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!
Deepfrost, for all its merits within his family and their usual noteworthy turns of the sun, still brought its own hovering sense of foreboding. LongNight stretched as an ominous beacon no matter how many years he’d been separated from its cruelty and malice amidst the Grounds, even long after said monsters had been slain. The conflict around its eternal evening always spawned a particular range of preparation and attempts he could never quite shake; and while he no longer craved to shut every door and tell no one to open the apertures, the practicality of it remained the same. There was work to be done. People to take care of. Harsher elements to defy and combat all of it.
For this interim, he’d taken one of the many sleighs and had loaded it up with firewood, intentions clear and concise, a list of names in his hand and plenty of people to snag and take the bundles. Belial, sitting in his usual spot amongst the few seats, bellowed and hollered to anyone who passed by, and the Sword sighed, glad he hadn’t brought either Erebos or Idalia out – knowing the companion would have stirred both up to shenanigans.
Dragging it along the main pathway, his eyes caught a familiar presence, brow arching as he noted Colt near the shrine. Perhaps she’d stayed a few days more after the skijoring – though that sort of prediction had obviously fumbled. While the peryton hooted a hello, he nodded, not intending to bother much more than a dry joke and speculation. “Thought you would be headed back towards the desert,” he rumbled in greeting.
Got a head full of noise About a hundred different things I'm tryna avoid I got a mind in the gutter Got trouble on one hand, a beer in the other
The hustle and bustle of the region around is an admirable thing to behold. It is alive in work after all the play of the festival, preparations well underway for the upcoming Longnight and all the cold and the dark it delivers to a place that is well equipped at battling it.
Tucked away from the main road for the shrine, Colt is stooped in prayer, hands busy placing offerings. "Some ursur fur-lined lingerie for Sex Frey," Colt murmurs as she places the plush white fabric and network of strings and buckles out. "Can't let the goods get frostbite," she murmurs with a bite of a smile. "For Nature Frey, some of the largest root vegetables I could get my hands on." She sets down a thick carrot, parsnip, and beet, holding them by their green hair and laying them alongside the outfit.
A familiar voice cuts through the background noise of a city in action. Colt's head turns, gold hair barely flashing around the shield of coat and hat. "Deimos," she greets with a warm smile spreading out in answer. "And Belial," she offers to the whistling peryton, gaze casting about for Zuriel who she assumes can't be far. More or less done here, she reaches out to pat her items into place against stone and snow one last time before rising to her feet, the grunt hardly performative given her age the weather. "Well it's such a lovely time of year to spend in Halo, I thought I'd stay longer," she's only half joking. There is a certain sparkle to the area in Deepfrost, fresh snow and ice gilding it silver and white almost every morning. "Restocking some supplies from your markets before we cut loose tonight."
Pulling her coat up deeper around her face, the act of stooping at the shrine pulling the coverage short in some areas and letting the cold in. "Everyone who came out seemed to enjoy the festival. Skijoring was quite something." Colt strides over to the wagon, assessing it as she goes, leaning against it faintly. "My hands are free for a bit, need any help with," she gestures to his wagon.
Complete threads at each of Frey's existing shrines, leaving appropriate offerings for both aspects of the deity. (These threads should be completed in the board housing the shrine, rather than the shrine itself).
Prepare for LongNight in your home region or, if you are nomadic, in a region of your choice.
Got the wind in my hair I got nowhere to go so I'm already there Can't say I would and I can't say I wouldn't If I don't come back, don't come lookin'
Received a Gilded Market wig from Remi that resembles her usual hair and is enchanted to stay on better than most wigs | has a reverse centaur tattoo on her left hand with the legs going down her pointer and middle fingers that looks like this.
Given Deimos’ own inclinations and biases towards the region, he took her jocular tones with half a grain of salt, snorting, gazing upwards briefly at the roads and pathways jutting outwards from the shrine and around the Citadel at large. How many could see this place as something terrible had never crossed his mind; having woven years into ensuring its success, winding determination into its boundaries and strongholds with every ounce of conviction the land had offered in return. It had its faults – as any place would – but time and time again the people and the terrain inspired her to dig deeper into the juncture.
