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!
Humming a MWAH! in response to her brother's kiss, the queen gave the botanist her full attention ready to more or less go along with whatever he had planned. Clearly he was the more creative out of the two of them (three of them even, sorry Ronin), and given that this was Torchline, just about anything would go in terms of granting artistic license.
"Okay, does everyone have that?" Raising her eyebrows, Flora gestures for those assembled who had earth magic to step forward and aid the artists in seeing their vision come to life. What resulted was a wide splash of water lifting up from the fountain with a mermaid's tail coiling out of the wave. She held a fan of seaweed over her breasts, but of course they could be viewed from the side for all those inclined. Her eyes sparkled with different coloured stones as did the rings on her fingers and a few of her scales.
"Damn." Raising her eyebrows, Flora grins at her brother before nodding her head toward the next fountain. "Think you can top it?"
Let's go to fountain 2! Ronin needs to finish up the foundation and then Mateo, what's this one gonna look like?
What a shame, didn't want to be the one that got away
Everyone does have that, Ronin included, and whilst thank you very much, Flora, he's an artist, the Knight does of course defer to his son to allow him to stretch his creative wings with the fountain's design. A wise move, as it happens, because it ends up looking beautiful, and Ronin tilts his head with a smile as the finishing touches are put in place.
"I'll meet you both out at the second one," he tells Flora and Mateo with a gentle nod. Loading the baskets of stones onto another cart, the Knight hustles to get them to the second fountain, where his projection is still working dilligently on the foundation. By the time his children join him, that should hopefully be in place and they'll be able to begin decorating, however it might look.
Should'a seen what I wore I had a cane and a party hat
With blue eyes glittering with delight to see his vision come to life, Mateo claps his hands together and watches as the water dances and causes the shining stones to shimmer and cast halos of light across the fountain. "I love it," he announces, only for Flora to offer him a challenge which has him promptly forgetting about everything he's just done. "Assolutamente," he chimes, beckoning her and the rest of the group along to the next fountain.
"I was thinking with this one we could try a... gods, how do you call it? A hippocampus? The water horse," he suggests, grinning back to the artists. "Or maybe a big kraken? Or... or... no, let us stick with the horse." There will be other fountains and other opportunities for tentacles. There always are.
I was the king of this hologram where there's no such thing as getting out of hand
"Oooh, stunning." Olivia Cooke Flora agrees, and while she'd be absolutely fine with tentacles everywhere, it's probably wise to have the fountains that are going to be the most accessible be vaguely less contentious.
Or not, she really doesn't care, it's just stone.
"We could do a kraken and a big leviathan intertwined and call it the lovers." She suggests, waggling her eyebrows. Maybe nearer to where the Northaven was usually moored.
Stepping back from Ronin's duplicate, those Torchers with water and earth magic had gotten their portion of the fountain prepped such that water happily blurbled up into the sands just waiting to go somewhere. "Well, you heard the man." The queen says, waving her hand towards Mateo before letting the botanist and his group once again dictate the where and how of their design.
Quickly a massive hippocampus came into life: the spray of the water jetted out from its tail as its forelegs thrashed up into the sky, it's head tossed back and its deep sea-blue eyes glistening in the sun.
On and on they went until there were only a handful of fountains left to create (three, if my math is right). "Okay, now what Signor artista?" Flora asked, though it came out sig-nora arteesta.
Time skip!
Three fountains left, what shall this one be Mateo?
Ronin, keep laying the foundations!
What a shame, didn't want to be the one that got away
"I second that idea," Ronin calls from his place setting stone firmly along the fountain's edge, his grin bright in the sun shining overhead. Because of course he'd endorse the lovers being close to where he and Remi call home, especially if the depiction shows two monsters in love an epic clash between a leviathan and a kraken.
It isn't his call to make though, of course, and so his focus soon turns back to his more manual task. And whilst sweat glistens on his brow and drips down the back of his neck by the time they are done with fountain 2, the Knight is far from being out of steam. He ploughs onwards, each version hauling another cart, until they reach the allocated destination and begins his work anew.
Should'a seen what I wore I had a cane and a party hat
Awed by the hippocampus and the majesty of its creation, Mateo is clearly enamored by the work they are doing, and he finishes up with the placement of a few vine-like seedlings that will propagate and spread such that they will look like the mane of the hippocampus once they mature. Gathering together more suitable plants (and producing no small number of specimens from his bag of holding), he trails after Flora to the next destination.
"This one is a little smaller. More intimate," he says, nudging his sister and gesturing at the drinking fountain they're creating. "So I think we ought to reflect that. Let us create a beautiful maiden whose hands we can drink out of?" Bouncing his eyebrows at the gathered artists as if to see if they agree, the botanist will nonetheless begin his floral arrangements (flowers of bright blue and yellow) while they proceed.
I was the king of this hologram where there's no such thing as getting out of hand
Shooting Ronin a look of of course you do, Flora nevertheless thinks the idea is rather charming and would likely be well received by Torchline if only because of how much both the Knight and the Bastion had done to keep their little island safe over the years.
"Ooh, I love that idea." The queen purrs, nodding toward the earth and water mages as Ronin and Co set the various blocks into place. Curls of golden flowers dripped down from the face of a young woman, whose blue eyes were nearly closed such that they could really only be seen by someone whose mouth was at her lips. Her smile was a touch secretive and coy, her curvaceous body hidden behind a swath of what would appear to be green silk once Mateo's plants began to properly take root.
