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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!
Why do you stay until you see blood? Why does the weight fall upon us?
Thalassa seemed surprised. Shocked, even. And maybe Liam was, too, because he blinked at her sudden query before tilting his head back, locking his gaze on the tree boughs stretching far overhead. He had every right to be angry, to hate Thalassa for what she had done...
And yet...
"I guess... it feels like hating you would be giving the power back to them," he said at last, referring to the Family. "If it weren't for the Family and what they did, then I'd like to think you wouldn't have done what you did. Being angry at you is... misplaced. If I give in to that, then it's just one more way the Family can ruin me, and they're not even here anymore. I don't want to live like that." Hazel eyes fell to Thalassa, a question in their depths. Whether he was making any sense remained to be seen, but the fact remained: he'd accept a truce if she would.
We're on the same side in the same war Why stay 'til you see blood?
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Liam.
The anger soured in her stomach, ash coating her tongue at what he said. It was something she'd once thought, a determination to cast aside the Family and the hold they'd had on her, and yet they'd dug so deep into her that the anger had turned inward, the shame and frustration lashing out at the only thing within reach.
"'One more thing'..."
She let out an empty laugh, hollow and crackling with smoke. Her hair darkened her features when she shook her head, lowering it to stare at her hands like she could see the venom dripping there. "Well, I hate myself enough for the both of us." Ash stirred when her tail lashed behind her, snapping sharply through the air.
A growl nearly escaped, her teeth baring through the frustrated clench of her jaw. "I shouldn't have dragged anyone else into my mess." It wasn't quite an apology - even with the pained regret lacing her words, the barbs punctuating every syllable - but it was close.
Why do you stay until you see blood? Why does the weight fall upon us?
The harshness of Thalassa’s response took Liam by surprise. He glanced sideways at the Ancient, trying to read something in her expression without really knowing what he was hoping to find. Maybe understanding, or some sort of forgiveness - because Liam could remember not being what she needed, after the Family had gone, back when they were both still under the influence… and yet, she’d fared so much worse than he had, and he had never been quite able to figure out why.
”It didn’t feel like a mess at the time,” Liam said after a moment, patient and understanding, careful to keep any semblance of pity from his voice - partly because he had very little of it to give, and partly because some part of him know that it would only make Thalassa angrier. ”Being a Friend of the Family felt like… like finding some piece of myself that had been missing.” And he’d tried to turn Maea more than once - though he’d never tried to physically force her. He liked to think there was still some part of him that could recognize a line that could never be uncrossed, but sometimes he still wondered if that was the reason, or if he’d just known that it would be a fight he couldn’t win. ”I don’t think you should hate yourself for something that wasn’t a choice you made. Or at least, I’m assuming you didn’t choose it, given that you feel so strongly about it now.”
We're on the same side in the same war Why stay 'til you see blood?
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Liam.
Thal clenched her jaw tighter at his words, unwilling to admit the truth he spoke, how right it had felt to be infected, how much she hadn't wanted to be cured of the feeling. And yet, looking back, the memories made her nauseous, the clarity showing her how truly brainwashed she'd been, and how utterly screwed she would have been if Asta hadn't cured her. She would have continued moving through life as a shell, what little heart she had broken in pieces like a lovesick puppy abandoned on the side of a dark, rainy road. It sickened her.
She didn't want to talk about it unless she was thoroughly drunk, uncertain anyone would ever understand the decisions that had put her in that situation, or the self-hatred it had cultivated in her.
Still, she wouldn't allow Liam to absolve her of guilt so easily, allowing him to cast all the blame on the Void that had taken root in her, because she didn't believe that. Thal didn't believe that it was only the infection that had her stealing Liam to deliver him at Dahlia's feet. Her lips pursed, darkened by frustration as she voiced her belief, "I don't think the infection ever forced an action that wasn't already in my nature." She wouldn't add that her anger towards Maea had most likely contributed, that she couldn't guarantee her own innocence when her ex-friend had caused so much hurt that she'd been willing to strike him just to get to the Ancient. It wasn't something she was proud of. Not because she was above torture or revenge or violence on bystanders, but because she'd still harbored enough emotion for Maea to let it control her like that.
Coughing up smoke, Thal took another deep breath, her voice raspy as she said, "I just have to live with that." She wiped her ashen hands against her pants, the black smearing with gray and white in a blemish she'd never be able to remove. Pushing upright, she rallied what dwindling strength she had in order to stand. Her eyes strayed towards Liam as she rose. "At least you seem to have made it out mostly unscathed." There might have been some bitterness in her tone, but there were equal parts relief, an acknowledgement that her heartless actions hadn't caused irreparable damage.
Why do you stay until you see blood? Why does the weight fall upon us?
Seemingly determined to blame herself for something that Liam was ready to absolve her of, Thalassa argued - and Liam shrugged a shoulder, nonchalant even as a chill ran through him. ”Maybe not. But you don’t know that you would have made the same choices without being infected.” And maybe she would have, and he was giving her too much credit. He didn’t know her that well, after all, and perhaps the bad blood between she and Maea ran deeper than he could understand. But even so…
Thalassa stood. Her voice held equal parts bitterness and relief, and Liam thought he could understand why. ”In most ways, I suppose so,” he admitted. But there were hidden scars that Thalassa could not see: the way he sometimes sat up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night after seeing Dahlia’s smug face hovering over his own; the way he triple checked his surroundings obsessively, even when he knew he was alone, just in case; the way he sought out news from outside the Greatwood, looking for any hint that the Family might return.
Forcing himself to his feet in turn and smothering a groan as he did so, Liam looked to Thalassa one last time. ”Just… know that I hold no ill will towards you. I hope you can forgive yourself, one day.”
We're on the same side in the same war Why stay 'til you see blood?
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Liam.
"I guess we'll never know." She supposed that was the question, the one that would haunt her for the rest of her life. Was she really a monster who would subject someone else to that fate? Or had it been the infection in her mind that pushed her to such despicable actions? Or had her mind really been that twisted that she thought she was bestowing a blessing on him while hurting Maea?
Whatever the case, she couldn't comprehend Liam's acceptance of it all, the way he looked completely unaffected by the ordeal. Had she been the only one to fall apart so completely? Was she that weak?
Looking away like she could ignore the frustration building in her chest, Thal swayed on her feet. Her eyes closed tight as she stole a deep, stabilizing breath. When she opened her eyes again, there was a tiredness to her gaze, a hope that Liam's wish might eventually come true. "Maybe one day." But not today.
She paused, considering what message she might ask him to send Maea, a jibe or well wishes or apology; but emotion and stubbornness welled in her chest, closing her throat at the distance she had little motivation to bridge. Her tongue held fast, jaw clenching as she warred with the past, finally settling on a quiet, "Good luck, Liam." Then she turned to leave, rallying what strength she had to shift into her lyvern and take to the skies, eager to find someplace to rest for a while.
