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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!
Deimos might’ve rumbled something in return; but his attention was tied to Liam’s arrow, waiting to see if it would hold merit again. Alas, no sooner had the thought torn through, so did the armament, pinging directly off the beasts’ tusks and landing flatly in the snow. “Most of them are,” he uttered instead thereafter, shaking his head, and mustering onward.
The bear threatened to beat down on the shield, and he could feel the rock and earth ricochet violently through his pulse. Taking another deep breath and steeling, forging himself, he amplified the efforts, reinvigorating the magic, strengthening the fortifications – because if they didn’t have that, then he could ascertain more trials and tribulations would be ahead.
Thereafter, he flickered the fire, the flames, the embers, the power, again into the ursur. The air rippled and cast, catching and slashing, and the ripple effects of so many wounds and burning coercion were starting to hold an effect. The creature slowed, its dominion teetering, but still, it fought on; not one to ever turn tail from a fight.
I've seen faces I may never see again I've been places I never could have dreamt
It would have been easier, in some ways, were the rock shield not in the way. Liam could have fired more quickly and accurately, for starters. But that would also have meant he'd be exposed, and against this mammoth beast, he was rather glad not to be. He'd much rather have the illusion of safety and contribute as he can (though it rankles that he can't do more than this) than die trying to be impressive.
So the soldier simply grimaced as his shot pinged off the ursur's tusks and fell into the snow, ducking down long enough to nock another arrow. This time, he tried to aim more steadily, though shooting through holes in a shield at a moving target was a challenge. Still, he hoped to spill perhaps a little more of the ursur's blood before Deimos finished it off. That had to happen soon, right?
I've touched hands with those who've touched me Seen the marks, the skeleton keys
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Liam.
Given that Liam had already missed once without the shield, one might argue if the defenses hadn’t been there, he would’ve just been a goner. Deimos wasn’t partial to losing individuals out on the Tundra, unless they were his enemy or an adversary of Halo, so he’d already taken great efforts to ensure both of them lived throughout their tale. He presumed Liam had other things to do throughout his life, rather than having it taken by a nasty bear. Taking a deep breath, he clenched his jaw once more and strengthened the barrier, even as the ursur tired, slowed, the beast continued to be prove to be unrelenting – too enraged to ever be indifferent, or back away.
Some beasts fought with sense, and others simply with audacity. Where humans tended to fell was also anyone’s game or guess.
Liam’s arrow, this time, clipped the beast right along its ear. The vicious creature roared once more, then turned its blocky head towards its current combatant, but incapable of seeing beyond the slots of earth, its paws and weight merely layered into the combination of ice and earth, pulverizing, striving, trying. Deimos shook his head and drove more power, more venom, more vehemence into the stokings of his incantations, and the wind, the air, the fire burnt into its hide and tarnished its soul one more time; before it ultimately fell with one gigantic heave into the snow.
I've seen faces I may never see again I've been places I never could have dreamt
Without Deimos, it could certainly be argued that Liam would have fared much worse in his attempt to assist Halo’s hunters, perhaps that he would even have fallen out here on the tundra, where no one but Maea would know to look for him, and she unable to come for fear of freezing. It was luck that had brought him to Deimos before the ursur, and he would have no small amount of thanks to give at the next shrine he came across. For now, though, he had only the battle in mind, and the grim satisfaction of his arrow finding its mark (mostly).
And then the ursur was launching one final assault upon the shield before it fell, ultimately, into a heap beyond the wall of stone. Still wary, a new arrow nocked on the bowstring, Liam risked a glance at Deimos. ”Is it dead?” he asked, because he didn’t want to assume that ursurs didn’t play dead to trick their prey - gods knew he was ill-equipped for a hunt on the tundra, far more so than he had known at the outset.
I've touched hands with those who've touched me Seen the marks, the skeleton keys
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Liam.
He stood still in the silence for a moment, brow arching as the quiet flickered over. Lowering the shield until the ice and rock dispersed back into the tundra’s plain, he watched the prone body – only snorting thereafter and beginning to move towards the beast. “Very much so,” he offered in return, one boot lightly tapping at the paw of the corpse. Belial appeared again, soaring upward, granting out some hoot of either enthusiasm or victory. “Too bad about the fur.” But the Sword could only shrug; singed portions would likely not be a fought over commodity back home, but the flesh and bones would be a noteworthy fixture of uses. Glancing back at Liam, he permitted a small grin – one of those pieces that had left his features and face when immersed in battle. “You want any of it?”
Then his eyes narrowed on his sled nearby. Practical as ever, he went to snag it. “You are welcome to help load it up and we can head back,” unless that wasn’t in the Accepted’s current purview; it wouldn’t take Deimos long to commit to the notions on his own.
I've seen faces I may never see again I've been places I never could have dreamt
The silence stretched, and slowly, Liam began to relax. The bow lowered slightly, the string loosening as his grip faltered. And when confirmation of the beast’s death finally came, the soldier removed the arrow from the string and tucked it away into his quiver. At his silent command, his two companions swarmed closer, tucking themselves into the collar of Liam’s coat as much to warm themselves as anything else. Prim trilled a congratulatory note, weaving her little green head back and forth, while Vale looked on, stoic as ever.
Surveying the corpse, Liam noted the singed fur; it wasn’t a clean kill, but he suspected very much that ursur kills rarely were. ”Is the meat any good?” he asked curiously. Of course, he was certain it was edible, but he imagined that it might be too gamey to be truly enjoyable. But hey, one could never know for sure. ”But no - I’ve more than enough back home. I’m happy to help load everything up for anyone who might need it here.”
I've touched hands with those who've touched me Seen the marks, the skeleton keys
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Liam.
“It is decent,” Deimos noted with a shrug. “Makes a nice steak, and there is usually plenty of it.” Ursurs went a long way, despite the danger in snagging any, to support families amongst and amidst the Citadel. No one was picky when it came to their meat, and whatever the Sword wouldn’t use, he’d share and disperse amidst his community. At the refusal though, he simply nodded – perhaps Liam was adverse to the notions, as much as the Warden was about gnawing on luxere.
“Sure. Thank you for the help.” Between muscles and a little Air magic, they’d be able to haul the beast upon the sleigh, and tactfully pull it back towards Halo; one more threat neutralized along the tundra plains.