Though he figured that wasn’t why others visited – drawn by inspiration elsewhere. His gaze went back to her, brow arching once more as she deigned to inspect the threshold of seemingly endless timber. “First time we had tried it. Very entertaining.” Skijoring had offered the thrills and spills aspect to amusement amongst the wintry confines; he’d seen more people there than in the past few years, come to gather and watch amongst the thought of watching others triumph or falter. He nearly made a comment about similarities in her rodeo aspects, then remembered the aftermath, and quietly kept the notions to himself; offering dry tones instead. “Could probably do something similar in the sand.” Perhaps with a semblance of different equipment and animals.
At her offer of assistance, he’d oblige; having learned better to snag help when and where he could, especially nowadays. “If you want. I am making deliveries,” as he tugged back on the sleigh, and Belial made no maneuver to relinquish his position. The rope pulled taut and moved easily with his strength and the deft glide across the snow. “How are things in Hak Etme?”
Got a head full of noise About a hundred different things I'm tryna avoid I got a mind in the gutter Got trouble on one hand, a beer in the other
She has never gotten out much this way for fun, not with ranching serving as a constant anchor, especially this time of year when the animals struggled with the season. The ability to just pick up and come here is a nice change, even if she is here for the trade more than the skijoring. "I would never have known with the way it went off so well," she praises of the new event and its streamlined qualities. People took to it so readily, both participant and watcher, and that's something to be proud of undoubtedly. That and, no deaths!
Swinging into the remaining (tight) room of the sled as evidence her offer wasn't just made out of politeness, she wrestles some version of room away from the spaces Belial doesn't completely fill. "Would serve my coinpurse better not to do more shopping," she reassures, as if this is as much a favor to her as to him.
The desert brightens her in a new way, excitement finding her swiftly as they start to move over the snow-decorated roads towards the areas needing wood. "It's coming along! We finished the skyport end of last season, and once I leave here we'll be improving the ship port there." The whole reason she'd come here, to get the lumber needed for that project. "That and set up our main base of operations, for now, until I can work with Frey...or maybe even Rae, just for some extra oomph for making a livable area to build the town."
Got the wind in my hair I got nowhere to go so I'm already there Can't say I would and I can't say I wouldn't If I don't come back, don't come lookin'
Received a Gilded Market wig from Remi that resembles her usual hair and is enchanted to stay on better than most wigs | has a reverse centaur tattoo on her left hand with the legs going down her pointer and middle fingers that looks like this.
A plump, round-bodied bird flaps down nearby with more enthusiasm than grace, followed immediately by several others. Ningos quickly claim every available perch, their fluffy forms puffed up against the cold as they wobble into place.
They chirp loudly and constantly, hopping from ledges to shoulders to packs with no sense of personal space. One pecks inquisitively at a strap while another settles somewhere inconvenient, blinking wide eyes as though daring anyone to object.
Even when shooed away, the Ningos only flutter a short distance off before returning, undeterred and endlessly persistent. Whether they eventually lose interest or continue their cheerful harassment, they show no signs of leaving quietly.
Ningo
Areas Found: Halo — Common
A fat all-white bird that produces high-quality meat. Its feathers are often used to line jackets and hats because of its insulating qualities.
Challenge Rating: Moderate
HP: 70 | To Hit: +20 | Dmg: 8 Movement: Walk 20 ft.; Fly 30 ft.
