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!
04-04-2024, 02:10 PM (This post was last modified: 04-05-2024, 06:03 PM by Court Official.)
When was the last time you visited the Feverlands?
Probably not for some time, right? I mean, why would you? The land is mostly rotten, nearly everything within is poisonous or hostile, and as far as makeout spots go, it has precisely 0. Ever since the demigoddess Mildew was snapped up as a sacrifice to the Mathair, nothing much has happened in the swamp, making it the perfect place for the void to run rampant.
Cleverly spreading, the void creatures have started to move from the interior of the Feverlands, using the sallow swamp as their means of reaching the ocean. From there, gods know—or more precisely The Family Knows—just how much chaos they can wreak. The water is thick with veil fungus and abyssal shrouds that pollute everything they come into contact with, whilst penolaeth's and gore crows happily spread the infection by picking up seeds and small plants and depositing them all along the bank. Though creatures like lamplighters and bogwumps are not themselves infected, they are more than happy to feed on the misfortune of creatures who stray too close.
Stopping each individual creature or sprig of flora seems impossible, though as they congregate and push through the water, it seems one thing is clear: you've got to somehow stop it all from getting to the sea.
You have 48 hrs to join.
This is a LEVEL LOCKED KQ. Characters over level 5 may not join. The risk to your characters is realistically quite low (never 0, because if you do something stupid you will of course suffer those consequences), but it will have large repercussions for the spread of the void creatures. This KQ will last for 5 rounds, at which point it will end and we'll see what effects you've made to stop the void from spreading.
Please post your characters arriving and taking their first action, and in your summary list whatever non-items they are bringing with them (anything on your profile is automatically assumed to be with you). Items not listed cannot be used later.
Remember to include a summary at the bottom of your post with all action taken. If weapons/upgrades/abilities/items/shifts/etc are used, please include their desc. from your profile at the bottom of your post as well.
REMEMBER: KQs are rewarding but dangerous. They may cause death and/or permanent changes to your characters.
Lena’s days lately had been filled with mostly apprehension and consternation. To find the Feverlands, though perhaps unsurprisingly, in the same state as so many other lands didn’t ease the strife, and quick assessments overhead – of the polluted swamp, of the rampaging wildlife, of the thick, desecrated water, made her wonder if there was anything she could do.
Determined not to be useless, she and Mittens landed on a nearby bank. “We can try gathering the seeds to us,” she mentioned to her companion, who simply hissed in response. Whether or not she’d be able to gather enough of those portions remained to be seen – but it was a start.
She didn’t have magic, that could perhaps stop the water from churning or block them from swimming off, but maybe her Attuned properties could benefit the situation. From there, she called outward in compeling motions, striving to snag at the animals with pips and kernels to come drop them beside her instead.
--
Lena tries to use Beastmaster to call over animals with seeds and drop the seeds by her, instead of going out to sea.
(Beastmaster) can compel any sentient animals not marked with a ☆ for assistance (6 large, 12 medium, 20 small).
Lena has brought her basket, item and companion listed on profile, with water, food, staff, and rope within the basket.
04-04-2024, 03:32 PM (This post was last modified: 04-08-2024, 09:02 PM by Maea.)
Maea
And I never know what to say
'Til I'm already walking away
Concern for the Caretaker had put Maea on a fast skyship bound for Stormbreak, only for a new letter in their chain of conversation to arrive and the voice in her head to intercept. Promptly deciding it was a bad idea to get anywhere near the city if the Family was indeed taking over, the ambassador jumped ship and dropped from treetop to branch and landed into the swamp with a muddy slurp.
Always an unsavory place, the Void element added to both flora and fauna did nothing to enhance it, in her opinion. Not did it make for a very safe hike.
Digging up a lantern from her backpack, she used flint and steel to light it, and kept the lightsource in one hand and her chakram in the other as she began to make her way through the marsh. Whenever she spotted anything that looked blighted, she used her magic to guide a blast of flame to lash the plant or creature.
She had not thought much of Noah's obsession with killing these things before. But seeing how close they were coming to invading her homeland, any tolerance for them was quickly running out. And they were a perfect target to let out her anger on; the voice that kept invading her mind left Maea with the frustrated wrath of being violated, with no tangible way to make it stop.
It was infuriating. It was all their fault. They could all burn - she really hoped the Family could feel every single death like it was their own.
Maea brings a backpack with basic camping items like flint and steel, a lantern, rope, food and first aid kit (in addition to the profile stuff).
