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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!
Not sure where to go from here I'm stuck in the middle of freedom and fear Driving fast with no headlights Praying everything's gonna be alright
Visiting Halo now is a welcome respite. If only the cold could linger, something she could put in her pocket and take back with her. It would certainly save her the time and trouble scurrying over here just for the equivalent of sticking your head in the freezer after a long, hot day in the sun.
The idea has fully taken shape by the time she’s finished walking from the skyship dock and into the city proper, her hands fisted into her jacket pockets. It’s far less bite than she expects, given how close they’re getting to Deepfrost. It’s nice, even, beneath her layers, instead of still trying to core her bones out with ice.
Doesn’t mean she wants to spend all day out in it though, so she ducks into a nearby restaurant, flapping her gloves off with a sigh as the warmth of the place floods her immediately. It’s a little soup and sandwich diner, the perfect place to recuperate for a moment. ”Deimos?” she asks suddenly, the scan of the place landing her gaze squarely on him pressed near a window booth. ”Just the man I wanted to see,” she beams, sinking into the booth chair opposite him.
These conversations with my head and my heart Never really ever get me too far
Received a Gilded Market wig from Remi that resembles her usual hair and is enchanted to stay on better than most wigs | has a reverse centaur tattoo on her left hand with the legs going down her pointer and middle fingers that looks like this.
the ocean does not apologize for its depth and the mountains do not seek forgiveness
Deimos wasn’t one for idle chatter, but he’d stopped within the diner on word of Evie’s cravings; and once that had gotten around the Ignatius household there’d suddenly been an abundance of orders for dinner. Waiting for the food within the warm shop had been relatively easy, situating himself at a booth and listening to a few fellow constituents and soldiers bicker back and forth on the best way to maul an ursur, when his name rang through.
He didn’t even have a moment to sigh before Colt sidled across – his brow arching at her sudden existence there – having grown to expect locals and Halovians rather than any visitors. “Colt,” he acknowledged with a nod, turning back in the booth and waving to his compatriots to address the Accepted, though not without a hint of his dry humor. “Lose some horses here too?”
Not sure where to go from here I'm stuck in the middle of freedom and fear Driving fast with no headlights Praying everything's gonna be alright
She nods and smiles in return to the others gathered about the Warden, propping her elbow against the table with an ease for spilling into conversation and taking up spaces, even unannounced or unwelcome. In fact, Colt's smile seems the brighter for it as some are required to adjust to make space for her, which she warmly praises them for. "Thank you kindly."
Her grin widens at Deimos' remark, the ends pinching into her cheeks as a chuckle answers softly. "Fortunately I haven't, but don't count yourself off the hook yet, there's still time for the one I tied out front to get loose." Her eyes gleam with the potential, amusement written into the shine. "I'm not out of your hair yet though," she reassures, as she leans back against the booth with a fluid motion of limb and breath, her arm now sweeping over the table, ending in a drum of fingers as she considers.
"I'm rather hoping I could commission you for a few items to help out with my desert venture." She tips her head, an inclination to his mastery over creation and his experience with extreme temperatures, making him a perfect choice for the task. "It'd been one thing, traveling through the desert, knowing it's brief. Something else to survive there." Not that it means she's backing away from the challenge, but it requires more consideration of how to deal with it, and tools previously enough are now insubstantial. "While I plan to eventually have Frey help us shape the land's toxicity and heat, while we work with it in the meantime, though perhaps you could design a hat that provides a cooling effect?" The last thing she needs is workers passing out with heat exhaustion. "I'd compensate you, of course."
These conversations with my head and my heart Never really ever get me too far
Received a Gilded Market wig from Remi that resembles her usual hair and is enchanted to stay on better than most wigs | has a reverse centaur tattoo on her left hand with the legs going down her pointer and middle fingers that looks like this.
the ocean does not apologize for its depth and the mountains do not seek forgiveness
Awaiting the verdict as the others dispersed back to other conversations, his brow remained arched, the good humor not spurned away, but the feeling of some other obligation beginning to hover, threaten. When it turned out to be items, of the temperature altering variety, he snorted, recalling the jackets he’d made both Kiada and Dantalion for venturing into Halo, granting them minor moments of no frozen perils, only to have it reversed this time. Balancing for the upcoming desert endeavors; unsurprising, given the climate. He had wondered what her intentions would be amidst the blazing sun – or if she would’ve preferred taking a more nocturnal approach and saving multitudes of the work for the evening chill. “Did you have any design specifics in mind?” came on the initial inquiry, maneuvering his palm upwards in a faint golden glow as paper and charcoal came to life in his hands, passed over the table so she might draw something to her liking.
