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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!
Oh, how I find every subtle thing screams your name It reminds me of places of times we shared
In the weeks after Stormbreak's fall, Liam lingered in the Greatwood, unwilling to leave his home and partner when the world suddenly felt so uncertain and breakable. But in the end, he couldn't bear to bury his head in the sand and ignore the world's problems, so he booked a flight on a skyship to King's End, where he knew some of the Stormbreak refugees would be staying. Perhaps there was something he could do to ease their transition.
So he arrived, two dragons in tow, on one hot summer day when angry, dark clouds roiled overhead. Liam eyed them warily as he made his way towards New Haven. With this kind of weather, it was very possible that a storm was brewing - and lightning strikes when things were this dry were sure to cause problems.
Sure enough, he'd no sooner made it to the village than a bolt cracked through the sky; it hit not far away, close enough that Liam could see the sparks fly. He was moving towards the spot before he could think, no particular plan in mind other than to do what he could to stop an inferno from devouring New Haven.
Couldn't live locked in these memories Now I'm chained to my thoughts again
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Liam.
You put my fire out each time I lit it See your demons in the mirror and they keep grinning Got my backbone back, four years you kept it hidden
This place has been getting on her nerves as of late. Likely better said, her nerves have been frayed and shortened. Yet, from an impossible bog of mud to the near constant blazes roaring through the rain-fed growths, in the time when it wasn't even fire season, and she's near about at wit's end lately. The storm clouds overhead are a peculiar sort for this time of year, and she doesn't trust them one bit.
Riding down the lane of the little town on a younger horse, grullo and stubborn as they come, as if the filly thought herself a donkey and not a horse, Colt can only spare passing glances at the state of the sky. The static that fills the air, dry and crackling, fills her with an immediate and familiar dread. Whatever rain comes is more like heaven spitting down on them than any possible relief. Energy cleaves the sky and scores the ground like lightning is nothing more than a match strike.
"FUCK!" she bellows out, frustration already mounted on the back of her throat. The horse beneath her skitters and shies, and no mind on her training now, Colt snaps the leather along its neck and wrenches it's head to her knee, spur jingling along the same side to force a bend. Her gaze skips over Liam then, and she gasps, nudging her horse towards him with some slack offered back to the reins. "Hey, you!" she calls, jerking her head towards the smoke already rising in the distance. "You got water magic?"
Some things are meant to be, looks like we weren't When I ran away from you my flame returned Guess it's safe to say that now the bridge is burned
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.
Oh, how I find every subtle thing screams your name It reminds me of places of times we shared
Godsdammit, Liam thought as he ran towards the growing blaze. It was too close to the village - and he had no plan. There was water nearby, sure, but how was he supposed to transport enough of it in time? The blaze would grow in the time it would take him to find more people to help - or even a bucket for himself - and that couldn't happen. Not with New Haven so close.
His steps stuttered as a shout caught his attention, and he jerked his head to the side to see a blonde woman riding up on a pretty (if perhaps a bit green) horse. "No water magic," he yelled. "The most I got is channeling a spirit." The fire blazed higher, and the ex-soldier cursed. "Don't suppose you have any ideas? We don't have time to organize the residents -" To either fight the fire or evacuate.
Couldn't live locked in these memories Now I'm chained to my thoughts again
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Liam.
You put my fire out each time I lit it See your demons in the mirror and they keep grinning Got my backbone back, four years you kept it hidden
As she draws upon Liam, her question barely pulling on the quiet, hope is a daring thing she holds in her chest. She waits, what feels like too long, for himt o answer. Noty because he is slow, but because the moments are so very urgent.
Her gaze cradles the destruction rising up beyond him. She knows it well, has been dealing with fire for more years than she likes. It takes and takes and takes, and this season has been the worst of all. From all the excessive rains their grasses have run rampant, and now smothered under Tanau's thumb they have dried and shriveled in excess, kindling just waiting for a warm enough breath. They've all been working to cut them back, to clear them, but the rains caused so much more growth than normal, and this isn't supposed to be the season for fires, so they've been left less prepared than ideal.
The flame takes to a structure , catching from the dry brush. Another jolt of lightning snaps over, closer than she'd like, ozone and smoke rising like an awful perfume. Her horse shies again as a new spark flares further down, and Colt dismounts swiftly, keeping the beast heeled at her hip as Liam's devastating news lands.
