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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!
It has been quite some time since the Greatwood received so much attention, and longer still since it was responsible for the Festival of Lights. And so Niki, of course, is not going to miss it for the world. He has no lanterns to bring - he never does, having no one he wishes to see again since their departure into Mort's realm - and so he arrives with only himself. Dressed in his customary black, his shirt ill fitting on his thin frame and his heavy coat only succeeding in keeping out most of the chill in the night air, he halts in between two stalls to watch the procession of lanterns being hung.
Leaning more heavily against his crutch since he's forced to stand stationary, the soft, warm light nevertheless brings out the hollows in his cheekbones and the shadows beneath his eyes, though he seems happy enough. He even ends up making his slow way towards a stall selling pieces of candied fruit; not normally a fan of sweet things, he makes an exception for some segments of peach and strawberry, accepting them in a paper bag before moving on.
my body's on the line now; I can't fight this time now I can feel the light shine on my face
sit down now for some ground rules, thank you do you think you can handle that much?
It’s with much relief that the butcher also gets to show up empty handed – because he’d been very quickly trying to put something together with the unfortunate broadcast still lingering in his head and he knew it wouldn’t be up to par in the time he had – so relief when the letter had arrived in regards to their friend.
So, with one hand occupied with the shiny new bladed cane, impeccably dressed warmly for the weather of the woods and with the warmth of Danta’s hand in his back pocket, the butcher’s arm has snaked around Danta’s middle to leech some of the warmth of the other man in turn. “Spooky.” He drawls playfully and offers him a smirk before he has to unwind his arm from around Danta to snag the cup as it’s offered. “I would imagine that the idea of a chance to see a loved one might be enough to raise one’s spirits. Besides, what fun is a festival if everyone is wallowing?” His tone drops so that it lands just between them, before he takes a sip of the cider and hums very contently with the air of caramel mixed into it, handing it back to Danta once he’s done waving toward someone.
That someone being Flora, whom the butcher is also quite relieved to find still very much alive, and as he slips his arm around Danta’s shoulders he offers a wave and a bright, shark toothed grin toward her before his dark gaze drifts toward Jack to incline his head toward him with a touch more masked smile, glad that they both had made it back to the realm of the living. “Shall we find a place to people watch like we did last year?”
Astaroth
i've just come back to life, i'm here, i'm your little ray of sunshine
but am i too late? or hearts to your spades, if i don't suit you? then what do you want from me?
He does have lanterns to bring. Ones that had been just repaired and fixed up, cleaned in preparation for this.
Only Sunjata hadn’t had a chance to go home yet. His trajectory has him leaving Halo, going around the Draig, resulting in the Greatwood being the first stop when he’d spotted the lights and festival chimes from above. So the dragon becomes a bat, flitting through the tops of the trees until he’s close enough to see that it’s the Festival of Lights. And his heart sinks with it, empty handed, feeling worse off than he did when he’d stumbled across the first void infected creature and nearly had a heart attack (again lightning rod, anyone?).
It's why he hasn’t been able to make the full trek back quicker. He feels haunted, like he isn’t sure whether or not the echoes of the void are following him. So he chooses to inspect the festival first, finding nothing out of place where he might be able to relax a touch, the bat drifts from the tree branch and shifts into himself. Shedding the heavy clothes of Halo, the Flood finds himself in a dark sweater and pants, boots greeting the earth beneath them, and a very distinct paleness to his otherwise sunkissed skin.
He doesn’t seek anyone out just yet, though he does end up coming across Nikandr , casting a storm cloud gaze his way before he apologizes for having very nearly stepped in his way. “Sorry about that.” Comes the accented tone, a forced and tired smile, lopsided in the scar that bisects his cheek. His gaze pulls away, looking to the rest of those in attendance briefly, spotting his niece before landing on Flora and finding relief that she was alive, but feeling far less up to par with socializing with anyone at this particular moment.
At least the young man in front of him is someone he doesn’t recognize. Someone that likely wouldn't know enough about him to interrogate him.
so we're not written in the stars, but i'm okay with that. i'm okay with anything
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
to share the space with simple living things, infinitely suffering
"I don't think I've ever seen this festival looking so much like a celebration," Isla admits to Everest as they stroll along the riverbank, her arm linked comfortably with the aviator, relishing the warmth she might be able to leech from him through his coat. With her horns and tail glamoured she might well just be another Accepted wandering through, and the music and smell of spiced wine and fresh pastries is enough to have her senses singing with it.
"Did you want to stop anywhere?" she asks Ever, already subconsciously drifting towards one of those same stalls regardless of whatever his answer may be. Around them she spots a lot of people she does know and some she doesn't, offering a relieved smile to Flora but opting not to say hello in person (she seems as if she might be inundated with conversation at any moment) and a cheerful wave towards Sunjata. It's been a while since she's seen her old friend, and were it not for the festival itself she might have tried to catch a moment to talk, especially with him looking so worse for wear.
fighting off like all creation, the absence of itself
It's a difficult thing for Niki to get out of anyone's way, honestly, and so he automatically falls to a halt when he notices the stranger stepping forward, quietly relieved that he notices in time and that he's not knocked to the ground. Especially considering the height of the man, and he glances up (and up) towards him before having to take a sharp breath in - one that smells like peppermint and petrichor, as it happens, and one that makes his mouth go strangely dry.
