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!
He watched and surveyed the way Nova opted to channel her incantations – rarely, save for witnessing Sah’s approach, being able to witness how another utilized the foundations of the same magic. Nearly like a thread, the gold peeled away, layer by layer, at which he tilted his head, brow arching, as her concentration knotted and snagged. Her methods were to take from something already there, rather than concocting it from herself, and he figured both motions were effective, considering the result.
His eyes flickered towards the jewelry laden in her hands, and he gave her a swift nod, a warmer smile. “Looks good. And you can always improve upon it, and give it better defenses later.” It would take time and focus, but then the particulars would be heightened, stronger and certain. “You will find you have some limitations throughout a season.”
we exhume our enemy's bones we are battling, hungry beasts
His reaction was once again lackluster, but Nova didn't mind this time, too proud of her own creation. Activating the necklace so that it shimmered in soft gold over her skin, she grinned at him. "Okay! I'll make sure nothing can ever hurt her again!" She was determined to make it the most impenetrable armor in existence.
At the mention of limitations (let's be honest, Nova has no idea what those are), she paused in her self-praise, blinking up at Deimos again with open naivety and curiosity. "Really? Like what?" Sure, she felt a little hungry after making the item, but she couldn't imagine it would be so back that she couldn't do it again. In her mind, the only thing stopping her was her imagination.
Life is nothing without a little chaos to make it interesting
Given how long he’d been capable of such creations, it’d take a lot more to earn any riveting praise (which Deimos rarely deigned anyway), but still, he muffled an inward snort at her youthful determination. There was no intonation to argue the point; he knew and understood the stalwart, intrepid means to an end, protecting, striving, always trying to devise and divide a way to protect and shield loved ones. “A worthy goal,” he surmised instead, the smile remaining in place.
Her other inquiry told him she’d yet to hit those limitations in her enchantments though – one he remembered well, deep in the rush of the Spire – a tenuous, tiring, warning signal to one who held magic. It’d been a long time since he’d careened through it, growing and proving and gaining in power and prowess – but still, he’d grant the warning to anyone else so they wouldn’t have to suffer the same fate. “Usually it is about two items per season. Or more power designated into one.” Basics and Upgrades – those pivotal points of enchantments.
we exhume our enemy's bones we are battling, hungry beasts
Deactivating the necklace, she tucked it away into a hidden pocket on her pearlescent puffer, her hand reappearing empty. Blonde eyebrows furrowed at the new piece of information, determined to eventually try it for herself, but assuming the details to be accurate for the moment. "That's annoying." It meant she'd have to be picky with her choices, even if she'd love to make something for everyone she met. It also meant she'd have to be more selective on which were the most fun highest priority.
Running through a list of items she was already planning, Nova looked to Deimos. A sudden curiosity had her bouncing higher, annoyingly like a pomeranian begging for scraps. "What's the coolest thing you've made?!"
Life is nothing without a little chaos to make it interesting
He shrugged at her irritation – finding he remained unbothered by it as a whole, used to some portions of the world having limitations. The only time it’d truly rankled had been when cultivating and creating items for wars and simply not having enough to go around. Sah’s presence had been helpful in those arrangements, but even then, there were still formations to go through and think about when it came to which was more important. Peace meant he had far more flexibility to deciding where some pieces would and could go, rather than the wholly beneficial means and measures.
He'd turned back to his sled, grabbing hold of another package, when her inquiry came along. His brows furrowed for a moment, lost in thought, not certain what her definition of ‘cool’ would be. “Depends on what you mean – but mine usually come with dual purposes.” Pausing as he dragged the logs and jerky combination over, he went to drop them off at another house, nodding his head at one of the inhabitants who immediately stepped outside to snag at the parcel. Returning, he offered another smile. “Probably Evie and I’s wedding rings. I had them embedded with luck.” His eyes flickered over to the watchtower in the distance. “I made communication devices too – thought they would be useful for the region. And weapons as well."
we exhume our enemy's bones we are battling, hungry beasts
Nova noticed the smile, curious why it was so much easier for him to make that expression all of a sudden. Per usual, she didn't linger on the unimportant thoughts, clapping her hands together to hear of luck. "Oooh! That sounds fun! I have a belt buckle like that!" She was getting ready to launch into the story of how she'd gotten it - how she'd put on such an amazing show that they couldn't not give it to her - but Deimos continued with his list of create items, and Nova thought about her options. Her head tilted, pink and blonde hair shifting around her face as she hummed. "Hmm... it'd be nice to always be able to talk to my sister!"
