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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!
Ronin can't remember the last time he'd paid a visit to Halo's barracks - or if he ever has, in fact - but with a new quest from Vi on his shoulders and having already organised a meeting with Deimos, the Knight can't stop himself from poking around and exploring in his free time. As a former captain of training - and he ought to meet with Koa soon, too, to see how the dragoons are faring - he can't help but want to see the soldiers in action, standing atop one of the walls in a thick coat and scarf to see them go through the drills.
Precise in their movements, unfaltering in the way they fall in line and follow orders, to say that the Knight is impressed is an understatement, and it's with renewed motivation that he heads down into the grounds properly to complete some training of his own. Emmett's axe sits as easily in his hands as it always has, but as Ronin stands before the target, he has to take a moment to turn it over, to run gloved fingers over the worn handle, the honed blade.
He's still sorry that he's the one holding this instead of its original owner. But the least he can do now is to put it to good use.
And with that, he lets it fly towards the target to begin.
if there's a reason I'm still alive when so many have died
Noah found himself, for the second time this week, at the training barracks. He didn’t expect to see Ronin there, though. Not unwelcome, just a surprise. Noah let his face lift with a smile and he closed the distance between them, coming up on the knight’s left side.
”Hey stranger,” Noah said, readily clapping his fellow demigod’s back in greeting. He eyed the axe in his hands, running through his memories to try and recall if he had ever seen the demigod use such a weapon. In all the times they fought alongside each other, or sparred together, he couldn’t find such a memory. He lifted a brow curiously, jaw pointing towards it, ”New toy?”
The lightness that Noah brought to this reunion wasn’t unusual for the break in time from seeing each other — but there was so much Noah wanted to ask and to share himself, yet he didn’t want to overwhelm Ronin.
The axe finds its target almost laughably easy, given the distance and the fact that it's stationary, and Ronin almost feels like giving up purely because he's unsure what skill he might gain from this as he raises his hand. The axe flies from the board directly back into his palm, its weight comforting. It's as he turns to prepare another throw that he feels a warm clap to his back between his shoulders, the half-familiar voice causing him to turn, a smile already blooming across his face beneath his scarf.
"Hey stranger yourself," he greets his fellow demigod, lowering the axe and giving Noah a respectful nod. Following the other man's gaze down to the weapon in his hands, he scoffs a little and adjusts his grip. "A very, very old toy, if you can believe it," he says. "I'm on a quest from Vi to make it stronger. When I got god-given abilities, I stopped really relying on traditional weapons. My mistake, given how those abilities are all but useless against the void. So I thought I'd go back to basics. I have to train with this, for a start."
if there's a reason I'm still alive when so many have died
Noah had thought of Ronin often—more now, with the void rising and rising and rising—especially after having visited Starfall on the most recent rose-planting endeavor. There were things they needed to say, warnings to trade, strategies to align. Ronin was here on his own, looking to strengthen and train.
But more than that, Noah wanted to look him in the eye and say I’m sorry. Not for the war, but for Seren. For the silence she left behind. He didn’t know if words could touch that kind of loss, but he knew what it was to lose someone irreplaceable.
For now, though, Noah would aid him in his quest and bolster his own abilities. ”What do you have to do with it? I came here looking for a training spar, so I’m willing to help. Especially with tasks from Vi.” He offered the Knight a bright smile, eyes wrinkling some in the corners. He took a step back, offering the Knight the room to explain the task at hand and begin their spar.
Unsurprised but happy to learn that Noah is also looking to spar - and where better to do so than the barracks? - Ronin weighs his axe in his hands and nods to him. "Right. Well, Remi made this for me, gods, years ago now. It will come back to me when I throw it, which is what I use it for mostly. But Vi wants me to train with it, so I'm going to try to be a little more dynamic." Using it traditionally as well as in a melee form, for instance.
