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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!
there exists a tipping point between gods and monsters
Jack would like to select the secret Option C from the torn off/melted off assortment; the one where he keeps his face intact, if that's alright. To his credit, he doesn't scream (or if he does, it's covered up by the screech of the cockatrice, so go figure) and he leaps back a few feet just as Iskra's fire comes roaring up in a wall before him through the reeds. Right, good idea not to get swiped at by the creature too.
"Yeah, looks like it," he grates out, dismissing his air magic and exchanging it for something that might make the cockatrice think twice about its choices. The scent of ozone surrounds him, static starting to crackle through the reeds, before he calls down a burst of lightning towards the beast.
Jack zip zaps the cockatrice!
Lightning manipulation (Abandoned/Hybrid): Can create and control Lightning. Must be within a 30ft radius.
Type: Dark | Rank: Mastered | Cost: Action
Regional Score bonus: +3 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +3 should be included). Residents cannot be cursed at shrines in this region.
Mageglass Ring | A silver ring with an unrefined stone of mageglass. Will amplify the magical abilities (range and power) of Abandoned by one level. (Basic becomes upgraded, upgraded becomes mastered. Mastered range cannot be amplified, but mastered damage will add on +10 in KQs/PQ+s)
Type: Light | Style: Other | Level: Mastered | Cost: Passive
Mageglass Bracelet | A bracelet of leather and silver, decorated with a piece of polished mageglass. Will amplify the magical abilities (range and power) of Abandoned by one level. (Basic becomes upgraded, upgraded becomes mastered. Mastered cannot be amplified, but mastered damage will add on +10 in KQs/PQ+s)
Type: Light | Style: Other | Level: Mastered | Cost: Passive
Mageglass Ring | A band of silver crafted to look like waves, with an unrefined stone of mageglass. Will amplify the magical abilities (range and power) of Abandoned by one level. (Basic becomes upgraded, upgraded becomes mastered. Mastered cannot be amplified, but mastered damage will add on +10 in KQs/PQ+s).
Type: Light | Style: Other | Level: Mastered | Cost: Passive
KingMaker Coat | A coat made from the elephant-portion of the mythical KingMaker. Blocks physical damage. Has a 2 post cooldown
Type: Dark | Style: Defensive | Level: Mastered | Cost: Passive
The bright cheer exhibited by Iskra seemed to only last half a moment – and then there were things to accomplish and destroy. Newly mastered flames shot upwards, and the cockatrice was forced to realign its efforts towards the Captain – caught wholly off guard by the scorching embers touching and burning its frame. With another all-mighty scream, it sailed downward, struggling to get its wings back into motion as thermals were disrupted.
Jack, clearly not intending to let this rattle him, unleashed a torrent of lightning strikes that shot through some of the trees, and directly into the beast. Already burnt, scarred, and suffering, it dug into the earth to try and escape, but that proved rather mundane and stupid. There was no evasion from the shocking display, and by the time Deimos had arrived, it was lurching unsteadily, electrocuted, claws extended, desperation already settling in.
The Sword aimed carefully, precisely, and gave forth his own menacing decree of Life Drain – leeching the strength, power, and energy from the hybrid. It staggered and reeled, weakened, but not yet undone. Perhaps seeing no pathway forward other than destruction, it launched towards Iskra, claws and beak extended, striving to get something this time.
--
Many hits all around! But now it's aiming for Iskra.
Leave your words underneath my feet Leave these demons that haunt my street I'll find my way out and never look back
Satisfaction catches as quick as a spark in dry grass, blooming quick and hot through his blood as the creature's flight wheels into something tumultuous, thereafter struck with other elements and forces of destruction. It's no personal loathing for the beast, though it's not a pretty or kind one to be sure. It's some brutal thirst that climbs step by step alongside his pulse, rich and relentless in the afterglow of success.
He's already moving towards the cockatrice, pace a steady, ground-eating thing to ensure does not flee. That it turns instead towards him now, each of them closing distance to one another, rouses a wild, thrill of a laugh. "Come on then!" he taunts, emboldened and senseless to the hum of potential. His fingers brush on the woolen cloth in his pocket with intent, preferring to watch it crumple before him now than keep the distance of his fire. Static leaps along the friction of his fingertips on the fabric, and from it he yanks out lightning, leashing it to his will and sending it out to the impending foe.
Iskra uses lightning on the cockatrice when he gets in range
Lightning manipulation (Abandoned/Hybrid): Can manipulate lightning. Must be within a 5ft radius, control is weak and unstable and requires concentration.
