farewell. "Thank you, mom. We promise to come see you again soon." If only to embrace her more.
Life is nothing without a little chaos to make it interesting
lately i've been leaning on what she swears is a feeling
Caly watches with wide eyes and her own sunshine pride as Safrin runs her finger along her sister’s bracelet before her own, letting the smile flare on her face as she spots the glittering stars. “Thanks, mom.” Comes Caly’s soft whisper in response while Nova has a much brighter reaction. The young attuned’s gaze flits up to scan their mother’s face, beaming in the pride and excitement after having completed their first quest and having the chance to see their mother once more.
Her prideful smile softens as Safrin’s voice offers a moment of caution, and she nods quickly, enough that the golden hairs around her head bob and bounce with the movement as she clutches the bracelet to her chest, wrapping her other hand around it. “We'll be careful. Promise!” She tacks on alongside her sister’s voice, following her sister’s motions by crowding in around the goddess for one last hug before they have to look for her in the stars until they can see her again.
Safrin wrapped her arms around her daughters, pulling them close in a fierce, lingering embrace. There was warmth in the way she held them, in the way her fingers gently wove through Nova’s hair and traced soothing circles against Caly’s back. For a moment, she let herself sink into the comfort of their presence, into the tangible proof that not all had been taken from her, that she still had them—her brightest, her fiercest.
"My darlings," she murmured, her voice thick with something softer than sorrow but no less heavy. She pressed a lingering kiss to each of their crowns, breathing them in, as if trying to etch their presence into her very being. "You both bring me such joy," she whispered, her grip tightening just for a moment, unwilling to let go too quickly.
But all things had their time.
Slowly, she began to pull away, her hands lingering against their cheeks before she let her fingers drift back. Her starlit glow pulsed gently, warm and protective, before it began to fade. "Be safe," she said, her voice laced with quiet insistence. "And look after each other, mmm?"
And then, as gently as the evening tide retreating from the shore, she was gone—her light scattering into the stars above, leaving behind only the faintest shimmer in the air, a whispered promise that she would always be watching.
