From being an Abandoned who had rarely left the Hollowed Grounds, to embracing the call of adventure, to dying and being reborn first as an Ascended and then as an Ancient, Maea has gone through quite the amount of changes in her life. One thing remains common, though, in her attempts to find out just where she belongs; she’s always had a craving for knowledge which has brought her to so many places and to meet so many people here in Caido. We can’t wait to see what else is in store for her!
Congratulations, Maea!
Credits
Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
Skinning and hosting by the epically talented Kaons, and functionality fanciness by the coding magic of Neowulf. If you ever see either of them around, make sure to show them some love!
07-03-2019, 01:40 AM (This post was last modified: 07-04-2019, 12:12 AM by Eli.)
Eli
The blows came one after the other, fist striking down against soft flesh, whimpers of fear reverberating through the alleyway.
"Please..." A hushed whisper came, cut short by another strike into the gut, the wind left the pleading, sobbing man as he buckled, falling into a coughing fit. A figure loomed over him, shoulders heavy, chest rising and falling in control rage. A hand lent down grabbing the man by the hair and pulling him up as another flurry of blows battered the man's face, the crack of a nose breaking, the agonising scream as an eyeball dislocated from the socket, the mix of blood and saliva trickling from a mouth with now fewer teeth and raw, torn, bleeding skin left him looking a sorry, pitiful state.
Eli dropped him, sneering. Rage had taken over, consumed him. He had been relentless in his attack, his assault on the man who had attempted to mug him as he'd wandered down the alley. The dagger that had been drawn was laying on the ground off to the side, having disarmed and dislocated the man's arm before he had even gotten a chance to react.
"I- I'm sorr- sorry- please...please..."he coughed again, tears streaming down his face.
Eli stared at the man, his knuckles were bloodied, bruised, they ached. He wasn't sure he had enough will to carry on with this, a part of him pitied the man, all he could see, staring down at him, was a monster.
"Si vis pacem, para bellum." - If you want peace, prepare for war.
Phoebe had been minding her own business, quietly walking through town on her way to the Medical College. Pim trotted alongside, every few feet doing his best to try and fly a bit, but his wings were still not fully developed yet. But as they passed an alleyway an odd sound caught his attention and the dragonling paused, staring down the darkened walkway before snarling viciously.
Danger.
Of course, Pim did not project that word to Phoebe, but the feeling was unmistakable. Brown eyes turned to follow that of the dragonling, widening in horror at what she saw. For a moment she was frozen in shock, staring at the gruesome scene - but it was Pim's roar squeak tbat pulled her back to reality. "Stop it! Stop right now! Leave that poor man alone! Phoebe cried out, the volume sounding unfamiliar to her naturally soft voice.
07-03-2019, 02:40 AM (This post was last modified: 07-04-2019, 12:06 AM by Eli.)
Eli
Her voice brought him back to reality, as if she'd shaken him from a nightmarish numbness; eying the site for a moment of what he'd caused he inhaled. He looked over his shoulder, eyeing the woman at the end of the alley.
"Go. Remember why this remember, think about that next time." His words had a level of deadly finality to them, they spat out almost like poison. The whimpering, cowering man scooped up what teeth he could find and hobbled away, his sobs becoming distant on the evening air.
Finally Eli turned eyeing the woman fully. Who was she? She was brave, he'd give her that, he could've been anyone, she didn't know the circumstances, how he'd defended himself. 'Defended himself'... the words rang hollow in him. Had it really been defense? The white hot, red rage that had overcome him, sending him into a frenzy, beating the man to within an inch of his life. It didn't sound like defense, it didn't look like it. He felt nothing for a moment, as he swallowed.
"Let me explain miss! It's not what it seems... I promise! His gruff voice was a little hoarser than usual as it traveled down to her. He honestly hoped she would at least hear him out.
"Si vis pacem, para bellum." - If you want peace, prepare for war.
The stupidity of her action suddenly hit her like a ton of bricks, stunning her to silence as she froze. She was like a deer caught in headlights, wide eyed, stock still, just staring at the man as he slowly began to approach, the man he had beaten near to death bounding away in the opposite direction. She probably would have remained frozen, were it not for the sound of Pim snarling at the man, rainbow colored lightning crackling around the dragonling's teeth; a clear warning from the young creature.
"Not a step closer!" Phoebe shouted at the man, her soft voice still sounding off at such a volume, a hand outstretched as if the gesture alone would bring him to a halt. She had to do something, if only for Pim's sake. He was still young and she wasn't sure he was quite a match for this man yet. "You can explain yourself from right there!"