SPECIAL SKILLS
Down Harvest: yields premium meat and dense feather lining prized for winter gear; Alarm Waddle: when startled, a flock moves in unison with loud honks, distracting predators and masking allies’ movement; Winter Roost: tightly packed roosts share body heat, reducing exposure effects for nearby creatures
TRAITS
Insulating Down: exceptionally warm feathers ideal for cold climates; Cold-Hardy: unbothered by most natural cold and light snowfall; Snow Camouflage: all-white plumage blends seamlessly into winter terrain; Ground Forager: adept at finding seeds and shoots beneath crusted snow
ACTIONS
Peck: a quick defensive jab of the beak; Wing Flurry: a burst of wingbeats that kicks up snow and loose down to obscure vision; Warning Honk: a sharp call that alerts the flock and may startle approaching creatures
“Luck might have had a good hand in it. Or decent riders.” His own son(s) included, though Deimos had made sure to place Erebos on a pony that wouldn’t have taken advantage, or be seen still gallivanting through the square. He inclined his head with an amused tilt, and snorted as Colt made herself at home in the sled. Belial opted to not give or grant her an inch of room, feet deliberately stretched and placed outward, his claims made. Until something distracted him.
Which happened to be the ningo suddenly above – chirping and hooting loudly as they traversed along the grounds. Within an instant the peryton was soaring, hooting after the fat birds, and the Sword left the deer to his own devices, and likely eventual slaughter, as they turned another corner to make the first delivery.
Stopping the sled, he maneuvered towards the open portions of the vessel, gathering an already bundled and strung together portion of wood – long enough to keep the family going for a few days, before the next round of shipments. Listening all the while, to merits of the desert and its recent upgrades, he recalled those days where Halo had no skyport to speak of either – locked away for the winter, away from the notions of any other region. “What sort of living arrangements?” There could be a whole range to support individuals seeking to congregate there, and he wouldn’t be remiss to think of Ru striving to advance her way through the dunes.
Got a head full of noise About a hundred different things I'm tryna avoid I got a mind in the gutter Got trouble on one hand, a beer in the other
Nearly about to get into a space argument with a peryton, that by some count had more right to be there than here, she's ever grateful for the distraction of the fat and stupid ningos around here. Though, the sound of it fluttering has her immediately grabbing at her hat and ducking her head a touch, wary eye thrown skyward until she can catch sight of Belial chasing the fuckers away. "I'd definitely bet on both," she agrees as she settles in better, meaning both luck and decent riders to be grateful towards.
Leaning into the turn, Colt swings out and around the sleigh by the handle. She mimics Deimos, gathering a bundle of wood and looking for direction for its delivery, following suit behind him either to the same house or a neighboring one as directed. A nice service, she thinks at first, before realizing it's likely crucial here compared to the snow of King's End. "Tent city for now," she huffs. "Suvahasi is the best place to settle, all things considered, but with the toxic plants, nevermind the general heat, it's been difficult to clear it out for anything to build yet. Once the gods assist in making it more hospitable, we'll be building a town there. Business and houses, meant to last." She's half a mind to quest for the town to be fireproof.
Got the wind in my hair I got nowhere to go so I'm already there Can't say I would and I can't say I wouldn't If I don't come back, don't come lookin'
Received a Gilded Market wig from Remi that resembles her usual hair and is enchanted to stay on better than most wigs | has a reverse centaur tattoo on her left hand with the legs going down her pointer and middle fingers that looks like this.
A flurry of feathers descended rapidly from the sky, and Deimos fought the urge to roll his eyes – he couldn’t begrudge the peryton, not after all the times he’d set after the little beasts. It ended up some grand spectacle for any passersby though, and by the time he’d bothered to glance up, the carnivorous deer had two of the fat birds in his mouth and was vying for more.
Pretending it wasn’t happening, he shifted his long strides towards the first house, leaving the bundle on their front porch, and motioning for Colt to do the same. “Big family here. Part of our local trackers,” and the supply would keep them going for the week, while the rest of them hunted on the fringes and did what they could during the long winter.
Then he listened, nodding along as she mentioned ‘tents’. While Halovians wouldn’t be able to survive long in such a situation, the same couldn’t be said for the desert – they had the opposing problem. And it seemed a host of others, including the toxic plants. “Heard the air was not great through there either,” due to the large bouts of venomous vegetation and its blistering pollen. “Seems you will have many options for regional quests.” Returning to the sled, he waited for her to clamber back on, before pulling the vessel down the street once more. “No monster run-ins yet?”
