Click here for a list of weather descriptions, seasonal festivals, and a real time:site time conversion.
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!
Life can be tough, there's no doubt, But hope is the thing we can't do without.
The next few days pass in a blur. He doesn't watch the city fall - can't. Instead, he retreats to King's End, seeking out familiar faces in the region, hearing distantly the news of the inevitable crash. He stops in on Tal and Alys for a welcome distraction, then travels to the area most Breakers have chosen to settle: New Haven.
The town is quaint and comfortable, a balm against the loss. Zavien checks in on his citizens, ensuring they have food and necessities and peace of mind. He offers support where he can, moving personal items or fixing up the spaces they've been given, finding equipment or supplies they may need, giving what news or reassurance he has.
But today he has a different task.
Erika has planned a large community meal in Torchline (the place she's chosen) and demanded that he do the same in King's End, sending him a long-winded letter of particularities and details. Once he's able to decipher them, he borrows a grill from one of the town residents and sets up a table near the square. Other people should be bringing dishes later, but he's been tasked with the worst part: grilling.
Anyone who knows him knows he's the worst cook. He's gotten better with practice, and yet he can't guarantee the burgers will be edible when he's done. Luckily, there are few people to witness his struggle, most people getting work done before the meal. He sets the tray of patties next to the grill with a deep breath, bracing for the work ahead. Then he turns to Sol, grinning. "Care to do the honors?"
The little dragon trills happily, breathing fire onto the charcoal to light it just as Zavien sets the first slab of meat onto the metal.
Zavien
Right things with joy will come about... In good time.
It's rare for Ronin not to have his finger on Caido's pulse, especially given that the falling region had been one he'd led in a past life, not to mention where he and Remi had raised Mateo. But his concern has been primarily for his children as of late, and with Mateo safely evacuated and settling in Torchline, the Knight's focus has shifted to the little sprout growing up in Meadowreach instead.
He's come down to New Haven on a supply run, truth be told, having tagged Remi in to allow him to take the trip, and he's only recently shifted back onto two legs and tucked away his dragon wings when he comes across a familiar face in the square. And more than that - better than that - he's tackling the most sacred of Longheat traditions - the grill.
"Zavien!" Ronin's greeting is warm as he approaches, his smile friendly but tinged with a dawning sadness. "Sorry about what happened," he adds in a quieter voice. "Though I'm sure you're fed up of people saying so by now. What's all this for? A welcome BBQ for between King's End and everyone from Stormbreak?"
Life can be tough, there's no doubt, But hope is the thing we can't do without.
Sol spots the dragon first, hopping excitedly as it comes to land in the town, only to reveal a familiar face that has him smiling. "Ronin." He's pleasantly surprised to see the demigod, straightening as he places a few more patties on the grill.
The sentiments settle the same way most have, a gentle ache over the loss he's been grieving for weeks - even before Stormbreak's fall. Still, Zavien doesn't wince, only the glint in his eyes hinting at the pain when he smiles his appreciation. "Maybe, but it's nice to know people care." And it makes others feel better to have offered the sympathies, so he accepts them with grace and the quiet noting of their affections.
His eyes are drawn down to the fire that grows larger, mixing with the already stifling heat of the season to renew the sweat making his tank top slick. "Kind of? People are still trying to get settled, so we thought the Breakers would appreciate one less meal to worry about. Plus, it's a good way to get the people mingling." He's not very knowledgeable on community dynamics, but he certainly hopes that it will give people the opportunity to connect and grow, supporting each other until they can no longer tell the difference between their two groups.
Glancing up from the fire curling over the edge of the meat, he asks, "What are you up to?"
Zavien
Right things with joy will come about... In good time.
"Mm, there's no shortage of care," Ronin assures Zavien with quiet confidence, glancing around at the bustling square and those who are starting to arrive with dishes of their own. "I can only imagine that everyone else is receiving a similarly warm welcome." Stormbreak's citizens may have scattered across the regions, but they're no less part of Caido for it.
Sweeping his dark hair back out of his face and nodding, Ronin's attention is already back on the grill despite the heat of the season, the dancing flames and charring meat flooding his senses and making his mouth water. "A clever idea," he agrees, grinning between Zavien and Sol and tucking his hands in his pockets. "Me? Ah, I came down from Meadowreach for a few supplies. Remi and I are staying up there for a while."
He nods to the fire curling about the meat. "I can give you a hand if you want?"
