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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!
"I am inclined to agree with you there," Isla informs Hadama with a devilish little smile, "though I am admittedly somewhat biased." Doubly so, given that hels are notoriously viewed as mischievous little pests by the vast majority of Torchline. Luckily they don't have to organise a gladiatorial contest between hel and crow in the near future, Isla instead opting to place rocks veined with amber and red, and a few in a shiny pebble blue, before they are apparently stopping for a well deserved break.
Peeling away from the group to choose from a selection of fruits, crackers and cheeses, the Remedy has just settled in a little sunny patch of ground when she catches Melita's approach. She keeps her expression neutral at her suggestion, though hides none of the wicked amusement in her eyes, offering the Honeybee a gentle nod of agreement. "I'm not sure how I'm supposed to say no to an offer like that," she admits. "Especially if going fast means we are finished quicker."
There was fish, both cooked and raw, and rhampire gyros alongside the kebabs, and grilled slices of pineapple and coconut next to the fresh fruit and greens, and rice cooked in banana leaves that the vendors brought to the workers. Hadama tried a little from each cart with solemn consideration of the quality of the wares being sold, but refrained from derailing the quest into an episode of Torchline bakeoff. For now.
The horse had been unhitched from the cart and taken by one of their helpers back into town to receive a meal of its own, and Hadama pulled some of their helpers to begin sorting the rocks into two piles. One was carried to the Firecracker in shifts, while the other was loaded onto a small boat. A couple of helpers hopped aboard to man the oars while Hadama slid into the water, waving up to Melita and Isla. "If you start at the other side of the city, we can meet in the middle," he called up to them. The skyboat's speed was a lot faster than his own normal boat could go, and with Melita at the helm it could cover the ground even more swiftly than most!
Round 6!
Team Firecracker, head to the other side of the city on whatever path suits you and start dropping stones in the water around the edges of Haulani's floating island section!
Hadama and team NPC will begin placing stones in the water on this side of the floating islands.
“Sure,” Melita considered, innocently of course, weighing out the potentials of other endeavors, besides dropping rocks. She also intended to be well beyond the middle point before they met up again – particularly out of zeal and deviancy. Once everything was loaded up, she settled into the captain’s seat, a wily grin on her features as she turned back to Isla. “You want to drop them as we go along?”
Gods knew the Honeybee would be busy flying…well, speeding. Good thing there wasn’t any unlawful infractions up here.
So they lifted upwards, already at a brisk pace, the demigod humming along as the sails unfurled and they maneuvered around several flocks of Hels.
--
Melita flies the Firecracker over to their designated areas.
"Sounds good to me," Isla calls her agreement to Hadama, casting him a wave before climbing aboard the Firecracker, keeping a sack of the shiny stones beside her as Melita prepares to lift them off. "Already on it," she assures the other woman with a fanged smile. "You just concentrate on getting us to that mid-point faster than Hadama. I know it isn't a race, but thinking of it as a competition will keep things exciting, no?"
Settling herself and keeping her skirts wrapped tightly in hand so they don't billow out everywhere as Mel flies them, skimming across the water, Isla drops the stones at a steady pace. The plunk of their landing in the water is somewhat lost in the gale and the flapping of the sails, but Isla imagines it's very satisfying either way. "How fast can she go?" she calls over her shoulder with a challenging raise of her eyebrows, as if keen to see how the Firecracker does under pressure.
Hadama did not waste any time once the boat was loaded. With Melita, everything could become a contest, and he did not intend to hand her an easy victory. He pushed the hull into the waves and his chosen helpers hopped in, each grabbing an oar. "That will not be necessary," he informed them with a gleam in his emerald eye. "Focus on the rocks. I will handle our pace." While they situated themselves he fashioned a length of rope into a harness that hung from him, overlarge and comically loose until he dove into the water and shifted into his hippocampus form. One of the rowers laughed as they fished the end of the rope out of the waves and tied it to cleat on the prow. Hadama snorted and then lunged forward, dark muscles flexing the rope as he sent his water magic forward to smooth his path and give him a slip current to race along. The helpers whooped and began tossing rocks over the side as they picked up speed, racing over the sea at the edges of the island shadows on the water beside them.
Melita was also picking up speed, though they had farther to travel after being sent back to where they had begun the day before they could head out in the opposite direction. The weather was muggy and Longheat was just around the corner, but at least there was no rain to slow the Firecracker down. Hels were no match for the skyboat's speed, especially not with Melita at the helm, but they were not the only things in the air today. A family of cloud wyrms spied the shiny rocks and gathered around the sails and spars of the Firecracker, puffing happily away as they chirruped hopefully at Isla to share some of the sparkly bounty.
Round 7!
Almost done!
The Firecracker has attracted a group of Cloud Wyrms who are very interested in the shiny rocks! They use Big Eyes and Cute Noises on Isla!
“Let’s see!” Melita hollered enthusiastically – unfurling the sails to their full might and potential, catching and coasting on the wind until it fully unraveled, whipping along as the imminent breeze clung to cheeks and laughter, and the mighty swell of poor impulse control.
