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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!
Iskra has never been much of a hunter, or a tracker, but there's always a need this time of year. Maybe for the first time ever, he's stepped out enough from his shroud of grief to lend a hand. Normally, even when buried, he could get by with an offering of wood, his daily hacking at trunks and branches the best he could do. Lending mind, body, and soul to the task until his bones were numb from the vibrations and everything else along with. Anything left the bottle had taken care of in the evenings. Now though, he's up and about, and he's found an interest in the idea of sharpening lesser used skills, especially when it comes to taking down the vicious creatures of the world. That, and it's cold as fuck in Halo so trudging out to hack down trees isn't really appealing to him. Oh, he'd helped stockpile before the first major snowstorms hit, but there are easier options to continue helping.
So, here they are, the Oerworld. "Gilled musk deer huh?" Iskra asks with a glance towards Noah. The jungle is not impervious to the chill of the season, so Iskra has on his gloves and boots, along with typical long-sleeved flannels and coat, suspenders holding up his thick work pants. He's got matches in one pocket, a wooly cloth in another, and Ampere is strapped to his back, a smaller axe in hand to swing at vines easier. Goose sniffs alongside him, no tracker himself, but still on alert for something.
The waters rise above my eyes I will breathe it in and go out with the tide
The Oerwoud pressed close on all sides, the canopy swallowing the sun, the calls of unseen creatures echoing from every direction. Noah kept his pace even, careful in the mud and roots, the familiar patience of the hunt sliding over his shoulders like a cloak. "Yeah. Heard they end up tasting more like the types of seaweed they eat. Could be a fun little break from luxere." He flashed a half-smirk towards the abandoned, then let his eyes move back towards his path in the jungle.
Noah hadn’t minded the request when it came. In truth, he was glad enough to accompany Iskra into the Oerwoud, if only for the chance to move through its dense, humid air as a reprieve of the Halovian winter. The hunt gave him something tangible to put his hands and mind to, and Iskra’s company was steady enough to make the weight of silence comfortable between them, waves of conversation gentle and careful, less like the barrage of waves that felt necessary to fill any silence between them.
And when you think this is the end You will find me there where I have always been
Iskra has never been one to shy away from a good meal, but he's never minded the varieties or depths of the cullinary world before. He could be considered more of a scavenger than a hunter, pilfering whatever offerings got layed out in exchange for his labor, or scrounging up bachelor meals which generally consist of the same repeating and simple cooking—protein seared in a pan and a pot boiled grain or pasta to go with, maybe some raw vegetable chomped on while waiting for the main meal to cook. Two dishes, and something he could share with Goose. Salt and pepper have been the heroes of his table.
So while he might have had gilled musk deer before, it's hard for him to say. Surely once, but meat is meat. He reserves his judgements for hor cocoa alone.
"They act similar to Luxere?" Iskra wonders of the more experienced hunter, not sure what tracks or signs to watch for that might help them find the trail of a herd. "Should I avoid magic?" he rubs at his beard with the thought as his axe cleaves a vine that won't cooperate. "Don't want to alter the taste and with only lightning and fire at my disposal, both might start to cook it." He could certainly use them if anything in the jungle decides to hunt them.
The waters rise above my eyes I will breathe it in and go out with the tide
“Luxere are calmer. I think because of their inherent light magic. These,” He paused, crouching low near a disturbed patch of moss where the marsh began to swallow the forest floor. “are wilder. Less trust. Water keeps them unpredictable.”
He brushed calloused fingers over the tracks—delicate, cloven. He glanced back at Iskra. "Yeah, that might be best. Although a controlled and low burst of electricity might stun one so we don't have to chase it so deep and far into the Oerwoud." Which shimmered ahead, water dark and thick with growth, the surface broken by mats of fern and broad lily leaves. Standing again, the attuned indicated with a careful gesture which way the tracks led. Noah moved with care, letting his weight settle into each step before committing. The Oerwoud felt alive in a way Halo never could—humid and breathing, wet with decay and new life intertwined. But still, there was danger here. Thus was the way of Caido.
A flicker of movement caught his attention. Noah stilled, hand lightly raised to signal pause. Between two thick roots, just beyond the mossy bank, he thought he saw it—a pale muzzle breaching the water for a heartbeat, gills fluttering like petals before vanishing again. “There,” he said, voice low. He narrowed his eyes, searching for a second glimpse.
And when you think this is the end You will find me there where I have always been
Iskra nods in response to Noah's explanation of the behaviors and the elemental reasonings behind it. "Makes sense," he murmurs, trying to keep his voice and body low as they move, especially if these ones are easily startled by comparison. He keeps a hand brushing over the tops of Goose's scruff, a quiet clue to the hound to manage the same and to stay close.
"Got it, controlled burst," Iskra says back low in response. "My lightning has to be pretty close range though," he warns the other man, worried gaze flicking over to him while another vine is cleaved by his axe. Certainly this wilderness is a different sort from the one in Halo, but both have teeth to them, the bites just look a little different.
Goose whines softly in his mouth the same time Noah's hand lifts, and together they halt. Iskra tries to shift lower, slow hands curling back a branch to better see past. He breathes carefully, the sight of the nearby deer coming into shape, closer than he expected. "I'll stun, you finish?" he asks with a hushed breath, one hand already dropping to the pocket with his woolen cloth to spark some static to life in his fingertips.
The waters rise above my eyes I will breathe it in and go out with the tide
Knowign the ranges of magic and the confinements of abilities, Noah understood what Iskra meant. His lightning was not at its max ability, so the distance needed to be small. He nodded once at Iskra’s whispered question, gaze still fixed ahead. “A stun’ll do. I’ll move the second you hit.” His voice was quiet, meant for the narrow space between them.