"Absolutely beautiful, Mateo." Finding herself quite parched, Flora lowered her lips to the pool of water held between the maiden's hands, taking a long sip that seemed to do more than simply parch her thirst.
"Okay, what now?"
What a shame, didn't want to be the one that got away
Flora isn't the only one feeling parched, and Ronin waits happily in line to take a drink from the maiden's hands, followed by many of the other Torchers; clearly the fountains would do their work and then some once Longheat arrived. Using some of the water to wet his hair and the back of his neck, as well as to wash his hands and face, the Knight seems more than refreshed enough to begin in their next spot in Haulani.
A larger fountain seems to be the general idea, and so whilst Flora and Mateo make their arrangements, Ronin and his hard workers start to set the foundations, smoothing out the stone and interlocking their brickwork where it seems as though it needs some extra support. If nothing else, he can add fountain building to his resume at the end of all of this.
Should'a seen what I wore I had a cane and a party hat
Maybe Mateo kisses the maiden's fingertips as he takes a drink, maybe he doesn't. It's nobody's business but his own, but he's pleased as punch as he stands back beside his sister, offering her a warm and dimpled smile. "Thank you for inviting me to come and do this with you," he says, not knowing, of course, that his invitation had been largely based on spite. He's having a good time regardless, at least.
"I think this one we should keep the decoration minimal, but create the fountain in the shape of a canal boat," he suggests. They are quite close to one of the many canals that stream through the city and maybe I'm thinking of that one at the bottom of the Spanish Steps too. "I will put flowers in the boat, and we can make it look as if there is a shipment of jewels inside also?"
I was the king of this hologram where there's no such thing as getting out of hand
"Of course." Nudging her hip against Mateo's before flashing him a bright smile, Flora's lips twist into a pretty pout. "You should come down more often, or even move here." She adds with a not-so-subtle widening of her eyes. Especially with everything happening in Stormbreak with Dahlia and with Everest on her sands likely moreso than he was in the floating city, Flora couldn't really see what reason the botanist had for staying up there all alone. (This was where their traumas differed, you understand).
I fuckin' knew you were "Ooh, I love that. We could even put some of the more shimmery stones down at the bottom so it looks like the stars in the actual canals." Flora suggests, though the tone of her voice very much communications that this idea will require Mateo's approval first.
"Alright! Maybe three sources of water, then?" She calls out, nodding at the various mages. One at each end, and one in the centre pressed against the bottom of the boat so that it always looks like it's bobbing in the water.
Ronin, we're going to need sturdier foundations for a bigger fountain!
Mateo, oversee the implementation of the various sources of water and then start decorating the inside of the boat!
What a shame, didn't want to be the one that got away
Knowing better than to get involved with the move-to Torchline nO-U conversation that is undoubtedly about to take place, Ronin keeps his head down and proceeds with the implementation of the canal-fountain. He's already grabbing some smooth and sturdy pieces of stone from the rapidly emptying carts, figuring they will suit the foundations and the shape of the boat Mateo has in mind.
And whilst he's not in charge of the creative elements today, he's able to lend strength to brace against the rock while it sets, to hold things aloft and to test the foundations for leaks and weak points. Once he's satisfied, it's with perhaps just a tiny hint of fatigue that he takes a break to lean against the side of one of Haulani's shops in the shade, waiting for them to be done.
Should'a seen what I wore I had a cane and a party hat
"That is a lovely idea," Mateo says with obvious approval, both for the shimmering stones in the bottom of the fountain and the three sources of water. Whilst the earth and water mages get to work, he selects a series of pearlescent stones to shine at the fountain's floor, putting them aside until the water is flowing appropriately.
In the meantime, he sets the more creative Torchers on the bejewelled interior of the canal boats, where the more vibrant stones - crimson and violet and bright emerald - will undoubtedly be of use. Mateo chooses paler flowers to spill over the side of the boat as a contrast, cascades of whites and pinks flowing and almost trailing in the water. "What do you think?" he asks Flora.
"I saved the last stones for our lovers fountain." Which will only be small, he thinks, based on the amount of rock left, but the decorations will be midnight and sapphire and silver, which he's sure will be eyecatching enough.
I was the king of this hologram where there's no such thing as getting out of hand
"Ugh you're so good at this." Flora purrs approvingly, and while it hasn't escaped her notice that her brother has ignored her suggestion of moving to Torchline, she opts to bother him about it later once they've taken their shoes off and satisfied their thirst with something stronger than just water.
"Last one!" The queen calls out enthusiastically, hoping to rally everyone for just another hour or so more. "And then free drinks at the Hanged Man!" Though her bribe helps, everyone is still understandably slow moving such that this fountain will take longer than the others, but Flora doubts if anyone will really mind.
"You know, it wouldn't surprise me if this isn't even the first fountain someone has made of you." Flora chuckles to Ronin as he lays the foundations for their final installation, before glancing over her shoulder at Mateo for him to step in once the Knight had finished.
Last one!
What a shame, didn't want to be the one that got away
The call of last one is enough to have Ronin rallying, at least, and with another welcome sip of water from this new fountain (and a beautiful floral fragrance pouring from it as well thanks to Mateo), he's happily on his way. There's only one cart left with materials, and so the Knight is able to dismiss his projection at last and consider it a job well done for Ronin #2.
Once they arrive at their final fountain - a small-ish one, but he imagines that will just make it more intimate, according to Mateo, Ronin grins as he glances over his shoulder, able to see the Northaven from here as he works. "This might be the first one where I'm a sea serpent," he offers to Flora with a grin. "So it's just as special."