And as much as Deimos had readily given and granted and bestowed in liberating tendencies over the years, it had also burned him more than once. At the very least, Colt tried to extend payment for the convenience and service – otherwise she would’ve probably been marching towards a deity for the same semblance of an item. The offer to compensate drew another level of intrigue; granting a light smile, a head tilt on a long breath. “Depends on the compensation.”
Not sure where to go from here I'm stuck in the middle of freedom and fear Driving fast with no headlights Praying everything's gonna be alright
As they settle into business talk, the others disperse, either finished or leaving them be to settle matters in peace. Colt’s gaze slides over their departing forms, fingers drumming out her thoughts against the surface of the table. ”Hope I didn’t intrude,” she murmurs, aware she’d done just that, but not thinking it’d curtail the setting. ”I don’t expect to be long,” she reassures. She is here for a reason other than adding work to his plate, although she’ll be staying the night and has enough time to linger here to eat and plan.
Although it’s an ordinary thing, magic, she’s so without it herself that surprise always finds her when the most mundane things are improved. The glow of his parchment and charcoal appearing out of thin air widens her eyes, mouth parting into a wider smile. ”Oh, how thoughtful,” she says as she readily takes what he offers. ”I was thinking something with a wide brim to help naturally deflect the heat and cast shade,” she says as she sketches, walking him through the thoughts she’d already thumbed over on the way here.
”Something breathable, and that can hold up to sweat.” She’s no artist, but her crude design finishes with a flourish of dark marking, and she slides it back towards him, charcoal rolling against the page as she sets it down. The drawing rather looks like the cowboy hat she’s already got on, although the brim is wider and flatter in her sketch. ”Do you want something other than coin?” she asks, a touched surprised that he’s suggesting a type. She’d already offered a favor to Thal, something that feels like it might come back to bite her in the ass, and admittedly, she’d like to keep hold of all the money she’s got left where and when she can.
The more she considers it, the more it makes sense he might not find himself in such a need as she right now for a purse, his life stable and his role high up enough to be earning nice income. ”What do you need?”
These conversations with my head and my heart Never really ever get me too far
Received a Gilded Market wig from Remi that resembles her usual hair and is enchanted to stay on better than most wigs | has a reverse centaur tattoo on her left hand with the legs going down her pointer and middle fingers that looks like this.
the ocean does not apologize for its depth and the mountains do not seek forgiveness
He watched as she sketched out the hat, brow remaining firmly arched out of bouts of curiosity and intrigue. Her designs left little in the way of his own interpretations, which was fine, but alleviated that temptation to make the hat something ridiculous and humorous for his own sake. Most of the time, when given freedom and liberation to create and coordinate on his mental concoctions, the Sword could designate something wholly ornamented and contorted around the individual; it seemed he wouldn’t need to if Colt had already plotted out her own lines.
Snorting at the cowboy hat – unsurprising, given who she was, he nodded, though realized she hadn’t taken his amusement, or open arrangements of an offer, as anything more than surprise. Deimos didn’t require coin; bartering around Halo was prevalent, he could notch multitudes of favors on labor or incantations, and he had enough coin to support his family and others. There was value to the monetary means, but the Warden hadn’t gotten as far as he was without the impact of other worthy merits. “I value information – so if you happen to hear of anything threatening or looming, send it my way.” An easy enough consideration. Colt likely traversed frequently, especially in her latest line of work, and though she’d have her head down in the desert from time to time, that didn’t mean knowledge and wisdom wouldn’t come through.