And a moving target in the form of his fellow demigod, especially given how sturdy both of them are, couldn't be better in terms of a sparring partner. "Don't go easy on me." Grinning behind his scarf, Ronin wastes no time in giving the weapon a good throw at the other man. He's by no means putting his full weight or strength into it, just in case accidents happen, but it should be decent enough that he can judge the arc of the blade and have it return to him, whether it hits or misses.
if there's a reason I'm still alive when so many have died
Noah braced.
As the axe left Ronin’s hand, Noah was quick to spur into motion, slipping sideways with practiced ease, letting the weapon carve empty space beside him. It spun past in a blur of silver and weight, passing close enough that the wind of his made his blond hair dance. He didn’t flinch. Eyes stayed locked on Ronin, even as his boots pivoted, grounding him for the counter.
He was told not to go easy on him, so he wouldn’t. He shifted forward, low and steady, closing space now that the axe was gone. This was the moment he’d been waiting for. The weapon was spent. The space between them was his to take. He moved, not recklessly—but enough that he hoped to force Ronin to move, too. From him, he sent out his spirit stag to charge straight for the outlander demigod.
Ronin does move, already pacing back through the hard-packed snow as his axe goes wide, thocking into a plinth somewhere behind Noah. The other man's spirit stag erupts out in a charge of flame, forcing the Knight to dodge to the side. He hits the ground in a swift tumble, letting the creature charge past, before springing back to his feet and pulling down his scarf to breathe easier as they continue to test each other's defences.
"Heads up," he quips, a boyish grin on his face as he holds out his hand for the axe. What had once been firmly embedded in a wooden post now comes flinging back in the opposite direction, flying at speed towards the Knight's outstretched palm. The trajectory will have it passing directly through Noah if the other man isn't careful, though if it does come to that, Ronin will obviously feel terrible and provide any healing needed.
if there's a reason I'm still alive when so many have died
The quip was enough for the demigod to act on instinct alone.
There was no time to hesitate—he dropped low and rolled, a rough and unrefined arc beneath the weapon’s path. He felt the air shift as it sang overhead—a bird of prey on a mission to its mark—just as he had during its original assault. The move wasn’t unlike what Ronin had done to avoid his stag, and any onlookers would see the two had trained together before. Noah was not too proud to take notes from those more experienced than himself.
He came up on one knee, already watching Ronin and preparing for the next move. This time, he answered with a celestial attack. His arms moved back as if drawing a bowstring he knew by heart. Light gathered. Two brilliantly lit arrows formed and launched toward Ronin. He knew the demigod was fast—perhaps the fastest man in Caido—but with luck, he could keep him moving.
Grinning fiendishly as he sees Noah duck out of the way as if they'd choreographed it, the axe handle claps back into Ronin's hand with a security he can't deny he appreciates. He turns, giving it an experimental swing through the air, but unsurprisingly, his opponent is already up on one knee and reacting. The glow of celestial arrows have him instinctively growing more serious - those can kill-kill him, after all, his gaze turning sharp as he brings up his hands and the axe to brace for them.
One arrow twangs against the axe head in an explosion of light, the other skimming Ronin's bicep with enough force to tear a line through his coat, leaving it singed and smoking. "Like that, is it?" He chuckles as he lowers his arms and straightens up. He's already moving as he lets the axe fly again, this time in a low arc as if to catch Noah's legs - or the rest of him, if he hasn't risen back to his feet just yet.
if there's a reason I'm still alive when so many have died
Even though Noah’s magic had the ability to bring Ronin down, he knew he would have to work very hard to accomplish that — and the demigod did not want to cause ultimate harm to his friend. He knew whatever injuries they sustained could be immediately healed by either of them, and by Vi’dore hanging just outside the barracks happily munching on some greenhouse grown carrots.
Noah was still low, one knee to the mat, arm extended from where he’d loosed the two glowing, celestial arrows. He heard Ronin’s quip and knew something was coming before he saw it (and it was a spar, Noah, of course something was coming). The axe came low and fast, skimming the floor like it meant to cut through bone. No time to roll again. Instead, Noah kicked off his planted foot, driving himself sideways in a short, sharp leap. He tucked mid-air, not graceful but fast, and the axe clipped his calf as it passed, slicing through leather and fabric and into the skin and muscle. Not deep, but enough to draw a hiss of pain through his teeth. He scrambled up, and landed hard on both feet, the sting flaring bright.
