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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!
It takes just one star to pierce a universe of darkness.
Nova appreciates having something to focus on other than her failure, happy to pass the time talking about the Ark as they look over the bland scenery. "Right?! And she said I could make her a dress! It's going to look so good on her!" Not to mention that it's going to be sparkly red which will look incredible on her curves, especially with her red hair and blue eyes. Nova practically melts against the railing at the thought.
Feeling a little more like herself, she lets Caly continue to distract her, eyes flitting between her sister and the edges of the sandy landscape. "How was the rodeo? Did anything fun happen?" There's a twinkle in her eyes again, a mischievous hope for chaos as much as a hint of jealousy for anything she might have missed.
“Really?” Caly asks, turning her attention back over to her sister with a golden grin – sunshine and vibrant to see her sister return to herself slowly but surely. “What color?” She anticipates glitter, so she doesn’t ask that. But she hides the soft little laugh that escapes her as she watches her melt against the railing with the thought of it.
As for the rodeo, though, Caly’s smile turns cheshire and playful as she remains leaning against the rail. “Oh yeah.” She snickers. “Pretty sure some rogue wind magic made Flora’s drink spill all over ‘er and Kaisel.” She bounces her brows as if to say who could’ve done it, who knows, but it had been incredibly worth it. She’d been extremely amused by the whole ordeal.
It takes just one star to pierce a universe of darkness.
Grinning, Nova gives Caly a knowing look. "Red obviously!" She stretches her arms a little farther against the railing, letting her muscles loosen after being so uptight. "But she said no glitter, so I have to make it sparkly instead. Still, it's going to look so good on her." That thought has her gaze going distant again, looking dreamy and full of an excitement she doesn't hide.
Caly's news draws her eyes again, head tilting as she tries to read between the lines of the story. Wind magic...
She brightens, a little gasp pushing away more of the darkness clinging to her limbs. "From the Ark?! I knew I liked her!" Giggling, she plays with the air flowing between her fingers, a conspiratorial gleam making her eyes glitter. "I'd kill to see the look on their faces. They must have been so shocked[/i]." Her giggled turned darker, the smile on her face a little sharper with wicked delight.
Thinking back to how much she likes the Ark, Nova glares at the surrounding region like it's somehow offended her. "I bet she'd be a lot faster right now. This is taking forever." Hak Etme isn't huge but her impatience makes the progress feel slow, recalling how much easier it was to travel over the Greatwood. Wings would probably be faster if hers weren't so small.
Snickering lightly to hear her sister start to become more herself, Caly’s sunshine smile lingers on her sister as she gets that far away look she gets when she’s day dreaming about something. “’Course it will. You’re the one makin’ it.” She confirms with a nod of her head and a beaming smile, before she’s delving into the amusement of what occurred at the rodeo, mischief sparking in her amber gaze as she reiterates what had happened to the Queen of Torchline and her ex-boyfriend.
It’s that same feline grin that she shoots over at her sister, laughing a sparkling chime of a sound as she agrees. “They were. It was amazin’!” And something that kept her mentality boosted for a lot longer than she’d likely admit otherwise.
But seeing as they’re still drifting over the desert, Caly leans a little heavier on her arms on the rail, peering down at it and the progress they’d made so far. “Yeah, she’s real good at gettin’ where ya need to go.” She sighs a little, joining her sister on the impatience train before she spies the edge of the desert in sight and points it out. “Look!”
It takes just one star to pierce a universe of darkness.
Praise always seems to do the trick for Nova and she glances to Caly with an equally bright smile. She won't argue with the logic when of course it will be incredible. She's the one making it. It helps that her model is gorgeous - and apparently prone to petty magic tricks at rodeos. Giggling, Nova tries to picture the shocked looks on their faces when their drink turned into a new accessory. "I'll make sure to be there next time! Maybe we can send some animals along to lick up the mess." There's a wicked delight in her eyes, imagining something similar to when she sent birds diving for Colt. Nothing quite beats that frenzied panic.