Not intending to let some measly cloud wyrms stop her, especially because this was now a fully-fledged race between them and Hadama, and completing this god damn shindig, the Honeybee barreled onward, eyes focused on the “road”, as they bounded over waves. “Let me know if you want me to run them over,” gesturing, of course, to the little puffy flying lizard shits.
Letting out a peal of laughter, the sound pulled from a place Isla so rarely lets loose these days, the Remedy is forced to grab onto the railing as the Firecracker skims across the waves and continues to pick up dazzling speed. Remembering, by chance more than design, to keep tossing stones into the water, Isla is grinning broadly as they race towards where Hadama and his chosen helpers are coming in the opposite direction. "I reckon it's going to be a close one!" Isla calls over the wind, glancing up to Melita and instead seeing a flurry of adorable cloud wyrms.
Thoroughly distracted by them - and horrified by the idea of running them over, Isla nonetheless continues to drop a few stones. (Though she does offer one particularly shiny specimen out to the nearest wyrm). "You can't do that!" she chastises Mel, only half kidding, and if she has to be accosted by the puffy little dragonettes for the rest of the voyage, so be it.
The cloud wyrms are super effective! Isla does keep dropping her stones, but she also offers one out as a souvenir as they sail.
While violence may have been an efficient answer to their puffing passengers, bribes were even more effective. Isla's chosen cloud wyrm gave a little gasp of delight as it grasped the shiny rock in its tiny, adorable paws and did a few ecstatic loops around her in gratitude. As the others realized what had happened, it zipped off over the side with its prize and drew its brethren after it, cheeping in jealous dismay. The clouds around the Firecracker cleared--
And Melita had nothing left in her way. As they rounded the last floating island, rocks splashing down behind them, the Honeybee would spy the halfway point coming into sight. The Firecracker was racing through the sky with a clear route ahead of her and a following wind in her sails. But only a few moments after they entered the home stretch she would spy a boat in the distance, growing larger with every heartbeat.
Hadama's crew was busy chucking stones out and trying not to fly out of the hull themselves. The nameless craft was fairly flying itself as it bumped over the crests of the Arclight's waves, spray forming a glittering cloud all around it. The hippocampus snorted as he spied the Firecracker approaching and emerald eyes gleamed as he realized that it was, in fact, much closer than he'd expected it to be. One of his passengers gave a whoop of excitement, pointing at the skyboat that was growing bigger and then toppled over to land in the bottom of the boat while the other kept tossing stones like she was getting paid for it.
Last round!
We've hit the home stretch! Dig deep and cross the finish line! Now's a good time for any tricks or skills to help you grab first place - and bragging rights at the bar afterwards!
Actually Isla, she most certainly could, and one couldn’t deny it’d be fucking hilarious. Rolling her eyes and snorting, because it would’ve lifted her spirits to rampage over the rampant little shits, she adhered to the task at hand instead.
The enemy, which was technically their ally and leader and all his spectacles, was just on the horizon. “Hang on,” she blurted outwards with a vicious little laugh, her Cheshire grin turning malicious and her mind churning into nothing but an ongoing slate of speed demon quandaries. She unfurled the sails further, and the Firecracker responded in the same spirit, barreling and charging. No, they wouldn’t be able to actually turn at this quick, sharp entanglement, but the Honeybee had no intentions of doing so. Straight on, fully intending to win.
Whilst privately Isla might have a little chuckle at the cloud wyrms' expense, out here she at least has to pretend to be the only adult in the room, what with the medic training and all, and so at Melita's snort she can only offer her a playfully reproachful smile. Either way, her bribery seems to work, and with a little wave to see off the puffy dragonettes, she returns to the task at hand. And with Mel's sudden command (and ominous laughter) echoing in her ears and the sight of Hadama's vessel up ahead, it's pretty much all Isla can do to comply.
"Whoaaa--!" Clutching at the rail - and remembering, just about, to plunk a few more stones into the water from her steadily dwindling supply - it's with the wind dragging tears from the corners of her eyes that she realises they're pretty much on par for a head-on collision at this rate. "Mel!" Isla yells over the gale. "You sure you want to play chicken out here?" What a stupid question, in retrospect.
Hadama was not a great scholar, but he had studied enough to know of the three classic blunders.
1. Never get involved in a land war in the Greatwood.
2. Never go in against a Halovian when death was on the line.
and third, and only slightly less well known: Never play chicken with Melita Najya.
The Firecracker put on a final burst of speed, all canvas laid on as Melita gunned it. Hadama was given a split second to make his decision while his passengers alternately yelled or stoically tossed out the last of their rocks, depending on their personalities. The King, perhaps unsurprisingly, chose discretion as the better part of valor. He used his water manipulation to split the sea beneath himself and his boat to either side, creating a ramp down into the water so they would pass below the Firecracker instead of risking a collision.
His choice may have saved his passengers some bruises and a long swim home, but it also meant that Melita and Isla swept around the halfway point with several seconds to spare.
Once the boats were safely past each other he rose up and shifted into his mer form to wave up at them, if they were still in range. "Congratulations. I will buy the drinks at the Hanged Man when we are back." His offer encompassed the victors as well as his own crew, who cheered far more enthusiastically at the news in spite of their loss.