This time he called upon his stag again, and it came charging from behind the Knight.
"Sorry!" Ronin is calling, wincing as he spots the axe catch Noah in the leg and already straightening up as he watches him leap smartly to the side. His distraction will ultimately be at a cost to him, because it means he's concentrating more on the other man's bloody calf and the axe (which has embedded itself in a nearby target) than any sort of retaliation. He doesn't realise the spirit stag has even been summoned, in fact, until he feels heat at his back. By which time it's far too late.
Grunting as he's struck by fire and force and tumbling forward instinctively, given that Ronin can also become a luxere at will, he knows exactly how much pain those trampling hooves can cause - and it's safe to say that he doesn't like being on the other end of it. Eyeing his axe in the target, it's a singed and smoking Knight who dives into a quick roll, putting Noah back in the weapon's trajectory, and holds up a hand to promptly call it back to his hand again.
if there's a reason I'm still alive when so many have died
Noah didn’t take the cut to his leg too seriously—sparring with Ronin always came with bruises. He knew that both of them had the power to heal, and so once this was over, muscle and skin would be sewn back together with precision and skill.
The spirit stag charged on cue, flames dancing as it struck Ronin’s back with enough force to stagger. As Ronin tumbled and rolled forward, he knew exactly what was happening. He did not want to be between the Knight and his weapon again. Noah pushed off his bad leg, wincing slightly from the pain and sucking in a sharp breath, and the Forsaken was sent barreling to the side again to avoid the axe as it flew back to its master.
”I don’t think your weapon skills have gotten that rusty!” Noah laughed as he stood back, eyeing the Knight to see what else would come, or if it would be the end of their practice.
The axe lands, safe and secure in the Knight's hand, but luckily this time there's no blood on it. Left panting and grinning across at Noah and promptly getting to his feet, Ronin brushes off his singed coat and weighs the weapon in his hands. "I guess instinct must have kicked in," he admits bashfully. "It was good to remember how it feels, though, to fight physically." Opposed to wielding the celestial energies granted by their patron, he means. "Thanks, Noah. I think that ought to just about do it."
Putting the axe away in its loop at his belt, the Knight reaches into a pocket to remove, instead, an old relic that frankly doesn't receive much use these days. But the Seal of the Duke will provide them plenty of healing without expending any energy, and he tosses the seal into the air and lets the dome of celestial energy cascade over them, warm and soothing. "How are things here?" he asks conversationally, rolling his shoulders.
if there's a reason I'm still alive when so many have died
Their spar came to a close, and Noah let his shoulders relax. He glanced down at his leg, about to summon his own dome of celestial healing when Ronin released the seal.
Noah exhaled slowly, head tilting back as he admired the way the glittering, celestial energy bloomed around them. “I forgot you had that,” he admitted, a half-smile tugging at his mouth as he looked back to the Knight. He hadn’t seen the seal—or felt its radiance—since the Second War. "Sorry about your jacket." He said, closing the distance between he and Ronin, hand reaching out to brush ash off his friend's shoulder.
“We’re recovering,” Noah said quietly. “Just finished a quest from Safrin to replace the hot springs that were destroyed in the Fangs." He wished he could have deestroyed the creature that did it, but during that time he was on his own mission of desolation. "You should visit them before you head home. They’d be a good place to remember Seren.”
His eyes met Ronin’s again. “I’m sorry to hear of her passing. I wish I could have said that to you sooner.” He paused. “I spent a good part of the last few seasons out in the Tundra. Cordelia and I were attacked by a dragon. It knocked me out cold.”
Read: had he been another man, he wouldn’t have survived.
“Cordelia didn’t make it out,” he admitted, voice low and glacier eyes darkening. He drew in a steady breath. He didn’t want to weigh down their time together with grief—but Ronin had asked, and Noah wouldn’t lie to a friend.