She lights the lantern and uses Upgraded Fire Manipulation to kill any Void Critters she can see. She is holding Lasracha (weapon) at the ready.
Fire Manipulation: Can manipulate flames. Must be within a 30ft radius. Control is excellent
Type: Dark | Rank: Upgraded
Type: Dark | Style: Offensive | Level: Basic
Lasracha | A pair of chakrams. The outer rim of these throwing discs are sharpened to a razor's edge, and glint with a curious crimson. Imbued with fire, they burn as well as they cut.
**Edited bc of faulty table
Wanna punch you in the face
But I won't, but I might, but I won't
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
He'd heard rumors of the void spreading closer to Stormbreak but he hadn't been prepared for the utter chaos of the Feverlands. The purple taint was spreading faster than he expected. Although Stormbreak resided in the sky, who knew what kind of creatures would still be able to reach the floating city (those gore crows proved a likely route). And now that Dahlia commanded at Stormbreak, Zavien was secretly doing everything in his minimal power to prevent the complete takeover of whoever this "family" was. He always trusted his gut's feelings and they were screaming at him that these people were trouble.
Now he found himself trapsing through the Feverlands, attempting to hinder the process in any way possible. At the moment, that meant slashing out with his sword towards every voided creature. The poor infected beasts wailed around him as they were cut down. His long reach made it easy to avoid direct contact, but their cries bombarded his heart, breaking it for all the innocent creatures affected by the Void. Zavien steeled his emotions and continued forward with determination to reach the waterway.
It moved with an oiled thickness that made him want to gag. If he was this disgusted by the condition, he could only imagine how the gods and other supernatural beings must feel. Knowing that it was his trump card, Zavien began to channel a spirit in hopes of something that could help to purify the water of the infected flora. He just prayed it was enough.
Zavien has with him a sword and his travel pack (food, campsite equipment, and first aid).
He is using basic channeling to summon a spirit.
Accepted Channeling: Allows an Accepted to channel a spirit during a time of crisis (1x a season). Can be combined with other accepted channeling to increase power.
Type: Light | Rank: Basic
The Feverlands have quite a reputation for its noxious fumes, rampant death, infernal decay, and that wonderful yellow fog that really gives the skin a fresh glow as you wander into its depths.
And ah…now you’re stuck.
Your feet have somehow become wedged in one of its many quicksand-like areas! Maybe you can find a way out – there might be a branch nearby. Or you can snag a friend.
Before the gore crows, blind swamp rats, and all those other lovely things do!
None of which we really need to get into here. For now, probably it's enough to know that this poor fucker has been lost in the Wilds for nearly two seasons, the first of which was spent convalescing, the second spent trying to get the hell back to anything resembling civilization. At least he has Pipsqueak, who somehow has managed not to eat him and free herself from being bonded to an idiot who tried to fight a god.
(Yet)
And so we find them: wandering circles in a swamp full of infected beasties and, worse, mosquitoes, trying desperately to avoid being eaten and holding onto a dwindling hope through sheer force of will. The pair has been fighting stupid Void garbage as much as possible, Koa throwing electrocuted rocks at suspicious purple blurs in the water, Pip a little maniacal as she lights up seeds and chases crows. It's felt, as they've gotten closer to the ocean, that the infection has gotten worse, and Koa feels a grim satisfaction every time he watches a void bastard die. He imagines Dorian's face on every victim, and the petty delight of it is what keeps him alive.
Somehow (thanks Serendipity timing!), he's managed not to get dragged down into the muck. It's about all he's got going for him, but it's something, at least.
Koa the Hobo and Pip are fighting void creatures with dragonfire and electrified stones. Specifically, Pip is aiming for birds and Koa is trying to electrify the water whenever he sees something in it.
He has his profile items, a travel pack, and a truly awful beard.
Type: Light | Style: Offensive | Level: Basic
Static Electricity | A ring that when worn adds lightning damage to whatever item is held in that hand (or to an unarmed strike).
At Zavien 's silent plea, a swarm of bugs descend from the treetops. Coloured brightly in tones that range nearly the entire span of the rainbow—save for violet—they place themselves on top of a portion of the stream in order to block the large bits of void-debris from trickling down further.
Well, you have fate and Heather, actually to thank for the situation you find yourselves in. For Lena, Maea, and Zavien, no sooner do they begin to consider the problem before them, but their missteps land them directly into a pit of quicksand. Indeed there are trees and the like nearby, but it's going to take some significant effort or cleverness on your parts in order to free yourself.
