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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!
Wren? Maea stared at her partner, uncomprehending. "Wha- but how could it be? She's dead. And even if she wasn't, shouldn't she be a child still?" Now she wished she'd gotten a closer look at the girl who'd caused this upset. All she had redistered was a round face and blonde hair, and that wasn't rare enough by far to claim kinship with anyone. Still, Liam seemed so convinced that her own certainty wavered, though in his agitated state she doubted it mattered whether she agreed with him or not.
"Please, my love, take a breath. You're okay - and she looked quite healthy too, whoever she is. Let's start there." Shifting her hold on his arm to take his hand instead, Maea braided her pale fingers in with Liam's, standing as anchor to ground him in the reality of the evening. One where his long dead daughter may be alive, just a stone's throw away. The roaring bonfire threw their shadows long and disfigured across the rocky ground, trampled by milling feet and reaching for the delectable treats served hot and sticky from countless vendors. A small isle of calm formed around them as others steered away from them, swift water parted by jagged rocks joined together again on the other side.
Tell the tales of the trail of dead Lovers learned from slower hands
She's dead.
The words landed like a physical blow; Liam flinched, dropping his hands from where they'd fisted in his hair. Of course Wren was dead. He knew that, he did, but he also couldn't deny what his eyes were telling him. "The gods have been known to age children before," he pointed out, still clearly agitated. His gaze flickered back towards the girl he'd left behind, wondering, longing, wishing for what could have been. It's complicated, of course - he wouldn't trade Maea for the world, not now, but the possibility of having one of his children back...
Maea's hand in his was a lifeline; as their fingers entwined, he took a deep, shaky breath, and when he spoke again, it was hesitant. "I know it doesn't make any sense, but..." he trailed off with a sigh. Gods, he wanted a drink. "She looks a lot like her mother, but she has my eyes." It wasn't much to go on, it was true, but he couldn't shake the feeling that it was her. "I - I don't think I can stay here." He looked at his lover, torn. "But you should stay - I don't want to ruin your evening."
Losing self in myself And my demons make demands
Liam
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Liam.
the sun inside of her rages like wildfire and she is gold, gold, gold
Its way too hot but she arrives on the heels of her sister to the party. Not one to miss out on them if she can help it, she’s dressed down enough she can feel the shift of the heat in the air and the occasional breeze that flits through. She keeps out of the way, watchful and curious as her sister hooks arms with someone and skips around, at least until they both end up in front of the giant bonfire just radiating heat.
The fireworks earn a snicker from her as her sister’s offerings, and while Caly doesn’t have any of the found trinkets to offer the Longheat deity, she opts for something easier. Pulling a few golden trinkets from her pocket – gold coins with flames emblazoned on them and a few vials of golden glitter and fire changing hues, she tosses those in and watches as the flames dance a fun new color briefly and absorb the gold.
Then, with that underfoot, she catches up to her sister once she’s settled in beside someone she’s pretty sure she’s seen before but hasn’t actually interacted with. “Thought I saw ‘em sellin’ fancy honey over there, y’wanna go check it out?” She asks, shooting her sister a grin and tugging her over to the stall she’d spotted.
Caly offers gold trinkets to the bonfire and fire color changing vials!
He misses out on absolutely everything that’s gone on, and proceeds to continue to happen as Sohalia pulls Koa away and leaves him alone with Zavien. His smile falters a touch as he notices the way the Risen Sun appears to be rattled in one way or another, half expecting something else to fall from the other man’s lips before the announcement that he’s happy to see his face.
So Thorn dips his head and his smile brightens a little more. “Yeah, gods, pleaaaase.” He whines, huffing a laugh. “It’s fuckin’ hot.” He laments, nose wrinkling a touch as he breaks away from the group with Zavien so that they can separate from the large group of whatever-the-hell that was, snagging a couple of drinks that should be refreshing (at least that’s what the sign said). “So, what was that all ‘bout?” Handing a drink to the other man, Thorn sips from his drink and peers at Zavien over the rim of the glass.
Turning away from Calla and all that nEgAtIvItY, Nova is immensely happy that she has her sister to make the festival funner. She flicks her hair in a dismissive gesture, tiny snowflakes and sparkles acting as middle finger while she links arms with her sister this time. "Yes!" she exclaims about honey.
Their close proximity lets Calypso share in some of her colder air, her grin bright as she searches for the stall her sister had spotted. "Do they have flavors? What about something cold? Oh! Are those frozen?!" The stand appears busy - probably because of the icy box containing tiny jars of honey that appear frozen - and Nova can barely contain herself from pushing through the crowd to grab at the sweet treat.
Deimos had over many a question, learned how to somewhat deter Erebos from launching off of an impending ruin, though it made him wonder if the boy simply plotted silently afterwards. So the inquiries floating over to Nina weren’t unknown fixtures – he’d grilled both himself and Evie endlessly over companion bonding, but it sounded as though he was fixing some aspirations on things like Ember…and the Sword doubted they were in any innocent facets. Seeing Nina 's look, he snorted, and began maneuvering so the boy was forced to hang on, distracting purposefully, so they could make their way over to the sparklers.
Then he found himself glancing around, wondering when they’d lost Marcus, or if he’d taken to finding something else in the interim.
Following Hawthorn away from the now empty space their group had occupied, Zavien chugs the rest of the water in his hand and swipes more sweat from his forehead. "Positively hellish," he agrees, his sweat damp hair turning the golden strands dark despite the sunlight.
