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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!
Aside from visiting the Greatwood for the Festival of Lights, Astaroth has not spent much time here, even in the previous centuries he’d wandered. Parts of it may have bordered on the forests that he’d traversed way back when, but this? The crimson river he’s stumbled across?
It’s beautiful.
His grin is wide, vibrant as he takes in the scene before him, wishing Danta were here to see it as well (though something tells him the Maverick likely had seen this before). And to think all he was doing was wandering before he went to truly find the Village.
For now, though, the butcher in all of his regal, impeccable attire forgoes ensuring they remain clean when he steps forward toward the river, dropping down to a knee and leaving his cane flat on the ground. Fingers outstretch toward the river, dipping two fingers into the river and watching as they come away stained.
“How ethereal.” Comes the accented rumble of bewilderment and awe, tail flicking in pure dark delight.
It doesn't happen often in the Greatwood, especially not during Deepfrost of all seasons, but it isn't unheard of for the woods to continually loop him in different directions. So far his attempts to get to the Sidhe Village to organise some firewood to be delivered to his home have ended up with him wandering the banks of the Stone Symphony and trying to navigate Ludo's Woods. He'd expected the trees to be tired of their games by now; alas, he steps out this time not into the village, but the Crimson Cataract instead.
If he's irritated by this it doesn't show on his face, though his expression is half covered by the chunky scarf looped around his nose and mouth, cheeks rosy beneath it from the cold. He pauses to lean against his cane and catch his breath, gloved hand gripping it tightly, when he notices another person in his midst. Not usually one to interrupt a stranger's musings - he's too polite and introverted for that, as a rule - Niki nevertheless has been wandering for quite some time.
And so, clearing his throat and crunching through the snow towards the dark haired man crouched by the banks of the Cataract, he calls out. "Hello? I do not suppose you have been able to spy the Sidhe Village through any of the trails leading out of here? The woods have been playing with me this afternoon."
stay your pretty eyes on course keep the memories of who i was before
Having expected to be alone during this almost spiritual moment of reverie, the butcher hears the approach of the stranger moments before the voice calls out to him, immediately shattering any quiet contemplation he may have wanted to indulge in. Irritation is only seen in the flick of his tail when he does hear the young man’s voice. Drawing up from the cataract, the butcher straightens and maneuvers to stand, plucking the threaded cane up from where it’s been abandoned beside him amongst the snow.
Brushing off the snow that does cling to the metal, the butcher flicks some of the red lichen that clings to his fingers as well before his dark gaze appraises the stranger with his traditional, shark toothed smile. “You happen to be in luck, my dear. I was intending on returning that way when I stumbled upon this.” His hand gestures to the cataract around them before he begins to drift closer to the stranger. “Though, what is to say that we won’t both be lost, if you accompany me and they harbor a vendetta against you today?” Playfully said, the butcher stops when he stands in front of Niki, sharp teeth still in that grin, as if not worried for a second about getting lost in the woods with or without the abandoned, leaning heavily on his own cane in front of him.
He is getting cold, but at least he can conjure fire now rather than needing a fire starter. That’s a boon.
Not having realised he'd interrupted the man in some kind of spiritual moment - and he's never met an Ancient before, such that he has no idea of the nuance that lives within the flick of a tail - Niki carefully manoeuvres his way close enough that they might not have to call to each other to properly speak. And as the stranger straightens up he has to lift his head slightly to meet his gaze (everyone he has met lately has been so tall), offering a polite if not slightly chilly smile in response to one adorned in very sharp teeth.
"Apologies to interrupt you, by the way," he adds belatedly, having been too cold and too glad to see someone else to have considered an excuse me. "Oh-- well, I do not want you to be lost as well," he says; he doesn't know if the man is joking, but for someone who has grown up in these woods, he knows very well that they might also take umbridge with the Ancient if he accompanies Niki on the way through their midst. Glancing past him, briefly, to the crimson lichen in the water, he nods towards it. "A curious phenomenon, no?"
stay your pretty eyes on course keep the memories of who i was before
Dark eyes meet Niki’s as they come face to face with one another, mirrors only in the sense of the cane they use (both weapons, ironically, though Asta’s packs quite the punch). “It is alright, darling.” He says swiftly, irritation flitting away in favor for taking these few moments the young man speaks to simply study him. The high cheekbones, a gaunt sort of sickly appearance. Nothing the butcher judges, of course, but this far out in the woods he could get away with a snack.
