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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!
Melita nodded along as if she knew what patience even was, too distracted by fanciful filigree or web designs to notice his slight embarrassment. Though her ears picked up on the notions thereafter loud and clear, and she blinked several times, as if trying to form the thought within her mind. “Oh,” came first, brows furrowing. In some way, she could surmise it wasn’t unlike Ronin’s magic that had brought her, and others, back to life – though she wasn’t sure to make of it just the same. “Do…do they stay that way or does it just last for a little..”
Torchline was an easier sell than reanimating dead things – but then again, she was already thinking about shit one could do – like have them fight off an enemy or whatever (or greatly terrify someone nearby). “Everywhere’s pretty good. If you come during LongNight we all get drunk on the beach.”
This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight
Oh isn't ew at least, or Melita straight up rising to her feet and leaving, and her follow-up questions allows Niki to recover a bit, the boy carefully packing his trinkets back into his satchel bag, but leaving the jar upon the table. "It lasts for as long as I am able to sustain the spell, I believe - which is not for very long, admittedly." One look at him ought to be enough for her to realise that much, however academic the act of magic might be on occasion.
"Or I suppose it would last until nature takes its course and the creature returns to the earth, barring that." A curious idea, certainly, and Niki makes a mental note to see how far along in the process of decay he can still call on his magic. "I could show you, if you wanted...?" He taps the top of the jar with gentle fingers.
Smiling politely - Niki is not one to get drunk in truth, and he has never seen the beach - he nonetheless offers Melita an encouraging nod. Perhaps he'll see the ocean one of these days.
my body's on the line now; I can't fight this time now I can feel the light shine on my face
Oh, so it was kinda like…playing with dead things. Melita struggled not to make a face, trying to hone in her thoughts without outwardly grimacing or frowning; in the end she probably just looked a little befuddled, bewildered, and perplexed by the whole idea. In some battle waged proportions, she could understand the nuance; it’d be funny to have one of your own enemies turning on the other through incantations – but otherwise she wasn’t certain about the reasons beyond. “So as you get better and stronger, you’ll be able to do it for longer,” she worked on surmising; new to the whole magic thing in her own case.
But curiosity was a fountain in her mind, and at his offering, she arched a brow, making an idle bunch of knots at the end of her dress. “Sure. If you want to try.” Mainly because she’d never seen anything like it before.
This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight
"That is my understanding, yes," Niki says with another nod. "I suppose it is not outside the realm of possibility that I would be able to animate larger specimens as well, should the magic grow stronger." Thus far his crowning achievement has been a housecat, but by the confusion already dancing across Melita's face, he doubts she would find it as exciting as it had been for him at the time. Nevertheless, she agrees to let him show her, and it's his turn to fight to keep his expression neutral as he uncaps the jar.
"Very well," he says, holding out a hand towards the butterfly and falling quiet to concentrate. With a slow and deliberate clench of his fist, something frightfully cold pulses through the air, something other, before the insect is suddenly twitching its legs and flexing its colourful wings. A few test flutters and it rises into the air and out of the jar, perching on the rim of the glass before them. "There you have it." Niki smiles.
my body's on the line now; I can't fight this time now I can feel the light shine on my face
Like people? she almost asked, but something within refrained. Maybe maturity. Maybe not wanting to know the answer. “Are you big into like…fights and stuff?” An odd inquiry to extend, perhaps, had it not been Melita doing the questioning. “Because all of that seems useful for when dealing with a shit ton of monsters,” and she hand waved in the general direction of the Greatwood – another place known to harbor unrelenting beasts, even before the void wreaked havoc.
But then Niki was demonstrating, and she was all eyes upon the necromancer and intended insect – seeing if she could spy the threads pulling and altering, reviving for an instant or more. All she felt was something cold though, as if pulled from another dimension or region, and then the butterfly was moving. She did loosen a very small gasp, not enough to disturb anything, but certainly to quantify her surprise, fascination, and other emotions she couldn’t quite fathom or name. “Wow,” she offered too, then extended her hand outwards, towards the insect, so that it might walk or linger on her finger.
This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight
"I am more equipped for an academic lifestyle," Niki says with dry amusement, a flicker of a smile crossing his lips, though his focus remains on the reanimated butterfly. A bum leg, gaunt body and altogether weak constitution does not a warrior make. "You are not wrong, of course, but I doubt I would be able to do much damage with a horde of butterflies at my disposal." More amusement, though the boy does add another potential experiment to his list - multiple reanimations.
Glancing from butterfly to Honeybee at the soft sound of her gasp, Niki has been half expecting to see her preparing to walk away, appalled by the nature of his magic. Instead, she holds out a hand, and with a pulse of magic and willpower, he has the insect flutter onto her finger. Its tattered wings are still bright and delicate, though it brings with it that same aura of cold. "That is what I said, the first time I succeeded," he intones. Wow.
my body's on the line now; I can't fight this time now I can feel the light shine on my face
Melita’s life had never once revolved academics, so she glanced up from the butterfly for an instant, looking at Niki as if to quantify or realize what scholars looked and behaved like. It was understandable, likely an instant later, as to why he might approach that role, instead of action. But even with his leg…she could imagine incantations to still be a devastating and wicked blow, depending on what was stored within. Or if he could manage to get portions healed, find a quick way to escape if things became rough…
But avoidance sounded beneficial too, in the end, rather than wading through the other landscapes of debacles and mishaps. “Mm. I haven’t been involved in any butterfly monster antics either,” she hummed, granting a mischievous smile.
And she wasn’t appalled by the magic floating along her fingertips now. Intrigued, definitely, and mildly bewildered. A horde of inquiries floating through her mind – unsettled, pondering if this was a cruel and unusual torment for the creature, to be given such moments only to have it ripped away again soon after. Maybe it didn’t realize it all, like so many of them when they’d been sent over to Mort’s realm. She didn’t know whether to pity it or not, and in the end, gently allowed it to settle back from where it started. “It must take a lot of concentration,” she offered, rather than everything else; quieter now in her scheming.
This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight
"For the best on both of our parts, it seems," Niki says, his amusement still written in his expression as he inclines his head towards Melita. Perhaps in the future they might meet again, and time and experience might make a combatant out of this bookish scholar; for now, though, it's all raggedy butterflies and dry humour. Once she's finished with her inspection of the insect, he manipulates it into walking back onto the lip of the jar, wings flexing a few times.
"More than I care to admit on a good day," he tells her quietly of the concentration it takes, and already the tight lines of focus on his face suggest that he's all but exhausted the magic. With gentle precision, he guides the butterfly back into the jar and releases his hold upon it, slouching a touch in his seat. "Granted, it is good practice, to hold a conversation at the same time. So thank you for that."
No sooner has he capped the jar when a soft murmur rises up from those seated around and above them; overhead, the shower has seemingly made an early appearance, and soft jets of light can be seen painting the skies above.
my body's on the line now; I can't fight this time now I can feel the light shine on my face
“Thanks for showing me,” she smiled; but not missing the way the focus strained. The sudden murmur in the crowd kept her from looking at the butterfly again – not catching its second demise (perhaps for the best). Her eyes shot up towards where everyone else seemed to be looking, snagging and catching at the jets of light pulsing, pervading, and streamlining through the sky. “Ooh, you were right,” and granted the necromancer a wink. While they weren’t starwhales, they most certainly were meteor showers, and she was going to hold those particulars in her memory for some time to come – and the different ways resurrection seemed to play out across Caido.
[FIN]
This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight
