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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!
Luckily for Sol, Goose is as hungry as he is coward, if not perhaps more. The jerky draws the dog out cautiously, nose visibly working. At first, he tilts his head and gently snags a piece and retreats with it, hunkering back down in his den with a quick grasp and swallow of the meal. Eventually though, he grows emboldened, and lingers with the faintest tail wag between his back legs as he snarfs up what remains, glancing every so often at the dragon as if aware this could either be a trap pr actual friendship.
Iskra at one point catches a glimpse of the ordeal as he hoists up one of the cut pieces of wood, smiling faintly at the duo before sinking back into the work. Measuring, measuring again, cutting, then stacking. It's repetitive, but that's what makes it risky, because it's too easy to slump into a mindless monotony, which is what almost costs one of the men his finger. Wincing, Iskra shakes his head, but the fellow is already reprimanding himself and stepping away for a break, replaced easily by another eager hand.
Happily breaking when Zavien calls for it, Iskra whistles and Goose surges back to his side with a series of eager barks. Supervising and hiding all day is hard and he's ready for them to do something far more fun, like take a walk. Which, is exactly what they do in order to get to the room Iskra rented.
He returns the next morning with a steaming cup of tea, sipping at it through the morning chill, slowly perking up. Goose sticks beside him, yawning every often with a high whining noise that seems completely unnecessary. "Always putting my hands on my wood," Iskra reassures Hawthorn with a wide grin, stepping back towards the same place he'd left yesterday, to cut more of the lumber they needed to work with. "Love it just like this, long, and hard. Sticky with sap by the end..." The laugh he pours into his cup billows steam up and he takes a deep draught before setting it aside and picking back up the charcoal and saw. "Alright, remember, always measure twice and cut once," he reminds the group as they set back into the same pattern as before.
The morning is slightly foggy but promises sunshine soon, and the playfully chipper mood warms Zavien better than any coffee. He smiles at the two men, grinning stupidly as he asks Iskra, "Sticky or stick-y?" Way too entertained by his own humor, he has to peel himself away from the others to start the workday, choosing to focus on hammering away at the nails.
After his past 'success' with Goose, Sol is equally as eager to join the friendly exchange, presenting the dog with a ball he'd snagged on their commute to the site. His tail wags when he drops the ball, nuzzling it forward then dropping to a crouch, hoping they might have reached the level of friendship that includes playing.
Leaving his dragon to his campaign for companionship, Zavien weaves among the workers, directing their progress between moments of hammering. He often finds himself next to Thorn, offering appreciative smiles as the courtesan holds a beam in place for him to hammer then celebrating the moment with a high-five before finding Iskra to retrieve the next piece of wood in exchange for a grin and a nod.
The work is quick, the frames taking shape like a skeletal image of the Tower to come. With so many people, it only takes two days to complete before the wood looms above the concrete foundation, ready for bricks to be laid. So, when they meet the next morning, Zavien has his hands on his hips, anticipation written across his face.
"Today's the day we lay the first brick!" He gestures to the pile of reddish bricks stacked to the side, along with the mortar mixture already prepared to cement it all together. "Erika will be here with lunch later, so let's make sure to give her something to look at!" A few people in the crowd give a cheer, bumping each other on the shoulders as they celebrate the massive meal to come, then they disperse, the energy running on a high to start the morning.
Two days have passed. Start laying the bricks around the exterior! Someone can lay mortar while the other places bricks.
A warm laugh leaves Thorn to hear Iskra’s comment, rolling his eyes as he gets to work and does his duty in holding the frames up while they get placed. The occasional drifting by of Zavien while he holds up the beams to let him nail them into place are met with a bright grin of his own in return. He works hard, even far past when the burning of his arms make them feel a touch like jelly, wiggly and slightly uncontrollable.
For now, though, it seems to work as it’s supposed to, and the skeleton becomes formed before their eyes. He withdraws to grab another warm coffee to try and keep his arms from shaking a touch too much, perking up at the mention of Erika. “She’ll get on our asses if we’re not caught up.” Thorn tacks on, familiar enough with her way of thinking while they get back into the project.
Thorn picks up some bricks with a little team of his own and begin to start laying it around the exterior. “I’ll work on the bricks!” He calls out before he gets to work with presumably Iskra.