"No apology needed," he says, his accent wrapping itself around the words, and he takes a careful step to the side so the man can properly pass. "There is a stall selling coffee, if you are tired. This festival can be a long night for some." He's taken in the pale weariness automatically, the tight expression on the handsome face, wondering vaguely what the skull looks like beneath to give such a beautiful bone structure before catching himself staring.
my body's on the line now; I can't fight this time now I can feel the light shine on my face
Brokkrid nodded to Alys as she passed, assuming that the person that she was with was the person that she had been asked to make a knife for to begin with. She wondered what it must be like, to have someone to go to the festival with, to share a life with. Some deep part of her ached for that kind of commitment, for that community, to belong to someone and have them belong to her. To be a beloved, rather than blow through a town, little more than a tumble-weed crossing the highway that most people traveled.
She looked back to the lantern, and the shadow it cast on the tree she had hung it from, "Mom, if you can hear me, there's a lot you didn't teach me. I want you to know that it's fine, but-" She hesitated, "Damnit, why'd you have to die when I was so young?"
It was a bitter sting that she still felt. She didn't expect an answer from anyone, least of all her mother. Still, there was that Sah that she had met, and she thanked the gods that she had met Alys, and Elizabeth too. And she had met the warden of Halo, almost as if he were sent by the gods to her little shop. With so many things that happened after so much inaction, she felt almost as if she were being pushed toward something.
Leaving Kaiden to their own designs for a bit, long used to the mershark's grouchiness at such large gatherings - or small gatherings, or any gatherings, really - Hadama swam slowly along the Symphony, admiring the many lanterns that lined its shores and the celebratory atmosphere of the Fae. He might not have had a hand in their liberation from the Void, but he could appreciate their sense of relief. He had his own feelings of relief and willingness to relax a little this year, knowing that one particular soul did not need a lantern after all. He raised a hand to Alys and Melita, Sah and Lena as they went about their own travels through the festival, and caught sight of his co-ruler and her partner from a distance, though they seemed understandably disinclined to linger.
It had been some time since Zavien had told him of Soh's survival, but her appearance was not the shock it might have been otherwise. Emerald eyes lit up, reflecting lantern light as the slender Luminary made her way towards him and he pulled himself onto the stony bank to greet her. "Sohalia," he rumbled warmly, settling in beside her. "I am well. It is very good to see you again." He looked to her burden of lanterns, the warmth in his eyes dimming at the manifestation of her own sorrows. "I am sorry for your losses. Do you wish to speak of them?"
Tal arrived with Alys, her hand clasped warmly in his as Boreal ambled along beside Sascha. Two lanterns dangled from his other hand; one for his parents and one for those who had been killed by the Void in the preceding year. He was as yet oblivious to the lantern he was missing, for a friend he had not seen in far too long and who he would not see again this side of Mort's Halls, but for the moment he walked in ignorant bliss beside his partner. The smells of Faer food wafted through the air, their harvest scents tickling his nose and his stomach alike, and he might have swaggered juuuust a little to have had a hand in freeing the Greatwood from the Void's influence so they could celebrate here together.
"It's kinda nice," he greed with Alys's observation. "I mean, it's kinda sad still but... yeah. We haven't had a reason t'celebrate in way too long." A festival for the dead came with all sorts of emotions, but some of them could be genuinely joyful as pain faded and it became easier to remember the good times with lost loved ones. He squeezed his partner's fingers, just glad that most of their losses were distant enough to not cut too deeply, and looked around. "Let's get ours hung an' then maybe get somethin' t'eat? There's a stall back there sellin' hot cider donuts that smelled divine!" He gave Alys a lopsided smile, softly affectionate in spite of the people who might see him. "What about you? Where d'you want t'go after that?"
A hearty laugh escaped as he placed his hand over Lena's. "You know me too well." He grasped their lanterns in his other hand as he followed his nose towards the source of enticing smells. Meanwhile, he tried not to be overwhelmed by the shear amount of information his brain was taking in. Unlike last year, he recognized so many people. Although grief still hung in the air, it felt like a different world, warm with familiar faces.
He gave Hadama a warm smile as they passed. Talyson and Alys arrived together, causing his slower brain to connect the dots on that relationship. Although it stunned him, he threw them both a pleased wave of greeting. Sohalia's presence was also a pleasant surprise. She seemed to be doing much better than last time, mingling amongst the others. He even spotted Melita and Rhi on the edges of his vision. However, some of the biggest shocks came after.
Deimos had his son with him, and it was the first time he'd seen the child, immediately making him crane his neck to spot the boy. He couldn't hide the smile that appeared on his lips as he watched them across the way. However, seeing the man also reminded him of their recent letter exchange just before his eyes found Sunjata in the crowd. Jerking his head, Zavien tried to catch the Warden's gaze just to wordlessly ask, 'Did it work?!'