07-03-2019, 12:24 PM (This post was last modified: 07-04-2019, 12:07 AM by Eli.)
Eli
The dragon actually made Eli falter a little- was that real? Was- no...? He actually paused, as if obeying Phoebe and her rather abrupt shouts.
"Hey now- just, look the guy was trying to rob me, he drew a dagger, I defended myself. That's clear as day from where I am, so just think about it."
He dared to take another slow step toward her, as he tried to defuse the situation, the small dragon by her side caused hesitation in him, though admittedly he didn't want to scare her off, what if she alerted the guards, he wasn't exactly sure how this would be taken.
He at least seemed genuine in what he was saying, though how much she could actually tell that, it wasn't clear. A few beads of sweat ran down the side of his face, finally cascading off him into the badly cobbled alley below. He slowly raised his hands, with palms open, as if showing her that he wasn't any sort of threat to her, or her scary pet dragon thing, that Eli was sure must've been a trick- surely.
"Si vis pacem, para bellum." - If you want peace, prepare for war.
Phoebe worried her lip, uncertain if she should believe him or not. It was certainly a believable story, given the time of day and the cover that the alleyway would provide for such a crime. Pride was radiating off of Pim, who snarled all the more fiercely as the man took another step forward, his little wings flaring out to make him appear larger. ”Pim, get back here.” Phoebe said, worrying a little for his safety. With a growl of discontent, the little dragon scurried back, climbing up her dress and side to curl around her shoulders, teeth still barred at the man.
”It seems you did an awful lot more than defend yourself.” she said, her voice returning more to a normal register, still clearly alarmed and unnerved, but hesitantly believing his story. ”Why should I believe you?” she asked warily, holding the small bag of books she had a little closer to her person.
07-03-2019, 02:18 PM (This post was last modified: 07-04-2019, 12:09 AM by Eli.)
Eli
He hesitantly watched 'Pim'- he thought that's what she called him at least. He exhaled, arms going down, that same numbness returning for a moment as her words cut through him. He suppose he had done more than defend himself, he couldn't escape that fact but- damn it the man had tried to mug him, what else should he have done? It was the man's fault, not his. The man's. He resolutely pushed that thought into his mind, eyes closing as shook his head. He didn't know anymore. He was unsure of how to proceed.
He eyed the ground a moment before looking back to her.
"I have no idea why you should, miss; just, call the guards, do whatever you want." He wandered to a set of crates, slumping down on one, elbows resting on his knees as his hands ran through his hair, pushing back a few loose strands of the dark, neat locks.
"The dagger is on the ground- I doubt I'd of dropped it myself if I was mugging him, I clearly wasn't losing against him."
He sneered, eyes darkly narrowing as he brooded quietly on the crate, a cool breeze of air racing down the alley. Part of him wished she'd leave, as to see him like this felt shameful.
"Si vis pacem, para bellum." - If you want peace, prepare for war.
His response took her off guard, and she blinked at him, staring as he seemed to crumple in on himself and sit on a discarded crate. Brown eyes glanced to the ground, and in deed there lay a dagger. It did make sense she supposed, and he had clearly beaten the man enough to cause him to drop it without a doubt. The young midwife lifted a hand to pat Pim’s head, quietly shushing him. His behavior was too…genuine it seemed for him to have been the original aggressor.
In a way, he reminded her of soldiers come home from war – so shocked by the horrors they witnessed and participated in that the smallest of things could set them off. Almost being mugged could certainly do that.
Hesitantly she stepped forward, trying to get a better look at him. ”Are…are you okay?” she asked softly. ”Did you just…sort of snap? It can happen sometimes, it’s okay if you did.” she said, her voice gentle and soothing. Her gut was telling her this was a man with war shock, not a violent criminal, and Frey had indeed instructed her to follow her feelings…even if Pim was still very much on edge about who this fellow was.
07-03-2019, 03:26 PM (This post was last modified: 07-04-2019, 12:10 AM by Eli.)
Eli
Was it okay? Of course it wasn't okay. What sort of sane, ordinary person beats a man half to death for an attempted mugging. He sneered a little, eyes looking over to her. No, she didn't understand, civilians didn't understand. They never did.
"What- do you want to help me? Is that it? I'm fine. I'm not sure how it's the concern of a random woman I just met quite honestly." In many ways he was like a dog backed into a corner, lashing out at anyone trying to help him. He exhaled, hands running over each set of knuckles, wincing just a little as he looked down to inspect his bruised, bloody knuckles. He had beaten the man so much and so hard the skin had torn from each impact. They still ached, and he very much knew they'd ache for a good while longer.
