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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 ship is safe in harbor but that's not what ships are for
Maybe one day compassion would win over all the vehemence and violence. But try as she might, it wasn’t going to be this moment, and the Caretaker had no time at all to grasp the child before she flung the slingshot, and ended up notched and gnarled in the gourd’s vines.
Swallowing down any other emotion, the Attuned braced herself for careful capabilities. No shift she had would do much good here, no she opted for a command of release through the Attuned bombardments; just in case that could help.
Before getting herself underneath the vines, readying her frame for the inevitable, either cut vines from Koa’s chakram, or unfurled from her own measures, the little one would be sent downwards, and her arms would be ready. “Go ahead!” she hollered back, gaining the stance she’d learned from Zavien, and bracing for impact.
--
Lena tries to command the gourd to release the little girl, and stands underneath the vine to grab her regardless.
- Can speak to rare creatures/companions/regular animals
The child's scream is like something out of a nightmare, ripping any fun from the Dragoon's mind. He steps forward, but the little girl is whipped back with blinding speed. A near-curse escapes him as Sol squawks in alarm for the innocent victim. At least Koa seems to keep his cool, instructing him to keep distracting the gourd. It's something, and he clings to the semblance of a plan. "Copy!"
An idea comes to mind, and Zavien quickly activates his new shield by brushing a finger over the gold dragon bracelet. It expands into a round barrier of bright light on his sword arm, allowing him to keep banging his sword against the garbage lid. With any luck, the bright beacon of light and annoying sounds will be enough to draw its attention again. Sol adds to it by performing twists and dives in the sunlight, trying to use his scales and fire in tandem with Pipsqueak.
Zavien uses his shield as a beacon of light while still banging his sword against the trash lid. Sol continues his aerial maneuvers.
Type: Light | Style: Defensive | Level: Basic
Dragon Shield Bracelet | A shield contained within a golden bracelet shaped with a dragon's head clasp. Blocks magical damage at a Basic level. May be used 1x per thread.
A flower cannot blossom without sunshine, and man cannot live without love.
you can turn off the sun, but I'm still gonna shine
Time to see how well we work together, team.
This time, Zavien's tactics of distraction are far more effective. Blinded by the light from the shield and dragon pair, the possessed gourd growls its frustration, turning glowing eyes to the Dragoon. Water is shot out, but bounces harmlessly off the trash can shield combo. The distraction means its grasp on the child is loosened; between Lena's coaxing and the girl's biting, it quickly drops its prey. With another shriek the child falls, landing into Lena's open arms - and sending them both sprawling onto the ground. At least they're safe.
Unfortunately, all the movement means Koa's throw goes wide. Snarling his own frustration as the chakram returns to his hand, the young man takes quick inventory of the scene. "Lena, get out of its range. Zav, dragons, keep it on you. I'm going to shock it!" Trusting his friends to accomplish their tasks, Koa waits only a few seconds before hurting the chakram again - this time imbued with electric energy, ready to smoke this gourd.
Good job, you rescued the kiddo! Now get out of the way while Koa tries to electrocute it!
a ship is safe in harbor but that's not what ships are for
Lena’s full attention had been on the vines and the girl, rather than the ongoing distractions nearby. Which was good – because no sooner had she caught the child, then they were both sprawled on the ground and still in a dangerous zone. Taking no regard for any marred semblances on her own person, she shook off the numbing sensations in her hands and wrists.
She could hear Koa’s command over the uproar though, and carefully removed herself from the ground, scooped up the youth, not bothering to carry her, but wrap her arm around her shoulders, steering while defending and guarding. “Let’s go over here,” she murmured, soothingly, gently, opting to take her, and anyone else nearby, towards the sidelines. That way Koa and Zavien could do their work.
--
Lena steers herself and the little girl out of range.
The blast of water against his makeshift shield forces him to pause for a moment, bracing as water sprinkles harmlessly down into his hair. He grunts from the impact, but finds solace in the fact that his methods for distraction have worked. When the girl is released from the clutches of the gourd's vines and into Lena's arms, Zavien takes a deep breath of relief, proud of the teamwork.