A laugh is the only answer Zavien receives for his own addition to the joke as Iskra and others get about to preparing more correctly sized wood. They handle it all, little wood, big wood, long wood, short wood, thin wood, thick wood, soft wood, and hard wood. Nearby, Goose indulges Sol in a game of keep away chase with the ball. Reluctant at first, the dog's approach cautious and sometimes leaping back, full of low grumbles and meager tail wags, he does finally dash forward and seize the ball, effectively becoming 'it'. He dashes away, play-bowing after a few strides and glancing back at Sol before continuing on. A time or two, if Sol's pursuit proved too effective, Goose abruptly abandoned the ball to the dragon and would hunker down for a moment before turning it around and chasing after the dragon in turn.
As the days conclude, the dog and dragon's play has solidified, and Iskra is sadly out of wood to get a good grip on. The frame is ready, and Iskra surveys it with a small smile and a tilt of his head as he scans from floor to ceiling. He glances back as Zavien lays out their new plan of attack, as it were, and as Thorn hops off to dispense bricks like a manmade pez machine, Iskra swipes up a bucket of mortar and a trowel, "I got the goopy shit!" Pairing up with Thorn, he finds a pattern to match the other man, glancing over every so often at other brick layers to ensure he's doing it all correctly. "Can't say I'm as experienced with this form of building, but not looking too shabby." He makes the idle small talk as he lobs the muddy adhesive onto the layer of bricks, dragging the trowel over to smooth it and scraping off the excess with decisive swipes.
Nodding his agreement with Thorn's analysis of the woman and the scolding to come, Zavien jumps into action. Sol hops away to join his friend, showing Goose a valuable squeaky toy he'd managed to find buried under the bed at home. The frog is missing an eye and the fabric looks more brown than green, but he's beaming nonetheless, wings fluttering as he hops around the treasure.
Zavien helps guide the workers, rolling a wheelbarrow through the foundation as he monitors for any trouble, but spirits are high. Despite days of work and tired muscles, they work efficiently for a group of strangers, piling mortar and laying bricks in a smooth rhythm that passes the morning without incident. Each delivery of bricks is followed by a sweeping assessment, offering correction when necessary and redistributing work when one sections proves faster than another. He even jumps in when the work slows, gloved hands and straining muscles satisfying the part of him that strives to do. His chest swells with pride when he helps set the sixth row of bricks piled into an outline, sure they couldn't be doing any better to start the Tower.
Until Erika arrives.
Ripping through the construction site like a storm, the stout woman shoos workers from their stations with mutters of thin figures and slacking work. "This is what happens when you don't eat..." Her head shakes, gray curls bobbing around her head when she catches sight of Zavien, beady eyes narrowing. "What are you grinning for? It's obvious you're overworking these starving, weak people. Have you no shame?" She flicks her hand, summoning the donkey that draws her overflowing cart behind it.
"Missed you too, Erika."
The wheels strain against the various gourmet sandwiches and pitchers of sweet iced tea to compliment the warming weather. Jumping onto the back, she doesn't argue when Zavien joins her to pass out the food, instead fixating on each member who walks up. Her finger pokes out at Iskra, furrowing her brows. "You've got some muscle on you, but I think you're wearing more mortar than the bricks. Eating more will help you see better." Then she drops a massive sandwich in his hands, nodding her head like that's the end of it.
Turning to Hawthorn, she gasps and points her finger accusingly. "And you! I have no idea how you're lifting those bricks when you're skinnier than a twig!" She gives him two sandwiches, tongue tsking her annoyance. "If you'd come to visit me like I told you to, you'd already be at ten layers."
Even when the crew finishes eating, Erika sits atop her cart, fussing and scrutinizing their every move as she lobbies threats of massive meals. Worse than any slavedriver, the woman gives the domineering expression of a disappointed mother, one who knows they could and should do better.
It pushes Zavien as much as the man next to him, his head hunkering down to push through the building exhaustion to find a new gear.
Erika brought lunch! She's unimpressed with the skinny workers progress and thinks there should be at least ten layers of bricks at this point. Work harder!
Luckily for Iskra, Thorn is very well acquainted with this form of building – maybe less so on the hands on experience but he knows what it’s supposed to look like, so with the quiet comment the woodcutter makes, the courtesan shoots him an easy smile. “Well t’me it looks like you’re doin’ great.” Just in case he was stressed out about it, giving into the idle chatter until Erika arrives.
Brick after brick they work as the storm cloud arrives that is the woman sporting a crown of grey. Happy to not be the main focus of her upset at this present moment, Thorn continues to work, snickering a touch to himself as she directs her focus from the workers and Zavien to Iskra. Ah, but then it’s his turn to face her wrath and he holds up a brick in a placating manner with a bark of a laugh. “Hey Erika.” He starts off, before he gets back to work placing the bricks in an increase of more than half of his previous time. “I know, I know. I work it all off, I promise I do try!” He calls over to her as he works, his forearm rising to brush away the sweat beading there.
