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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!
Sunjata ’s magic draws the White Knight in, space folding in on itself for a heartbeat before Ronin appears at the edge of the clearing, already moving, already armed. The banshee barely has time to register the new presence before the first of the radiant firebolts tear free.
They slam into her in rapid succession, bursts of searing light punching through ragged cloth and skeletal form alike, tearing great swathes of her incorporeal body apart. Each impact draws a shriek sharper than the last, the sound breaking and stuttering as her hover collapses into a wild, unstable drift. Where the bolts strike, her form burns thin and ragged, pieces of her unraveling into nothing.
Melita ’s arrow follows without pause and ice buries itself deep once more, frost spreading violently through what remains of her frame, locking her movement into a shuddering, uneven stagger. The banshee reels, barely holding herself aloft now, her screams reduced to hoarse, fractured remnants.
Jack ’s ice joins the barrage. This time the shards hit cleanly, slicing through her weakened form and tearing away the last scraps of cohesion she has left. The Wildwood seems to hold its breath as the banshee lurches midair, barely more than a tangle of rags and fury, hovering on instinct alone.
She turns toward Ronin. With a final, furious screech, the banshee lunges at the newest threat, skeletal hands snapping forward with what little speed she has left, and of course misses.
Her grasp closes on empty air, momentum carrying her past him in a faltering glide. She spins back sluggishly, hovering low now, her form flickering and unstable, rage and refusal the only things keeping her upright.
She is shattered. She is barely holding together. And still, somehow, she has not yet fallen.
Welcome to the KQ! Your randomly assigned posting order is: Sunjata, Ronin, Melita, Jack
Sunjata HP: 1140/1140
Melita HP: 640/640
Jack HP: 150/150
Banshee HP: 30/2089
REMEMBER: KQs are rewarding, but dangerous. They may cause death and/or permanent changes to your characters - join at your own risk!
but am i too late? or hearts to your spades, if i don't suit you? then what do you want from me?
“Thanks!” Sunjata calls to Ronin with a gratefulness that sparks through the gloom and doom he’s currently feeling. As the starbolts land, he watches the banshee shudder with the force of them. Melita’s arrow and reappearance has another round of damage beating into the banshee, followed up by Jack’s icy shards that thankfully do slice through her form and he’s positive she should have gone down by now.
He’s wrong, though, as she still stands, barely there and trying to hold it together. “C’mon, give it up already.” He grits out, jaw setting tight as he maneuvers himself beside Ronin as she sails past the White Knight. The flood reaches deep, snagging the riptide one more time and aiming it at her in the hopes that this might actually keep her down this time.
Sunjata moves toward where Ronin is to get closer to the banshee and uses his riptide again to try and finally get her!
Magic: Riptide | Creates an explosive wave that travels 60ft. Allies in the radius are uneffected, and enemies on the ground within 15 feet are knocked down.
Type: Dark | Rank: Mastered | Cost: Action
Regional Score bonus: +5 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +5 should be included). Residents cannot be cursed at shrines in this region.
Let it Rain cool down post 2/2
so we're not written in the stars, but i'm okay with that. i'm okay with anything
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
"Oh! Hey Mel!" Ronin calls with a cheerful wave mid side-step out from the banshee's limping clutches. "Oop," he murmurs, half to himself as he takes another few steps back, ensuring he's in the right position not to get hit by any friendly fire from his allies. "She's not looking too good, but there's no such thing as overkill when it comes to monsters, I find."
Nodding towards Sunjata, another three firebolts ignite in a halo over his head, the Knight unleashing them without preamble to send them spearing towards the banshee. It's been a hot minute since he got to do much more than run along the beach, so it's little surprise that he's actually quite enjoying this little jaunt out to the Greatwood.
Ronin says hi to everyone and fires three more firebolts at the banshee!
Magic: Radiant Firebolts | Ronin may summon radiant energy as a fiery projectile. Control is excellent, and multiple projectiles may be created at once. (In quests or other combat situations requiring dice rolling, only 3 firebolts may be created per post). Range: 60ft
Type: Light | Rank: Mastered | Cost: Action
Magic: Now You! | When Ronin successfully hits a target, the next ally who posts gains advantage on their attack.
