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!
As expected, Seren felt the eyes upon her. If some looked bewildered to see her, she could not blame them, for it was a sudden thing and unnanounced, her return to the mortal world. There were reasons, of course, though some might be disappointed to realize they were mostly personal.
Catching Deimos' and Noah's gazes in particular, Seren smiled at the men and waved a hand in greeting. This was not the place for catching up, though, so she made a mental note to seek them out later. Spying Hotaru and Sah in the crowd, it seemed all of her friends were here; that was a good feeling, that amply made up for the sting of letdown when the spirit to be called back was none she knew of.
I'm ready to start the conquest of spaces Reaching the starlight and silver fields
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
'I guess.' Flora purrs to Hotaru, wrapping an arm around her mother's waist that she might trail along with her through the festivities.
Watching Melita and Ludo with no idea of what was said between the two, Flora could only let her imagination run wild, predicting that the two were going to set off cannons or fireworks or something else equally absurd. It seemed on brand for both of them, and honestly she was here for it.
At least, she was until it wasn't her lanterns which were picked, nor those brought by her family for her lost twin. Shrinking at her mother's side, Flora shrugged bitterly. "Dad said he could bring Enzo back for a little while, now that he's a Mort demi." Whether or not Hotaru knew that Remi's alignment had changed or of this new power, Flora had no idea. "So we don't have to rely on the lanterns anymore."
Still, it hurt.
i scream for whatever it's worth "i love you" ain't that the worst thing you've ever heard?
Quite well is true enough, and so Fox doesn't have anything to add to Kiada's remark, but he does reach out to shake Evie's hand with a warm smile. "She is too kind to me," he gently protests with a shake of his head. "But it's good to meet you at last, as well."
Then, of course, the raggedy god appears, and the hunter automatically draws closer to the harpy's side just in case of any adverse behaviour. (If only he knew what was coming).
By the time the lanterns extinguish - all except one, the one he watched Kiada hang not to long ago, Fox realises what it means and takes a few steps back, allowing Kia to have a well-deserved moment with her mother. However long Rexanna is present for, when she finally departs, the harpy will have his arms to fold into should she want them.
fox
i'm a pagan of the good times
Horns: Small, bone-like protrusions (aka your stereotypical devil horns) that are easy to miss in his hair.
When the darkness fell over the gathering and the light of lanterns dimmed, Maea held her breath. Ludo's presence was a familiar tingle along the spine, bringing a sensation of comfort and unsettled emotions to the once-abandoned as familiar as the taste of apples and grief.
To her surprise, she recognized the woman who appeared before Kiada. Rexanna had been kind to her in the past, before either of them had been changed by the world, and while she never knew her well, the time of her reign in the Hollowed Grounds had been one of the longer and more peaceful. Reaching out to nudge Dantalion's elbow, she nodded at Rexanna.
"There is one of the leaders of the Grounds that didn't make enemies," she murmured, recalling his interest from before. "Even though she chose to ascend, there was no quarrel with anyone, that I can recall."
Watching the reunion for a while, eventually she turned her gaze away to offer Kiada some privacy. With the main body of the event over, her mood lifted enough that hunger made its presence known with a low rumble of her stomach. Slipping away towards the tables, she passed by Talyson and spared him a smile and a touch of understanding on his shoulder.
It was always difficult to watch others wishes be granted when yours were not.
Only wake each morning to remember that you're gone
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
"Ah, you have no idea," Ronin quips to Deimos - but there will be time after the festival and beyond for him to clarify just how glowing he can be these days. Of course, he's really more invested in Evie, offering her a crooked smile as she squeezes his elbow. "I don't believe it. You'll be gorgeous long after your little one makes an appearance," he assures her. "And I really am. We ought to catch up again soon, after this."
It isn't long after that things take a turn for the Ludo in the proceedings, of course, and Ronin cuts through the crowd with gentle goodbyes to seek out his husband. By the time Rexanna makes her appearance, his arm has slipped around Remi, and he leans in to press a kiss to the Bastion's cheek and whisper into his ear. "Are you okay?"
there's a light that you give me when I'm in shadow
Raising a hand to Deimos in greeting as well, as Kiada takes his arm the Bastion can only smile warmly at her. There's something paternal inside of him that longs to question Fox about his presence in Kiada's life, but of course it's no more his place than standing alongside Ludo is.
