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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!
Goose attempts to make off with one of the dropped cloud wyrm corpses, but Erika valiantly defends them, and the dog is easily distracted towards other opportunities. Iskra meanwhile grins up at his success, the golden glimmer brushing pleased against his thoughts like a cat that's managed to beg for milk. The flare of success and heat has him accidentally roasting another worker in his next attempt at drying the bricks, and this time, Iskra isn't so quick to snuff it out. He almost seems to watch, just for a moment, as fire licks against skin and flesh begins to bubble. The shouting cuts through the curiosity, and the cat bounds down the halls of his mind as he snuffs it out. Narrowing his gaze, he doubles his focus on brick laying for the rest of the day.
- - -
As the next morning comes and he arrives with a yawn and a stretch, Goose similarly groans and grumbles into a lazy heap by his feet. "Starting to feel my brick muscles coming in," Iskra laughs, rolling his neck and then an arm as he limbers up for more hard labor. It's not a complaint, not really, because soon enough he's departing back to where he left off, trowel working mortar into bricks and magic carefully combating humidity as it strokes the stone to dry and set.
Iskra continues to work on the wall and uses fire magic to help set the stones
Fire Manipulation (Abandoned/Hybrid): Can create and control flames. Must be within a 30ft radius.
Type: Dark | Rank: Mastered | Cost: Action
Between him and Iskra, the wind and fire seem to do well at preventing the beasts from getting too close. A few cloud wyrms begin to fall from the sky, falling into heaps while the others take off – frightened from what they’d seen. And with a smirk shot over toward Iskra, the courtesan calls out a “nice job!” Though it’s Erika’s approval of the creatures that really should be rewarding for the other Abandoned, such that Thorn watches as Erika departs with the cloud wyrms in tow and they can continue to work alongside one another.
They all work hand in hand until the sun begins to go down and when they’ve all placed the last portion for the night, Thorn flashes a bright smile to Zavien as he releases them for the day – exhausted once again.
Returning in the morning to more rain, Thorn’s opted to keeping his hair pushed back and out of his face to give him more ease with working in it, even if his air magic had been helpful the day before. Downing his coffee again, Thorn gets back to work doing the same thing. Brick after brick, using air magic to try and keep the brunt of the rain from getting all over it, especially to help the mortar dry.
Thorn gets back to laying bricks and using his air magic to keep the rain from getting all over them!
Air manipulation (Abandoned/Hybrid): Can manipulate the air. Must be within a 30ft radius and allows the user to levitate medium-large sized objects up to 5ft above the ground . Control is excellent.
Type: Grey | Rank: Upgraded | Cost: Action
As promised, the next day, Erika arrives with a decadent portion of grilled cloud wyrm meat, rice, and a molten pineapple sauce that is to die for. It boosts moral during the dreary weather, warming the workers enough to plow through the last portions of the second floor and even complete the third! Zavien is torn between being proud and impressed, fully aware that it's not his magic or abilities that are making it all possible. Fire and air and earth and telekinesis work to place and solidify brick placement, the Tower beginning to take form in the center of the city.
With every workday that passes, citizens slow more with each passing, taking in the structure and the people that strive to build it. A few even gather in the afternoons to offer small tokens of appreciation; a baker delivers cookies one day while a candlemaker brings scented candles for recuperation the next. Someone even brings warm socks that they'd spent the last few days hand sewing, ensuring that each worker has a new pair to keep them warm during the rebuilding. It's truly heartwarming to see the people's support, to know that they're watching and relying on them.
Another menial day of brick laying and lugging is ahead of them, but Zavien is feeling how his body still aches as fresh as the first day. It has him laughing at Iskra's comment as he stretches his arms and moves to grab a stack of bricks. "It makes me wonder what all my other muscles were for." Grinning, he arranges them on the platform for the pulley they'd set up the day before. It'll be vital for the upper floors, easier than having to carry piles of brick and mortar up multiple flights of stairs.