Type: Dark | Rank: Basic | Cost: Action
I was born just to drown So bury my dreams 'Cause it's all in my head
there exists a tipping point between gods and monsters
Jack is starting to think that maybe they ought to have taken out some of their frustrations on the river star; the dark glee that saturates the thoughts all around him (mostly from Iskra, but Deimos isn’t excluded by any means) is a heady thing that has the Captain also briefly considering recklessness. But peer pressure is a terrible thing, you know, even when it’s unintentionally implemented via telepathy.
And so as the cockatrice lunges for Iskra he moves smartly to the side instead, reining his lightning back in so that it doesn’t unintentionally swallow the other man’s efforts. Instead, changing one element for another with the sort of ease he’d have never thought possible as a younger mage, this time it’s ice that erupts from the ground to skewer at the creature, hoping to hold it still to get the job done.
Jack moves to the side and attacks the cockatrice with ice magic this time!
Water manipulation (Abandoned/Hybrid): Can create and control water. Must be within a 30ft radius.
Type: Light | Rank: Mastered | Cost: Action
Regional Score bonus: +3 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +3 should be included). Residents cannot be cursed at shrines in this region.
Mageglass Ring | A silver ring with an unrefined stone of mageglass. Will amplify the magical abilities (range and power) of Abandoned by one level. (Basic becomes upgraded, upgraded becomes mastered. Mastered range cannot be amplified, but mastered damage will add on +10 in KQs/PQ+s)
Type: Light | Style: Other | Level: Mastered | Cost: Passive
Mageglass Bracelet | A bracelet of leather and silver, decorated with a piece of polished mageglass. Will amplify the magical abilities (range and power) of Abandoned by one level. (Basic becomes upgraded, upgraded becomes mastered. Mastered cannot be amplified, but mastered damage will add on +10 in KQs/PQ+s)
Type: Light | Style: Other | Level: Mastered | Cost: Passive
Mageglass Ring | A band of silver crafted to look like waves, with an unrefined stone of mageglass. Will amplify the magical abilities (range and power) of Abandoned by one level. (Basic becomes upgraded, upgraded becomes mastered. Mastered cannot be amplified, but mastered damage will add on +10 in KQs/PQ+s).
Type: Light | Style: Other | Level: Mastered | Cost: Passive
KingMaker Coat | A coat made from the elephant-portion of the mythical KingMaker. Blocks physical damage. Has a 2 post cooldown
Type: Dark | Style: Defensive | Level: Mastered | Cost: Passive
11-14-2025, 07:33 AM (This post was last modified: 11-15-2025, 01:06 PM by Deimos.
Edit Reason: closing out the say tags like a dumbass
)
DEIMOS
As Iskra changed tactics and elements, the cockatrice barreled onward. Taunted, weakened, but not undaunted, it slashed at the Abandoned’s right arm, leaving a vivid trail of blood that had all the potential to turn to stone, and quickly too, if things weren’t healed quickly. In turn, his rush of lightning missed, and the cockatrice strived to take flight.
But neither Jack nor Deimos would be missing. Equally bloodthirsty and relentless, the pairing of skewering water incantations, reaching towards wings and body, landed upon the beast with a great ferocity – was quickly followed suit by the vehemence of the Sword’s life drain. It seethed, sputtered, and then swiftly died, leaving a mauled body behind in the process.
But the Warden’s attention was more fixated on ensuring Iskra didn’t suffer too much further, nor let the situation get any worse. “Zuriel can heal you,” he offered, sealing off any trepidation down into his spine. The unicorn advanced and approached without qualm, given the scene was pretty much done in, and his attention could meander back to the corpse. “I say we burn it,” in suggestion to the Captain.
--
The cock article cockatrice is down for the count but Iskra has been hit. Either be healed or help burn the corpse~
Leave your words underneath my feet Leave these demons that haunt my street I'll find my way out and never look back
The thing about rushing into a fight, is sometimes it'll rush back. Lightning twists away into a useless snap through the air, cut short as Iskra's laughter curdles into a hiss. Talons open his skin into red, forcing him to jerk back and cradle his arm to his chest. It doesn't dampen the mood but for a moment, pain only a hiccup through the song of battle lust. Before he can pivot and sweep around with the motions of the beast though, it's lanced and desiccated into little more than a lifeless husk. Oh. That is the buzzkill.