Pondering he looked at her properly. "I'm fine, I just need to find someone or something to treat my hands and I'll be chipper." He didn't sound chipper, or look it. He was scowling, brooding at the world; rubbing his knuckles again one last time, he let out a long sigh rolling his shoulders back in the process, that feeling of paranoid alertness not allowing him to push her fully out of his vision, especially with that little pet she had.
"Si vis pacem, para bellum." - If you want peace, prepare for war.
She bit her lip, feeling the sting of his biting comment briefly. But the more he spoke, the more he reacted to her, the more she was certain he was suffering war shock. The man pulling a dagger on him must've triggered it, putting him back in the moments of whatever awful things he had experienced, and so he reacted accordingly. Such a terrible thing, to be trapped by one's own mind like that. "Well...you seem fairly shaken up so...I think you need help." she said gently.
Phoebe glanced around before deciding on her action. "I was heading to the Medical College to drop off a few things. I have some supplies there to treat your hands with if you would like." she said. Pim had stopped growling but his tail flicked in an irritated, catlike manner, watching the mane like a hawk. "I'm Phoebe, by the way. Phoebe Steadman." she said with a small smile, hoping a bit of friendliness might get him to calm down.
07-04-2019, 12:24 AM (This post was last modified: 07-04-2019, 12:25 AM by Eli.)
Eli
Bitterly he looked away from his knuckles and fixed his gaze firmly upon her, he was staring daggers at her. All his rage and anger burned hot and bright, right at her, yet her offer made him exhale, he hadn't expect any sort of kindness, merely for her to huff, shake her head and walk off. He sneered a little as if offended by the offer but he was rightly going to take it, it would have been foolish not to.
"Fine, I'll go with you to this college. Seems I have little choice." Eli pushed himself up to his feet, turning rather suddenly and making for her, within but a few paces he had come up to her jerked his head off to the side without much decorum. "After you and your... pet, Miss Steadman." He eyed the small dragon suspiciously and didn't actually offer her a name, he honestly didn't care to, there was little point, he figured he'd be gone rather quickly and so pleasantries simply were not important or required, though it came across as rather rude, that was for sure.
"Si vis pacem, para bellum." - If you want peace, prepare for war.
To be fair, when he suddenly stood and approached so quickly, she did stiffen out of momentary fear. But she forced herself to relax. He only approached after she had invited him to after all. "You can call me Phoebe. And this is Pim. He is actually my companion, so he and I are actually connected via a bond." she said with a soft smile at him. Though it was a bit disheartening that he didn't offer his name. But he certainly had his reasons. If he was coming down from an attack, she doubted he was feeling terribly friendly.
So she would be friendly for them both!
"I am actually the Dean of the college. I started it recently. I am also the local midwife." she said, chatting casually with him, a smile on her face. She had put herself into work mode, and so seemed perfectly at ease, her calm seeming to flow off of her like a soothing aura. Even Pim seemed to relax a bit, still eyeing the man but having stilled. "Are you from here?" she asked as they walked towards the sanctuary where the college was.
He walked in relative silence a lot of the time, glancing at her every now and again as she made idle conversation. He offered her mere murmurs and grunts in response to a lot of it, not exactly feeling much like talking right now however, when a question came about he sighed and shook is head. "No, I'm from- well, I doubt you'd believe the place I was from to be perfectly honest." sighing he shook his head again and looked back to his front, keeping her on the very edge of his vision, just in case. He wasn't exactly sure what she might do, but it was there, that nagging sense that something was going to happen, that he was in danger. He tried to shake the feeling off but it wasn't quite as simple as that.
"Is this place far? Eli sounded rather irritated at the fact, even if the distance was something that didn't exactly bother him. He thought he might as well talk a little, seeing as she was going to just speak at him all the way instead of them actually having a conversation.
"Si vis pacem, para bellum." - If you want peace, prepare for war.
"I'm not from here either. A lot of us aren't." she said to him with a small smile. "I was born in a place called Northwind. But the kingdom had been at war for...well, long before I was born. So they sent some of us through a portal to a place called Northaven to rebuild. And then some of us appeared here." she said, patting Pim's head as he began to lightly pur against her neck.
"Oh no! It's right in here." she said as she led him into the sanctuary, them through a side door. The College was clearly not technologically advanced. From the entrance there was a walkway to a large lecture hall and a large staircase. It was up this staircase that she led him, passing a small library and a few research labs equipped with the most basic of implements. She brought him to a study, looking through a drawer before pulling out some gauze. "Let me see your hands."