As he does so, he spots Hawthorn too, looking between the men as he works. "How are you both feeling about everything? I appreciate you guys being here, but I know they're long days and it can be hard to relax." His hands move to lift more, watching as Sol darts away to find Goose. The smile on Zavien's face is fond, if not a bit jealous of the boundless energy. "Sol's making sure I sleep on the bed instead of the couch - where I sometimes fall asleep the moment there's food in my stomach." He laughs again, shaking his head at the comical level of exhaustion.
Then he looks to the others, helping to pull the rope of the pulley towards the next floor of the Tower. "How are your arrangements? Are you getting enough rest?"
The third floor is finished, the rain has cleared, and we are ready to work on the middle section of floors for the Tower! A pulley system has been installed to move supplies up higher. Meanwhile, Zavien checks in on everyone's spirits, making sure people are taking care of themselves.
The cloud wyrm and molten pineapple dish is absolute perfection, and Iskra asks for a second helping after wolfing down the first. This he comes to regret later as it sits heavy in his guts while he works, and he finds himself leaning more towards drying than evenly dispersing his efforts with the brick and mortar too. Both are being done to be sure, but he takes more breaks to opt for the task that doesn't require leaning over and hoisting something heavy, at least untuil his meal fully settles.
All the while he's equally happy for the distraction and receiving of the gifts of the others not directly building with them. He's especially fond of the cookies, though the candle does smell good, and the socks are both soft and useful.
As the early floors finish up, laughing at Zavien's remark, and the pulley system gets installed, Iskra takes a moment to stretch before getitng back into the labor. He's just lifted some of his mortar onto the system so it can be hauled up when Zavien swings by Thorn and he, checking on them, which earns a smile and some appreciation. "Oh, thanks. I'm doing good, the room by the bar is nice and cozy and a drink or two is enough to ensure I sleep aaaaall night." He grins back at the idea of Sol chasing Zavien into his proper resting spot, knowing it too well. "Yeah, Goose'll drag me out of the bar if I stay up past bed time." Which is strict these days, with weary muscles for him and play time tiredness for the dog. "Good to work though, and we're making nice progress," Iskra considers with a shrug, grunting as he continues to haul supplies onto the pulley.
Oh, Erika’s cooking easily keeps Thorn going. The mix between the cloud wyrm rice bowls and the molten pineapple are enough that Thorn thinks about a second helping but chooses against it precisely for the reason Iskra is suffering now. He’s full, pleasantly so, and with the following gifts that have been dropped off, he’s more likely to enjoy the candle and the socks, given the options, but he takes some from each pile when given the chance.
For now, though, the pulley system is in motion and Thorn works with Iskra to load and pull supplies off the pulley when it reaches its destination, helping to hand it off to more workers as they work on the middle section.
“Doin’ great.” Thorn hums when Zavien’s question reaches him and Iskra’s answered. “It’s lookin’ really good. And so long as I stretch out at night, I’m sore but manageable in the mornin’.” He pauses, flashing a small smirk. “My body’s used to lots of different things but it’s been a while since I’ve done somethin’ like this.” Comes the slightly amused admission as the courtesan continues to work.
Thorn helps be kinda the go between from the pulley system and those working on the middle section!
Iskra and Hawthorn's responses bring a smile to Zavien's face, sensing that they truly are content with their situations. It lifts some of the worry, the burst of forceful laughter from Thorn's comment nearly coming out as a snort. "That's great to hear. Just let me know if it gets to be too much."
He lifts another pile of bricks, grunting softly when it settles against his chest. His voice sounds compressed with the pressure as he walks the load towards the pulley. "I'd guess we have a little over a week left of work. We're making much better progress than I expected." Plopping down the bricks on the platform heading up, Zavien looks to Thorn and Iskra. "Don't tell Erika, but I think she might have something to do with it." With a wink and a sweep of the scene, he excuses himself to check on the workers up top, ready to trek up the stairs.