"You just let me know." He murmurs softly to the Harpy, having no idea that the Penumbra wouldn't need his magic to speak to her daughter again. Indeed, as Ludo appears and all eyes turn toward the herald, it's with only a flush of disappointment that he sees his lanterns haven't been chosen. Watching Kiada's light up, unsure who it would be to step through the veil, the Bastion feels his chest tighten to see that it's Rexanna who appears, her arms around Kia's shoulders.
Open-mouthed and teary-eyed, Remi swallows hard at the sight of mother and daughter. Glancing around for Ronin, it's lucky that the Knight was already on his way over such that the scene wasn't interrupted by a sniffly demigod seeking out his husband. Curling his arm around Ronin in turn, Remi leaned his head against his husband's shoulder. "She seems so happy." He whispers, though whether he's speaking of Kia or Rex isn't clear.
there's a feeling you give me, an everglow
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Unlike many of the other participants - most, in fact - Danta has been surveying the crowd and pondering about getting some food from the tables when The Event takes place. Blinking in the dark and tilting his head at the woman who approaches Kiada, it's only as Maea speaks that he leans down to hear her properly. "Huh," he whispers back, glancing over Rex as if trying to form an accurate opinion of the Penumbra.
"She's hot," he decides, which is as good a trait to have as peaceful former leader of the Hollowed Grounds in his opinion. This though, of course, is Kia's moment, and the Maverick soon turns his attention elsewhere once more.
if we're in love or if we're in pain?
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Horns: Diamond - they look very similar to #2 in this image.
Perhaps the gathered individuals surrounding them put him more at ease; away from the somberness of the occasion and more into attention to those pervading the sequences. Not that he would ever readily admit that. To Fox, he smiled in courtesy, his eyes flickering briefly to Kiada to see, given the other Ancient’s response, she still hadn’t found any medicine for his current afflictions. Not giving the game away, his attention deviated back to the fellow monster hunter. “I am well. Good luck traveling home soon.”
He squeezed Evie’s hand again, likely in support for the both of them, inclining his head in Ronin’s direction as there were other sentiments and comments to be shared. Not here, but enough to cause of an arch of a brow and a well-meaning glance towards the Evergreen after all the glowing compliments.
Then there were other events taking shape – the raggedy herald making its appearance, and a lantern chosen amongst them. Usually stoic and composed, he couldn’t help the sudden intake of breath as Kiada was picked from the lot – as Rexanna’s lantern spun into the air, and the Penumbra appeared, resplendent and effervescent as she’d always been.
Eyes widening, he took her in – the world of regrets, cataclysms, and loss spinning under his feet again – but he wasn’t going to sink and he wasn’t going to fall apart. Instead, all the shock turned to a bright grin, and a hidden dash of his eyes in case anyone else saw; because at the very least, she’d made it to Mort. Kiada had seen her mother once more. And that would be enough.
At some point she spotted Koa, but wondering if they were both in the same regards with surrounding issues, she let him be. Instead, she simply watched and waited, not eager for company, nor for food, not with everything else resting just below the surface.
So when Ludo came and the winds slunk and the lights ceased, the unknown beckoned and crawled again. She watched, but didn’t recognize either woman, and was left to bend and bow her head, giving them all space and privacy. Her fingers slid to the top of Sera’s lantern, all lavender and silver, draconic wings on the edges, and hoped for next year.
I've done nothing wrong Except for all the atrocities
The best tricks sounded like a fabulous promise, and she grinned from ear to ear, if not a bit devilish. “I will,” was her own, and if she noted any subtle change to her life from there, it was only a distinct, bewildering semblance; weakened and strengthened simultaneously. A pull, a tug, a release, and something else – brows furrowing slightly, before everything else altered into smoke and figments.
Her eyes followed and tracked the movements – before landing upon Kiada. If they weren’t all gathered into the wake of this earth she would’ve fucking snarled – her hatred and abhorrence kept at bay for the ceremonial exchange…
And for Rexanna to appear.
That mourning loss of a mother rose up again in her throat, but she smiled, just for the Penumbra.