High above the rolling hills, pale shapes glide lazily through the sky. A small group of Cloud Wyrms weaves through the air, their long bodies undulating as though swimming through invisible currents.
They chase one another in wide, playful loops, occasionally dipping low before spiralling back upward, clearly enjoying the freedom of open sky. Wisps of cloud cling to their scales as they pass.
The wyrms remain overhead, unconcerned with the world below, their presence light and fleeting as they drift onward together.
Cloud Wyrm
Areas Found: King's End, Torchline, Stormbreak, Hak Etme — Uncommon
Cousins of the dragon, these small and serpentine creatures boast no wings or destructive breath. Rather, they breathe clouds. Their four-legged white bodies can be seen slithering through the air, puffy clouds streaming from their mouths to ease the intensity of the sun on the plains. They never get any bigger than a weasel, are known as docile, playful creatures, and they seem to enjoy collecting shiny things.
Challenge Rating: Easy | Mythical
HP: 84 | To Hit: +30 | Dmg: 16 Movement: Fly 40 ft. (hover); Walk 10 ft.
SPECIAL SKILLS
Friendly Bond: when befriended, will linger overhead to provide moving shade and soft breezes; Sky-Slip: glides through still air with ease, ignoring most gusts and turbulence; Downy Silence: featherlight motion makes them almost soundless even at speed
TRAITS
Cloud Breather: exhales soft, cooling vapour rather than flame; Docile & Playful: avoids confrontation, preferring games and gentle curiosity; Shiny Collector: irresistibly drawn to glittering trinkets and coins; Sunshade Trail: drifting cloud-streams cast welcome shade over travellers
ACTIONS
Cloud Puff: releases a dense little cloud to obscure vision or cool overheated allies; Zip Dash: darts in a looping burst of speed to evade grasping hands or predators; Chiming Trill: a bright, musical chirr that soothes nerves and encourages calm
Life can be tough, there's no doubt, But hope is the thing we can't do without.
The smile that forms is bright, nearly devoid of grief in light of endless blessings. "I think so. I've heard nothing but reports of open arms and generous hearts. Everyone has been so kind." Not to say there can't be trouble in paradise or growing pains, but Zavien has been more than satisfied with the embracing of his people, no matter what region they picked to settle in.
Using the spatula to adjust a slab of meat, Zavien looks back up at Ronin, grinning his appreciation for the idea - even if he can't claim all the credit. The expression shifts only slightly with surprise at the news, more pleased than anything. "Oh? How long?" He wouldn't mind seeing more of the man, having lost the structure of the Dragoons for sparring along with the proximity of some friends. He could use all the friendly faces.
Sol becomes distracted by the cloud wyrms above, abandoning his fire duties with a playful trill and a flap of his golden wings. Air and dust swirl gently at his feet while he rolls his eyes, not appearing the least bit worried at having lost his assistant, particularly not when Ronin is offering. Letting his companion take to chasing the creatures in the sky, Zavien flashes the demigod a smile and a grateful nod of his head. "That'd be great. I think I underestimated how many burgers there are, and I've heard you're quite the grill master." Sliding over to make room on the large grill, he presents another large metal spatula for wielding, a weapon bestowed upon this battlefield of protein.
And the timing could not have been more perfect, because just then, Zavien flips his first patty, revealing a beautifully black posterior.
Zavien
Right things with joy will come about... In good time.
"I think with the Family and the war before that so recent in people's minds, everyone's default state is to help out wherever they can," Ronin says with a small smile, eyes following Sol as the dragon circles up into the sky where the cloud wyrms are creating a few patches of shade in the endless sun. He grins, watching for a moment or so, before Zavien captures his attention again and the expression softens; the Knight looks bashful, in fact.
"At least until the end of the season," he says. "Remi and I... well, we're expecting a new addition to the family. There's a garden up in Meadowreach blessed by Frey. It's... a little hard to explain, but we'll be sticking around until the baby arrives." It still sounds strange to say it out loud, but he supposes that it will be difficult to hide by Leafchange either way.
Nodding agreeably as Zavien scooches over, Ronin accepts his grilling weapon and joins him before the fire, letting out a warm laugh to see the charred underside of the burger he's been cooking. "It's alright, that one is a gift for the fire. Always gotta have a tester, right?" he says as he starts setting more patties on part of the grill with less angry looking flames.
Life can be tough, there's no doubt, But hope is the thing we can't do without.
"One of the good things to come out of it all." He gives a small chuckle, time making the humor easier.
