Click here for a list of weather descriptions, seasonal festivals, and a real time:site time conversion.
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!
The revelation of Amalia’s death notes and fringes here left him quietly shocked, and in the need of something solid, secure, strong, and steadfast; anchors on moors even when he thought himself wholly capable of not being wrenched out of the water.
Which left Rexanna, in the quiet folds after Remi parted from her, in every opportunity the Sword would take to see and converse with his beloved friend again.
Freed from the burden of carrying all the weight of her death across his shoulders, his long strides approached, and his countenance forgot the unbearable marches of other years. She wouldn’t want to hear the hordes of apologies resting against his teeth again; no echoes of lost fragments, no calculations gone awry over one ridiculous door. Instead, it was with smiles and camaraderie, easygoing despite the seasons and cycles stretched between life and death. “Hey,” he rumbled, the quick wrinkle to his nose scattering away any other sentiments clustered and coiled around them, arms open wide for a hug, if she sought, if she wanted. “Sorry I did not get to talk to you at Kiada's wedding. It is good to see you.”
under the bludgeonings of chance my head is bloody, but unbowed
in the right heaven-yellow light, anything could be
holy enough to save you
Passing hellos and minor chatter here and there, old reunions brought back into reality, it all leaves a warmth that lingers in Rexanna’s chest that she can’t help but to hold onto for how shiny and golden it feels. It’s the very same that lingers when she looks over and spots Deimos approaching her, immediately turning toward him to embrace him tightly just as he opens his arms in return.
“That’s okay. It was her day, after all. I didn’t want to take away from it.” She chimes as she withdraws slightly to flash a smile up his way, nose wrinkling slightly with her grin. “How’ve you been, though? How’s little Erebos?” She probes playfully, prodding him in the chest expectant for the answers.
Rexanna fit exactly where she had before – tucked beneath his jaw – enveloped by arms and muscles and kept guarded, sheltered, for exactly the length of the hug – before he had to turn her over to the rest of the world and the void again. Stepping back, he sighed and smiled, head tilting to watch her, to take in the possibilities and probabilities that hadn’t been there before. Maybe the days where he’d let opportunities fester, rot, and die had faded; or he was tired of musing in memories, rather than living in the present, in the moments that mattered. “Understandable. It was a nice ceremony.”
He rolled his eyes mockingly as she poked and prodded him in the chest. “Busy, but that probably does not surprise you.” They’d once seen each other through wars, after all. His nose wrinkled in turn, but then he was allotted time to describe his son’s growth and development. “He is well. Fast. Kind. Talkative. Only a little naughty. He will be two in Deepfrost.” At which Deimos figured the worst would erupt. But then, because he didn’t know things about Mort’s realm far beyond the instances of peace, his eyes surveyed her, pondered over other circumstances. “How are you?”
under the bludgeonings of chance my head is bloody, but unbowed
in the right heaven-yellow light, anything could be
holy enough to save you
Curled into him with the hug that she wishes would last an eternity, but alas knowing the time would be cut short, the Penumbra steps back but remains in his space with a bright smile in return. “It was. She really deserves it.” To have the best, but of course Rexanna would think so, regardless of how tumultuous their past had been. For now, she’s prodding him in the chest and asking how he and Erebos have been, her sapphire gaze glinting with amusement.
She snickers a chiming laugh and shakes her head, because no. It certainly didn’t surprise her. “Nope, not at all.” She confirms, before her smile grows softer as he speaks of Erebos, nodding. “Ah, then the trouble really starts, doesn’t it?” She asks with a softer, knowing smile. As for herself, she shrugs her shoulders, the black dress she wears sweeping against the sands with the movement. “Great. It’s nice to see everyone again. Nicer still to see how much everyone has changed.” She gestures with a hand, out toward the gathered crowd, many of whom she hadn’t seen be particularly nice to one another before her passing.
Kiada deserved multitudes, and Deimos was content that she’d at last found some peace, comfort, and love with Fox; rather than the twisted and torn disparities of war-torn sides. “Agreed. And Danta seems to keep her busy with council things.” Though he figured she enjoyed it; bossing the Maverick around, slipping in amidst information, and controlling some aspects of the Grounds in a different light. He hoped the Penumbra was proud of her daughter too, of how far she’d come, of the lengths of survival etched into her bones as well.
He snorted at the indication of impending trouble with troublesome sons. “I figured it would begin once he was mobile,” at which he wrinkled his nose; clearly not wholly bothered and more than capable of chasing after the toddler.