So it is that while the creatures Lena has compelled to her indeed drop seeds and plants with intricate root systems nearby, the attuned is unable to reach for them.
Maea finds herself waist-deep holding her weapon with a few burning slugs and plants surrounding her. Sadly the ecosystem here is significantly more vast that one Ancient's fire magic can handle, and so while a few critters do succumb to her abilities, the purple infection in the swamp persists, polluting the water.
Zavien 's call summons a group of bugs who land on the water's surface. While this might not look like much, they're able to stop some of the larger species of veil fungus and abyssal shrouds from making it any further down the waterway.
Then there's Koa, who's arrival should have a theme song. The plunk plunk! of his stones is accompanied by the too-sweet scent of fried plants, and though his electricity grounds itself out fairly quickly, it probably isn't smart to touch the water.
Though Lena's channelling has stopped the nearby animals from dropping seeds and such into the water, there's still a considerable amount of pollution that has already made its way into the waterway and the longer you lollygag about in the quicksand, the worse it's going to get.
You have 5 ROUNDS to stop the void from reaching the ocean. It has taken over almost all of the Sallow Swamp, and is now working intelligently toward polluting the water so that its spread will reach the sea.
Satisfied with the sizzling of his electrified stone striking water, Koa is gearing up to toss another when a sound catches his ear. A sound that is distinctly, unmistakably, and gloriously, human. Heart in his throat, the young man scrambles to redirect his attention, carefully avoiding the electrified water and squelching muck as he hurtles toward the nearby voice. "Hold on, I'm coming!" Breathless, he breaks through a dense patch of unsavory vines, only to draw up quick as he spots---
Disbelief, delight, relief, terror- all and more threaten to rise like a wave, to engulf the young man and send him sobbing to his knees. But luckily for our heroes it is a soldier's mettle that wins out, trained and steeled to act with speed and precision in any crisis, such as when you come across the first friendly face you've found in seasons, only to realize the body attached is swiftly sinking into sand.
"Hold on!" the soldier calls, as though the Caretaker has any choice. Finding a particularly sturdy (non-purple, normal looking) vine, he grabs ahold of the rooted end, ready to pull against Lena's weight. The free end, meanwhile, is grasped by Pip, who flies(ish) it toward the captured woman, shrieking as she drops it in Lena's hand. As Koa hauls Lena from the muck, Pipsqueak will keep watch, circling above and ready to blast any encroaching creepy-crawlies who might try to interfere with the rescue attempt.
Koa throws Lena a thick vine (being careful to try and grab a NOT INFECTED ONE) and tries to haul her out of the quicksand!
Pipsqueak is on guard and will breathe fire at any voidlings that might try to interfere.
As he watched the swarm of bugs collect around the water, Zavien was initially unimpressed. It wasn't exactly the awe-inspiring response to his call that he was hoping for, but as he watched the collective power of bodies and wings stop the debris from floating down river, he determined to make full use of their efforts. Simultaneously, he noticed the presence of other people in the area. An ancient appeared to be frying lunch (perhaps slightly overcooking it), another person was leisurely collecting a snack of nuts and seeds, and the last was boiling the water for their delicious stew. Even the little creature was doing its part, cooking nearby assailants. Obviously food was on his mind. Maybe when all this chaos was over, he could invite these other good Samaritans over for a campfire meal? He smiled at the thought and prepared to jump back into the fray.
However, when his leg strained to move towards the waterway, a loud slurping sound was all that resulted. Looking down, he saw the ground attempting to swallow him whole. Each second his legs sank deeper into the mud, seeping through his pantlegs. He growled in frustration. Although the first instinct of panic was strong, Zavien hardened his mind and began assessing his options. Despite his limited experience with the substance, he understood that using a solid external anchor would be his way of escaping. A nearby tree stump among the sea of infected flora could be his ticket out of this mess. It had obviously been felled before the spread of the Void and Zavien felt confident that it - and its strong roots - remained untouched. Except that it was out of arm's reach.
Zavien paused for less than a second, spinning his bag to the front of his body and rummaging around for the rope he used to make his tent. With it in hand, he tied a large loop, ensuring very little probability that he would miss and threw it over the stump, planning to pull himself out of the sinking earth. Hopefully the others were fairing better than him.
Zavien is using one of the ropes from his campsite equipment to lasso a stump and pull himself out!
Lena tried, with great difficulty, not to panic. It was one of those sudden maelstroms tugging and pulling at her, and she knew enough not to err on the side of ridiculous flailing, but gods –
Which was when Mittens started howling and screeching.