But then her attention is being drawn from the Ark and future intentions, redirected to where her sister points to the water that indicates the end of Hak Etme. Nova groans, pushing farther into the railing as she looks towards the end of their journey. "Oh! Thank the gods! I guess it's not as big as King's End or the Greatwood, but all the sand makes this place so boooring to look at." She flops a hand out to indicate one end of the region. "See? Over there? Sand." Her hand flops the other direction. "There? Sand." Nova shakes her head, blonde curls catching in the breeze. "At least Torchline has the beachy kind of sand. This is just... sand." No pretty shells or sparkling water or spattering of trees. Just sand for miles and miles. She's more than a little relieved that it's not a bigger region.
Giggling lightly to hear her sister’s plans for the next big event, she does feel some of the wind leave her sails. Because she isn’t sure if there will be another rodeo. The fact of the matter is that it was one put on by Colt and with the rancher no longer living here in King’s End – silently something she’s glad about because it means Nova and Vesper can come back to live here again – that it seemed unlikely they’d do one without the main person that always put it on. “We’ll have t’keep an eye out.” She says instead, bouncing her golden brows with a grin.
And, it gives her time to complain more about the desert and how it seems like it’s never ending until she can see the edge in sight rising up to meet them. “It’s all… Tan. ‘Cept for the Suvahasi way back there. It's just... So boring.” She agrees, full of dramatics as her sister explains the difference in terms of Torchline’s softer sand and the desert’s harsher climate.
“An’ the dust devil’s ‘n shit? Terrible.” She tacks on, already growing brighter with her sister’s mood improving and the end of Hak Etme in sight.
It takes just one star to pierce a universe of darkness.
Content to keep her eyes peeled for wherever the rodeo or other mischief-seeking events might pop up, Nova giggles at her sister's playful expression and turns her gaze to the desolate region before them. "Exactly." She shakes her head. "I don't get why anyone would want to live here. Even though it's small, there's so little color." The Suvahasi is bright, but it's barely a blip amongst the vast expanse of nothingness. It's so drab, and she hates the idea of having to walk days over the dunes with nothing pretty to look at but her own reflection.
Then Caly brings up the dust devils and Nova's face scrunches. As if the lack of color isn't offensive enough, it tries to attack people by throwing itself straight in people's eyes. She glares at the land, daring it to try getting her now. "Right?! At least Torchline's sand stays on the ground."
“Maybe they think it’s a good spot t’paint?” She suggests, squinting out at the barren desert and the lack of color – the tan on tan on tan that runs for days when viewed from the ground. “Oh! An’ the fuckin’.. Sunshine Pools? I heard they smell awful.” Her nose scrunches with immediate distaste, shuddering in thought. Hissing the sound out from her teeth, she only starts to relax as she remembers the dust devils and the fact she’s grateful they’re this high up.
Laughing a chimed, sunshine laugh at her sister, she bobs her head and sends little stray golden hairs flying. “As it should. Sand shouldn’t be in the sky. Obviously.” To her, that was the last place sand should be. It should be beneath your feet, the soft gentle sand that Torchline has to dip your toes into, to walk barefoot along the beach in comfort.
It takes just one star to pierce a universe of darkness.
"Paint? In the sand? That's crazy." She tilts her head, looking at the drab ripples of sand with a calculating gaze. "Glitter would be better," she decides, wondering just how much she'd need to make the desert sparkle from end to end. Not that it would change the smell of the sunshine pools, and she wrinkles her nose, shaking her head like if she keeps it moving the smell won't be able to catch her.
Lifting her chin, Nova meets Caly's smile with a crooked, cocky smile of her own. "Well, at least it's down there and not up here." Where it decidedly can't catch them no matter how unnatural it is.
However, as they reach the edge of the region and their skyship ride comes to an end, Nova's excitement victorious expression vanishes with a realization. "But now we have to go back." The groan she makes echoes across the deck, drawing eyes as she leans farther into the railing, bracing herself for the long trip back across the dreaded desert towards King's End. She makes a mental note not to waste her time walking through Hak Etme anytime soon, especially not without her sister to keep her company.
