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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!
// So go and pitch your fit, no one gives a shit //
As Marcus branches off toward the wreckage, Caly scouts the way the other avian breaks away and tilts her head sideways to spy Deimos’ suggestion with the direction in question. Sure, no prob!” She chimes back through the attuned bond, flapping her wings with a few harmless sparks that light up bright against the cloudy sky, Caly zips over to scan the environment.
Hearing Marcus’ request, Caly doesn’t head back toward the cave in question. She focuses instead on the path she’d been asked to scout, zipping through the winds that press against her feathers and wings in varying breezes. It’s good practice for her, given it’s the newest shift she has in her arsenal, and she keeps her gaze bright and peeled for anything of note.
Caly scouts in the direction Deimos suggested for anything of note!
Your braids like a pattern
Love you to the moon and to Saturn
It doesn't take long for the metallic stench of blood to invade Lyra's nose. Although she hadn't smelled it in this form before, it's impossible to mistake it for any other scent, and the Newfoundland immediately stiffens, her steps stuttering in the snow as she recognizes it for what it is. She follows Deimos wordlessly, though her concern bleeds through the Attuned bond - something that she is sure they all share, since this is beginning to look more and more like a search and rescue mission that could end poorly for those lost.
The scent trail splits, and Lyra pauses at the fork, swinging her head around to Deimos. Should we split up? she asks, reluctant to leave the safety of numbers, but not wishing to leave any of the hunters lost out in the tundra for any longer than necessary - not when every moment counted in the race against time to bring them all home safely.
---
Lyra asks Deimos if they should split up to track both scent trails.
Passed down like folk songs The love lasts so long
Deimos listened, a hundred decisions seeming to mark the moment. Lyra ’s inquiry made him shake his head almost immediately; splitting the party could spell another semblance of a disaster, and he had a responsibility to ensure all of them returned. The weight of so many other awful spectacles and battles, from moments and timeframes where they went their separate ways, were enough of an echo. No. We can see if either of the trails is stronger, and then go from there.
But then came Marcus ’s response over the Attuned bond, and his jaw clenched. An understandable notion for the younger hybrid, but more portions needed – and if they were wandering into something dangerous – the calculations spun, twisting, turning. I will send Belial to you; if there was any danger, the peryton could go invisible while still maintaining his sight, and they’d know if individuals they sought were within. As the peryton flew towards the bird, the hellhound narrowed his gaze, trying to find a semblance of anything in the thicket of the unknown. Do you hear anything?
Indeed, Marcus would. An unmistakable weight to the wind whirling and howling through the confines, but also a distinct, heavy odor, and the sounds of chewing.
In the end, Calypso ‘s bright gaze would be the one to spot another significant notion – fast and swift along the stiffening winds, she’d be able to catch the sight of clothing, and then a person, hunched behind and below a smaller rock formation, as if they’d meant to blend in amongst the outcropping all along.
--
More discoveries! Relay your information, discuss courses of action, etc.
// So go and pitch your fit, no one gives a shit //
As Deimos sends the varying pieces into action – Belial to Marcus, while he and Lyra continue, it bolsters Caly’s confidence that she’ll be able to follow the trail. Catching on thermal after thermal, she balances in the air as a little firecracker before she catches on something – no, not just anything but..
I found someone ahead!! She crows down the bond toward Deimos and Lyra, already starting to head toward the person. I'll try to go 'n let 'em know we’re on our way! These were hunters after all, but a part of her hopes that these experienced people would realize a sunstreak is not common here at all and that help might be on the way.
Though, even still, she is cautious to not become a target for anything else that the person might be hunched behind in hiding. It’s a delicate dance to balance being off enough it might give the hunter some hope while also not becoming lunch.
Caly relays finding someone and then carefully tries to balance NOT being caught out but also trying to gather the person’s attention to give them hope help was on the way!
a silent film he'd watched a thousand times before
Belial was there before he knew it, the familiar shift of air marking the peryton’s approach. He adjusted instinctively, widening his circle to give the companion space while keeping the cave mouth framed beneath him. As the peryton approached and did as Deimos instructed, the hybrid's attention was pulled by Safrin's daughter. She was exclaiming about seeing someone and the young Olson's heart lurched. A survivor! He almost pulled into the excitement of it.
Then, a smell rode an updraft, curling into his senses with enough weight to make his feathers bristle.It was thick and wrong. His attention was already drawn back to the hollow below when he sent over the bond, Wait!
At first it was only the wind. A low, hollow howl funneled through stone, rising and falling like breath pulled through clenched teeth. But beneath it came something heavier -- the metallic ghost of old blood buried beneath the snow. Marcus dipped lower despite himself, wings beating once to steady against the turbulent tundra air. Then he heard it — faint but unmistakable. Chewing. A slow grind of teeth against bone, punctuated by the crack of something giving way.
His pulse sharpened, focus narrowing to a blade’s edge. There’s something inside. he warned, mental voice tight.
