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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!
“A favor, actually,” he rumbled, finishing up on the stitching. Some of the stuffing still poked out, but given how many blows the effigy had taken, the Sword didn’t think it was up to much more of a beating anyway. He could always repair it once more, after some time, or send it into a brazier’s flames – and start anew.
But he’d rather see if she was willing to snag at another kind of game. Snagging at his pockets, he pulled out the Gambler’s Gloves. “I need to get these back from a range of twenty feet. For a quest.” To answer her likely inquiry; given how oddly specific the motion seemed. “You can utilize the whole training grounds,” jutting his jawline towards the climbing wall, and then the outside measures too – where it opened for more inclinations towards incantations – out of range of soldiers sparring inside. Tilting his head, pondering over the potential (or not), he figured they could make it much like a game of keep away. “If you are willing.” And if she wasn’t, he could always find someone else – the pressure alleviated.
"That sounds intriguing." Another shiver ran through her body and Elizabeth glanced longingly at the palace, thinking of the warmth within, even as she knew it wouldn't alleviate her suffering. She debated saying no and finding refuge to wait out her symptoms, however, the shift of her vision brought an idea to mind and she gave Deimos a look of turning gears. "Wait here for a few minutes."
Without waiting for his answer, she took the offered gloves, jogging into the barracks. The interior was indeed warmer, although not by much, but the shift didn't slow her. Slipping past surprised soldiers and servants, her booted feet echoed along the stone flooring. She didn't know her way around the structure and had to question whether she was even going the right direction, until a stairway appeared before her, making her smile in satisfaction. It didn't take her long to scale the steps, but she was still winded when she reached the second floor. Its spanning hallway was lined with shuttered windows and lit sconces in the recesses of the wall. Ignoring the tense anticipation in her shoulders, Elizabeth stepped to a set of large wooden shutters, pushing them open and unlatching the window. The gust of wind had her clenching her teeth while a pair of maids gave her an annoyed look as they passed. But she paid them no mind as she looked down into the training grounds. Spotting Deimos below, she waved a hand with an excited smile. "Give it a try!" she shouted then held the gloves out, ready for him to retrieve them.
The agreement came, and at her statement, he arched a brow, waiting for the inevitable. But as she scurried off, he could hear the footsteps above, and so he followed them from below, shrugging his shoulders when several other soldiers glanced his way. He had no intention of carving any holes through the floors to re-obtain the gloves – that would require more work later, of which he rarely had time for.
So as he listened, the shutters opened, and he snorted from his vantage point. “Interesting choice,” he rumbled – figuring she would’ve strived to utilize her increased magic in the opening portions of the training grounds, or her telekinesis to prompt them nearly out of range. Hanging them out the window seemed like a sort of lure and trap, or far too easy.
Well, they’d see. Perhaps she had some tricks up her sleeve. With careful control and finesse, he whipped portions of his Mastered Wind to wrap around the gloves, and simply send them back to him.
She was surprised to see Deimos closer than where she'd left him. "Hey! I told you to stay!" But before she could continue berating him, a gust of wind was pulling the gloves from her hand. Elizabeth let out a sigh and released the items, watching them float back down to his awaiting hands.
After making her way back down the stairs, she stopped in front of the Warden, a scowl on her face. "Let's try that again. But this time, don't move." Taking the gloves into her possession again, Elizabeth left him, although her eyes watched for any indication that he planned to follow. Meanwhile, she made her way out of the barracks and across the training ground, weaving between spars and drills. Only a few people glanced her way, too lost in their own worlds to notice. When she got to the wall, she cocked her arm back, aiming for the top. Then she threw it as hard as she could. Knowing that her strength wouldn't be enough, Elizabeth added a push of telekinesis which gave it the extra boost to overcome the towering height. With the gloves firmly out of sight, she turned to Deimos, waving a hand to indicate he was allowed to proceed.
He couldn’t help but laugh, a deep roaring chuckle bellowing from his chest, at the huffed breath and scowls. She hadn’t said wait for an eternity, and truth be told, he wouldn’t have wanted to unleash a torrent of wind without noting anyone nearby or something else potentially hazardous in their wake. Releasing the gloves back to her, he wrinkled his nose, particularly juvenile and boyish. “Fine.”
So in a state of patience once more, he crossed his arms, watched as she flitted out of the barrack proportions, along the training grounds, amidst other disciples of instruction and armaments. The climbing wall was an intriguing decision on her part, and he stifled back another threatening snicker as she aimed to hurl it as much as she could. There was likely some combination of her telekinesis, and he’d give her points for cleverness, until the gloves were out of sight.
On the wave of her hand, he snorted, but surged the Air elements from his veins, pinpointed and calculated on the area surrounding the wall. Passersby might have felt a rather forceful breeze, but otherwise, they’d remained untouched.
He could feel the motion and movement of the relic from the opposing fixture, but when they didn’t appear, he kept tugging. His eyes narrowed, head tilting, wondering if they’d gotten trapped or caught on something. “Am I allowed to move from here?” Due to her newfound rules?
It was a little fun bossing the Warden around and she could tell he found it amusing. So when he followed her instructions, Elizabeth gave him an appraising look before granting a nod of approval. It didn't take long to feel the wind blowing around her. The cloak didn't do enough to keep the breeze from aggravating the internal chill, causing a glare. A few other people looked around, but it seemed to be a common occurrence to have strong winds within the training area.
