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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!
Zavien sat at the table, staring at the assortment of fabrics and various unknown items across its surface. He'd never been the crafty type. When he wasn't swinging a sword or punching something, his movements were clumsy, his fine motor skills abysmal, and his coordination questionable. How he planned to help make a Ludo outfit was beyond him, but he had a feeling Lena would make up for his lack of skills.
Sol cozied up in some of the fading warmth of Longheat weather, his gold scales glittering in the sunlight as he gave a heavy, content sigh. He didn't seem interested in whatever his companion was up to, since it didn't involve food or toys. That left Zavien to pick his fingers at the black cloth, raising an eyebrow as he waited helplessly for Lena to give him instructions. "Have you ever met Ludo?" He knew she was more inclined to Frey, but he wondered, nonetheless.
let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.
While going home was foremost on Lena’s mind, she knew it would be a later, rather than a sooner probability. The fact that they would soon be capable of doing so cheered her heart far more, and her morose mood had lifted its veil, so now she hummed at the table, already beginning to sew together some fabric made to look like rags.
She could feel Zavien watching her, but rather than do it all for him (since she’d already been in the process of teaching him to cook, read, write, and garden), she simply made her movements more precise and slower, so he could see, watch again and again as the needle maneuvered deftly, the thread pulled taut, then persisted onward. “I haven’t, no, but I’ve heard all sorts of things.” Which caused a slightly emboldened grin within the corner of her mouth; somewhat amused by the tricks of the herald – though clearly not a creature of chaos. “And seen it at the Festival of Lights, of course.” But there’d never been outright meetings. "Have you?"
Sensing that Lena wasn't going to guide him through the process this time, Zavien lowered his gaze to look at the black fabric, not even sure where to start. He moved the material so that one end met the other, thinking it vaguely resembled a cloak, then reached for some thread and a needle. "I've heard some interesting things of my own." The chuckle that started broke off as he stabbed his finger, snagging it back to see a small dot of red on his finger.
Unbothered by the blood, he stuck his finger in his mouth, holding it there to staunch the bleeding as he answered her question. "Not exactly." After a second, he removed it, looking closely to make sure it didn't well up again. "I channeled them when we were fighting the yeti, but did a poor job of specifying what kind of help was needed..." Zavien reached down to pick up the needle more carefully, leaning forward on the table to stabilize the needle and thread that he tried pathetically to align. Smiling, he didn't look up as he added, "We ended up in a lot of duck-themed clothes."
let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.
She watched him from the corner of her eye, seeing what he was picking up on without a full course of guidance, or her taking over completely. She sighed only a little when he inevitably stabbed at his finger, always a beginner’s curse, and kept the bandages nearby – though he seemed to solve that problem the old-fashioned way.
Making sure to lay out her pieces so it was more of a subtle demonstration again, she started back at the hood attachments, slowly going back over with deliberate motions. His situation, despite the perils and parallels with the same yeti issues from before, made her snort, very briefly, tucking a smile into the corners of her mouth again, breaking up some of the perfected serenity for amusement. “Ah, I’ve run into a few of those moments with others trying the same.” It seemed the gods and heralds didn’t prefer anything vague – direct, to the point, wanting to know exactly what was necessary and needed in those moments of crisis. “We could always do duck-themed Ludo costumes,” purposefully gauging for a reaction.
The failure didn't bother him as much anymore, so he gave a light grin as he tried to thread the needle. "Glad I'm not the only one." The stubborn pieces didn't want to cooperate, splitting the thread fibers and refusing to join together.
Zavien chuckled as he worked, not caring whether Lena was being sarcastic. "I think Ludo would actually get a kick out of that. Got any rubber ducks lying around? Or I could just ask Melita. She always seems to have one up her sleeve - quite literally." He laughed again, picturing the plethora of ducks Ludo's demigod always seemed to have. It was a wonder as to why, but he didn't judge.
Finally, the black thread wound through the eye of the needle, poking out the other side enough for him to pull through. Excitement had his smile beaming, pride swelling in his chest. "YES! I got it!" He lifted the needle to show her -
And pulled the thread straight out.
For a second, he sat there, baffled and heartbroken that all his hard work had gone to waste; then he let out a low groan, his shoulders slumping as he moved to resume his efforts again with a muttered, "Dang it."
let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.
Once he seemed to get the hang of it, Lena returned to her own speed. Deftly and quickly, the hood was assembled, pieced together neatly and efficiently. She brought it up to survey once or twice, ensuring the black thread was difficult to see through the rest of the garb, before she began to work downwards, intending to add some pockets, then meander along the arms and cater to her own size, rather than the lump of ill-fitting rags. “I can’t say that I have,” she hummed, eyes narrowing in brief speculation. Any of that would’ve been left behind – back at home. “We could always pick some up.”
His loud shout made her pause, flinch away from her own work – eyes going to see his progress, before it all fell out anyway. “But now you know how to do it,” she murmured with an arch of her brow, a promise of conviction. “It’ll be easier this time.”
Zavien would probably argue about him having the 'hang of it,' but he was certainly trying as he attempted to thread the needle again. His eyes were focused, his hands doing their best to coordinate the fine motor movement. "Hmm... Maybe," he said of the ducks, not really caring either way. He just thought it might be funny, but he was already struggling with the simple robes, so he didn't feel a need to complicate things if they didn't have the supplies easily available.