Taking another moment, he snagged the charcoal back, adding a little hint and flourish of what had been her branding along the hat’s center. “It can be done. I will have to place more magic in it to get exactly what you are looking for – I presume you would want it to cover for the extreme heat.” The baseline would only be some of the more bearable leagues - upgraded could provide far more relief from the upper echelons of temperatures.
Not sure where to go from here I'm stuck in the middle of freedom and fear Driving fast with no headlights Praying everything's gonna be alright
Not sure what she’d been expecting his answer to be, it’s a touch of relief and an easy smile that return it. ”You do always have your ear to the ground.” It’s spoken with an appreciation, like she has only now realized the importance of all the times she’s seen him out and about hunting some nuisance or another. He’s more giving than he lets on, and it seems intentionally so.
She inclines her head in agreement, fingers tapping out the shape of it on the table. ”Absolutely I will.” Not that she’d have kept something valuable from him before, but this now will sit like a reminder of something owed, bringing him to the front of her mind once it happens when she might not normally have considered it. Not a request that she give up something tightly coiled in her clutches, so much as an ask to be included in her survey of it, and that she can readily do.
She glances down as he builds on her work, and the sight of something more personalized being added to it seats her smile deep and grateful. She doesn’t mention it, but the keen eye for detail, the thoughtfulness, it sticks with her. ”That would be ideal, yes,” she agrees, of the extremes. ”We’re heading into the most tolerable season, so it gives us time to build and work towards something that’ll serve everyone. As I’m sure you’ve experienced though, it takes time, and there’s too much land to cover to turn it all friendly before we roast again in a few seasons.” The hat will be a bandaid until then.
These conversations with my head and my heart Never really ever get me too far
Received a Gilded Market wig from Remi that resembles her usual hair and is enchanted to stay on better than most wigs | has a reverse centaur tattoo on her left hand with the legs going down her pointer and middle fingers that looks like this.
the ocean does not apologize for its depth and the mountains do not seek forgiveness
Information was a necessity, and had been a vital component of both Helovia and Caido; he’d picked up on the habit of collecting it lives ago, be it through plots or factions or some other means. Nowadays it hovered about in the art of alterations and changes, needing to prepare for inevitable swings, tides, and moods, especially an entire region or a family. Colt would learn that first hand, after she’d carved out of her own wake. “I try. You will want to do the same, eventually,” he granted with a wrinkle to his nose. “Leading means trying to be many steps ahead of whatever threat lingers nearby.” The Family, for instance, and years before, the Voice and the Ascended.
But with the agreement he nodded, listening with his residual, arched brow. He was aware of the necessities, even if their regions served wholly different temperatures, the means remained the same. “Time and people willing to put the effort in.” Where that would lay with the Accepted and her goals would remain to be seen – but she couldn’t do it alone. Not with that land.
Taking a deeper breath, he turned his palms over again. Glancing down at the parchment, he let the sketches and image fill his mind, parsing through the details, running over them again and again until they felt like permanent fixtures. Only thereafter did they begin to take shape tangibly, amidst the gilded, softened glow across his hands – incantations combining easily, effortlessly. Earth for the tones, the colors, the hues, the blend of fabrics and wares sewn together, Water for the need of temperate capabilities, and Creation to mend it all together, adding in proportions of elements to fuse the fixtures. When it was completed, in the exact size, shape, hue, and additional branding to her liking, he held it out for her to take and inspect.
--
Deimos has created:
Brim Big: A wide brimmed cowboy hat designed to block extreme heat for the wearer. (Upgraded)
Not sure where to go from here I'm stuck in the middle of freedom and fear Driving fast with no headlights Praying everything's gonna be alright
She lets his wisdom sink in with the quiet of someone who aims to listen, nodding in acceptance of it. Not all advice is good, least of all when it comes freely, but she doesn’t take Deimos as the sort to lead her astray. Not her. Maybe she overestimates their relationship, certainly wouldn’t be the first time Colt thought she was worth more to someone, but she feels like he’s shown it time and again when dangerous beasts have been about. Plenty of chances for him to let her be consumed. That, and she knows some of what he says to be true from firsthand experience running the ranch. The size will be drastically different, but the core is the same, so it remains to be seen if she can scale up with it. ”Lucky for me I got a naturally long stride,” one cheek pops with a bit of a smile.
