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!
clipped wings and you're the one holding the bone saw now things are getting so out of control
He’s never been channeled before. And honestly, it’s quite an experience to go from the comfort of his home, where he’d been outside by the river, practicing his magic (shirtless because why get the shirt all sweaty and gross?), to suddenly being in the middle of a swamp with Koa’s voice flooding his mind.
His scars erupt with light as he arrives in his absolute surprise, flickering like lightning from each exposed scar as he takes a look at the situation. Fire, bad shit in the water, being in the fucking swamp??? But the plea is quickly understood and the Flood nods to Koa quickly with both an understanding and a “where the hell have you been?” as he gets into the water.
Aiming himself where he thinks it would be most advantageous to keep it from reaching the sea, the Flood lets the full power of his riptide erupt from him, shooting through the water and hopefully across to knock out the pollution and any of the creatures causing such an issue.
And just like that, he’s gone again.
Sunjata gets into the water and aims his riptide to hopefully shoot through the water (pushing them back from getting closer to the sea) to try and hurt/knock back some of the creatures and remove the water’s pollution!
Magic: Riptide | Creates an explosive wave that travels 60ft. Allies in the radius are uneffected, and enemies on the ground within 15 feet are knocked down.
Type: Dark | Rank: Mastered
Magic: Water Baby (FEAT) | Rolls with advantage in naturally occurring bodies of water.
Type: Light | Rank: Basic
the spiraling starts and we can't pull up, our hands are tied together so, on the way down, we make every moment count
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
His arms bulged, attempting to pull him from the devouring sand, but they weren't enough. Zavien cried out in frustration and paused his efforts to reassess. The stump was still his best option despite his lack of strength (curse you 10 STR!). He vowed to train more when this was all over. If his strength was what stood between the life and death of someone he cared about, he didn't want to fail them. In order to do that, he had to get out of this mud.
A faint memory floated back to him of someone mentioning that the best way to escape quicksand was to spread out your body weight. Although he had no idea why that might help, he was out of other ideas. If this didn't work, it was possible he would find himself in an even more precarious situation. But what was his other option? Giving up? A determined smile crept onto his face. He was never one to give in.
Making up his mind, Zavien leaned forward on the soft ground in a crawling position. He maintained hold of his rope, using it as an anchor and lead to support his efforts. With a grunt, he began half crawling/half pulling his way out of the sand. As he does so, he is faintly aware of a commotion happening by the river.
Zavien is spreading his weight to decrease the hold of the quicksand while continuing to pull on the rope to crawl out.
Lena returned the hug, and if time wasn’t of the essence she might’ve asked more about what on earth was going on – but that could be saved for later. Nodding as he stepped back, she went to assess the current situation, surveying the seeds, watching as Sunjata appeared and flickered through the water. “I’ll compel some animals to do the same, and send Mittens to go see if there are others around. Maybe we can figure out what to do with these seeds too. Could Pip set them on fire?”
The abominable snowball went off, floating along, following after noises and the smell of burning wood. It also began flopping it’s head about, a common trait, and if anyone was paying the least bit of attention they’d likely recognize the bizarre little creature as Lena’s companion.
Meanwhile, the Caretaker did exactly as she’d said – compelling some animals to follow suit with the Flood’s actions, and picking out the pieces and pockets of void entrenched in the water.
--
Lena compels animals to help pick void things out of the water.
Mittens is being weird but also scouting out for anyone else around.
(Beastmaster) can compel any sentient animals not marked with a ☆ for assistance (6 large, 12 medium, 20 small)
04-08-2024, 08:31 PM (This post was last modified: 04-08-2024, 09:01 PM by Maea.)
Maea
And I never know what to say
'Til I'm already walking away
Maea cursed as the rope frayed apart at the edge of her weapon. The log was close enough that she could almost reach it, yet the sucking mud was relentlessly trying to swallow her back down. Hauling the rest of the rope back into her hands, she tied a monkey's paw knot and threw it at the fallen tree again, hoping to catch the club-like end between branches so she could haul herself the rest of the way up.
As she worked, she noticed the glimmer of white within the dreary murk of the marsh. Snow usually didn't last in the Feverlands, meaning it had to be a companion or elemental, or... Either way, once she was out of the quicksand she would follow it, hopefully back to its bonded.
Maea ties a knot on the rope and tries to hook it between branches of the same tree as before, so that she can haul herself out of the muck.
If it works, she will follow Mittens back to Lena and Koa.
**Edit because 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 ♦
As Sunjata arrives, his blast strikes the sickly stream of water. At first, there's a brief war between the pull of the sea and the Flood's own mastery of water, before Sunjata's might temporarily wins out and the water flows backward. Of course this means that Maea and Zavien are briefly encompassed in water as the area quite literally floods, but luckily they aren't tossed about as they otherwise should have been.