Type: Light | Rank: Basic | Cost: Feat
Regional Score bonus: +19 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +19 should be included). Residents cannot be cursed at shrines in this region.
they should have checked the ashes of the women they burned alive
Really, she was in awe of the firebolts blasting away – an inspiration to all power-hungry, chaotic little fiends. A sample thought of those ‘I need to get me one of them’ perceptions popped into her head, but then the banshee was truly on her last legs, and those ventures could come thereafter. Violence now, vehemence later (could make it like a live, laugh, love sign but it was just destruction, desecration, demolition).
Once Ronin side-stepped out of the way, she snorted, figuring her arrow could do some damage if the bitch hadn’t already been blown to smithereens by the time the armament made it there. “All right, let’s go then,” she hummed, in full chaotic thrall, notching the weapon and letting the icy pinnacles fly.
--
Melita, you guessed it, fires another ice arrow at the banshee.
Regional Score bonus: +19 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +19 should be included). Residents cannot be cursed at shrines in this region.
Bowstring Bracelet | At first this bracelet appears only as a length of intricately braided bowstring, adorned with vinelike patterns and tiny, fanged charms. But with an arrow in hand, upon miming the action of knocking and drawing it, the user will feel a bow beneath their fingers, as if it was there all along.Type: Light | Style: Offensive | Level: Mastered | Cost: Action
Fire/Lightning/Ice Quiver | A magical quiver with two compartments. In one, it turns any arrow placed within into a flaming projectile when shot. In the other, the arrow becomes imbued with electricity. (Made by Remi)Type: Dark | Style: Offensive | Level: Mastered | Cost: Action
because it takes a single wild ember to bring a whole wildfire to life
Ronin's additional firepower is fucking devastating and not even Jack's ego is big enough to pretend otherwise. He's at least able to stop himself going slack-jawed at the demigod's arrival, though, and with the banshee tottering around on her last... er, hovering rags? he's keen to make sure that when she goes down, she stays that way. Nodding towards Melita as he realises she's reappeared, Jack reaches within himself for further arcane power; entirely unneeded with three demigods, but it's good to make an effort, no?
As Mel's arrow slices past, frost sharp and deadly, Jack conjures another shower of ice shards, dragging them down over top of the banshee in the hope that he can skewer whatever pitiful part of her might be left standing. With her demise all that's left between the Captain and the end of his quest, he's not taking any chances.
Jack showers the banshee in ice in the unlikely event that she isn't already dead!
Magic: Passive Telepathy | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 30ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Type: Grey | Rank: Mastered | Cost: Other
Water manipulation (Abandoned/Hybrid): Can create and control water. Must be within a 30ft radius.
Type: Light | Rank: Mastered | Cost: Action
Mageglass Ring | A silver ring with an unrefined stone of mageglass. Will amplify the magical abilities (range and power) of Abandoned by one level. (Basic becomes upgraded, upgraded becomes mastered. Mastered range cannot be amplified, but mastered damage will add on +10 in KQs/PQ+s)
Type: Light | Style: Other | Level: Mastered | Cost: Passive
Mageglass Ring | A band of silver crafted to look like waves, with an unrefined stone of mageglass. Will amplify the magical abilities (range and power) of Abandoned by one level. (Basic becomes upgraded, upgraded becomes mastered. Mastered cannot be amplified, but mastered damage will add on +10 in KQs/PQ+s).
Type: Light | Style: Other | Level: Mastered | Cost: Passive
Mageglass Bracelet | A bracelet of leather and silver, decorated with a piece of polished mageglass. Will amplify the magical abilities (range and power) of Abandoned by one level. (Basic becomes upgraded, upgraded becomes mastered. Mastered cannot be amplified, but mastered damage will add on +10 in KQs/PQ+s)
Type: Light | Style: Other | Level: Mastered | Cost: Passive
KingMaker Coat | A Type 3 coat made from the elephant-portion of the mythical KingMaker. Blocks physical damage. Has a 2-post cooldown
Type: Dark | Style: Defensive | Level: Mastered | Cost: Passive
Regional Score bonus: +5 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +5 should be included). Residents cannot be cursed at shrines in this region.
believer, believe it or not you'll know when it ends and how it goes
Sunjata 's riptide hits like a final verdict. The wave tears through the clearing with decisive force, slamming into the banshee and shredding what little cohesion she has left. There is no resistance this time—no glide, no recovery, no furious correction midair—her form collapses inward as the water rips through her, spectral rags twisting violently before tearing apart altogether.
The screech that follows is sharp, broken, and mercifully brief.