He moved his weapons from their places, pulling his bow from across his shoulders and an arrow from his quiver. Then he shifted his weight, lowering his stance until he was little more than another shape among the undergrowth. He nocked the arrow.
Another flicker. The faint gleam of a wet muzzle lifting just enough to scent the air. Noah’s heartbeat slowed instead of quickened. “Steady,” Noah whispered, eyes narrowing, as he wished he could have said it to the man over the bond.
And when you think this is the end You will find me there where I have always been
Iskra opts not to use his voice further, not once Noah lays out the plan. Any noise now could be the one that scatters the heard, to the point he wishes even his heartbeat could be muffled, the sound of it suddenly so loud. Anticipation creeps along his spine like ice. He swallows it back, dropping to a crawl against the brush. He's going to get just on the edge of his radius. Closer than he'd like, meaning they'd only get one shot, but it's the only way to manage the plan.
So Iskra slinks and crawls towards the herd, pausing every so often, breath slow and steady. As the muzzle lifts, staring too directly at him to be coincidence, he freezes. In his hand the woolen cloth comes unballed, fingers rubbing it rapidly enough, static tingling up at the contact. He feels the familiar hum of magic rise up with it, and he sends it out in a brilliant flash of condensed light and energy. The bolt of lightning flies at the closest deer, and with any luck might continue on towards another if they're close enough.
Lightning manipulation (Abandoned/Hybrid): Can manipulate lightning. Must be within a 5ft radius, control is weak and unstable and requires concentration.
Type: Dark | Rank: Basic | Cost: Action
The waters rise above my eyes I will breathe it in and go out with the tide
The flash split the swamp wide open. For a heartbeat, everything turned to silver—reeds shivering in the charge, water gleaming like glass, the gilled deer caught mid-turn, its eyes wide and glinting. The air snapped with ozone and heat, and Noah’s arrow was loosed before the echo of Iskra’s lightning had faded.
The marsh erupted. Two of the deer bolted, vanishing beneath the surface with hardly a splash. Another staggered, the one he’d aimed for, its legs trembling where the current met its knees. The impact was solid, and Noah knew it as it resounded a low, wet thud. The struck deer faltered, legs thrashing against the suction of the marsh, before staggering toward the thickets beyond. Its gills flared wide, pumping fast.
Noah exhaled, steady, lowering his bow. “Let it run.” His voice was quiet but sure with the confidence of a man who’d hunted long enough to know patience from mistakes. “If we chase it now, its blood will surge and clot the wound before it bleeds out.”
He glanced sideways, “Good shot. Stunned just long enough for me to place the arrow right.” He paused, then added, ”Your lightning is going to be really powerful as you practice it.”
And when you think this is the end You will find me there where I have always been
Though he's hunted enough times to not make a fool of himself, there's a lackluster appeal to him about the whole affair compared to his more recent excursions with monster hunting and fighting with fellows to train (or otherwise). It's something about the startled nature of the creature fleeing, the innocence of it, that does him in. The way his blood normally sings in a fight remains silent now, no challenge or threat being leveled back against him.
He exhales through his nose, quiet and steadying, as he sits back on his heels, readier to move now that silence and stealth are less needed. As Noah's voice and soft command drift over, Iskra glances over, concentration still hardening his features, and perhaps a touch of concern at the idea of letting it stagger off. "Makes sense," he says after a swallow, but he doesn't shy from it ultimately. In an eat or be eaten world, he would always prefer to do the eating.
"Thanks," he murmurs, a touch brighter, praise like a warm glow he's unaccustomed to. It prickles through him like frost on bare skin before sinking in, peculiar but welcome. "I have been bad about practicing it lately because Iskra keeps getting C listed, I get caught up in my work doing logging and suddenly the day is spent." Even though he's not trying to hide in the labor any more, it's become routine, and the hard work is one he's found a way to enjoy. "I'd like to get stronger though...there's people that matter I want to be able to stand beside and be useful with." He doesn't know Noah well, but knows of him surely, and given the man had been a Demi-god, he's sure the other can relate. "Appreciate your guidance through this. Could certainly get handier wit hunting too." One thing at a time though.
The waters rise above my eyes I will breathe it in and go out with the tide
When the Oerwoud finally stilled, Noah rose, brushing mud from his knee. The insects had returned, a sure sign the forest’s tension had eased. He moved first deliberately, following the faint ribbon of dark blood winding through the moss. It wasn’t much but it was enough for his trained hunter’s eyes and his keen attuned nose to follow. A few more paces, and the deer lay half-submerged among the water’s edge, its flank already still. Noah paused beside it, bow in hand, and let out a quiet breath. He turned to look at Iskra and, sensing some quiet discomfort on the man’s face, offered to clean the musk deer for transport.
It was small, and the seasoned hunter made quick work of it.
”I understand that well,” Noah chuckled as he worked, ”I went over 15 years without unlocking another shift from my soul, even after the barrier fell and the heralds returned, because I was so focused on my work. It was only when I had to lock into that same protection when I got really close to some people that it came for me, too, and I had the motivation to work on strengthening myself.” and then he became a demigod, and strengthening was o longer an option. It was work that he needed to focus on.
”If you ever need a training partner who can handle a good bit of magic hits, I’d be willing to do that.” Noah offered before wrapping the musk deer up in canvas and rummaging in his pocket for his compass. ”This will take you back to the Citadel. You can leave it with a guard for me, and I’ll retrieve it when I get back.”
With that, Noah watched Iskra go and shifted into his griffin form. Taking the wrapped deer in his claws, the attuned headed for the frozen north.
FIN
And when you think this is the end You will find me there where I have always been