And it’s been so long since he’s had someonething fresh. But given the younger man’s appearance, there is not much on the proverbial plate that the butcher deems worth his while. So, he settles with a slight lean to look back toward the crimson cataract as it paves a red, bloody streak through the white of the snow. “It is.” He begins, before he glances back toward Niki and lets a flicker of flame part from his fingers and float through the air to settle in against his cheeks and through his hair and horns, crafting a warm halo to keep him that much warmer. “I will have to pay it a visit when it is not Deepfrost. Shall we seek out the Village, then?” He hums, gesturing toward the path he was intending to take with the foot of his metal bladed threaded cane.
Asta's cane probably packs a punch both on its own merit and when considering the man swinging it, let's be honest. Niki, on the other hand, would be out of breath from lifting his crutch as a weapon, and he's got the added downside of actually needing it to walk. Anyway.
Never having been called darling in his life (he doesn't think), his brow does furrow ever so slightly, and whilst he's absolutely used to being scrutinised by the people he meets, however subtly it might be at times, he doesn't think he's ever been appraised quite so much like a piece of meat. Gently clearing his throat as if to disrupt the unease that settles over him, he drags his gaze away from the cataract and back to the Ancient.
"I mean - are you sure? The woods really can hold a grudge, and I would not want you to spend more time than necessary trying to reach the village." Case in point, it's been well over an hour for Niki already, and he's feeling the cold right into his bones by now. The mote of fire that drifts around the other man is incredibly clever, on that note, and he watches with open interest as the halo weaves its way through Asta's hair and horns.
stay your pretty eyes on course keep the memories of who i was before
“I was attempting to be witty.” He says with his sharp smile slanting slightly and apologetically. “I do not mind getting lost in the woods if that is what it takes.” He’d survived in woods just like these for long enough forever ago anyway. So he lets the flame settle in flicks of fire against the fire obsidian of his tined horns.
It occurs to him then that the gaunt man might also be cold, if he’s been out in the snow for as long as he has. And as a boon of his additional generosity, he swaps the cane to his free hand and sparks a ball of fire in his hand to radiate heat toward the young man as he begins to walk, ensuring his long strides politely keep pace with the shorter man’s.
The smile softens, though it is still there minimally, hiding away the sharp teeth for the moment. “Perhaps my being here will allow the woods to take pity.” Perhaps Niki would get this joke, now that he’d announced his last one had been as well.
"Ah," says Niki with an apologetic smile of his own. "I am usually sharper than this. Evidently the season has gotten to me this afternoon." The season being the ice shimmering in the bare branches of the trees and the thick blanket of snow on the ground. Even where there is a lot of foot traffic it only serves to tamp the snow into something treacherous, and so in all honesty, he isn't sad for the company.
And while others might try to push themselves to keep up with the pace of those they walk with, Niki learned a long time ago where his limits are and how fragile they can be, such that he does little more than offer a grateful nod as Asta slows to his speed. The addition of the ball of fire earns an even more earnest smile. "Thank you," he says, the flush of heat drawing some of the discomfort out of his posture. "And perhaps you are right. I take you do not live in the Greatwood?"
Not many people do, even with the region opening up again after the void had cleared. "I am Niki, by the way."
stay your pretty eyes on course keep the memories of who i was before
“That is quite alright.” He hums softly, lips quirking into slightly more of a smile, hardly worried if his joke had not landed previously. There’s always an attempt for another. And as such, the butcher’s pace slows and he meets the abandoned’s pace with ease, offering flame to warm the both of them additionally while he continues to keep the halo flitting through his hair.
Humming a soft note of “you’re welcome, darling,” the butcher focuses on the path before them, ensuring that they stray away from the path too trodden to be treacherous. He’d lived in Halo a long enough time to know the tricks with traversing the pale landscape, even if he preferred not to on most occasions. “I do not, no. I am from the Hollowed Grounds.” He explains, before he glances back over toward Niki with that shark toothed smile on display again.
“I am Astaroth, though many call me Asta. It is a pleasure to meet you, Niki.” He would shake his hand but given one is harboring their heat source and the other cradles the handle of his cane, the butcher opts for a dip of his posture as he walks in a makeshift bow of greeting. “I assume you do reside here?” He asks, opting for small talk as he takes the path he was originally intending to take to get to the Village.