The days continue to pass in similar rhythm: wake up, coffee, move bricks, lay bricks, lunch from Erika, move bricks, lay bricks, dinner, sleep, repeat. A few mornings are accompanied again by a light drizzle of rain, but the people continue to work tirelessly through it, using what magics they have to push through. And before they know it, the upper floors are coming into view, the pulley trips becoming longer, communication between the ground and current floor becoming reliant on messenger birds or dragon companions, and the people stopping to gawk at the Tower growing in the center of their city. Still, the energy persists, the anticipation growing with each passing day that the top floor approaches.
The middle floors are finished. Work on the upper floors!
Pick a task:
1. Load/unload the pulley with supplies.
2. Operate the pulley.
3. *Gasp* Lay bricks.
He does find himself missing the comforts of his own home and region as the days wear on. Truthful as he'd been in speaking to Zavien, and nice as the room he's rented is, he's always going to prefer being dwarfed by pines instead of layers of bricks. For that reason, today when he arrives to work, he opts to stay a bit more ground level, where he at least feels a little more comfortable and connected to the ground. Though Stormbreak the floating city offers little respite from bricks even when he's not at the Tower. Goose, sensing some unease, lingers closer to his side today, more in the way than he should be, but Iskra can't find the heart to cast him out, quietly grateful for the presence.
From the ground he does as bid by the messengers, loading what's being requested. He shuffles heaping piles of bricks on the pulley, or mortar, or various stools and odd tools for the men above. He moves quick, not wanting any delays on his part, but he tries to be efficient too so that the pulley isn't making more trips up and down than it needs to.
“Yeah, y’know I will.” Thorn assures Zavien with a grin – vibrant and excited despite the bodily exhaustion he’s going through right this second. They work in tandem, focusing on getting the bricks put into piles to start working on the middle section just as everyone else does. The pulley makes it easier work, though, and between all of them it goes very smoothly.
Snorting to hear the comment about Erika, though, Thorn nods in very obvious understanding to the jest. Work continues day after day, though, and between getting full from Erika’s meals, sleeping every moment he’s back at the place he’s staying, and the work they put in, Thorn knows full well he won’t have gained a single pound from this whole endeavor, no matter how much of the cook’s food he can get down.
And it’s a lot, honestly.
Upper floors become the next focal point, Thorn rolling up his sleeves and prepping to grab the bricks and start laying them out because at the very least he can ensure that they’re placed in the proper positions for the wind and weather to not make them fracture – and hopefully strong enough to avoid yet another dragon’s bulk and/or breath.
While Iskra focuses on loading the pulley and Thorn heads up to lay the bricks, Zavien rolls up his sleeves and gets to pulling, assisting a group of workers in dragging the supplies to the top every few minutes. Without the help of the other people, he might have lost the skin on his hands when his grip weakened, the weight threatening to carry his palms with it. Luckily, the group of men keep the rope steady, working together to ensure they ease the rope appropriately.
For Iskra, he'll slowly be able to tell that the top is drawing near based on the decreasing supplies they draw from. Bricks and mortar begin to dwindle, a sign of the end that has more than a few people brightening with anticipation. Even the people working around Hawthorn can sense it, the count of floors approaching their predetermined goal. They smile a little more, laugh a little freer, and work a little faster. Some even pause to wave at the people below, already tasting the victory of the moment.
The last few days feel different, lighter and happier than before as the end draws near, and when the morning comes to work on the top floor, Zavien is grinning so wide that his face might burst in half. "We're almost done! Last push! Let's get this floor done then top it off with a spire that touches the sky!"
The days continue to march on with a routine repeatability that he falls into the habit of naturally. Though his own patterns range a bit from this at home, the general flow of waking up, warming up, working, and then passing out in bed are fundamentally known. Even the neighborhood and the people here are starting to feel familiar, which is a strange feeling given the history of this region. It doesn't escape him that there's a plethora of Abandoned helping them rebuild their Tower. History has moved on, but people's mindsets can definitely linger, and he'd be lying if he didn't say he always walked into Stormbreak a little more aware than other cities.