Features fall back into something easygoing and stable after a final sneer towards the bested thing. The hum of violent fury fades out into the drone of wound management. The scores on his arm are a sharp throb of heat and pressure, blood threatening to shift into garnet, so he readily turns towards the unicorn. "Thanks, Zuriel," he murmurs as he proffers the injury with a sigh. "Two for two now, I suppose I owe you something stronger than words when we get back home." Best to stay on the nurse's good side, in his experience.
Iskra says heals pls ty
I was born just to drown So bury my dreams 'Cause it's all in my head
there exists a tipping point between gods and monsters
Buoyed by the need for violence that's apparently shared across all members of their little hunting party - and with plenty of his own to begin with - Jack is more than satisfied with the skewered husk left behind once they're finished with the cockatrice. Especially good that Deimos and Iskra don't immediately go looking for another fight, giving the Captain a chance to tamp down the urge to go seeking further brutality, and he turns instead to survey the damage.
Iskra is already being seen to and doesn't look as though he's immediately turning to stone, so Jack nods towards Deimos's suggestion and returns his attention to the corpse. "Wonder if the fire will attract anything else," he muses aloud, not that it's going to affect his decision either way. Drawing back the ice and water from the undergrowth, he replaces it instead with a roar of flame to engulf the sorry creature.
Jack burns the corpse with fire magic!
Fire Manipulation (Abandoned/Hybrid): Can create and control flames. Must be within a 30ft radius.
Type: Dark | Rank: Mastered | Cost: Action
Zuriel surveyed Iskra with a sovereign’s grace – not quite a sneer, but certainly conveying she’d require more than just his gratitude. Deimos snorted from nearby, granting the necessary hints. “She is easily won over by treats,” should the Abandoned have some upon their return to Halo.
But there were other things to be done, and while the mare bent her head and ensured her horn granted healing incantations to Iskra’s wound, the others fully intended to engulf the corpse in flames. Jack ’s statement caused the lightest of grins on the Sword’s face; given how many times he’d walked straight into battle with his head held high and determination set, one might figure a small fire and any of its luring intents didn’t bother him in the slightest. He didn’t take the Captain for the sort to ponder over that impending predicament either.
So the flames unfurled from both, consuming the bizarre frame of the cockatrice body until it ceased to exist, save for a few bones nestled upon the ground.
And that likely would’ve been the end of that – had there not been a high-pitched scream in the distance. Immediately on the alert, he gave a long exhale, before already beginning to take long strides in that direction. “Might have found the other one,” or at least, what the stories had offered about multiple beasts in the area.
--
Iskra’s been healed, Cockatrice One burnt to a crisp, and some screams off in the distance. Start heading in that direction!
think about this you have the ability to survive anything
Leave your words underneath my feet Leave these demons that haunt my street I'll find my way out and never look back
Deimos' confirmation of what else could be offered to the mare earns a low smile. "Maybe some sugar cubes or carrots," he suggests, thought to tide her over until he's got them in hand. "Only got jerky on me and I doubt you want that." Generally he's only packed for ways to lure Goose out of mayhem, not to appreciate unicorns that keep him whole.
With his first aid finished and Zuriel retreating, his attention rises from the char of what had just been a threat towards the distant sound of a new one. "Guess they must have been friends," Iskra grins, not sorry in the slightest for whatever wrath their actions might have inspired. "Good thing we can send them both of." Spoken with the confidence of someone who remains undaunted, the score to his arm not quite reaching beyond the surface of his skin. He glances at Deimos and Jack both, motioning with a tilt of his head as he turns to head towards it.
Iskra heads towards the sound
I was born just to drown So bury my dreams 'Cause it's all in my head
there exists a tipping point between gods and monsters
"You sure?" Jack says of finding the other one, voice charged with wry amusement. "Who knows how many things scream like that out here?" Given that it sounds almost exactly like the creature that they'd just burned to a crisp, though, he likes their chances of it being another cockatrice. "Grief can be a terrible thing," he says with a smirk across at Iskra now. "Better to put it out of its misery, some would say."
Some being all three of them, he has no doubt, and so with the corpse now little more than char and bone among the reeds, the Captain dusts off his hands and also turns towards the sound. "Might be better if we fan out," he suggests, as they draw closer. "It can't charge all three of us at once, right?" Probably.
Despite what the men had found earlier – a rather easygoing lake - their traipsing towards the sound unfurled further details – identical ones, and then those that resembled human screeches. By the time they arrived, the scene was anything but tranquil and serene. Travelers, or perhaps merchants, depending on what was contained in their (clawed) wagon, had been seemingly stumbled upon by the other cockatrice. Seemed the rumors were true.