But with Rexanna noticing the changes of the world, and people, around them, he tilted his head, gaze searching along with her. Pinpointing on several, he took a deep breath, before his eyes flickered back to hers. “Mm. How much gossip do you get in Mort’s Realm?” Maybe they were all aware of alterations and designations well before the living crowd.
under the bludgeonings of chance my head is bloody, but unbowed
in the right heaven-yellow light, anything could be
holy enough to save you
“I’m sure she’s enjoying that.” Rex says softly, honestly, knowing her daughter well enough to know that the busier she could keep her hands the better off she was mentally. It helped to keep her mind from drifting too far down rabbit holes she didn’t need to be going down. (She knows it, because she’d done the same back when she was alive). But for what it’s worth, she is incredibly proud of her daughter. That she’d managed to carve herself a nice and comfortable life out here after everything she’d gone through.
Nodding to the wrinkled nose Deimos offers her with the mention of being mobile, Rex smirks. “That’s about the time, yeah.” She huffs a soft laugh, knowing that Deimos would already be prepared with how much he was likely preparing for the terror Erebos would likely become as he explored.
Her gaze drifts from him toward the crowd, scanning all of those that have changed and grown. Relationships that had broken or been on edge before now either completely gone or invigorated. At his question, though, she tilts her head back toward him with a raise of her brow. “Not a lot. I can see some flashes of what goes on occasionally, though. Usually during things like the Festival of the Lost.” Her gaze grows expectant, ready for Deimos to be her gossip dealer for the night — completely against his nature, unless it was with her of course.
Given how many times they’d plotted together, a little gossip, stories, and conversation were par for the course, no matter how many years and deaths had separated them. He gave a glint of a smirk, peering around to see who was nearby – especially if it would intrigue Rexanna, rather than bore. “The war against the Family, of course,” he started, as if that was nothing; if she wanted details, he could easily oblige – but it’d take some moments to gather the multitudes and masses behind everything that had led them to instances of a careful, uncertain peace. For days like these.
“Ru mentioned an upcoming wedding to Sunjata,” at which he refrained from rolling his eyes, but the Penumbra knew him well enough to predict the inevitable. But enough of a starting point to see where her motions and curiosity gravitated towards – head tilting to gauge her reaction.
under the bludgeonings of chance my head is bloody, but unbowed
in the right heaven-yellow light, anything could be
holy enough to save you
“The… Family.” She pauses, nose scrunching as she considers it and tries to piece it together with the things she can remember hearing about here and there (mostly in the conversation and chatter as she’d drifted through the crowd). “Basically aliens that wanted to take over, right?” She raises her brows as she scans him, hiding the smile of her awful summary of what had occurred. She hadn’t been around, to be fair, so she knows very little.
The mention of the wedding between Sunjata and Hotaru, though, the Penumbra snickers playfully as she nods. “I saw them getting cozy. How’d that come about?” She hadn’t talked to Hotaru yet, but she did fully intend on asking how all of that happened. So obviously attaining information where she could was vital — as Deimos knew well enough between their old plotting and schemes.
“Essentially,” he snorted at the shortening of it, the years spent toiling. “Parasitic group of individuals. Set up their own isle in the middle of Torchline’s sea,” at which he mimicked the wrinkling of her nose. “And Stormbreak as well.” Not unlike the Voice in some capacity, he supposed; but there’d been no barriers save for their own put up, striving to ensure their citizens would be protected, capable of slipping past but not permitting the void-infested cretins to do the same. He made no mention of this though, given Rexanna’s once-alliance with the new god; figuring she’d have inquiries instead over the state of things and how they’d eventually been finished and clipped away.
Her playful snicker earned her an eyeroll; figuring she’d eventually find her way to Hotaru too and get the full brunt of it all – the women had always been close, thieves and bandits, content in their chaos together. “One of those gradually coming back together things,” despite him thinking, and voicing, the ridiculous notions of Ru doing so. His side had been on the motions of history, of how much damage had been done in the interim. But time had spilled and spelled away multitudes. “They have both changed enough to make it work, I suppose,” with a shrug of his shoulders, clearly waiting for it to either blow apart or last. “Maybe they will have Remi bring you for that as well.” Though he had to wonder what it was like, to be summoned from Mort’s realm and dragged back to Caido – fortuitous? Nice? Or overwhelming, in all the things they’d lost and experienced?
under the bludgeonings of chance my head is bloody, but unbowed
in the right heaven-yellow light, anything could be
holy enough to save you
“Ew.” Rex says with a soft laugh, a shake of her head and a shrug of her shoulders with a soft sigh. Focusing instead on the mention of Stormbreak, brows lifting a touch. “Well if there was a place, I guess it makes sense.” Stormbreak already had a history of preventing people from showing up, so if these parasitic individuals wanted a place they could ensure only they knew who stepped foot within, she guesses the floating city was exactly the one in question.
Ah, but then she’s snickering with the drama surrounding her sister, her grin softening a touch as she hears the answer. “Ahh, okay. I guess that makes sense.” Pulling her gaze away from Deimos to look at the crowd again, spotting the Flood and the multitudes of more scarring than she remembers and Ru that seems happy enough, she finds she can’t be too upset. “Growing up, something, something.” She mutters, waving a pale hand before she beams her smile back up at Deimos with a roll of her shoulders.
