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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!
Flora laughs immediately, the sound stretching out of her in a long, exaggerated echo of his sentiment. "Meeeeeeeeeee too," she agrees, dragging the word until it almost loses shape.
At the mention of the sketchpad, her expression lifts again, interest sparking cleanly through the lingering strangeness of the place as she tips her head toward him. "Ooooh," she hums, long and approving, her brows climbing as if this is, in fact, the correct solution to all of this. She slips her arm through his and then they're on their way to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz to see the egg.
As they enter the final room, Flora slows, her steps carrying her further in as her gaze sweeps the space, searching for something—anything—that matches what Remi had (never once) said they'd find. She stops fully, her arm still looped through Mateo's as her eyes drag once more across the cracked stone, the empty centre, the absence of anything worth the effort it took to get here, her expression flattening in real time into something incredulous and sharply unimpressed.
"...wait," she says, the word landing with a disbelieving edge as she turns her head slightly, as if a different angle might conjure something out of sheer refusal to accept it, "that’s it?"
I hold my breath just a little bit longer halfway out the door but it won't close
He falls to a halt beside Flora, his arm still linked with his sister, his brows drawing into a slow and uncertain scowl. It's an expression that has definitely been inherited from Remi, and believe Mateo, if he'd had a demigod's power running through his veins as well, he'd be having a demigod sized tantrum right now. "There is no egg," he announces, like the room will just come up with the goods if he points out what's missing.
No, Mateo wasn't remotely invested in this even a few minutes ago, but now? Now it's like your parents promising you'll get pizza for dinner but ending up with leftovers instead. In short, sacrilege.
"Is that where it was supposed to be?" He gestures at the empty crater, drawing closer like the egg might be an actual chicken-sized thing, rolling around in the bottom.
i've told you time and time again i'm not as think as you drunk i am
Flora’s frown deepens in real time, her arm slipping free from Mateo's so she can fold them tightly across her chest. "I mean..presumably??" she says, dragging her gaze across the cracked centre again before lifting it outward, scanning the edges like something might have been politely set aside rather than completely removed, her eyes narrowing slightly as though she expects to spot some massive, obvious eggcup-shaped obelisk just sitting there waiting to be acknowledged.
Nothing.
Her nose wrinkles, and she exhales hard enough to send her bangs fluttering off her forehead, the sound somewhere between a sigh and a full-bodied huff of offence. "I don’t even care what he’s doing right now," she mutters, the words edged with irritation as her gaze snaps back toward the empty space like it might answer for itself if she stares at it long enough, "I’m going to channel him, because this is bullshit."
I hold my breath just a little bit longer halfway out the door but it won't close
Mateo has started to pace around the very eggless cavern, huffing out a sigh that's almost - but not quite - as irritated as Flora's as he sees the lack of absolutely anything interesting at the centre of the would-be crater. Of all the places they've visited and everything they came through to get here, he'd been expecting something a little more exciting than this. More exciting an an egg even, but at least that was an object they could have pretended to marvel at. This is just insulting.
His lips part to agree wholeheartedly with channelling their father to demand an explanation, whatever he might be doing, but halfway to leaving his mouth the words warp into an annoyed groan instead. "Ugh, is that fair on the twins, though? And you know it'll send stupid stag-dad into a spiral if Remi is missing even for five seconds. Besides, we aren't meant to be down here are we?"
He's still scowling, though, promptly dropping his bag of holding to rummage around in it. "Well I'm drawing the egg in," he decides.
i've told you time and time again i'm not as think as you drunk i am
You are interrupted by a sharp, high-pitched screech, accompanied by a dazzling fork of lightning that leaves its image burning behind your eyes for a long time afterwards.
You swear the afterburn looks almost like a face, the mouth stretched wide in an agonised scream. If you blink too quickly in the wake of it, the face starts to look like someone you might know.
You have encountered one of the Scream Rain SE serendipities! You may use this to complete requirement 1. of the seasonal event. Please note: this serendipity CANNOT be used for levelling purposes.
Flora’s irritation sharpens, ready to double down, but it falters just enough at her brother's reasoning that she exhales hard instead, the fight draining out of her shoulders in one dramatic slump. "I hate it here," she declares, the words weighted with full, theatrical suffering as her head tips back slightly.
Another long, put-upon sigh follows as she gestures vaguely toward the empty centre, conceding without grace as she starts toward it anyway. "Fine. Draw our imaginary egg. I’ll pose with it so it looks convincing." She’s just beginning to lower herself, angling into what might generously be called a flattering position beside the not-egg, when more scream rain hits.
Flora jerks upright with a startled cry of her own, her hands flying immediately to clamp over her ears as if that might block it out, her eyes squeezing shut against the flash that still burns behind them. "Oh my gods, stop," she snaps into the noise, her voice tight and strained as she hunches in on herself, curls sticking to her temple as the echo of it crawls under her skin.
I hold my breath just a little bit longer halfway out the door but it won't close
"So do I," Mateo declares to the place, loud enough as if he'd like it to hear and understand his distaste, the botanist sitting back on his heels with his sketchpad on his knees and a bit of charcoal in hand. "Good idea. We will make it a really cool egg and pretend that it was exactly how I drew it, make dad really confused." And they will, when he eventually gets such a painting finished, but absolutely not for the reason they both think.
Alas, Mateo only gets as far as sketching the vague outlines of the cavern, his sister, and the curve of a gigantic, broken and very impressive egg when the scream rain has him jumping, drawing a jagged, dark line right through his old-school selfie. "How is that happening down here?" he demands, having skittered back onto his butt to clap his hands over his ears as well, shutting his eyes against the phantom flash of a ghoulish face.
"That is it. I am done with Starfall and its stupid screaming." The announcement is made on the heels of him stuffing his sketchpad and charcoal back into the bag of holding, Mateo rising huffily to his feet and slinging it back over his shoulder. It's blatant bravado, the botanist more than a little shaken by being so deep underground with loud, random screaming, and he nods back towards the entrance. "Shall we?"
i've told you time and time again i'm not as think as you drunk i am
"I don’t know!" Flora fires back, the words grated out between clenched teeth as she keeps her hands clamped tight over her ears, her shoulders drawn up like she can make herself smaller against the noise. The moment it fades enough to breathe, she’s already nodding, sharp and decisive, like she’s been waiting for permission she absolutely didn’t need. "Yes. Done. Completely done."
Her eyes snap toward the way they came, then immediately veer off again, landing instead on one of the signposts jutting up like it has any business being here, her expression shifting from strained to something far more pointed. "Oh, absolutely not," she mutters. "There is no way I’m walking all the way back up the hill you fell down."
Her brows lift as she strides toward the post, widening her eyes at it like it’s personally responsible for all of this, before she slaps her palm against it with a sharp, indignant smack. "This place is the worst." And then she’s gone, vanishing upward in a blink, leaving the cavern and its screaming far, far behind. (Hopefully)
~FIN
I hold my breath just a little bit longer halfway out the door but it won't close