His understanding comes as expected, and rimmed with another warning. She leans in closer to the table, humming her agreement. ”People are certainly the trickier part,” she concurs, knowing well from her time in King’s End how some could idle by while the land lay in need, asking for help. ”I can only hope everyone will rise to the mutual benefit of comfort.” Something tells her that likely won’t be the case, certain Deimos has dealt with similar.
As he slips into his artistic side and begins to shape the item out of nothing more than thought and will, she can’t help but lean even further in. Her breath slows as she watches, ever fascinated by the ability to make, especially in this case where he doesn’t have it as a tangible. The glow and the twist of hand and element ends in a perfectly created hat, one which Colt reverently takes and slowly turns in her hand. ”It’s incredible what you can do,” she murmurs, gaze lifting back to him as she swaps the two hats. The fit is perfect, though the cooling effect remains to be seen, Halo the last good place to test it. ”Thank you,” she sighs. ”This might just be a life saver.”
These conversations with my head and my heart Never really ever get me too far
Received a Gilded Market wig from Remi that resembles her usual hair and is enchanted to stay on better than most wigs | has a reverse centaur tattoo on her left hand with the legs going down her pointer and middle fingers that looks like this.
the ocean does not apologize for its depth and the mountains do not seek forgiveness
He snorted at her comment; at least she had confidence brimming through, because sometimes that’s what was required when faced with an all-consuming task. The determination, the steadfastness, the stalwart notions of a head down and a march with fortitude, eager and ready to take on the obstacles in one’s path. As far as the people were concerned though, he’d found it depended on the situation and those surrounding; sometimes others were complacent, figuring someone else would take the load or the pressure of the impending circumstances. There could also be the opposite; individuals capable of taking on a shared burden. Maybe that was why he’d never actively recruited anyone; they could come to see the riches of Halo for themselves, and either decide to dig into the snow and ice with the rest of them, or continue onwards, plunging elsewhere. “Have you found many willing to head into the desert?”
After passing over the hat, his brow arched again the compliment. Rather than dodging it or lowering himself into self-deprecation, he took a long breath, nodding and absorbing the notions for what they were. “Thank you, and you are welcome. If it does not provide enough aid, you may want to seek out a god’s assistance instead.” For while Deimos was powerful, he also knew he wasn’t up to the standards of heralds and omniscient beings.
He might’ve said something else, but the call of his title and rank drew his attention towards the worker at the counter – order ready and hungry mouths at home. Drawing his features back into a slight smile, he nodded once more, turning towards the promise of food. “Good luck.”
Not sure where to go from here I'm stuck in the middle of freedom and fear Driving fast with no headlights Praying everything's gonna be alright
She tips her head up in faint consideration, as if cataloguing recent conversations and faces behind her eyes. ”I have found many willing to come and help,” she says with a smile, the motion full of an unexpected gratitude. People she did not fully consider friends, some barely known at all, and others near strangers. An assortment of adventurers, brave and curious enough to stand with her, at least for a time.
”As for who will stay, I think no one knows yet. I imagine they’re waiting to see if we can actually manage to make anything there first.” She shrugs faintly, unbothered by the idea that people don’t immediately trust she’ll make good on her word, on her dream. She’s confident she’ll prove it, and she’d rather someone with the sense to be wary than a blind fool blustering in.
After flicking the hat into proper position on her head and setting down her old one beside her, crown down of course, as doing otherwise invites bad luck. ”Thank you, I will consider that if I need to. Worst case, they can just improve what you’ve already made.” Surely easier than starting from scratch.
As he’s tugged to rise, she tilts her chin into her hand and smiles back at him. ”Appreciate it sugar, one could always use luck. Have a nice night.” She tips two fingers onto the brim of her new hat, sliding them off with a flick of farewell, before settling in to order for herself.
[FIN]
These conversations with my head and my heart Never really ever get me too far
Received a Gilded Market wig from Remi that resembles her usual hair and is enchanted to stay on better than most wigs | has a reverse centaur tattoo on her left hand with the legs going down her pointer and middle fingers that looks like this.