It cuts off mid-note as the banshee’s body unravels, her skeletal frame fragmenting into tatters of frost, light, and nothingness that scatter and dissolve before they can reach the ground. One moment she is there, shrieking defiance at the world, and the next, she's gone.
The will-o-wisps resume their slow drift, light swelling back into the clearing as sound returns in layers; water rushing at the Cataract, leaves stirring, distant insects resuming their chorus. The oppressive tension lifts as though it had never been more than a held breath.
Where the banshee hovered, there is nothing left.
Congrats, the KQ is completed! This thread will be archived in 24 hrs!
Sunjata HP: 1140/1140
Melita HP: 640/640
Jack HP: 150/150
Banshee HP: 0/2089 *** killed by Sunjata for levelling purposes
REMEMBER: KQs are rewarding, but dangerous. They may cause death and/or permanent changes to your characters - join at your own risk!
The banshee scatters to the wind with a broken wail that has Ronin's ears ringing, the Knight scrunching his nose and rubbing at the side of his head as if he might be able to dislodge the sound somehow. "Well she was a peach," he says, smiling to the rest of the group and seeming about to speak again before realisation and horror dawn on his face.
"Shit, I gotta go," he blurts, taking a few steps to the side so he doesn't risk smacking anyone and letting pale draconic wings unfurl from his shoulders. "Cows are gonna eat my baby," he declares, before shooting a lopsided grin between Sunjata and Melita. "I'll explain next time I see you!" he calls. Then, with a powerful couple of beats of his wings, Ronin shoots skywards and is gone.
Perhaps the only one out of the group feeling a shaken in the wake of the banshee's demise, Jack can do little more than watch as Ronin cheerfully announces his departure (and a bovine threat, if he heard it right) and takes his leave from the group. Blinking a couple of times and clearing his throat, he plucks at his still-wet clothing as if to keep the fabric from sticking to his bare skin and offers a quiet nod towards the Flood and the Honeybee.
"Owe you both," he says; a rarity for the Captain, it's true, but the fight has proven that he'd have never been able to take on the banshee alone and lived to tell the tale. "The Ark'll be stickin' around the Greatwood for a few days." In case they need to find him or in case one or both want to catch a ride home, not that he suspects they need it. Especially not Mel with her own ship to sail.
So with little else remaining between them, Jack tosses them a lazy salute and brushes his fingers along his compass rose tattoo, promptly vanishing away.
Jack out!
believer, believe it or not you'll know when it ends and how it goes
but am i too late? or hearts to your spades, if i don't suit you? then what do you want from me?
His riptide shoots out, nailing the banshee once again and this time, this time she fucking stays down. Pride zips through his bones at the fact he hadn’t missed a single shot – so used to missing his shots that he always went in with very low expectations. Such that he exhales a sigh of relief and shoots a smile to Ronin. “Thanks for the help.” He says before Ronin’s panic reaches the group and the mention of a cow eating his… baby?
Confusion flares but he shakes it off, sure that he will explain later because what a fucking sentence to leave on. Turning toward Jack he huffs a laugh. “Yeah.” He does owe them, but Sunjata couldn’t tell you what it was just yet. Which leaves him and Melita, stepping away from the carcass of the banshee to wrap his arm around his niece’s shoulder in a congratulatory hug. “Well, lets go get some celebratory food in the village.” He suggests, before he inevitably has to part to go and visit a certain someone still living within the confines of the Greatwood.
Sunjata out!
so we're not written in the stars, but i'm okay with that. i'm okay with anything
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
they should have checked the ashes of the women they burned alive
On one last riptide, it ended – shrieks of fury diminished, the Greatwood back into its quiet. A little anti-climactic, to the Honeybee anyway, her gaze going back and forth between will-o-wisps and the nothingness. “Delightful,” she shrugged; slightly bored and restless again now that the hunt had been extinguished. Ronin’s sudden expulsion though had her head tilting, briefly catching ‘cows are gonna eat my baby’ and mouthing the words back towards her uncle, figuring she might’ve been hearing things incorrectly, and offering him a quick wave on his way out.
But then there was Jack, and she snorted. “You absolutely do,” whether or not she’d know how to make good on that was another story. Withholding the ‘but no one died’ mantra to herself, she shrugged, taking Sunjata’s advice on a quick nod, rummaging her weapons back into normal display, already beginning to turn the conversation back into more confounding matters. “Did you hear what Ronin said…?”
[FIN]
because it takes a single wild ember to bring a whole wildfire to life