Lifting her brows at the idea she could be invited to that, she laughs softly. “Maybe. I don’t wanna intrude if there’s more important people to invite. But… I mean, I’m happy for her if she’s happy. Maybe he finally got his shit together.” Her voice drops as the curse leaves her, having not spent too much time cursing when she was around, such that when it slipped out it was a rare and fun treat.
Amused, to be taken back into years and cycles and lands where they’d done exactly this, his head tilted again, eyes flickering upward, tracing over thoughts and patterns. “Supposedly they had abducted the leader, Sohalia, beforehand,” and thus set up the intervals for takeover. It’d likely sound familiar to Rexanna in some aspects – they hadn’t been above similar tactics in Helovia. He shrugged; all water under the bridge now, with the aforementioned land still not wholly claimed by anyone again. In prior worlds, it would’ve been taken without a second thought. Strange to see how things slowly clambered together here.
As for the other dramatics, he grinned. “If either of them could.” She knew Hotaru well enough to know that there were always going to be portions of the Valkyrie that couldn’t be mustered beyond the latent lack of impulse control. “You would be one of the more important people,” he winked, by his standards at least, laughing a little when she cursed; the moments lighter and softer.
With Ru’s happiness though, he had to agree. “We discussed it well before. I am sure you can guess how that went.” He wrinkled his nose, and shrugged again too – a necessary quarrel for them both, perhaps.
under the bludgeonings of chance my head is bloody, but unbowed
in the right heaven-yellow light, anything could be
holy enough to save you
“Ooh.” Rex hums a quiet amount, curiously, as if she could recall the days where she’d stolen people before. Back when they’d all conspire and plan, steal and swipe. She’d been good at it, once upon a time under Deimos’ rule. But to capture a leader was something else entirely, and for that she flashes him an apologetic smile. “That’s terrible. Good motivation, I guess, but…” It was like throwing old rules out the window.
Either way, the conversation shifts to Hotaru and Sunjata and she scans where they stand in their respective portions of the party. Mingling amongst those long since passed or other members that have grown to become a part of a family. As for her own arrival, Rex snorts, nodding her head. “Yeah, but there’s Enzo.” She gestures to where the youth is with Flora.
But her laughter is bright as she relaxes, sharing a grin and a laugh for him to have witnessed her intentional little slip up. “Oh I bet it went great, whatever do you mean?” She asks playfully, her brows lifting as if to urge him to tell her just how it went.
Caido had its similarities to Helovia; but the stealing throngs, the sneakiness, the tactics, had altered and changed over time. “And with no way to challenge them,” save for their strongest and immortal, with a death wish of being gone for months at a time, “there they stayed.” Camped out for the interim. “So we opted to go into Starfall instead.” If the wrinkle to his nose was any indication, it hadn’t been a good time – and he began whittling away with incantations before her, droplets of water and air beginning to form a picture of void dragons and mirewyrms, ghastly but miniature creations of foes they’d faced down in the doldrums, chambers, and tunnels.
His eyes tracked to where she looked though, following the lines leading to Enzo and his respective gathering. He’d only ever met the lad as a tiny infant, and thereafter it’d been too late – Ru going into the Greatwood while the rest were in exile, the twins aging, the war – the only time he’d heard of him again had been in the stark and brutal aftermath, gone in an instant. “I am not certain of Remi’s limitations,” he smiled at her again. “But if he could bring you all here today…,” he trailed off with a shrug.
Prior conversations with himself and the Valkyrie though proffered and extended with a loud snort as he bent more Starfall images for her eyes, making the dragon fly over a held fast isle while a tinier Ronin stabbed it with a sword. “As you are aware, there is little point in talking things over with Ru when she has decided on something.” Her daughter held a similar, vexing trait. “I tried anyway.”
under the bludgeonings of chance my head is bloody, but unbowed
in the right heaven-yellow light, anything could be
holy enough to save you
Sighing at the events that had occurred, where Deimos had been forced into going to Starfall along with a variety of others - Remi and Ronin, she assumes - it has her nodding and offering a small but gentle smile. “Well, I’m glad that you made it out.” Reaching up to nudge him by the shoulder, Roxanna relaxes almost immediately after. The threat was gone and that was certainly worth celebrating.
He follows her gaze to Enzo off in the distance with his sister and Rex offers him a gentler smile when she looks back at him and sees his smile - a feat that seems to rare on his face as of late. “Might be worth asking.” Raising her brows as if to say that she’d give it a go, but there wouldn’t be any hard feelings if she missed out.
When it comes to the Valkyrie and the Sword, though, she can’t help the bright laughter that spills from her lips. “And she’d sent her mind to it.” And done it, as it turned out. And despite everything that had happened that Roxanna had missed out on, one thing was of utmost importance as she settles in beside Deimos, leaning against his arm as she folds her own across her chest and peers out at the crowd mingling about. “Well, so long as she’s happy.”