But at the mention of weapons (the real 'cool' stuff), it was like she was suddenly buzzing, magic and energy crackling in the air around her. "Have you made anything that explodes?! Or bursts with a bright light?! What about something that sparkles?! Or maybe something really colorful?!" Ideas and colors cascade through her mind, as much beauty as destruction that shimmered in her eyes as she bounced along at Deimos's side.
Life is nothing without a little chaos to make it interesting
He should’ve expected the litany of questions to follow thereafter, knowing Nova enough by now, but the sudden bombardment made his eyes widen for half a moment. Rather than answer them all at once, he pondered the sentiments, snagging at the sled as they traversed further down the snow-laden pathway, fully intent on accomplishing his missions as she talked. “Yes. A fire weapon.” The Infernobow, wherever that had ended up, made for more implosions on the Ascended themselves, but that had been how Wessex had ordered the armament, despite his misgivings and implications on the matter towards the Wraith.
To the others though, he gave a shake of his head. “Nothing with sparkles or too much color, unless someone wanted it that way. Like a cloak.” Of which he couldn’t recall an instant where that lingered – save for Kiada’s crimson designations for traversing into Halo, and Evie’s rings had been made to order. Anybody else’s were furnished with purpose in their design, rather than bright, illustrious hues. “But everything can come down to preference.” He shrugged, not much of a bedazzler when it came to his artifacts and rendering, but he could see where Nova might incline towards those regards.
we exhume our enemy's bones we are battling, hungry beasts
A bright reflection entered her eyes, suspiciously like a fire that might just spark to life. "That's kind of cool!" She could imagine a fiery mace or whip flying through the air, sending flames and sparks across a battlefield in a blaze of color. Maybe it could even change colors, making a rainbow of destruction!
It shocked her that Deimos didn't appear to think about the fun part of item making - the design and style and individuality that would let everyone know exactly who made it - but she supposed he was the 'oh-so-serious' type that preferred functionality over the artistic aspect, and that just left more for her to enjoy! So she abandoned the line of questioning that leaned into visuals and preferences for other aspects, mouth suddenly running a mile a minute as she threw out the other questions burning a hole in her head. "Have you ever made something magical you could eat? What about a tattoo? Or a piercing? How long have you been able to do this?" A million other questions came to mind, but she paused just long enough for him to respond to the first few, just for the reason of wanting to hear the answers
Life is nothing without a little chaos to make it interesting
It would likely disappoint Nova to some degree when it came to illustrious hues or things meant to catch attention – but Deimos had never gone without placing his artistry into each work. Handled with care and precision, it had always come with a quiet designation and beauty; from the way he’d contorted and created his and Evie’s wedding bands, to the craftmanship whittled upon his son’s crib. As long as he knew the individual well, portions of them went into the symbolic etchings of each person – like Kiada’s crimson cloak, lined with depictions of her essence and nature. Function and purpose always came first, but to consider him incapable of placing thought and platitudes into the artifacts was simply not the case.
But the questions seemed to continue regardless, and he persisted in continuing his efforts, since Nova seemed unbothered by what he was attempting to complete as well. Granting another parcel, he took a deep breath, parsing through the inquiries one by one. “No.” Nothing magical he could eat – though he had some of those stored in his bag of holding from other events and purposes. “No one has requested a tattoo before,” and he shrugged, lugging the food and wood to the bakers’ deck. “Might be capable though. Piercings should be easy – I have done enough jewelry.” Rings, bangles, necklaces – all armed to the teeth with other portions placed within.
How long he’d been able to do such things made his brows furrow – counting out the lines of seasons in his head. “Quite a few years. At least six.”
we exhume our enemy's bones we are battling, hungry beasts
Completely ignoring his work or the lack of enthusiasm for her interest, she continued to poke and prod, following doggedly at his heels. "Can you make food stuffs? Is it possible?" Just because he hadn't done it didn't mean it wasn't possible, although that brought up another great question, "Is there anything you can't make?"