Pip's fire isn't quite hot enough to cause such a large body of water to boil, but certainly, the heat has bits of watery-flora wilting in its wake.
Zavien 's luck has all but been washed away it seems, and though his strategy is a clever one, the quicksand isn't letting him go. Maybe a hand from your group would help?
The animals compelled by Lena 's call are mostly birds but also a few bogwumps who appear a good deal more menacing than helpful. Even so, they grumpily come closer, swatting at the water and removing bits of lichen and wandering semi-sentient plants.
Maea hauls herself out easily this time, and finds the group in no time.
As water is want to do, once Sunjata's magic is gone, it flows back in earnest, racing back toward the group from where it had been forced back.
From what you can tell, your efforts to try and pick out the void-infected flora is a bit like emptying the sea with a drinking glass. Besides, the creatures are just going to continue with their efforts once they're gone. Given the dark and violet colour of the water, the pollution already present is fairly rampant.
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.
"Long story," Koa grins weakly at Sunjata, knees wobbling with relief at the demigod's appearance. The rush of water away from them has the soldier feeling quite pleased with this call, with Koa grasping Lena's shoulder in a brief show of delight. "You're the best, Jata!" He drops the Caretaker as someone else stumbles from the swamp, unfamiliar but appearing unhurt - an Ancient, from the horns and tail. Eyes widen, but there isn't time to determine where she came from or what her deal is, and Lena seems to recognize her at least.
"Welcome to team EcoWarriors," is the greeting Koa gives, bright and friendly for a second before his soldier's seriousness falls back into place. "Ok - let's make a dam or something to stop the water from flowing out of the swamp. Block up the channels. Lena, can you ask animals to help? And then you," he turns to Maea, already drafting her into the contingent. "and Pip can heat it up. Try to purify it through boiling." Pip breathes a bolt of fire in agreement, quite pleased with this plan.
But then a sound catches his ear, real or imagined, and--
"Shit, I think someone else is out there." Turning toward where he heard the voice, Koa furrows his brows. "I'm going to check. Pip, stay here and help. I'll be right back."
With a nod to Lena the lad sets off, careful to avoid deep water or muck. It doesn't take long for him to come across poor Zavien in the mire. "Hey!" Koa calls, grabbing the rope that the man has thrown. "I've got you!" Wrapping the rope around his arm, he braces for a repeat of his efforts with Lena, grunting as he works to heave the other man out of the muck.
Pip, meanwhile, is quite excited to light fires, and will blast her flames wherever she is told.
Koa proposes a plan, then goes to pull Zavien out of the quicksand using the rope Zavien threw earlier.
Pipsqueak will try again to boil the water if that is the plan, or else light fires wherever Lena tells her to.
His strength ran out once more and Zavien wanted to scream out in frustration. He ground his teeth and prepared to find another option when the man who had originally been trying to boil the water came to help him. It sounded like that was still his goal and he agreed that it was probably their best option. Looking closely, Zavien puzzled at the man's worn and ragged appearance but was grateful all the same. He smiled with renewed hope and pulled on the rope to help with getting him out of the sand. "Thanks! Obviously, I wasn't getting anywhere on my own!"
As they worked on extracting him from the quicksand, Zavien kept a close eye on their surroundings, making sure to watch the man's back for any signs of danger.
Zavien adds his puny 10 STR strength to Koa's to pull him out of the quicksand while keeping an eye for danger.
The water tore through the landscape, and Lena briefly wondered if they were any better situated at the task – lips drawn into a frown as the restlessness started to take over again. But then Maea was there, and more were to be discovered, and she could breathe a little easier – more hands and minds together might’ve made lighter work. Mittens even returned, though it merely seemed to be supervision presently.
Nodding at Koa’s plans, because it was all they had now, she began to compel any other animals in the vicinity capable of such a task – perhaps there were beavers nearby, while turning to Pip, believing the Ancient wouldn’t need to hear the direction twice. “Can you boil the water, please?”
Maybe it would cleanse it. Maybe it would purify it. That was all she could hope for at the moment.
--
Lena compels any capable animals nearby (hoping for some beavers) to dam up the water, and instructs Pip to boil the water.
(Beastmaster) can compel any sentient animals not marked with a ☆ for assistance (6 large, 12 medium, 20 small)
Can speak to rare creatures/companions/regular animals
The rising water caused Maea some distress. In the swift flood that soaked through her clothes and hair she was forced to struggle to keep her head over the raging torrent. While it did buoy her enough to make it onto more solid ground, it was a sodden and shaking Maea who retrieved her weapon and went to find the others.