Zavien breaks out in the brightest of smiles, a miniature sun spreading light over his features at the joyous news. "That's incredible! Congratulations, man!" Clapping Ronin on the shoulder, he laughs, unable to express how good it is to hear of people embracing life again, moving past the Void and destruction to share love and grow their families. He's almost giddy with the idea, hoping this might be just be the start.
Grinning, he asks the only question that matters, "How are you feeling? Excited?"
He makes sure there's enough room next to him and grabs a burger to replace the charred one. Zavien laughs along with Ronin, shaking his head as he slips the blackened meat between the grates, offering it to the hungry flames below. "That's right. And Sol gets the second one." The dragon might be momentarily distracted by his cloud cousins, but he'd be back soon enough, begging at his feet for something to eat.
Zavien
Right things with joy will come about... In good time.
"Mm, truly. Hopefully people carry that sense of community forward even now that we're back in relative peace," Ronin agrees, glancing back at Zavien just as the other man congratulates him with a clap on his shoulder, the Knight grinning bashfully. "Thanks," he says, fidgeting with the spatula and getting a few more patties onto the grill as if to make sure his hands have something to do.
"...I really am, you know," he says, unafraid to admit it. "It will be a shock to the system I think - it's been a long time since Remi and I had a newborn. But I'm looking forward to it." To something new, to growing his family, to seeing his children become older siblings to a child that will only know the best of them.
Laughing as the burger disappears into the flames beneath the grill, Ronin nods and smiles up towards where Sol had disappeared to see to the cloud wyrms. "Cook enough of these and Sugar might deign to come and see what we've got as well," he says absently; his mercurial little dragon is never far, but it's only when something interests her that she'll show her face. "But enough about me. Are you settling here in King's End now?" he asks. "Or is this just a stop on your travels?"
Life can be tough, there's no doubt, But hope is the thing we can't do without.
Despite his own faith in humanity and the goodness of people, he's not dense enough to ignore that sometimes that's not the case, and he gives another huff of laughter, nodding his head emphatically. "Agreed." Hopefully people wouldn't soon forget what it feels like to help each other, to be a part of something bigger than themselves.
Grinning like a fool, he flips a few more patties and ignores how dark they appear, the fire still licking at their edges. "I can only imagine." What it must be like to be expecting a child, to soon have a representation of all the love and devotion between two people. Even if Ronin has already had the experience before, he doubts that makes this moment any less special, although he might be more prepared this time around, and Zavien's smile turns more humorous when he asks, "Are you stocking up on sleep and diapers?"
His eyes turn to the box of uncooked burgers, enough to feed and army and then some. "Oh? We've got plenty, and Sol might show just enough restraint to entice her." His own dragon isn't much for sharing - unless it's with friends, then he's the most generous of creatures, happy to exchange food for friendship any day of the week. The thought is enough to keep the smile bright on his face, wondering how long it will be before Sol grows tired of the cloud wyrms, or until the scent of cooked meat becomes too much for him to resist.
Thinking one of the patties looks done, Zavien takes the darkened patty off the grill, setting it into a tray next to the buns and toppings other have come to set up. "At least for now. I have some friends in the area, and most of the Breakers chose to come out here, so I wanted to make sure they settled in alright." He pauses, shrugging his shoulders as he adds, "But I haven't really decided what I want yet." Because once the Breakers are settled, what is he supposed to do? They won't need him anymore - they barely needed him now. And without the Dragoons, he's somewhat lost on what his purpose will be. However, he pushes all of that down to deal with later, continuing to smile as he adds more meat to the grill.
Zavien
Right things with joy will come about... In good time.
"Right now, mostly sleep," Ronin admits with a chuckle. "Given that we live on a houseboat, space is a commodity at the best of times, so we're having to get very clever with making room for everything." Grinning, he reaches out with his spatula to Zavien's side of the grill; he doesn't touch the other man's burgers (the horror), but he does nudge the wood and embers about a bit so the fire isn't licking so ferociously at the patties.
He glances as well at the uncooked burgers, eyebrows raising, gaze flicking to the sky and the tops of the buildings where he's sure Sugar is lurking. "If anything, I bet seeing another companion get to enjoy the spoils will be enough to draw her out," he admits with a lopsided smile. Sugar is a shitbag to all but a few elite chosen (and Ronin is only part of that club half the time).