She raised a brow, both surprised and challenging at his question. "I suppose if you have to." For him not to immediately be able to retrieve the gloves in light of his extraordinary abilities was not something she'd expected. Had she placed them too far? Were they caught somewhere? Did it matter that he couldn't see them? Elizabeth was doubting her choice, but let Deimos figure out how to proceed.
It wasn’t often the Sword had setbacks with his incantations, so he’d already wondered if there was something else occurring. Once given permission, he only gave a brief eye roll, and took long strides towards the climbing wall. Were it any other occasion, he might have hastened over it for sheer amusement purposes, but given Elizabeth had already taken much of her time to assist, and he could see she was still fighting off a chill, he wasn’t going to warrant a leisurely ascent up the ice and snow.
Instead, he went up the gradual incline along the side, and glanced down. The gloves were there, seemingly quite content, but as predicted, caught and snagged on one of the many pegs. Snorting, amused by the concession, he nodded and did naught else but return back to his post.
With the knowledge that he’d have to utilize different directions with the elements, he settled, allowing for one long breath before unfurling the Mastered Air again. This time it was much more purposeful and direct, maneuvering particles to sweep along the relic, so before long they’d been knocked off the hooks, across the training grounds, and into his outstretched hands.
Allowing for a grin, clearly amused with himself, he passed them back to Elizabeth. “Once more.”
It was extremely impressive to watch him work the air magic to unhook the item from its stuck place. She had to give him credit for that, even as she was forced to clutch her cloak tightly again. Accepting the gloves from Deimos 'once more', Elizabeth took a moment to consider what other options remained. It wouldn't be beneficial for him if she made it easy.
Something nearby caught her attention and a smile split across her face. "Wait here." The words were the same as before, but she had more hope that the Warden would do as instructed this time. She walked quickly across the training grounds to a small cage of hawks used to pass along messages to outer posts. If her estimation was correct, their strong wings would be more than enough to carry the gloves. After a short discussion with a handler, he allowed her to tie a slip knot to the bird's leg before releasing it into the air. Without any instruction, it took to the clear sky, circling above on a gentle breeze. Elizabeth looked back down to Deimos and walked to join him again, giving him a satisfied smile. "You're up."
He waited again as she set up portions and pieces for the next interval, though he did loosen another snort of amusement. It didn’t mean he turned away from the proceedings though, eyes narrowing and head tilting in study as she ventured towards the hawks and their master. Clever, he could give her that, as one was sent into the air, his gloves knotted and gnarled around its leg.
When she returned, he gave his own grin.
There wouldn’t need to be any magic for this one – and so he loosened one breath, and tapped into the Attuned side of his soul. Predacious endeavors always catered nicely and neatly, what with the amount of carnivorous inclinations lingering throughout his frame, and the choice was easy.
He shifted quickly into his golden eagle form, wings outstretched and swift, gliding after the other while it coiled along the stretches of the sun. And while it wasn’t his intention to terrorize the creature, the Sword had calculations at hand, emboldened, talons aiming to swipe the tie off the messenger’s limb.
Elizabeth watched with open interest as Deimos transformed before her eyes, his powerful wings taking him high into the sky. The flaps shifted her cloak with their force and she had to look away for a moment before glaring up at Eagle Deimos. It wasn't his fault she'd been cursed with an inescapable chill, however, between wind magic and avian shifts, he definitely wasn't helping.
The hawk saw the larger predatory bird approaching and screeched in terror despite the Warden's attempts to mitigate fear. It stopped short to avoid the initial 'attack.' Even though it was able to dodge the onslaught of talons aiming for its legs, Deimos was still able to snag the straps of the gloves, activating the quick-release knot, freeing them from the poor messenger hawk's legs. More concerned with its physical wellbeing than the 'message' it'd been entrusted with, the bird flew back down to the handler with impressive speed.
His shifts always held a liberating effect upon his soul; vast and free, content to rampage and unfurl in those ancient, primordial vessels, where predators were simply that, and there needed no justification for the rancorous edges embedded within bone. The hawk’s panic amused; and despite the clear intentions behind his pursuit, his presence had clearly grated. So it was an easy thing to tear the knot and tie away from its leg, then quickly snag the gloves, unbothered by the other bird’s own hasty flight and retreat.
He could’ve dove downwards too, but instead chose a longer, leisurely tactic in slowly winding to the ground, before shifting back into his regular form. Tossing the gloves back into his grasp, he turned back to Elizabeth, thoroughly amused. “Thank you,” and he meant it, for that had been the last portion needed for his quest. “That was fun.” A different sort of diversion, and ensuring he had to come up with different methods than the usual incantations and flair. It probably said more about Deimos though, and his insinuation of amusements. “Do you need anything else?” They’d had a worthwhile training interim for both; but the inquiry had been ready, just in case.
As the Warden circled above, Elizabeth crossed her arms, rolling her eyes in amused impatience. She couldn't fault the man for enjoying the freedom, but she was cold and her body was ready to find a comfortable place next to her fireplace, probably with a good book. So when Deimos finally landed, she shuffled her feet to keep herself from rushing through the pleasantries. She didn't want him to feel like she hadn't wanted to help. Instead, she chuckled and nodded along politely as she plotted her departure.
"I don't think so. Thank you for your help. I'll probably seek you out again for another lesson." When she's not riddled with bone chills and ringing ears. But she gave him a warm smile, completely serious about doing it again. Feeling that it was the appropriate time, Elizabeth dipped her head. "Well, I better be going. I'll see you again soon." And then she rushed home to the warmth of hot tea, fire, and fluffy romance.