Got a head full of noise About a hundred different things I'm tryna avoid I got a mind in the gutter Got trouble on one hand, a beer in the other
Unlike Deimos, Colt openly watches the spectacle of Belial taking out the ningos. It's a mixture of amusement and disgust that colors her expression, not unlike whenever she'd catch the dogs eating horseshit. Admittedly, fat stupid birds is a step above.
Leaving the peryton to his game of chase as they amble out of the sled, wooden bundles in tow, Colt nods as Deimos offers some explanation to the task. "A very important job, no matter the reason." Someone to help hunt down the anomalies that become too vicious and find their cities as a menu, or those mastered in chasing down the fresh food supply for everyone. She hoists her bundle of wood beside his, rubbings her hands free of the splintering debris.
As they head back to the sled, she continues on. "Yeah, that's part of the reason we're still in tents. It's got the most resources, but it's also some of the most deadly ground there." Heat made Hak Etme vicious enough, but Suvahasi added in toxicity for extra fun. Laughing a touch at his easy silver lining in the situation, Colt jumps back into her seat and away they sleigh. "We won't be bored for a time yet, that's for sure." There's a certain, breathless eagerness to her tone she can't fully keep back. It's closer now than she ever thought possible.
"A few," she notes of the monsters, watching the town slip past them. "Saw a mirage crab in Suvahasi. Fought some preying orchids there when trying to clear out some of the brush and the ground. Ran into some clamics when we cleaned up the beach. Expected run ins," she explains, but she knows she's fortunate it hasn't been worse.
Got the wind in my hair I got nowhere to go so I'm already there Can't say I would and I can't say I wouldn't If I don't come back, don't come lookin'
Received a Gilded Market wig from Remi that resembles her usual hair and is enchanted to stay on better than most wigs | has a reverse centaur tattoo on her left hand with the legs going down her pointer and middle fingers that looks like this.
Belial promptly landed on the sled with a great thud and obnoxious trill through his clenched jaw. Proud of himself, he tore a few feathers off, plucking them away until he could get into the meaty configurations.
Hak Etme sounded less and less agreeable with every passing snippets of its unwelcoming picture. Deimos wouldn’t be hypocritical; he knew Halo must’ve sounded like that to many as well – with the cold, the monsters, the dragons…but they’d also had a threshold and domiciles set up for hundreds of years. There’d been shelter long since instilled – the desert didn’t benefit from such reaches. He had to wonder if that place, much like other lands from the past in the past, could’ve been anointed and blessing with something, and change, time, had reclaimed it back into the wilderness. “That is certain,” he supplied with a rogue wrinkle of his nose. This terrain and region didn't give them chances to be bored or restless either.
Tugging on the rope once more, the vessel slid gracefully down the next street while he listened to a few of the monster appearances, shaking his head a little. “I trust you took care of them easily enough?”
Got a head full of noise About a hundred different things I'm tryna avoid I got a mind in the gutter Got trouble on one hand, a beer in the other
Colt has never once had the opportunity for boredom. Without meaning to, that's been intentional, her hands and mind a restless thing that do better when given purpose, otherwise they start to pluck inward at her own threads and undo her in the worst way. From ranching to desert wrangling, she has always kept herself busy in some fashion. If she ever wastes away in old age, she hopes someone will have the mercy to just kill her.
Glancing back at the peryton and his bloody prize, only a faint grimace offered for the gruesome indulgence so close at hand, Colt soon enough twists back around as they glide down the lane to the next house. "The mirage crab I did not fuck with," she clarifies, the known terror making her shake her head. "The rest though, yes, otherwise I'm sure you'd have heard it on the guild's call for action." There's always beasts to be felled all around Caido, but Hak Etme doesn't come up too often, having few people there to bother, until now. "The tents won't serve us well for long."