Your braids like a pattern
Love you to the moon and to Saturn
Lyra's relief that they will not be splitting up is immediate and strong, flowing quickly through the Attuned bond before she reins it in to refocus on her task. She stands steadily in place, sniffing between the two scent trails, unwilling to pace between them for fear of destroying any evidence that they might need. One trail leads away, and after a moment, a cry from one of the avian members of their group comes through: a survivor, it seems, and Lyra's heart lurches painfully. Will that be the only survivor, or will they find the others, too?
The other trail leads in the direction of the cave that the other bird has found, and it doesn't take long for him to relay additional findings. There's something inside, something that the bird doesn't like. She can hear the intensity of his voice and immediately shifts back and forth, aching to do something as quickly as possible, but knowing that moving too quickly can spell disaster. Does the person seem to be in immediate danger? she asked Calypso. If not, we might be able to rescue them quickly and avoid splitting our attention between two groups.
---
Lyra suggests rescuing Calypso's person before delving into Marcus's cave.
Passed down like folk songs The love lasts so long
The information circulated through while the metallic, blood held through the air – only a matter of time before they would have to make a manuever. It was Belial first to his mind though; the companion connection forming through his senses, relaying the darkness threading through the cave, until the peryton pinpointed in his silence, in his invisibility, the stalking presence within. An ursur, Deimos uttered, the clear warning within before he even had to relay the further nuances to Marcus. The leg it gnawed upon, once belonging to some semblance of a deer, had nothing to be prevailed upon to save. Get out of there, Marcus. We are heading towards Calypso.
His own carnivorous companion gave a hoot to the eagle, and cast back into the air too; obnoxious he might’ve been, but he knew it wasn’t worth his time, nor effort, to stare upon a beast that would maim him immediately. If they had to come back through, at least they knew danger lurked and leered close within.
Nodding towards Lyra, his long strides immediately unfurled in the sunstreak’s direction, fast, quick, but noticeable; his Stygian outset would be quickly spotted and seen by everyone alike. The dog’s questions were good ones, and hopefully they’d have some answers to salvage as the sled and soldiers followed close behind, a sharp bark threading through every so often.
Calypso would find the man, crouched behind the boulder as if he was striving to sink into the ground, utterly delirious, as if simply blinking at her was taking all his physical effort. ”Hello little one,” he murmured with a subtle wave, revealing a body cowering from the cold and a long streak of blood down the side of his jacket, along the ribcage. ”Come to pick me off too?”
--
Marcus and Belial have found an ursur, while Calypso gets some information, and Deimos, Lyra, and the remaining crew are headed the man’s way!
Your braids like a pattern
Love you to the moon and to Saturn
Ursur. The word risng through the bond, and Lyra immediately tenses, head swinging in the direction of the cave that houses the beast. She has seen only the dead one hauled to the Citadel by Deimos and his hunters, but it had been massive. She remembers its decaying stench and the sight of its tusks, and as the Warden instructs them all away from the creature's lair, Lyra can't help but let out a sigh of relief. Then she is back on task, focused now on the person that they can still save.
She bounds quickly over the snow on Deimos's heels, heading for the hunter and the boulder he hides behind. As they approach, she slow enough to find her pack on the sled and leaps, landing atop the pile to snag at it. With it in her mouth, she pads towards the hunter, tail wagging as though to indicate that she is no threat. Once beside the man, she drops the pack into the snow, nudging it towards him in the hopes that he might open it and find a blanket, or some bandages, or some food or water.
---
Lyra grabs her pack off the sled and approaches the man, attempting to get him to open the bag for a blanket, bandages, or food/water.
Passed down like folk songs The love lasts so long
a silent film he'd watched a thousand times before
The realization came quickly once the sounds and smells from within the cave resolved into something unmistakable. Marcus did not hesitate. He drove his wings downward and pulled away from the outcropping, letting the wind catch beneath him and carry him into a steep climb. He heard the sound of the peryton coming with him, as the experience of nearly coming face to face with an ursur flooded through him and made his head feel light as he climbed the wind.
The land widened beneath him as he angled toward the distant cluster where Deimos and the others had gathered. From this height, they appeared as small interruptions against the endless white, a broken geometry of figures gathered around a single point. One hunter found. The quiet relief that followed was brief but grounding, a reminder that the search was not yet lost, and that for now the ursur was content with whatever it was eating. He descended enough to stay within a current that could hold and carry him far, but close enough to be heard at the edges of the bond.
Seeing that they had their first rescued victim under their hands -- paws? -- he widened into a slow scouting circle above them, scanning the surrounding terrain with sharpened focus. If one hunter had made it this far, the others might have scattered nearby, perhaps injured, disoriented, and seeking whatever shelter the tundra offered.
I’ll keep sweeping outward. He relayed, steady and present.