This experience is helping settle him more, and happily he rejoins the fresh day's work. "Morning!" he greets them all, clapping his hands together and rubbing them. "We're close, I can feel it." With the pulley not needing so many supplies as of late, today he only loads up a little, then clambers up to the top floors to help be a set of hands laying the bricks. Muscles have since crawled past worn and are now accustomed to this work, strength blossoming beneath his motions. Skill and speed have improved too after all thsi practice, and something he once fumbled over now comes easy, the trowel and mortar swiping and sliding over the bricks in his hands without hesitation.
The energy that swarms around them is invigorating, contagious in the way that it helps Thorn continue to work harder and faster despite the protest in his bones and back for how long he’s been laying bricks. He realizes shortly after he really preferred being the architect more so than the grunt. Not that it matters much here, he’s helping out and being a good friend, after all.
As the days continue on and the supplies begin to dwindle, though, Thorn lays brick after brick with a renewed energy, and any cuts and blisters he has that have formed he uses his healing magic to take care of. Something he offers out to anyone else that may be in need of some last minute healing to keep the morale high.
Thorn lays bricks and offers healing to anyone who’s got blisters or have accidentally smashed or hurt their hands somehow!
Iskra and Thorn continue their work tirelessly alongside the others, a comradery having built between the workers that will transcend their time building the Tower. Zavien catches fond glances of men calling Iskra over to help with drying a particularly stubborn patch or waving Thorn over when someone jams their finger between the bricks. It warms his heart, a hope perching proudly on his chest to eclipse any negativity that tries to take hold.
Pulling on the line, he raises the last set of bricks before they're putting together the scaffolding at the top of the Tower. Not one for heights himself - and looking particularly green whenever he glances out the window - Zavien opts for passing supplies through the opening to those standing on the wooden supports. A few large pieces of metal and piles smaller bricks are ready to be secured at the top in whatever fashion the men choose.
Grinning at his friends, he gives an encouraging nod of his head. "Let's finish this bad boy off!" However, his eyes catch on the dark clouds around them, a small line of worry creasing his brows. They'd been lucky with weather the past few days, but the dry storm hanging over their heads could easily choose this final day to strike. "Just be careful of lightning. If you see or hear anything, get inside as quick as you can. We don't need anyone risking their lives."
LAST ROUND!!!
Help secure the spire and finish the top of the Tower!! Beware any flashy lightning strikes.
Nearly there and happy to help with any injuries sustained, Thorn is glad to make a vital part of the team just as Iskra and Zavien were. They work hard, and between everyone that’s decided to shoulder the burden of the Tower, the end is finally, finally in sight. So with a crooked smile to Zavien as he calls out the final push, Thorn stretches out his arms and gets back to work.
The dark storm clouds and the rumble of thunder in the distance is enough to give him a bit of pause, though, before the courtesan decides to push through it. The quicker it gets done, the sooner they don’t have to be up here in the Tower anymore and Thorn can take the well needed vacation he’s looking forward to. “We’ve got this!” He calls out, grinning as he works.
Although Iskra works with heights often, it's usually in the reverse—tall things towering above him, not him towering over things. Still, he doesn't find any concern bundling up his nerves as he's part of the crew to toy with gravity on the very top scaffolding, feet placement sure and steady as they work together to maneuver equipment and supplies. He helps them hold, some building here and there, but mostly his eyes scan the skies.
He might not have full control of lightning yet, and it's no easy task to battle the natural source quick enough with such close range needed for him to wield it away, but he tries to deflect any snaps of electricity that threaten to brush too close. He keeps his hand brushing over his woolen cloth, directing his own band of electricity like a barrier around the crew, using it as a warning line too. "Almost done!" he cheers the crew on, and it's as much for himself too, because the weariness is real by now.
Iskra helps with building the top spire and keeping lightning at bay