Pointedly not thinking about how much he'd like to get to the village, as if the woods might sense his eagerness and take them on yet another wild goose chase, Niki inclines his head back to the Ancient. "It is nice to meet you too, Asta. I should have guessed the Hollowed Grounds from the fire," he admits. By the fire he really means the fire, the horns and the tail that mark him as one of the Grounds' many Ancients, but he hasn't lost quite that much decorum yet.
Feeling better already for the heat radiating out from the fire in Asta's hand, as well as being back on one of the trails leading away from the Cataract, Niki nods openly enough. "I do, yes. Born and raised here, for my sins," he says with a wry smile. "It was a rough time when the void had taken over, but the Fae have their ways of keeping safe. I do not live far from the village - normally, anyway - so I suspect I was able to benefit from them."
stay your pretty eyes on course keep the memories of who i was before
A low rumbling laugh leaves him, warm clouds drifting in front of his face for a few seconds before they’re left behind with the speed of which they walk. “Ah, is it so obvious?” Comes the dramatically playful whine, the teasing tone equally as playful.
The smile replaces when he hears Niki was born and raised here, nodding his head in understanding. “I have heard the Fae do take care of their own.” He drawls before he inclines his head back toward the abandoned, letting the flame burn a touch brighter so the warmth radiates more. “I am glad that it has been removed. The void is dreadful.” A shiver races down his spine at the memory of dread that accompanied the pain of the wicker woman attack.
“The first time I visited the Greatwood was for the Festival of Lights. It was quite beautiful.” And he’d known he wanted to go and explore it further after he had. This was the first step, and the cataract had been nothing but awe inspiring for the butcher.
Smirking and lifting his free hand to make a gesture that's the equivalent of tiny bit yeah, Niki is forced to pay attention to the path for a moment or so to navigate around a few dead branches before them, before he settles once more into his usual pace. "Ah, do not be mistaken - I am far from being one of their own," he says of the Fae with a dry laugh. "I just happen to live a happy proximity from the Sidhe Village, I believe." If he hadn't... well. There's no way he'd have survived the influx of the void in the seasons the Greatwood had been in its grip.
Humming his agreement - dreadful is the least of what it had been, though he doesn't want to put a dampener on an otherwise casual conversation - Niki brightens at the mention of the Festival of Lights. "I was there as well," he says. "It was my first time seeing so many people in the Greatwood at once for years." And it had been far from unenjoyable, even if he'd kept mostly to himself. "It is my favourite festival, even though I never bring a lantern."
stay your pretty eyes on course keep the memories of who i was before
Nodding and mentally correcting himself, Asta slows to let Niki step around the fallen tree branches, before he takes a second to pick his path across the very same branches before they’re back on their way again. “Were you?” He asks as the smile returns in full force. He hadn’t seen the abandoned, but he hadn’t been looking for unfamiliar faces, either.
Humming a note of agreement to it being Niki’s favorite, he nods and pauses to step over a particularly large branch, extinguishing the fire for the moment to offer his arm for the necromancer to take if he wished to have help over it. “I, too, never bring a lantern. I am much happier without harboring a chance of meeting someone long since passed.” That and anyone he might consider to have been close enough to make a lantern, the butcher doesn’t even know if they’ve passed or if they were gargoyles themselves, deep beneath the crust of the Climb.
“The taffy had been lovely, at least.” He seems a touch daydreamy with the thought, before he pushes past the inevitable sweet tooth.
Humming the affirmative and glancing up ahead, Niki pointedly refuses to acknowledge the distant slope of buildings he thinks he sees, just in case the Greatwood changes its mind. "I do not think I have ever seen a festival on the banks of the Stone Symphony. It was quite beautiful," he confirms with a nod. "And you can say that again. It might be a harsh opinion, but I do believe some people are better off staying dead."
Briefly wrinkling his nose before letting the thought go, Niki glances sidelong at the other man, suppressing a smile - the sharp-toothed Ancient evidently isn't someone he expects to have a weakness for sweet things. "There is a stall in the village that sells confectionary like that. It may well be the same one that was at the festival, if you want to check," he says. "And if not, I am sure what they do sell is quite good." Not one for candy, Niki wouldn't really know.
stay your pretty eyes on course keep the memories of who i was before