Got the wind in my hair I got nowhere to go so I'm already there Can't say I would and I can't say I wouldn't If I don't come back, don't come lookin'
Received a Gilded Market wig from Remi that resembles her usual hair and is enchanted to stay on better than most wigs | has a reverse centaur tattoo on her left hand with the legs going down her pointer and middle fingers that looks like this.
Boredom, at least in his life, also never seemed imminent. Even in peaceful times, Deimos always had something to do. Halo, much like himself, wouldn’t be worn into an air of complacency; intentions broad and vast, defensive and offensive, with the turn of seasons and opportunities. Safeguards and abilities were one of the many proportions the region had to share with its citizens. Colt would find she’d have to do much the same, likely for years on end, to ensure that desert could do more than hover ominously over its foundational efforts.
Stopping the sled again once they’d reached a smaller home, nestled amongst market stalls and various kiosks, he snorted. “I did hear, but not all the information reaches us so readily.” Sometimes success was measured in other countenances, or letters were lost amongst fowl meant to deliver. Snagging at another bundle of wood, he arched his brow. “I wonder if you could make some homes from the wood there,” though obviously not the sort that unfurled more potent and pernicious plumes of poison. “Give you a little more structure and protection.” Because as she’d said, tents couldn’t abide too much. The heat and monsters were a larger issue.
Got a head full of noise About a hundred different things I'm tryna avoid I got a mind in the gutter Got trouble on one hand, a beer in the other
As the sled draws to a stop once more, Colt swings out with a practiced ease from riding in and out of wagons so often. She hauls another bundle of wood to her arms, and for the first time seems to appraise the material in full. She has had her hands on plenty of wood over the years, quite literally thank you, but she has only had to manage posts and poles. An entire town arranged from the ground up is quite the new bite to take and try to chew down. The important thing being, she'd not be doing it alone, or else it would surely fail.
"That is the hope," she says as she glances back to him and falls into stride beside him, getting back to the task at hand of delivering wood to the fireplaces that need it for the season. "However, tents will have to serve us for now, until we can work with Rae to make Suvahsi more tolerable. We need to build the permanent town there, due to the resources, so for now it's tents on the outskirts." She does hum in consideration though, thoughts growing branches with rapid ease. "I hadn't considered the jungle's wood being worthwhile though, but maybe there's something to that. I expected we'd have to ship it in from here or the Grounds." Things she'd ask the people better equipped to build. "I did consider asking for fireproofing from the Gilded Market...but that seems expensive." The town will likely already run her dry as is, and from there she means to build something immediately after to make money again.
Got the wind in my hair I got nowhere to go so I'm already there Can't say I would and I can't say I wouldn't If I don't come back, don't come lookin'
Received a Gilded Market wig from Remi that resembles her usual hair and is enchanted to stay on better than most wigs | has a reverse centaur tattoo on her left hand with the legs going down her pointer and middle fingers that looks like this.
The snow crunched underneath his boots and footfalls, solid and compacted, as he placed the bundle on the deck of the house, and waited for her to do the same, before they returned to the sled for another round. Mulling over the complexities of building from the ground up still seemed vastly overwhelming – imagining feeble tents on the outskirts of a poisonous sanction, and trying to force it to become a sanctity. “I think you would be surprised how quickly you can get some houses raised with enough people,” some within a day or two, depending on the amount of individuals, capabilities, and supplies. But there were so many steps in between that it probably seemed insurmountable on the worst days, and he didn’t envy her predicament, chosen and bold as it had been. However, there were things she could accomplish with citizens and helpers, rather than using her two opportunities a year to muster possibilities with divine beings and endless power. “Seems like something else you could ask the gods for,” in reference to the fireproofing, though he had no doubt that her list of needs from said heralds and deities was growing by the day.
Tugging at the sled and maneuvering it along the pathway, and ignoring Belial’s loud, intentional chomps of meat, he considered other portions. “What about water resources?” He’d been there on some iterations where the sky had simply opened up – a grand omen for the occasion, but he could fathom it didn’t happen with great frequency. Maybe they’d already encountered and solved that problem though, or she’d seen to it by other logistics and means.