Unusually, she had no objection to the plan that was laid out. "Alright, I'll do what I can." Borrowing a lick of flame from the dragon's breath, Maea tried to coordinate with the dragon to focus the heat of their flames into the water, hoping it would be enough to raise the temperature beyond what the Void Critters could withstand.
"If this works, we could also try clear a fire breaker between the forest and the sea. It should slow down any vegetation... What do you think?"
Maea joins Pipsqueak and tries to boil the water to kill the Void Critters within. She suggests creating a fire breaker as another measure.
Fire Manipulation: Can manipulate flames. Must be within a 30ft radius. Control is excellent
Type: Dark | Rank: Upgraded
Citizenship Ability
The world is new to you, and you to it. During PQ/PQ+/KQs/Drops, you roll with advantage on luck-based rolls and receive an extra name during drops. (In order to use this, make sure to note the ability at the bottom of each post)
Light is easy to love Show me your darkness
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Though the name might lead you to believe otherwise, perhaps a glance at the map will help with the visual the swamp has a healthy stream that drains into the sea. For all of Pip's enthusiasm, a dragon her size simply cannot boil a body of water like this. Even with Maea's assistance, it takes a lot of energy to raise the temperature of so much water. However as the duo work, plant life within does begin to wilt and darken in response to the heat.
As a handful of beavers respond to Lena 's call, they do give Pip and Maea a wide berth such that they won't be as effective whilst there is a predator shooting flames at the water.
In pairs, the beavers begin to gnaw at the trunks of nearby trees. They work quickly, however time is of the essence just now. Building a dam isn't just about piling sticks into the water -- proper muddy sealant needs to be applied, the trees need to be downed, and the lumber needs to be moved.
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.
"Well I can't say things are that much better out here," Koa chuckles dryly as Zavien comes free, giving the stranger a bracing shoulder pat before hustling back to the rest of the group. A group which has made some progress, but seemingly not enough; Lena's beavers are industrious, but poor Pip's frustration is palpable as the I guess actually a river? water refuses to boil.
It's disappointing, but Koa has survived too much in the past season to let his despair win. Furrowing his brow and biting his lip, he figures he might as well give his luck one more go. Sunjata may have been a wash (literally), so this time the soldier directs his prayers a little higher up the totem pole.
"Frey, keeper of nature and herald of Rae. If you're listening, we could really use your help keeping all this nasty water from getting into the ocean. Seems bad for the ecosystem, y'know?"
Pip, for her part, will continue lighting fires wherever she's directed by Maea, and trying very hard not to scare the tasty looking beavers as they work.
Koa channels again, this time asking for Nature Frey!
Pip will continue making fire wherever Maea tells her to.
Accepted Channeling: Allows an Accepted to channel a herald/demigod/spirit during a time of crisis (2x a season). Can be combined with other accepted channeling to increase power.
Type: Light | Rank: Upgraded
"An interesting observation." Frey whispers, their presence like a warm wind through the swamp. "Bad is such a human term." They continue, the words sounding as if they have left a bad taste in the herald's mouth. "Who can truly say what such a mixture might bring?"
Alas, they have been channelled and understand what it is the Accepted is asking.
With a wave of their hands, more and more beavers suddenly arrive to assist with those already compelled by Lena. Their teeth gnaw into the wood, working much faster than the dozen or so who had already been present.
Beavers came and Koa harkened – and perhaps for the first time in a great long while, Lena felt some immense relief at the sight of Nature Frey. She would’ve been inclined to wave and pray all at the same juncture, but time was of the essence, so she settled for a quick smile and a long sigh.
Rather than compel more, since the herald had already done that for them, the Caretaker and her companion set to work snagging at other things the animals might need – muddy sealant (from Mittens – however much it could acquire and toss into the water), and some portions of timber dragged over from where they’d been felled.
--
Lena and Mittens try to help the beavers (bringing over some mud and timber).
It was really an exercise in futility to attempt the boiling of a river. For all their efforts, neither Maea nor the dragon achieved much. Taking a moment to rest and see what the others were doing, she was treated to a rare glimpse of Frey. Marveling at the onslaught of beavers that followed in their wake, she gave up on torching the river.
Instead, after making sure to give the industrious animals ample space, she directed the dragon companion to help her burn off the vegetation along the river banks. It might at least slow the onslaught of infected vegetation a little bit, and prevent more stuff from getting into the water.
Maea directs Pip to help her burn off the vegetation on the riverbank, to slow the progress into the water.
Fire Manipulation: Can manipulate flames. Must be within a 30ft radius. Control is excellent
Type: Dark | Rank: Upgraded
Citizenship Ability
The world is new to you, and you to it. During PQ/PQ+/KQs/Drops, you roll with advantage on luck-based rolls and receive an extra name during drops. (In order to use this, make sure to note the ability at the bottom of each post)
Light is easy to love Show me your darkness
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