"Fuck!" she blurts out again, jaw tight as she glances back and forth, knowing the rest of his words to be true. Fire moves quick, a hungry, living thing that speeds through its meals as if it knows it will soon burn itself out and means to gorge on what it can. Their time is so much more limited than it seems. "No, no, we need more protection with this dry storm," she huffs out with a shake of her head in response to his spirit offer.
She could call Sunjata, and in six seconds he could douse these fires, although she's certain he's weary of all the calls for firefighting, she knows he'd do it. For the same reason she doesn't want the spirit though, she doesn't tug on the line of the Flood either. "We need a god's help now," she mutters. "Frey," she beckons to the nature side, to the one that could turn the weather for them, could add a decent enough rain to this lightning to extinguish whatever sparks continue to land and snuff out the ones that have grown already. "Please, don't let the town burn. Make it rain enough that we're protected until this storm breaks."
Colt channels nature Frey. 1/2 channels for Longheat 320
Some things are meant to be, looks like we weren't When I ran away from you my flame returned Guess it's safe to say that now the bridge is burned
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.
"It's sure a hot one," Frey drawls, and Colt might be convinced for a second that the deity has taken on a cowpoke's drawl as they appear without fanfare beside the Accepted and her horse. Longheat in King's End makes Frey seem to glow with some inner sunlight, their eyes like stormclouds and a spring of wheat between their teeth. Heat rolls off them, carrying with it the faint scent of blue poppies, but all at once that is swamped out a heaviness in the air, humid and suffocating, promising rain.
"A little rain never hurt anyone," they continue, even as the first fat droplets begin to fall. "Enjoy it while you can." The rain hisses against flames, quickly soaking the thirsty ground, accompanied a moment later by a purr of thunder overhead. A dry storm no more, New Haven can expect the downpour to hold out for a good few hours - hopefully time enough to stifle any fire that tries to take further root.
As for Frey, with a pat to the horse's neck, they nod between Colt and Liam, and then are gone.
Oh, how I find every subtle thing screams your name It reminds me of places of times we shared
The flames began to spread. We're fucked, Liam thought, but before he could voice any further ideas, the woman was calling upon Frey - and the god actually answered. Liam stared, dumbstruck, as they appeared seemingly out of thing air to drawl a greeting, calm and unbothered by the fire. Still, they must have cared at least a little because suddenly big, fat droplets of rain began to fall, and within moments, Liam was soaked to the bone by the deluge.
And then, with a pat to the horse's neck, Frey was gone.
The flames began to die down, and Liam turned his gaze to the woman and her mount. "Thanks," he shouted over the rain. "I'm sorry I wasn't more help." Hazel eyes flickered back toward the town; people had gathered around the structure that had been burning, and Liam felt the pull to help as a physical tug. "I'm going to see if anybody needs assistance. You good?"
Couldn't live locked in these memories Now I'm chained to my thoughts again
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Liam.
You put my fire out each time I lit it See your demons in the mirror and they keep grinning Got my backbone back, four years you kept it hidden
Frey responds with all the ease of a deity that walks both sides of the coin. In nature, the rainfall and the fire each have their place, and were this not threatening the town, were it not in excess or out of turn, Colt might have let the heat take its rightful place among the dry brush to clear it as it’s want to do. It isn’t though, so she is ever grateful to Frey’s assistance.
”Thank you Frey,” she sighs, the relief leaving her whole body slack as the rain begins to plummet in response. Colt tilts her head up into it, all too aware that after last season, what’d been a curse is now a blessing. Funny how something can manage to be both.
With the summer glow of the god retreating into the wet of the storm, Colt’s gaze turns back to Liam. The sharp edges of her dull now that the risk has subsided, and she nods simply at the stranger. ”No need,” she murmurs, steadying the horse beside her. ”We all help in the ways we can.” She waves off his apology, because he had offered what he could, and even now readies to do more. As for her, she’d like to get out of the storm now, get her horse somewhere dry. Guess she can bunk down at a nearby bar with a stable. ”I’m good, go on, and thanks!” Not everyone is so eager to assist.
[FIN]
Some things are meant to be, looks like we weren't When I ran away from you my flame returned Guess it's safe to say that now the bridge is burned
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.
