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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!
Lena briefly wondered if this was how everyone felt when she began to wax poetical on taking care of animals or plants: incredibly overwhelmed. If so, she was going to begin meandering through the complexities with more encouraging endeavors, because she’d had no idea on how many structures she’d been missing here, in the most simplistic of forms.
But she’d asked for this, and was doing her best to absorb the information. She steadied herself with another breath, striving to take everything in. Nodding as Zavien provided the necessary context for the sudden change in movements, she altered her stance again, muscles beginning to protest every step of the way. Biting at her lip, her concentration honed in on the actions, though it was clear none of them were natural; each motion was a lesson in and of itself, and she tried to mirror his until she could tap at his staff again, grasp slightly looser on the weaponry, but it seemed to do the trick.
The tap was a little louder this time, and Zavien gave her an approving look. "Better." Pausing for a moment, he let her take in the stance before adding, "You'll notice we're in a similar position to how we started, so we're just going to repeat the steps. Repetition is the best practice for learning forms."
To support his words, Zavien moved into the first step again, placing his back foot forward and reaching out to offer the top of his staff for her to hit against. He had high hopes that the second time around would be better than the first.
I learned that in suffering, we find the true measure of our strength.
Better might not have been much to anyone else, but it was certainly significant to Lena. Her eyes widened in surprise again, before trying to register everything else simultaneously; wondering if she should take pride in the efforts or simply forge on. She chose the latter, but kept the former close to her chest, recognizing the repetition of patterns from earlier.
At the very least, that gave her a little more confidence too. “Oh, okay. Do you guys just do the same things all the time too?” She could understand how that would build up into muscle memory, just like how she would read over descriptions and details of plants and animals at some points; refreshers for the mind.
Noticing the similar factions, she went back to what she’d done in previous iterations; altering her stance so it naturally strived to avoid the incoming tap; and then moving so that she might deliver one of her own – light, but still there just the same.
Tapping his staff against hers, Zavien considered her question. "Sometimes. Building muscle memory is important, but you can only practice the same skill so many times before you aren't 'improving' anymore." He'd known plenty of people who grew complacent, wasting their talent by never challenging themselves. Shrugging his shoulders, he stepped into the next movement. "You have to add in more elements: move faster, add more steps, use them against someone. Eventually, the actions become instinctual and they can be incorporated into spars and battles."
Keeping the pace slow, he guided Lena into the next position of their spar/dance, offering his staff for another strike. "I use the same warmup before each training session. It reminds my body of the movements and keeps my fighting rooted in the fundamentals." Without the basics, fighting became sloppy and chaotic, leaving room for errors. Zavien prided himself on his natural talent, but much of it had been hours of painstaking training. "I didn't get to that point in one training session." He gave her a wide smile, encouraging her to continue practicing despite how awkward it might feel now.
I learned that in suffering, we find the true measure of our strength.
“That makes sense,” she nodded, placing more of the comprehension into her mind. Sparring seemed to be much like studying in some regards; but if it was always the same routines and patterns, the laxity grew. Without something new, or a more challenging endeavor, they didn’t grow as soldiers. And she could imagine that didn’t help when fighting, practicing, or defending.
She went through several other movements; the motions slightly more fluid, with only a few entanglements of her own limbs together. She’d tap against his staff and then switch directions, thinking it’d be optimal to practice a kind of flight mode that she found comforting and compelling. “What do you do for warmups?” She eventually asked, once she could funnel her concentration into speaking rather than where to place her hand on the armament.
Satisfied that Lena was starting to understand better, Zavien kept things moving as they talked. "It's a combination of forms from over the years. I use my sword like a choreographed dance, similar to what we're doing now. It usually takes about an hour." It was much longer than most of the others spent on their warmups, but the habit had formed after years of training alone. If he didn't break a sweat before sparring, he obviously hadn't done enough to bring up his body heat or loosen his muscles. Smiling, he moved into the next step of their shared dance of staffs. "Maybe I'll show you some day."
Their weapons smacked together again as he continued to assess the Caretaker's movements and positioning. He nodded approvingly, granting her a familiar supporting smile. "You're really getting the hang of things. How are you feeling about it?" Because as much as she may look more confident, it also mattered whether she felt more assured in the process.
I learned that in suffering, we find the true measure of our strength.
She was bound to be surprised and wholly out of her elemental multiple times today – especially as he designated warmups could take around an hour. Some days she barely had that throughout her timeframe in the Celestine, and she gently let out of a long breath, scarcely noticing she’d held it. She smiled at the notion that he could show her, but gods knew she wouldn’t be able to replicate any of it.
“I feel…okay,” was the only designation she could grant. “Like I’m getting a hang of the basics?” And probably bare minimum at the most. Uncertain if it was true or not; but much more comfortable in the movements. If she thought of it as graceful manueverings, rather than dastardly wakes and seditious schemes, as defenses over anything else, than it was an easier time in her head.
And from there, they could keep waging on, until at last she was certain her muscles weren’t going to handle anymore.
