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!
there will be scrapes and sutures; viciousness and victory
Like a friendly scuffle between teenage boys, playful war breaks out quickly. Scoffing out his disappointment as Deimos steps easily out of reach, Ronin is trying to reorient when an errant foot comes out to snag at his leg. He goes down with an "Oof!" but doesn't stay that way for long, both instinct and momentum propelling him into a roll. Springing back, it's with a quick grin that he orients himself towards Zavien in revenge for the act.
Whilst the Stormbreaker rounds on the Sword, Ronin twists his blade to try and intercept the blow, aiming to smack it back from Deimos's side and force a duel. Not that he expects his assistance to be rewarded - this is by no means a team effort on anyone's part. Still, it's with the thrill of sparking adrenaline and old habits that he commits to the cause.
Dust clouds rose with the shuffling of feet and huffed breaths. Zavien attempted to keep his awareness open while narrowing his focus to Deimos. While his sword was connecting, he felt his foot successfully trip Ronin. However, he had no time to enjoy the man's dexterous response. Within an instant, he was shocked to see the two blades coming to challenge his own. Deimos's connected first with an unsurprising amount of strength. Although his grip was firm, the handle threatened to fly from his hands. Zavien grunted in effort and stumbled back a step, giving an admiring chuckle at the skill of his opponents.
Redirecting his efforts, he attempted to utilize the change in stance to solidify his position for Ronin's onslaught. Turning his blade down, he stepped in to deflect the attack while arcing his own up and over his head for a downward strike against Deimos. His back and abs screamed in protest against the exertion, but Zavien's facial muscles strained more against the giant grin plastered there.
Deimos had the time to snort at Ronin’s roll amidst the ground, and subsequent volley between the pair, brows furrowing slightly as he shook his head. He’d seen the demigod in far worse plights than the blow by blow maneuvers, and though in other circumstances he might apply that primordial dry humor, he’d wait it out after a few more rounds, twists, and turns.
His attention remained on Zavien and his impacts, only mildly disappointed that he couldn’t snag the blade from the warrior’s hand. The downward strike applied back to him in turn, however, was dealt with unceremoniously, aiming to deflect, allowing it to slide down the wooden bombardments of the blade. From there, he counter-acted by arcing a swing towards the Stormbreaker’s ribcage.
there will be scrapes and sutures; viciousness and victory
It's chaos, the sort that Ronin only remembers experiencing in the training barracks here in Stormbreak, or in the Hollowed Grounds, or far, far back in his past, in Northaven. The nostalgia alone is enough to keep a smile on his face, and as Deimos makes his play for Zavien, of course Ronin wants to help out the young Stormbreaker.
"Watch out," he calls, grinning; in an attempt to 'assist' Zavien away from the blow swinging towards his ribcage, Ronin sweeps out a leg to try to topple the other man out of Deimos's reach. Whether or not he's successful is irrelevant, because he still has Deimos to worry about, and he's soon spearing the practice weapon towards the Sword as well.
The unbridled joy was evident on Zavien's face despite the fury of movements around him. He was satisfied to see that Deimos didn't handle his attack easily, giving him a boost in confidence that was immediately deflated when he noticed the counterattack coming straight for his exposed ribs.
A distant shout reached his ears, but the swing was too fast to fully avoid. He flipped his blade vertical and pulled his elbows in to brace for impact before feeling his leg sweep from under him. Rather than help him avoid the sword, it just served to weaken his balance. When the wood connected with his arms, he fell flat on his back.
Air rushed from his lungs and he gasped loudly. Although stunned, he was able to shoot a playful glare at the foot's owner while gathering his strength. By the time he moved to strike, it had been less than a second. From the ground, he swiped a leg in Deimos's direction and whipped his sword out towards Ronin's legs in revenge. If he was going to be on the ground, he wanted everyone to be there with him.
Deimos wasn’t instantly transported to childhood brawls or ridiculous melees, but it certainly had the correspondence of days of youth – or even ongoings throughout his own barracks. But he wasn’t going to be felled by sweeping legs, as he might’ve been in the past, permitting a small measure of laughter to pass through his lungs as he side-stepped away from Zavien’s fallen attempts.
Had he been closer, he might’ve attempted to step right on the wooden training blade, but instead, he had to counter and block Ronin’s incoming spear. Casting his own sword sideways for a moment so it snagged at the practice instrument, he ducked to the right thereafter, taking an opportunity to try and hit Ronin at the knee.
there will be scrapes and sutures; viciousness and victory
Forced to content with Zavien's feet - and blade - from the ground, as well as Deimos's skilled assault, Ronin ends up in a strange dance where he tries to keep himself desperately on his feet. It's only partially successful; no sooner has he managed to totter out of the way of the Stormbreaker when a practice sword cracks him right across the knee, and the strength of the sword's owner alone leaves the Nova with a dead leg.