Four individuals were scattered amidst the pathway – two adults, and two children, each either clutching to one another or screaming from behind a rock as the amalgamation hovered overhead, clearly trying to decipher which to maim and mar next. Jack had been correct in his assertions, because the flying hybrid creature clearly intended to maul the family, unaware the three hunters had walked straight into the dire circumstances.
Deimos clenched his jaw and rushed forward, already beginning to form and draw an earthen barrier in front of the kids cowering behind a tree. “We can shield them, distract, or attack,” granting options – figuring he knew which the Captain might go for.
--
Do you help save the family, distract, or attack the cockatrice hovering above?
Leave your words underneath my feet Leave these demons that haunt my street I'll find my way out and never look back
"Fanning out is a good idea." Because unlike let's split up gang, the classic horror blunder, they'd still be nearby each other and in line of sight. So with that in mind as the rising and very human screams call to them, Iskra quickens along. The scene unfolding before them is grim as the family struggles to survive. "Vile thing," he hisses between his teeth as he runs into action.
Deimos' call falls on deaf ears, the rush of blood already rising into a war drum at his ears, more fervent than before with the possible risk of defenseless lives at stake. That, and Iskra is poised for one direction only in most scenarios, attack. Fire blooms into the rough shape of a cockatrice beside the beast, a mockery of destruction as its flaming claws reach out to burn what thinks itself provider of stone.
Iskra makes fire cockatrice to fight it in the air
Fire Manipulation (Abandoned/Hybrid): Can create and control flames. Must be within a 30ft radius.
Type: Dark | Rank: Mastered | Cost: Action
Regional Score bonus: +13 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +13 should be included). Residents cannot be cursed at shrines in this region.
NOT FORGETTING THE SCORE BONUS THIS TIME TYVM
I was born just to drown So bury my dreams 'Cause it's all in my head
there exists a tipping point between gods and monsters
The scene is certainly a sad one if you're a merchant family trundling through the Oerwoud to get home. Jack's gaze sharpens as they come across the chaos and violence, flicking from the family to the cockatrice to the clawed up wagon, and he manages to glance towards Deimos as he speaks when Iskra decides on his own course of action. Scoffing, the Captain's mouth quirks up in a smirk.
"Guess I'm the distraction," he drawls, burying his hands in his pockets and heading away from the trail to give Deimos a chance to provide further shielding and an escape route for the family. Around him the air grows cold, breath clouding before his lips as he exhales, and he digs deep for water and ice in his veins.
The ice sculpture that cracks and rears into existence is reminiscent of a serpent, jagged fangs bared and body twinkling and coiled, ready to strike. It's as large as the Captain's magic allows, positioned as if it might be a threat to the cockatrice - and hopefully drawing all of its attention.
Jack creates a giant ice snake to try and distract the cockatrice!
Water manipulation (Abandoned/Hybrid): Can create and control water. Must be within a 30ft radius.
Type: Light | Rank: Mastered | Cost: Action
Regional Score bonus: +3 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +3 should be included). Residents cannot be cursed at shrines in this region.
KingMaker Coat | A coat made from the elephant-portion of the mythical KingMaker. Blocks physical damage. Has a 2 post cooldown
Type: Dark | Style: Defensive | Level: Mastered | Cost: Passive
Communication, brief as it was, seemed to reel through their hunting party. Deimos reached into the ground and contorted a broad, earthen shield over and around the children, offering mumbled apologies and striving not to make a promise behind his teeth that he might not be able to keep. But then his attention was drawn towards the makeshift battlefield, and the parents, trying to gain their focus. “This way!” as he waved his arm, intending to tuck the whole family into the assembled barrier, then join Iskra and Jack in overcoming the cockatrice.
The woman seemed to get the message quickly, hastening, hurrying, but still screaming in her rapt panic, eventually tripping over a root. The man, however, seemed completely frozen in his alarm, eyes wide, watching the whole scene in disbelief.
So as Iskra drew his fire, one would hope it would land upon the beast. Alas, it did no such thing, embers scurrying headlong and around as the creature descended, giving another unearthly screech. Claws reached forward to grab and snag and maul either man or woman, but Jack, in a, dare we say heroic maneuver, contorted and created a distraction.
The giant ice snake unwound before the cockatrice, and it paused, confused, rattled, and screeched at it, before raising its long claws and trying to slash into the chilling formation.
--
The cockatrice is momentarily distracted, NPCs are being dumb, and the kids are shielded.