He exchanges his empty bottle for the cold glass of mixed juice that Thorn hands him, his smile turning a little lighter for a moment. Then he's recalling recent events, confusion twisting his features. "I'm not really sure." Zavien shrugs his shoulders as he tries to explain something he doesn't understand. "It could have been just a simple name mix-up, but... I don't know. Things felt oddly intense for a simple mistake." He takes a sip from his glass, enjoying the tropical mixture with a hint of pineapple.
Feeling like there's not much else to say when he really has no idea about the situation, he grins at Thron. "How are you? We really should see more of each other now that I'm in King's End." He doesn't add that he's not sure how long he'll stay or that he misses just hanging out with the man.
Erebos could hear the impending lecture – after all, the Sword and the Evergreen had them in spades. Why could they do reckless things, but he couldn’t? would be his mantra probably for life, but his brows furrowed slightly at the rarity, the burns, the respect. Heaving a sigh, he glanced over at Ember, feeling his own dreams of gravitas already fizzling out. “Oh,” he pouted at Nina, as if either disappointed the companion wouldn’t be unfurling fire right in front of them, or because he was young, impetuous, and prone to half-listening.
But then his father was roaming, and he suddenly remembered the other mission. Grabbing hold of fur and righting himself so he wasn’t sliding off, he glanced over his shoulder at Nina again, the excitement and ebullience returning; not one to be down for too long. “Sparklers! Are you going to get one? We’ll get Marcus one too.” Maybe the hybrid was already over there, or getting some food.
Based on the descriptions Aithne provided, it sounded as though the festival had been a similar repeat of yesteryear’s; pretending, of course, she hadn’t been the one throwing shoes that time. Instead, she smiled innocently, as if imagining the round of chaos after chaos with a blissful sentiment of amusement amongst the potential horrors. “Sounds delightful.”
Polishing off another piece, she tilted her head at the question, before her features rounded into something proud and preening. “Nearly ready. Just gotta find the right time to give it.” Which she figured might be after the family dinner party – mostly to see if either of them would have to be rewarded for surviving the first, initial go. “I think the confetti and glitter was a great touch. Thanks again for the help.”
And when that sky rains fire on you And you're persona non grata
Unsure what to do with the youth's disappointment, Nina was nonetheless relieved when Erebos seemed content to let the subject go - due, in no small part, to Deimos 's timely distraction. Shooting the hellhound a grateful look, Nina was content to look at sparklers with the others. When Marcus was mentioned, Nina looked around, frowning. Where had he gone? He had been there just a moment before.
The sparkler stall was crowded, and it took a moment for the line to move along sufficiently to allow their group to make a purchase. Nina made a selection of a few different sparklers that promised to burn in different colors - and then a few satchels that promised to pop when thrown into the fire, supposing that Ember would find amusement in eating them. "What did you purchase?" she asked Erebos a moment later, before showing off her own goodies.
I'll tell you how I've been there too And that none of it matters
"It was a treat," Aithne agrees, offering an almost wicked cackle. "I already can't wait for next year. I hope something really wild happens." Because chaos is practically instinctive for the young Ancient, and her imagination has already run wild with things that could have or should have happened.
In the meantime, though, this festival makes for a good substitute - lacking, of course, some of the more random elements that made the Blood Moon Festival so enjoyable. Still, it's in the Climb, and there's fire and dancing and wine (which Aithne quickly nabs and begins to sip at), and the vibe is altogether enjoyable.
At Melita's thanks, Aithne waves a hand. "Oh, it was my pleasure," she says impishly. "I just wish there was a way for me to see you give it."
Aithne
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Aithne.
idealism sits in prison, chivalry fell on his sword
And then the girl is leaving, too, and Koa throws Zavien a confused look because it's obvious that the dense has missed something that's transpired. But before he can ask what the fuck just happened a familiar, lithe figure is at his shoulder, and Koa finds himself turning to Hawthorn with a grin. "Thorn!" he greets the courtesan warmly, pleased to see his errant friend. "It's been a while, man. How ya been?"
But reunions will have to wait: there's a more important conversation Koa has to have, first. A soft voice and the brush of eyes catches the young man's attention, and he nods at Soh, a blush of heat rising in his ears. "'Course," Koa answers in a low, warm voice, then glances back to the lads. "I'll catch up with you guys later, yeah?" he promises, before moving to trail Sohalia off to the relative quiet and shade.
Deimos listened as Erebos pointed at the different vendors of said sparklers – for the child was quickly and clearly enraptured by the variety of hues. Letting the notions go that he could simply create something similar at home for the lad, he figured perhaps the youth merely wanted a signature, a token, a souvenir to remember the festival by.
On that note, his long strides took them to the one that Erebos seemed more enchanted by; the merchant waving his wares around like they were banners in the army. Snorting, he let the boy slide down and start making his selections, before they would inevitably round back over to Nina and Ember, and perhaps locate Marcus.
Erebos did spend much of time oohing and aahing over the collective units of sparklers – eyes widening with every passing color. Eventually though, he’d have to make a decision, and he went back and forth over some vivid green hues and some nearly pearlescent blues, fixated on the potential. In the end, he could hear his father snort as he started up a classic notation on finalities. “Eeny, meany, miney, mo…,” and drumming the semblance from one object to the other, he finally settled on a pack of the verdant portions. “Thank you, sir!” he offered to the merchant, and snagged another portion of his coins, before he and the Sword returned to Nina.
“Here’s what I got!” and he opened the bag to reveal the viridescent complexities, very tempted to light them up here and now. Waylaid, momentarily by curiosity of her wares, he glanced towards the contents of her purchases. “What about you? Which one do you think Marcus would like more?”