And Koa, alongside Pip, appeared.
The immense and intense relief flooded through her, something she hadn’t felt in days, and she eagerly reached for the offered vine. “Koa! Where have you – never mind,” it didn’t much matter now, not while she was trying to get out of the quicksand, and orchestrating plans alongside. “Thank you so much – have you seen any others around?” Maneuvering along and striving to use her own strength and not drain the dragoon of his, she started discussing plans she’d already begun. “I was trying to get the animals to give me the seeds,” hence the ones sitting over there, out of reach. “And once we’re out of here, maybe I can try having them grab whatever is in the water.”
--
Mitten’s starts screaming like a banshee, and Lena tries to take Koa’s offered vine to get out of the quicksand, while orchestrating plans.
04-06-2024, 08:20 PM (This post was last modified: 04-08-2024, 09:02 PM by Maea.)
Maea
And I never know what to say
'Til I'm already walking away
Well, damn. What had looked like perfectly solid ground proved to be anything but. All it took was one misstep before Maea found herself sinking. Unlike before when she had been able to teleport herself out of these situations, she found herself thoroughly stuck. Wriggling about only made her sink deeper, and it wasn't until she was already waist deep that she stopped moving.
In the distance she could hear voices calling back and forth. Looking around for the people who were speaking, Maea caught sight of a fallen tree. It didn't look too badly rotten; she unshouldered one strap of the backpack and dug into it for the ropet, then shrugged the bag back on.
Tying both pieces of the chakram to one end of the rope, she gave it a test tug to make sure her knot held. Then she swung the rope over her head, letting it pick up speed - and sent it flying towards the tree, in the hopes that the sharp weapon would bite into the wood.
If it worked, she would try to haul herself out of the quicksand, crawling and half swimming towards the tree, and what she hoped was solid ground.
Maea ties the rope to her chakram and throws it at a fallen tree, then tries to haul herself up.
Type: Dark | Style: Offensive | Level: Basic
Lasracha | A pair of chakrams. The outer rim of these throwing discs are sharpened to a razor's edge, and glint with a curious crimson. Imbued with fire, they burn as well as they cut.
**Edited bc of faulty table
Wanna punch you in the face
But I won't, but I might, but I won't
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Together Koa and Lena are able to free the caretaker, which hopefully silences her companion because ow, my ears. The cries do manage to send away some of the lurking animals though, and where you were sure you saw a handful of lamplighters in the gloom, now there seems to be only one or two.
Zavien 's methods are clever and while he is able to lasso the tree stump successfully, the quicksand is not quite so willing to let him go. Blame his 10 STR.
As for Maea, with luck on her side as much as strength, she's nearly able to fully haul herself out of the mud when the sharpened edges of her chakram slice and burn through the rope like butter. Where the weapon has lodged itself into a tree, flames begin to lick the bark sending putrid black smoke into the air.
You have 5 ROUNDS to stop the void from reaching the ocean. It has taken over almost all of the Sallow Swamp, and is now working intelligently toward polluting the water so that its spread will reach the sea.
After weeks of fear and misery, gods does it feel good to have a win. Koa drops the vine as Lena seems about to escape, offering a hand to haul her the rest of the way. Liberated from the mud, Lena will find herself immediately trapped again: this time in Koa's fierce embrace, as he scoops her up into a tight, desperate hug."It's so good to see you," he whispers against her hair, all his usual soldier's formality drowned in a tide of exhausted relief.
Letting go and stepping back, Koa surveys the swamp. At this proximity it's easy how gaunt his boyish face has become, how dark the shadows are around his eyes; but beneath the turmoil the same fire glows, copper-bright and eager to work. "Haven't seen anyone else," he confirms, brows furrowed as he watches Pip breathe shocks of fire into a nearby channel of water, trying to boil the lamplighters within. "We've been... well. It's a long story."
But back to business. Koa's brows furrow as he he peers into the void-infested bog. "I think I know someone who can help, but I don't know if he'll answer. Hey, Sunjata?" the boy calls, tilting his face to peer up toward the sky (feels right, who knows). "There's a lot of bad shit in this water. Could you do something to, like, get rid of it? Make sure it doesn't get into the sea?"
None of his prayers have been answered in seasons, but hey. Only hurts his pride to try.
Pipsqueak tries to boil the water to kill off things inside.
Koa channels Sunjata to help prevent void shit from getting to the sea!