Laughing out the shock and accompanying pins and needles as said leg gives way, Ronin holds up both hands and grins to his two companions. "Alright, I yield, I yield!" He scoffs. "It's been a long time since I did any real swordplay. I bow to your obvious advantage." This he says to Deimos with a roguish little bow, before tipping a wink to Zavien. "I reckon he made his own practice sword better than ours, between you and I," he jokes.
Still sprawled on the ground, he winced at the solid blow landed on Ronin's knee. Realizing his assaults had failed, Zavien groaned and spun to his feet, falling back into his stance in preparation for another attack. But when Ronin yields, his strength immediately flees. After training all morning, he had been more drained than originally anticipated. A pang of relief resonated along with a small drop of disappointment that the sparring had ended so soon.
Using his sword as a crutch, he relaxed his posture and faced the two men. "He definitely had weight behind those hits. Whether that was the sword or his muscles, I couldn't say. Maybe you should trade and we can give it another go to test your theory." He grinned in obvious joking. Rubbing his hand over his aching back, he looked at Ronin sympathetically and laughed. "Although maybe we should have just teamed up against him to begin with." Zavien's pride hurt slightly to think he wasn't even remotely capable of being a warmup for Deimos, so much so that he didn't presume to believe ganging up would have done anything against him. Putting on his best smile, he gave Deimos an exasperated sigh. "Did you even break a sweat?"
Huffing on pretenses of him even remotely thinking of cheating (sometimes, though that hadn’t been the case today), the Sword rolled his eyes at his fellow combatants. “The barracks are always open to you,” he snorted, implying the level of practice could result within Halo’s reaches too – it was how all his soldiers and warriors combined precision and abilities.
Unsympathetic to their plights (as he was most often with anyone he sparred with), some round of laughter escaped his chest at the notions and statements surrounding him, shaking his head once Zavien inquired. “No.” But the spar had been good-natured and boyish, not an antagonistic display of everything they could muster, and for that, he could manage a better experience in his mind when it came to Stormbreak. “I can treat you both to lunch for your suffering.” Tilting his head vaguely, and not having enough information, he would have to yield to them this time. “I presume there is some good food nearby.”
there will be scrapes and sutures; viciousness and victory
"And to me as well, I hope. Need the training more than I expected." Ronin grins at Deimos, getting himself back on his feet and extending his leg a couple of times to make sure the feeling has returned. "I agree, though - next time we trade, or we can try hand to hand." None of this hitting with sticks malarkey (that Ronin clearly hasn't done for a long while).
But then the Sword is offering them food and, being a man after Ronin's heart, naturally the Nova is eager to take him up on it. "That's right, you've not been around Stormbreak too much," he says, grinning. "You're in for a treat. I'm happy to pick the place, if that works with you both?" Unless Zavien has other plans, naturally.
Straightening his own back, Zavien laughs at Deimos's blunt and honest answer. "Fair enough. You could at least pretend to be a little winded." He met Ronin's eyes with an exasperated look of amusement. The concept of hand-to-hand was enticing as well, but he didn't think his aching body could handle the contact at the moment and a small wince escaped at the thought.
Still grinning stupidly on his endorphins high, his ears perked at the mention of food and a loud growl spread across the rocky landscape. Zavien laughed and said, "Apparently, my stomach has responded for me. Lead the way!" He throws the small bag over his shoulder and slides his metal sword back into its sheath at his waist. His dusty clothing and crooked smile gave the look of a bullied kid who decided to claim the unfortunate instigators as his new best friends. They were stuck with him now whether they liked it or not.
The invitation to the barracks had been meant for both, so he nodded, agreed with the sentiments. “Yes. We have a climbing wall too.” In case either of them didn’t want to punch one another or targets all day.
But thereafter, he’d have to acquiesce to their judgement and knowledge of the current world – for Stormbreak was vast, and while his curiosity was too, the sentiments of picking a wrong choice in eating venues seemed diabolical. Snorting at Zavien’s pragmatics and wishing for more of the Sword’s pretenses – he rounded his gaze back to Ronin. “Fine by me.” He grabbed hold of his bag as well, hefting it along his shoulder, and placing the training blade within, figuring he’d add it to the growing collection in the armory when he ended up back home, before waiting for the Supernova to lead the charge.
there will be scrapes and sutures; viciousness and victory
"A climbing wall? In the ice and snow?" Whilst the idea might be horrific to some, for a man like Ronin (whose life used to revolve soully around training soldiers), Deimos might as well be inviting him on vacation. "Sounds good to me - I'll be in touch." Tipping the Sword a wink, he turns his attention - rightly so - to the most important matter at hand: getting something to eat.
"I think you'll enjoy this. Really sets the standard for Stormbreak - though Zavien will have to vouch for me. It's been a long time since I lived here full time," he's saying conversationally. And so it goes - with the fog lifting from the Righteous Road to reveal Stormbreak in all her glory, the three men indulge in a considerable lunch from a local steakhouse - Ronin's treat, of course.