Acknowledging Koa's command with another "Copy that!", he makes sure to guide the gourd's attentions away from the retreating duo or the impending attack. Sol dips down, throwing more fire to direct it towards the shields and loud banging of metal. Considering how his own head is starting to hurt from the noise, he can't imagine how the others must be doing.
Zavien and Sol keep distracting the gourd!
A flower cannot blossom without sunshine, and man cannot live without love.
you can turn off the sun, but I'm still gonna shine
Distractions. Rescue. The pieces come into place, and Koa lights the figurative match with an electric shock on the chakram. "Throwing!" he cries before doing just that, hurling the gleaming, electric metal gourd-ward. It hits with a bright burst of electric shock, metal lodging into pumpkin flesh, water conducting things throughout the fountain. There's also fire from the dragon pair, really sealing the deal. It's beautiful chaos punctuated by the delicious smell of roasting vegetable. Lena and the child manage to get clear, though not without great protest from the kiddo, who wants to get back into the fight.
Electrocuted, slashed, and powerfully singed, the possessed gourd hovers above its perch. It gives a final, horrendous screech---
---and throws itself at Zavien, smashing into his shield and body in a spray of seeds and coins and pumpkin guts.
"Holy shit." A little breathless, a little awed, Koa holsters the chakram before jogging over to his friends. "Lena, you good?" Reassured, he turns his attention to Zavien, face contorting as he tries to keep his laughter contained. "Zav, you, uh... you got a little something... there." He gestures at the man at large, copper eyes glittering with unshed mirth.
a ship is safe in harbor but that's not what ships are for
The Caretaker only turned around to glance over shoulder, watching and witnessing the unfortunate demise of the pumpkin. But in the end, perhaps that was all that could be done. Once she’d healed both of them up, she sent the youth on her way (unfortunately uncertain if anything had been learned in all the crossfire and hurtling of vines), before joining the rest of the gourd squad – barely containing the muffled laughter after gazing upon Zavien in all his gutted glory. “I’m okay,” by way of reassurance, shaking her head at her fellow Dragoons. Content that they were safe, she figured it was appropriate for light teasing. “It looks good on you. All the rage this season.”
The ultimate demise of the gourd is quite a spectacle to behold, electricity and fire sparking across the plaza in a cacophony of screeches and chaos. However, perhaps the most shocking part is the blast of debris and pumpkin innards that slams into his shields. Had he not been certain the gourd was no longer a threat, Zavien wouldn't have dropped his arms in silent resignation. As such, he found himself standing in a puddle of Deja vu, sticky and stinky all over again.
When Koa comes by with unhelpful comments, he glances around frantically as if he [i]doesn't[i] feel the guts dripping down the front of his shirt, "What?! When did that happen?" Chuckling, he throws his garbage lid back on the can, closing his shield and sheathing his sword. As he moves, he tries not to spread the mess too much. "Good job finishing off the gourd. Although I might have some tips for next time." Like how to keep your allies clean.
Lena steps up next to him and Zavien has to laugh at the compliment, sure he looks somewhere between a drowned rat and a child's art project. He offers out a hand full of seeds and gourd strings. "Oh really? You want some? I'm sure it'll look great on you too." Laughing lightly, he finds that his uniform is much less stiff than before.
A flower cannot blossom without sunshine, and man cannot live without love.
you can turn off the sun, but I'm still gonna shine
"Oh yeah? Please, enlighten me," Koa laughs, reaching out to bump Zavien's shoulder before deciding better of it. Instead he steps back, giving Lena space to inspect her boyfriend. He finds himself looking away as they joke, a fond smile on his face as their flirtation goes on.
The face of a girl catches his eye - bold, defiant, chin jutting out. Koa approaches her and kneels down, extending a hand to shake. "Thanks for your help, soldier," he says with playful seriousness. "Come by the barracks one of these days. We'll get your training started." The girl nods, looking delighted, before scurrying away.