I'll be yours until the sun no longer shines until the poets run out of rhyme
Hotaru's eyes instinctively turn to her sons' lanterns when they begin to go out, but Kiada so nearby means her eyes drift to the light that remains within it immediately. Her heart stutters in her chest to see Rexanna, slammed with emotion and the sudden gut-wrenching relief that her best friend, the woman she'd considered another sister, had made it to Mort's halls. She'd suspected the Ascended souls had been saved after witnessing Varus' return, but this is confirmation that makes her knees weak.
And though she loves Rexanna and takes strength from seeing her, the bitterness she hears when Flora speaks echoes in her own heart, and she pulls her child as close as she can to soften the bite of jealous. "I didn't know that. We should do that soon." It's scarcely a murmur, lost in golden hair as she presses a kiss to Flora's head. "I love you, petal. I'll never be able to tell you enough." Knowing Rexanna will only have this brief time with Kiada reminds Hotaru that for all her grief, at least she still has the ability to tell her daughter this every day.
until the mountains crumble into the sea In other words, until eternity
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
so give me your prayers up on your feet and i'll give you a show, it helps fill the seats
A nod is granted to Maea as she arrives in greeting, joining them as they start to mingle and Astaroth’s attention remains on the gathering, eagerly awaiting for the fight. It doesn’t come, though, because the big players that Asta can see at the moment seem to fully shift as the lights are extinguished and a lone figure comes from the lantern by one of their fellow ancients.
His brows pinch and he swaps the hand that holds the cane to hum a little in thought, staring at the Penumbra and private moment with no abandon. Maea’s commentary is most helpful, though, and despite the rocky meeting they had, he does flash her a smile of gratitude for it.
A smile that breaks into a quiet, hidden chuckle at Danta’s bluntness. “Of course you would say that.” He says with a sigh and a roll of his eyes, giving a slightly exasperated look to both Edmund and Maea. “I think she’s just alright.” What can he say? She isn’t blonde. She’s also a ghost.
Astaroth
so give me your sins, give me your lies but whisper your love, and i'll whisper mine
at another place in time, you were infinitely mine relatively alright, when berenstein was fine
“Things are good.” Sunjata offers to Mel, briefly before Hotaru’s own meeting with the Honeybee goes underway. And then, before he knows it, a little masked child is distracting his niece, one he gets a subconscious feeling that might be Ludo. He doesn’t push or probe it, though, sure that she’ll tell him later if anything happens.
Flora’s approach is met with a knowing nod as she dotes over her mother, flashing the young woman a roguish and crooked grin. “The luckiest.” He drawls, squeezing Hotaru gently. But, shortly after, the lights extinguish and one remains, and Sunjata recognizes Rexanna as she approaches Kiada, he can see the way Melita seems to grow in some amount of rage (before it breaks into a smile), alongside Flora’s surprising anger, and Hotaru’s own grief she keeps well hidden for her daughter, a feat he could never accomplish.
He offers a gentle little I love you, Ru. He says gently, quietly, only for her ears from the attuned bond as he drifts over toward Melita, reaching out for her to gain some connection to family, even if Kiada’s had been chosen on this very night. “I’m here for you too Mel.” He murmurs, offering her a small smile of his own, leaving Kiada and Rexanna to their own private moment – feeling relief that perhaps Nate’s soul had in fact made it to Mort after all.
at another place in time, only parallel to mine the universe was alright, when berenstein was fine
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.
Spying Maea across the way, Thal stubbornly threw her dripping cloak back over her shoulders. The fresh wounds and absent memories were enough to turn her away from the waters. Hearing the greetings and whispers to loved ones here or gone increased the squeezing ache over her heart. Gasping in a breath, she attempted to disguise the growing panic by lifting her hood and weaving through the crowd. The crushing presence of people around her and the roaring stream of consciousness yelling in her head brought a narrowing to her vision, a darkness closing in around her. Quick shallow breaths came between deep gulping swallows of frustration as she was stumbling to the edge of the Festival.
Bracing her hand against a tree on the outskirts, Thal let everyone filter around her in a haze of misty interactions. A strangled growl caught in her throat at her own weakness. Her fist slammed against the tree, grounding her to the present. The pain served to clear her mind enough to steal a full breath from the icy air. She let the feel of the bark against her hand and the smell of the fresh river water on her cloak pull her from the dark cycle of panicked thoughts. With some semblance of control back, Thal had decided that she didn't like the Festival of Lights.