"It's not a bad thing to give yourself some time. When you spend so long helping everyone else, sometimes you forget that you've also lost something in all this," Ronin says quietly, adding one of his own cooked patties to the pile and smiling as a few people start to linger nearby, drawn by the scent. "Just... be, for a bit. That's my advice, anyway. Life's not a race, y'know?"
Life can be tough, there's no doubt, But hope is the thing we can't do without.
A houseboat with a newborn (actually two) sounds like quite the struggle. He imagines the two men squeezed into a room with a crib, nowhere to escape the cries. Shaking his head, he lets out another huff of laughter. "Gods, that must be fun." Although he guesses the excitement adds some level of enjoyment to the planning, the anticipation and tangible preparations making it all the more real.
Zavien watches Ronin adjust the wood, taking note of the way it seems to diminish the fiery assault on his burgers while he removes a few more darkened patties from the source. "Are you guys able to tell gender at all? Or do you have a hope?" he asks as he adds more meat to the grill, only pulling his eyes up again at the mention of companions, grinning. "Well, I don't think she'll have to wait long for that." Sol seems to have chased the cloud wyrms into the distance, their cloud coverage following behind as they retreat from his rough playing. He pauses for a moment more, hovering in the sky to watch them depart before turning back to New Haven, disappoint flowing through the bond.
The smile he gives Ronin is soft, grateful but gilded with gentle sorrow, the progression of his grief showing through. "That's true enough. There's no reason to rush anymore." There aren't Void creatures nipping at his heels or Family members breathing down his neck. There's not danger around every corner like there used to be. And yet, rather than relax, he feels lost without it, wondering if he's not meant for 'peace.' It's not something he's familiar with, and despite all the hope he's held, there had rarely been a moment where he thought he'd end up here, with nothing to fight and the world open for opportunities.
Zavien
Right things with joy will come about... In good time.
"It has its challenges, but plenty of advantages too," Ronin admits with a lopsided smile. "And we're lucky in that we've got plenty of friends and family in Torchline if we need a little extra space." Not to mention, they're not exactly unfamiliar with living off the land if needed - it's exactly what they're doing up in Meadowreach right now, after all.
His expression softens further at the thought of whether they might have a son or a daughter waiting to bloom, and Ronin shakes his head gently. "I have no idea," he says readily, "and I don't have a preference either. All I want is for them to be happy and healthy - and not to be bothered by the high-land cows while they're still growing." He chuckles; he doesn't go as far as to say the cows are at risk of becoming burgers if they try anything, but it's definitely a thought as he stands before the grill with Zavien.
Flipping a few more patties and adding a couple to the growing pile as they cook through, he gives the other man a gentle nudge. "You'll be in fight or flight for a while," he says, his voice low with having lived it. "It took me over a year. But you can't rush that either, y'know? Sometimes it's just got to be enough, to stand here breathing and watching everyone else rebuild."
Life can be tough, there's no doubt, But hope is the thing we can't do without.
Nodding his head, Zavien grins. "I'm guess those extra hands will be helpful in many ways." From space and shared excitement to changing diapers and babysitting, the Silk Houses taught him that it takes a community to raise a child, and he has no doubts this child will be raised in the biggest, most loving community.
"That's all that really matters." That they're healthy and loved, despite threats from surrounding fauna. "Can't say that's a common threat for most unborn children." He laughs, finding the peculiarity of the situation to fit perfectly with Caido's record for unpredictability. "Fences and shifts?" he guesses, assuming the men have taken the necessary precautions to protect their growing children.
Flipping another patch of burgers that have fared much better than the first batch, Zavien smiles for a moment, letting himself enjoy the quiet hum of people beginning to gather, the smell of good food and sun-scorched earth. Then he shrugs, addressing Ronin's wisdom. "It just doesn't feel real," he says, simply and honestly. The expression he wears is calm and accepting, completely devoid of distress or frustration as he clarifies with an accenting motion of his spatula. "Not like I haven't processed it kind of 'not real' but like everything has turned upside down and I can't tell which way is up." For someone who's always known their purpose, he's in unfamiliar territory with no compass or map to guide him, and although he's nervous of getting lost, he's not scared. It's more like a listless kind of wandering, curious of how and when he might find direction. Until then, he floats aimlessly, not quite landing or settling. Instead of focusing on that, he does what he can - what he knows - he helps others and lets his concern for them overshadow what uncertainties may plague him.
Zavien wonders if he sounds crazy, and he chuckles when he smiles at Ronin. "Does that even make sense?"
Zavien
Right things with joy will come about... In good time.