Ever one to thrive under praise, Iskra beams at Thorn's appraisal, and it seems one could say he's...mortaring it (murdering it, killing it, you know). With a vigor provided by newfound confidence, Iskra's motions pick up speed, the natural outcome of not overthinking it too much and finding the rhythm of repetition. Though, he does get a little too eager and ends up spilling more often, which is why he's wearing about as much as the bricks are by time Erika arrives.
Blinking at the insinuation he's blind, Iskra can only stare after the woman in a stunned silence as he's given a sandwich. Goose, who'd been playing with Sol and the toy, immediately weaves through the crowd to join Iskra's side now that there's food present. Sitting rigid and with a scenting twitch to his nose, Goose waits while Iskra's gaze follows Erika and slowly unwraps the sandwich in her wake. "How did she know I sometimes wear glasses?" he says quietly to no one in particular, features scrunched in thought as he regards the mortar work he'd just previously been praised for. Passing off some bites to Goose, who seems to inhale them instead of swallowing them, he hums contentedly as he eats the lunch. "Is she always like that?" Iskra wonders to Thorn, of Erika, as he wads up his sandwich wrapper and tosses it. No longer interesting without food, Goose retreats back to Sol, only after selecting a fantastic stick to show off to the dragon.
Setting back into the work after the respite, he can't quite match Hawthorn's pace, but he does improve over where he'd left off. Maybe the sandwich did help his eyes, but it seems he's throwing excess mortar around and the trowel sweeps it up nice and tidy after each brick they lay out.
Iskra eats the lunch and works better with the bricks!
Erika doesn't accept excuses. It's why Zavien has learned to smile and nod his head, just letting her fuss and fret, taking it all in stride. But Hawthorn apparently hasn't gotten the memo, and when he dares to argue, Erika stands on the back of her cart, waving her hand at him as she shouts, "That's because you're not eating the right food!" If it's not her food, it's not the right food.
As he passes the courtesan with another barrow of bricks, Zavien catches Iskra's question, chuckling under her breath. "You should see her during the holidays." Giant pots of stew and mountains of baked goods and bread - so much bread. But it's all delicious, and despite her high energy and scrutiny, you won't catch him complaining.
Especially when the work does improve, the layers piling up until people are using ladders and scaffolding to place the top bricks. Sol fetches Iskra's discarded wrapper along with any other unguarded sandwiches, causing momentary distraction and laughter that only spurs the progress, and by the end of the workday, the walls are standing tall and strong.
The chef watches as people begin to disperse, clicking her tongue. "It's a good thing I came. I don't think you would have gotten this first floor done otherwise." Nodding her head, she props her hands on her hips, an intense focus in her gaze. "I'll make sure to bring extra tomorrow." And then she's gone, leading her donkey down the street, muttering about which meal she'd prepare for the next day.
Dismissing everyone with the promise of stomach aches tomorrow, Zavien and Sol depart for home, rising in the morning to a light drizzle of rain. He dresses in a black waterproof jacket, his coffee steaming in the slight chill centered around the gathering crew to whom he offers an encouraging smile. "The rain isn't ideal, but we've got one floor done, so let's do what we can to keep the work going. If anyone has fire or other magics to help set the mortar, that might help!"
The first floor is done!! Erika says she'll check on everyone tomorrow and bring more food. >.>
Go home, rest, and come back to work in the lovely rain! Pick to work on the stairs to the second story, second story flooring, or second story wall. Feel free to use any magics to help combat the rain!
It doesn’t burn against Thorn at all with Erika’s response – if anything, the courtesan just laughs a little lightly because of it, continuing to work alongside Zavien and Iskra, adding his two cents in when Zavien murmurs to the woodcutter. “She gets a lil crazy.” He says just for their ears, devouring as much as he can before getting to work immediately after and trying not to get a stitch in his side from working with food settling so hard.
As the workday comes to an end, the courtesan is wiped out. Exhausted and leaning heavily against one of the pillars that had already been set days before, watching Erika go and hearing Zavien’s dismissal. Grateful for it, Thorn heads out to immediately pass out, waking up to stretch in the morning before arriving bright and early already soaked in rain despite his waterproof jacket.
He brushes his hair back out of his face as he takes in the work already done, wrinkling his nose a little when it comes to possible fire magic to help the motor set. “Don’t got that, but I do have air.” Which means he might be able to push away the rain pelting down for the fire that Iskra hopefully has to make it work and keep it dry.