Marcus continues to scout for signs of anyone else!
don't talk 'bout me like how you might know how i feel top of the world, but your world isn't real
Spying the man crouching as he takes her in, Caly listens for the questions Lyra sends over toward her. He’s bleedin’ an’ way too cold. I’m gonna try ‘n warm him up. She calls back to them, turning her focus onto the man. Her head tilts this way and that, as much of an avian’s shake of her head that she can muster before she’s dropping behind the rock and clicks her beak.
It’s enough space that she can shift into her tide jaguar shift, fur mirroring the snow beneath them if it weren’t for the sunspots glowing from her pelt, but she’s large and warm and with feline gilded eyes she peers up at the man and hopes that she radiates enough heat that he might be able to utilize her to warm up until the rest of the party comes.
Caly relays the information that he’s bleeding and super cold, then shifts to her tide jaguar shift to hopefully give the man something warm to cling to until the rest of the group shows up.
Belial and Marcus escaped and evaded the ursur with little fanfare or complaint; after all, it was already filling its own stomach. The young hybrid took a good approach, and Deimos sent the peryton to accompany him on the journey through cold air and skies, hoping something or someone else would be spotted as the rest of them sought to aid the ailing hunter. Deer and bird would discover portions of note beyond the outcropping; not even one hundred years away, were another two forms, though it was difficult to tell what was what at such heights.
The rest of them configured and contorted around the hunter – whom Deimos recognized instantly, shaking his head at the man whom he’d always known as “Bucket” Willingston. The hunter snorted in his direction, delirious but suitably unbothered in all the haste; too much blood loss and indifference coinciding with the cold. ”Oh, Warden. Is this all your doing then?” as he indicated to the sudden shifting of creatures all around him – Lyra opening bags and dragging over blankets, Calypso shifting to accompany the warmth. The Sword gave a huff at the inquiry, half-tempted to shift so he could answer, and perhaps ask, where the rest were and what had occurred.
Instead, Zuriel marched over, brow lowering in between the masses so she could start healing Bucket – while the Warden went to make room on the sled, maneuvering things around with his teeth so they’d be able to get the man over and start hauling to their next rotation and findings. We can start getting him on this, once he was stable – going back over so heat, guidance, and strength might be honed, presuming the individual could lean on each of them.
--
Marcus and Belial have spotted something, and Lyra, Calypso, Deimos, and Zuriel have started taking care of ol’ Bucket.
don't talk 'bout me like how you might know how i feel top of the world, but your world isn't real
They all descend into helping him out, warmth shared and the sled brought over, blankets placed and wrapped around the hunter. A’ight. Caly hums through the bond with a flick of her tail, aiming to help take the bulk of his weight as they make their way over toward the sled. Zuriel’s healing has helped this tenfold, and she’s grateful for the unicorn as she offers her bulk for Bucket to get to the sled.
She helps him get settled, using her nose and paws where she can to tuck the blanket in around him once he’s settled and probably isn’t going anywhere, before she starts to perk up and look to Deimos to see what’s next and whether or not she needs to shift again to the avian shift in her skin to scout some more.
Caly helps the hunter get to the sled in her tide jaguar shift!
a silent film he'd watched a thousand times before
Marcus settled into the rhythm of the wind again, the lingering rush of adrenaline slowly bleeding into sharpened focus as distance grew between them and the cave and the monstrous ursur. The cold bit deeper at this altitude, air thinning into something clean and almost metallic in his lungs, but the Olson was accustomed to it and almost comforted by it. Marcus allowed himself to drift farther from the cluster below, trusting the others to tend to the rescued hunter while he and Belial widened the search.
At first, the land offered nothing but repetition in the wind-scored snow, fractured ridges, shadows playing tricks against uneven terrain. Then something broke the pattern. Marcus adjusted with a subtle tilt of his wings, narrowing his focus. Two shapes lay ahead, partially swallowed by drift and distance, their outlines blurred enough that he wasn't quite sure what they were. I’ve got two ahead, he sent across the bond, hoping his counterparts could hear him from this distance. Not certain of exactly what yet. He angled into a controlled descent, refusing to look away until uncertainty became something solid.
Marcus says what he sees and tries to fly lower and closer!
Your braids like a pattern
Love you to the moon and to Saturn
The sudden activity surrounding the downed man is surprising even to Lyra, who has come to expect this kind of response to finding survivors on her many search and rescue missions. Perhaps it has something to do with the tundra being so very desolate and unforgiving, or maybe she's just used to working alone - but as the others spring into action, something warm spreads through her chest as she begins to hope that they can indeed find the rest of the hunting party before something more dire befalls them.
As Calypso helps the man onto the sled, Lyra follows behind doggedly with her blanket, waiting for him to be settled before tucking it in along the edges of the sled as best she can without shifting back into a human. Then she tucks her pack in beside him, in case he should feel inclined to dig for food, water, or bandages, and turns her attention back to Marcus - who has seemingly found two more somethings, though he's yet to determine exactly what they are.
---
Lyra helps ol' Bucket onto the sled and covers him with a blanket, then waits for further instruction.
Passed down like folk songs The love lasts so long