And was that Flora?! Hadn't the strange voice mentioned killing her?! That was something he couldn't quite wrap his mind around.
Leaning towards Lena, Zavien attempted to reel his brain back into functioning thought as he whispered, "I have so many questions right now." Hoping that food might solve this problem (like it did most), he found them a stall selling hot apple cider and sweet bread rolls full of different fillings.
The festivities didn't reach Thal's heart as much as she wished they would. Despite months of ineffective coping, pain still clung to her heart like fresh barnacles. Maea was still missing - presumably dead at this point - and the bitter guilt lingered, its clutches deep in her soul. It almost made her question whether she had any right to offer a lantern in memory of the pale Ancient, however, the doubt couldn't take hold in the haze of her emotions.
A few faces filtered through the crowd as she walked through: Talyson, Melita, Hadama, Sah, Astaroth, and others that she couldn't recall their names. She didn't acknowledge any of them, preferring to keep only her grief as company in the darkness of her mind. Captains were taught to go down with their ship, but that didn't mean they dragged others down with them.
Although she didn't have anyone to mourn, Elizabeth had always found herself drawn to support others in their time of need. Grief was often one of the strongest emotions, bringing about healthy and unhealthy coping that could easily strain relationships or impact mental health. Despite her own personal inexperience with the subject, she had studied it enough to guide others through the process, validating all
She spied Alys, Talyson, Brokkrid, Amhran, Sah, and Hadama amongst the familiar faces, sending them warm smiles and waves if their gazes met. However, it was Deimos and Evie that she approached, giving Erebos an excited wiggle of her fingers that sparked with lightning. "Hello! It's great to see you all! I hope you're having a good visit." Noting that they were quite popular in the crowd of people, she determined not to linger too long, not wanting to hog their attentions. Elizabeth vowed to leave after getting a smile from the adorable child clinging to the Warden's back.
Elizabeth comes to offer her support, but no lantern.
I will not be another flower, picked for my beauty and left to die.
Not having lanterns of their own just means that the triplets get to have all the fun of the festival without any of the heaviness of grief. Looking to Vesper, she hops lightly on her toes, a mischievous smile on her lips. "You're going to tell us everything, right?" It may be a lot for him to take in, but Nova wants to know each and every piece of gossip that filters through the minds of the festival attendees. Maybe they'll find something interesting to do, like pranks or treasure or blackmail.
Meanwhile, Nova hooks her arm with Calypso's as she scans the crowd for a specific someone with undisguised interest. "Do you see Jack?" Now that she knows of his 'death,' she's intrigued to see how he's doing. Does he look undead? Is he nicer now? Should she have brought a lantern for him? The thoughts may linger on the macabre, but Nova wonders them with a light skip and a hum devoid of any concern for the matter. Whatever they may discover, she was here for good food and drama.
Nova
I will be wild, difficult to find, and impossible to forget.
Not as practiced yet in blocking out the minds of those around him, Vesper is a good deal more rigid than normal as he trails behind his sisters. "Mmm?" Having bitten through the toothpick between his teeth, the demigod sighs as he tosses it into the grass and hunts in his pocket for another.
"He ain't nicer now, I can promise you that." Vesper mutters under his breath, blinking hard to try and clear his thoughts before focusing in on the opalescent explosion of his sister's mind; it was overwhelming but familiar, and as he honed in on Nova's particular brand of chaos and the gilded cunning on Caly's thoughts, he felt himself relax. "Mostly folks are surprised to see those two alive." He adds, nodding toward Jack and Flora. "There are even a few lanterns for 'em."
Tell the preacher not to pray, there's no angels where I'll go
Only pieces that are broken scattered dreams across the floor
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
☆ has a pale star tattoo beneath his left eye, and freckle-sized constellations move across his skin
☽ hair changes from bleached blonde to brown
☆ telepathic: Sunlit Shadows | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 60ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
"It certainly does seem that way." Everest agrees. That might not have been the case if Flora and Jack had remained dead, but as this was a festival for those who hadn't had the luxury of being pulled back from Mort's realm, their murders didn't seem to put too big of a damper on things. Not that Ever could tell, anyway.
Dressed in a rich brown sweater which Isla had jokingly said was made of boyfriend material, the aviator hugged the Remedy close as they strolled, before nodding toward one of the stands selling spiked mulled cider. "The Fae used to make this all the time when Mateo and I were young. Of course, we were never allowed any back then." He murmurs under his breath, a sly smile colouring his words as he orders two glasses. Glancing over Isla's shoulder to see who she was waving to, Ever raises a glass in a friendly hello toward Sunjata before offering the drink to Isla.
"I have not been back here since I was young." Glancing around, the Greatwood was as unfamiliar as it wasn't, though whatever unease the surroundings caused him vanished as his blue gaze drifted back toward Isla, who had an immediate smile blooming on his lips.
even if i had to lose you to know you, i'd still be that temporary phase that you grow through