Finally, he managed to put the black thread through the eye of the needle, squinting to carefully grab the end to secure it. It took a second, but he managed it well enough, and another moment of pride brightened his features. Grinning, he showed her the combined needle and thread to prove her point, even as he playfully asked, "You think the same can be said for dragon riding?" Not that he planned to try that again, but he was doing his best to make her smile, uncertain whether her tempered mood was because of him or an increased focus on her craft.
let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.
Concentration and focus blended into her brows with apt determination – her own brand of ferocity when it came to simple, mundane moments. It was nice to thread her way through the costume though – nothing hanging over them but the semblance of garments for a masquerade, rather than everything else.
Finishing the stitching on one of the pockets, she pondered over creating some more inside the robes, when he showed off his next moment of pride. “Ooh, very nice,” and she wrinkled her nose, only mild surprise widening her eyes at his suggestion, before a shake of her head, and a return to her own contemplations amidst the connotation. “Probably – though sewing isn’t so hazardous to your health,” and she winked. “Maybe start smaller?”
With his thread finally in place, Zavien did his best to catch up with the speedy and precise work Lena had done. He had no such aspirations for pockets or ambitious designs aspects, choosing instead to sew the simplest shape that would stay put on his body. That meant looping the fabric to make a generic 'hood-like' shape then stitching together the part that would sit around his neck. It wasn't pretty, but it would get the job done (he hoped).
As he worked and joked, Zavien laughed at Lena's teasing wink. "My finger begs to differ." He raised the injured pointer finger to wag it playfully, pleased to see that the bleeding hadn't started up again. It wasn't enough to pull his eyes from her though, a curious raise to his brows as he asked, "But do you have any suggestions?"
let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.
Adding another pocket off to the side, she carefully stitched and sewed, scrupulous methods taught by her mother, careful, neat, and precise. It’d hold enough things, like money or something, but she now longed for the inside seams to be robust for items such as her staff. Humming in delight and the prospect and challenge, she snagged at more thread and portions already torn away from the original rags, snorting at Zavien’s poor labored fingers.
At his question though, she quirked her brow again, glancing at him briefly before adhering turning over the cloth and preparing for the incoming additions. “Well, like horses? I wonder if Colt would let you use some of hers and learn?” Might be worth asking if he truly wished to pursue this level of talent.
Nodding his head at the suggestion, he resumed his futile efforts to make the fabric resemble a cloak. "Not a bad idea. I won't fall as far when I fall off." Not 'if' but 'when', because he knew it would happen again, but that didn't stop him from adding, "I think I saw her put out a request for some help with her cattle. Maybe I'll go give her a hand. I'm sure riding will be involved."
A sudden thought occurred, and Zavien looked across the table at Lena, curiosity brightening his eyes. "Is it weird as an Attuned to ride animals?" It'd certainly been weird for him to be on Ronin's back because he could talk to the man, and knowing that he was a person with thoughts and feelings along with the underlying respect he held for the demigod just made it... awkward. Would the same apply if he could talk with animals?
let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.
Not realizing Colt had already put out messages for such a thing, she grinned again. “Oh, see, that’ll be fun!” Though she didn’t know much about riding – and based on how some of the bronc portions had gone…she still figured it’d be safer than the latter alternative. “And you probably don’t have to get on the biggest one there.” They came in different heights and dispositions – like their unicorn counterparts.
Stitching another loop in to ensure this future pocket remained there, she wound her way along the sides, humming again, not expecting the course of his question at all. It gave her pause, pondering it through. “I can’t say that I’ve found it odd – but I don’t ride animals very often.” She was often under her own power of movement and motion – flying or running. “I can talk to them though so,” she shrugged. “Maybe that makes it less strange.” Or more so, from outsiders' perspectives.
He laughed at Lena's enthusiasm. "Let's hope so." Although had he realized it'd involve spending hours in the saddle, he might have been less optimistic. Until then, he smiled, nodding along with her point. "Even if I did, they won't be as big as a dragon, so it can't be that bad." At least he hoped not.
Turning back to his pathetic excuse for a cloak, Zavien continued to stitch together the connecting part for his neck, knowing that its only purpose would be to stay on him and hope he didn't offend Ludo. Maybe others would have worse robs and he could slip under the radar.
At the mention of talking to the animals, he assumed it could be better or worse to be able to understand them. Since he'd known Ronin before, it felt weird, but if he'd just been a dragon and he'd asked... Zavien tilted his head. "Does it bother them to be ridden?"
let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.
“Mm. Maybe wear a helmet?” She winked, but she didn’t take safety for granted. Maybe Colt had something out there or he could find one at the marketplaces. Thereafter she stitched away, content with how things were coming along, and occasionally testing out the portions of the inner pocket, before finding herself finished with that part.
Satisfied, she maneuvered downward on the fabric, checking over the lining and ensuring nothing seemed out of place. She wasn’t certain how to take Zavien’s next inquiry, given that she rarely rode animals. Furrowing her brows, she considered. “I haven’t been in many situations to ask.” From a philosophical position, one might have to ponder all sorts of complexities – horses earned their keep and living by providing transportation, while others, like those shifted, might not have been bothered in the first place. “Same might be said for all of those Attuned who let others ride on them- in that it probably depends on the individual.”