Civilians rescued, pumpkin slain, Koa returns to his team. "So this has been eventful," he chuckles, raising a brow and gesturing to the surroundings at large. "Do we want to try and hit another one today? Or help with clean up here?"
a ship is safe in harbor but that's not what ships are for
Tiptoeing away from the promise of gourd strings, pulp, and gooey seeds, the Caretaker laughed, light and airy despite the recent ongoings. “No, thank you. I’m all set.” And though the child was safe, she couldn’t help but hope more wouldn’t be engaged in the thought of might and fight all the time –
But that was for another day, she supposed. It didn’t mean she’d stop trying spreading her own benevolence, repose, and good will though.
Decisions needed to be made however, and she was fine with either – perhaps with more information. “I wouldn’t mind cleaning up here,” gods knew there’d been enough of a mess and a fallen possessed gourd’s aftermath – at least in the angst of their own people – to deal with. “Were the other reports just as bad?” Maybe that would help them decide.
Raising his hands in a shrug to Koa, he grins widely. "Just some tips about minimizing messes." Perhaps it's a selfish piece of advice, but looking around the plaza now plastered in orange guts, Zavien gets the feeling that it might be needed.
Content to let Lena escape sharing his burden, he begins wiping the mess off his hands and once-pristine uniform. "Suit yourself." He winks her way again while he pulls the outer jacket off to see if that might help. It does remove about 50% of the guts, but the smell seems to have seeped into his skin and hair. "Cleaning up might be a good idea. We don't want to be seen as the kind of people that leave things messier than when we arrived." He gets the sense that Mr. Angelico might already feel that way. Nodding his head side to side, he adds, "However, if there are larger threats to address, I think we should head there before we come back to clean."
A flower cannot blossom without sunshine, and man cannot live without love.
you can turn off the sun, but I'm still gonna shine
"Let's see..." Pulling his notebook from his pocket, Koa checks on the remaining reports. "We've got something that may or may not be a gourd nibbling toes in the Eye, and then some "ghostly activity" - he air-quotes - "in the Temple. So nothing too emergent, I'd say." Glancing back at Zavien, he raises a brow. "Besides - I don't think anyone will want you addressing their concerns until after a shower," Koa drawls, wrinkling his nose at the charred pumpkin disaster that is his fellow Dragoon.
The decision made, Koa nods his head. "Lena, should we get in on this clean up action while this one" - he juts a thumb at Zavien - "washes off? Can't take him anywhere, can we?" Grinning cheerfully, he sets off toward where a group of civilians has already assembled cleaning supplies, grabbing a large brush and setting to sweeping up pumpkin guts after Pip dries them out with flaming breath.
a ship is safe in harbor but that's not what ships are for
Lena listened to the listed notions, eyes widening more and more as the circumstances became clearer. “I think our citizens could likely survive without our intervention there,” she hummed, stifling a round of laughter at the thought of such threats as ‘toe nibbling’ – recalling the hat shopkeeper’s reactions to things.
Nodding and giving a grin in Zavien’s direction, she sidled away before he had the opportunity to present either of them with further pulp, guts, and seeds in their close proximity. The fellow Stormbreakers had already begun to assemble in working adornments, and the Caretaker snagged at a spare brush as well, intending to cast the rough bristles across stone and work off the dried portions.
Mittens took it upon itself to eat some…so, that was helpful, she supposed.
At least the other events didn't sound urgent, and Zavien nods his head along with the others. If 'toe nibbling' is the most of their problems, shoes should easily fix that problem. Playfully offended that they think it's his fault that he's covered in grime, Zavien places a hand to his chest, gasping. "I think people would quite enjoy the earthy fall scent." However, he can't keep a straight face, laughing as he makes his way to a nearby hose.
It takes barely a turn of the knob to send water shooting forcefully from the end. It's cold from the Leafchange weather, but he doesn't hesitate to direct it over his head, clenching his teeth through a smile. Once he's relatively clear of gourd guts and smelling more like a damp rug, Zavien begins rinsing the cobblestones, letting the spray get close enough for mist to cover Lena and Koa. Sol finds it particularly amusing, diving in to cover his golden scales in a sheen of water droplets.
Zavien shares his hose shower.
A flower cannot blossom without sunshine, and man cannot live without love.