Never one for manners or 'politeness,' Nova paused in her bouncing to gape at Deimos and his answer. "That's so long. How old are you?" Considering how she looked twenty-two, but had only been in Caido for a little over a year, she knew looks could be deceptive and age nothing but a number. Still, her curiosity flared, inspecting the Warden like a peculiar speck of glitter that might have actually been a sparkly rock thousands of years old.
Life is nothing without a little chaos to make it interesting
Increasing the speed of his movements, maybe to see if she’d end up running alongside or behind merely for his own amusements, he found the chattering persisted, and he withheld a long breath – presuming it would just be some practice for the future, when Erebos would be doing multitudes of discussions. “Yes. I believe you need summoning magic to make any sort of meat components. Should take earth and creation to make fruit or vegetables though.” His brows furrowed, figuring that made sense, before marching towards another door, waving politely to the people that had been lingering on their deck. As far as anything he couldn’t make, those limitations came with the properties instilled within his blood – presuming, of course, that there was one key component missing amidst the multitudes of others. “I cannot make anything dealing with healing.”
Belial hooted from above, following the patterns of his bonded, and the Sword missed her gaping. Six years was nothing – especially when one had multiple lifetimes and immortality lodged in their system – so when the question came across, he snorted, granting a laugh, finding it ridiculous. “That is nothing compared to many in Caido.” Especially the deities, like her own mother. “36.” He recounted, with a recent birthday amidst the season. Countering the bluntness, he shrugged his shoulders. “Were you aged before you arrived here?” He likely would’ve known about another Safrin child well before her actual rotations around the earth, but given how children were often propelled into another platitude of years and maturity, he wouldn’t be surprised if it’d been the latter.
we exhume our enemy's bones we are battling, hungry beasts
"Aaah. Okay." Nova nodded along like it all makes sense, a little more serious as she catalogued the information for future reference. There's a glittery file in her mind labeled 'magic' that she shoved it in then promptly ignored, much more interested in why Deimos can't make healing. Her feet skipped faster to keep track, seemingly ignorant and unbothered by the increased speed. "Why not?"
She was still gaping when he revealed his age, convinced that thirty-six was ancient, but before she could insult him with her incredulousness, he was asking about her favorite topic (next to glitter): her. Her head bobbed in confirmation. "Mhm! We were about... twenty-one? when we came down? That was last year." Their party had been awesome despite the obnoxious party pooper named Kaisel (i.e. public enemy number one).
But the question led to more of her own, curiosity bright in her eyes as she ignored the way her breathing started to pick up from the exertion. "Were you born here?"
Life is nothing without a little chaos to make it interesting
To that question, even as his strides were purposefully longer and swifter, he simply shrugged. Beforehand, he would’ve been able to explain the differences between being laden with Life Drain and the incompatibility with Healing – but things had altered and changed. Nowadays not only Zuriel, but also Evie, and anyone else with mending powers, could lend their incantations into his form. Whether or not he’d ever develop his own keen sense of repairing and renewal remained to be seen – but it’d be a very strange circumstance for the man who’d always known destruction and demolition as a building block into each world.
Unbothered by his own age, considering there were many more well beyond his turns around the Caido sun (especially her own mother, so perhaps she ought to tread lightly), he snagged at another package, half-wondering if she’d wander off if he kept angling down streets farther and farther away from the sled – a notion short-lived when he returned and she was already spouting off sentiments.
Twenty one was young, though clearly not as youthful as his own son – at which he arched a brow at her following inquiry. It’d been a commonly known sentiment throughout the years. “No. I am an Outlander.”
we exhume our enemy's bones we are battling, hungry beasts
The lack of an answer should have been clue enough to Deimos's dimming interest in their conversation, but all it did was annoy her. She disliked not having an answer. Would she ever get healing? Could she make items that healed? How did he know he couldn't heal? None of it made sense to her, and she might have asked if she wasn't already diverting her attention to other worlds.
It should have been well known that Nova didn't pay attention to anything that didn't pertain to her, her family, magic, or glitter. So, knowledge of Deimos's past was something she'd never bothered to look into. That's why news of his Outlander history immediately bolstered her energy to follow at his heels, questions flowing from her lips. "So where did you come from? Did you have magic there? When did you get here? Have you been anywhere else?"
Life is nothing without a little chaos to make it interesting