And that’s precisely what he tries to do – blowing some of the wind away from the top of their working area to send the rain pattering off to the side and away from the direct hit.
Thorn uses his air magic to try and blow the rain away from their direct working zone!
Air manipulation (Abandoned/Hybrid): Can manipulate the air. Must be within a 30ft radius and allows the user to levitate medium-large sized objects up to 5ft above the ground . Control is excellent.
Type: Grey | Rank: Upgraded | Cost: Action
Iskra glances back over towards Erika as both Zavien and Thorn confirm she is strong-willed. It’s all spoken with enough friendliness not to be daunting, and it’s little surprise to him truthfully with so many strong women being present throughout his life, but it’s helpful to confirm this isn’t a one off. It seals some caution in him so that he can lay low and avoid the path of her notice where he can. ”Noted,” he laughs mildly as the work continues with the brick laying.
Groaning with a newfound weariness for atypical work pulling on less used muscle groups, Iskra stretches as they finish up the first floor. Partway through reaching above his head into a tall and limbering reach, he can’t help the laugh that escapes as Erika does a final sweep before leaving them be.
- - -
Coming back the next morning with Goose in tow, the dog peels away to find Sol and initiate a game of chase around a nearby wheelbarrow, invigorated by the weather. Iskra pulls his light rainjacket up, not needing cold and wet to add to tired muscles today. ”Morning,” he greets with a nod to everyone while scoping out the work for the day.
”I got fire magic!” he offers up when Zavien mentions it. ”I’ll stick with the brick walls then, and make sure the fire doesn’t get near the scaffolding.” Thorn’s air magic would prove helpful with this too, and at least the weather offers an outer barrier of moisture. So as Iskra settles into assisting with the second floor wall, he adds a new step today, sending the brush of his fire to rush along the layer of brick and mortar to help ensure it dries at a rate similar as yesterday.
Iskra works on the second floor wall
Fire Manipulation (Abandoned/Hybrid): Can create and control flames. Must be within a 30ft radius.
Type: Dark | Rank: Mastered | Cost: Action
"Awesome! Let's get this done!" Zavien grins approvingly at the offered magics, glad to see they were effective in protecting the building process from the elements. A few other citizens join Thorn and Iskra with their own capabilities: water manipulation to pull away the rain, earth and telekinesis to move the brick and mortar into place. Without such skills of his own, Zavien sticks to the stairs where he can move equipment up to the next level, occasionally calling Sol from his game of chase to provide his own assistance in exchange for two pieces of jerky (one for him and one for his new friend).
At first, the coordination appears lacking, a few people earning scorched clothing, sprays of rain in the face, or stubbed fingers, but as the day gets into a rhythm, the teamwork progresses with it. Protection from the rain and a low burning heat make the work possible, even if it suffers in comparison to the day before. Luckily, they'd raised enough levels prior, and the height continues to grow for Erika to admire upon arrival. She actually looks impressed by their tenacity in such weather, humming and nodding her head before jumping into her usual scolding. "You're going to catch a cold out here! Make sure you eat enough so you don't get sick!" Moving through the site like a lioness - despite her eerie similarity to a ningo - Erika makes sure that every single person gets a piping hot bowl of her famous blink hare stew and a cup of tea or coffee. She's unfazed by the danger of the work or the rain pattering gently on her bonnet, going so far as to seek out the highest workers to ensure their health.
And as the afternoon and evening begin to approach, that's when she spots the flickering of white scales in the damp sky. Zavien pauses from laying another brick, wiping sweat and rain from his forehead to see her hold a hand over her eyes. "Those might be a problem for you when the weather clears up tomorrow! If anyone wants to kill a few, I can make a delicious cloud wyrm rice bowl!" Looking to Hawthorn and Iskra, he shrugs his shoulders, leaving it to them with a friendly smile. "It is pretty good." But no matter how much he likes the food, it's not like he can reach that high. Sol, on the other hand, has his tongue dangling, his tail swishing next to Goose as he watches the flock of scaled creatures creep closer. The dragon's golden scaled head swivels back and forth like his eyes aren't enough to track them, looking ready to strike - or play.
Meanwhile, Zavien gives a small grunt as he lifts more bricks, striving to finish the last few steps of the stairs before they call it a night.
A couple of cloud wyrms have decided to pester the working party. Feel free to scare them off or kill them as you keep laying bricks on the second floor!
Iskra announces his fire magic and the courtesan finds himself relieved a touch that he doesn’t have to focus on trying to heat and dry everything up when the woodcutters magic would wick it away easily. It gives him enough focus to ensure the wind keeps moving around them to prevent the rain from coming down so hard — and even if it gets into some people’s eyes while they figure out the rhythm, Thorn offers an apologetic smile their way.
If anyone does get scorched pretty bad, though, Thorn is ready with his healing magic to help out where he can by the time Erika arrives. Her blink hare stew has Thorn’s mouth already watering, and pairing it with a hot coffee has him feeling more alive as they take a break to eat.
But it doesn’t last too long, Thorn pushing his tired and cramping body to the limit again to help with magic and physical means when the announcement of the cloud wyrms arrives. Glancing up and spotting the pale creatures as they descend, Thorn’s nose wrinkles. He heaves a sigh and wipes at his brow before he squints back up at them, using his air magic to blast a stream of air up toward them, hoping it’ll make them scatter.
Thorn uses his air magic to try and send the cloud wyrms into a spiral or disrupt their flight!
Air manipulation (Abandoned/Hybrid): Can manipulate the air. Must be within a 30ft radius and allows the user to levitate medium-large sized objects up to 5ft above the ground . Control is excellent.
Type: Grey | Rank: Upgraded | Cost: Action
"Oh shit, sorry!" he calls out as someone's sleeve appears right as his fire snakes along the bricks, the flame catching on the fabric in a brief flare of heat and smoke before Iskra quells the element. It's a challenge with so many moving pieces nearby, especially as he's normally able to whip the fire around freely and with the attempt to cause the most harm usually, so finding ways to provide more nuance and control than usual is a personal challenge that he does his best to rise to.
Eventually he finds the right level of strength and awareness to work around the others as his magic helps dry the brick and mortar that they're all laying, his trowel continuing to slop it onto the row of bricks and sweep and cut round so the amount is just right. With the efforts of everyone else nearby too, the rain hardly seems a factor and his muscles settle back into the memory of weariness from yesterday as he stoops, crouches, reaches, and tugs.
Grateful for Erika's meal delivery, he stretches into the break to eat, again parceling some out for Goose before the dog is bounding away to play games with Sol and other companions in the nearby area, always on the hunt for more jerky deliveries. Getting back into brick work and heating as the day progressing into evening, Iskra's attention lifts at Zavien and Erika's remarks. "Cloud wyrm rice bowl sounds excellent," he muses, and takes a stride forward, gaze narrowing through the rain. Although Thorn attempts to blow them away, Iskra sends his fire magic racing towards them as its own version of a flaming cloud wyrm, flame attempting to wrap around and bite into them to claim their meat for meals.
Iskra continues to work on the wall and tries to roast some of the cloud wyrms
Fire Manipulation (Abandoned/Hybrid): Can create and control flames. Must be within a 30ft radius.
Type: Dark | Rank: Mastered | Cost: Action
Hawthorn's air magic buffers the cloud wyrms from coming any closer, their mischievous chirps shifting into annoyed whines that quickly devolve into squeals when the fire is introduced. Iskra's fiery wyrms hunt the scattering white creatures, biting into their scales despite the water that sizzles against the flames. A soft grilling smell permeates the air, a handful of white forms falling onto the construction site in a smoky cascade.
Erika seems unbothered by the display, trapsing forward to collect the dead cloud wyrms by the tails. She inspects each one before nodding her head so that her white curls peek from beneath her bonnet. "Mmm. These will do." Obviously preoccupied, she doesn't even bid them farewell, leaving them to finish their afternoon work without her intense gaze.
Zavien kind of appreciates the silence, focusing in on the work and ensuring that the magics continue to combat the wet environment. By the end, the second floor is nearly done, but as much as he wants to push through to get it done, he knows the dimming light will make it difficult and dangerous, and it won't help the grueling days of work still to come. So Zavien finally calls the day to a close after placing the last brick in the stairway, smiling at the other for their individual efforts. "Nice work everyone. Let's hope the rain finishes off tonight."
---
The rain does stop, although the humidity suggests that magic may still be necessary to speed along the work. Zavien doesn't let that dampen his mood, not when he has more coffee to put a smile on his face. "The goal today is to finish off the second floor and hopefully complete the third. Let's get it done!" He punctuates the last sentiment with a clap of his hands, grinning his confidence in their work ethic after the last week.
The cloud wyrms have been killed or scared away! Come back the next day to start the third floor and enjoy Erika's rice bowls!
