What do you get when two ruthless assassins raise their daughter travelling through the wildest reaches of Caido? Take one look at Theea and you'll get a pretty good idea. Cheerful and tenacious in equal measure, and curious beyond all else, she began her journey on a mission to find those her mother once called family. And find them she did, soon rubbing elbows with demigods, leaders and even ghosts from the past. Her determination is resolute, her thirst for knowledge unmatched. We can't wait to see where her next adventure takes her!
Congratulations, Theea!
Credits
Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
OG Skinning provided by Kaons, with functionality and many custom plugins made by Neowulf!
Sunlit Shadows (mastered) | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 60ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Type: Grey | Style: Offensive | Level: Mastered
Deadly Recall | Can recall 1, or 2, or 3 of her feathers to her hand, within a range of 30ft. Recalled daggers do 1/2 damage when recalled.
Rescue (Mastered) | Remi can bring a fellow Old God demigod to his side in a time of crisis for three concurrent posts. One use per thread. If the summoned demigod also has mastered this ability, they can remain until the end of the thread.
A velvet-black sky unfurled above the Outer Islands, and the Sugar Tide skimmed through it like a half-tamed comet. Stained-glass sails caught slivers of starlight, scattering jewel-bright shards across the deck—and across Flora’s white-knuckled fingers where they clamped around the wheel.
"Okay," she muttered, voice pitched for ship and night both, "let’s keep the dramatic plunges to a minimum." The horizon was nothing but ink; the islands below might as well have been ghosts. Somewhere ahead, a low bank of cloud loomed like an unlit mountain.
Off the port bow a sleek shadow arrowed through the dark, wings beating in fluid silence. Thalassa’s lyvern form—small, obsidian, and sinfully fast—dipped and rolled, matching the ship’s course with lazy confidence. A glint of moonlight slid along her scales as she drew level with the helm.
Flora cleared her throat, trying to ignore the way the deck occasionally lurched when wind hit the sails just wrong. "Thal!" she called, raising her voice over the moan of rigging. "If I’m about to eat dirt, scream, roar, hiss—something loud, okay? I’d like a warning before we redecorate some poor farmer’s turnips."
She never got over the feeling of flying; the wind catching in her membranous wings, starlight glinting off her midnight blue scales, and all the world at her feet. Thal dove between two of the islands, letting the tip of her wing scrape against the surface of the water, watching as it rippled behind her in moonlit waves. The reflection showed a small boat hovering above her, reminding her that this wasn't a pleasure ride despite how much she might enjoy it.
With a flick of her tail and a few quick beats of her wings, she rose to level out next to the Sugar Tide. She caught Flora's words as she twisted her reptilian head to gaze at her with sparkling blue eyes. Her response was a low rumble of agreement that vibrated in her chest. To make sure the woman didn't start any unintentional landscaping, she decreased her own altitude to the bottom of the boat, keeping her eyes peeled in the dark so she might spot any errors or obstacles.
Sunlit Shadows (mastered) | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 60ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Type: Grey | Style: Offensive | Level: Mastered
Deadly Recall | Can recall 1, or 2, or 3 of her feathers to her hand, within a range of 30ft. Recalled daggers do 1/2 damage when recalled.
Rescue (Mastered) | Remi can bring a fellow Old God demigod to his side in a time of crisis for three concurrent posts. One use per thread. If the summoned demigod also has mastered this ability, they can remain until the end of the thread.
The low rumble from below made Flora's stomach flutter, though not necessarily from fear. She exhaled through her nose, easing up just slightly on the wheel. "Thanks," she muttered to the shadows, where Thal’s sinuous form coiled beneath the hull like a living compass. The wind tugged at her curls, unravelling them from their knot, but she didn’t dare let go long enough to fix them.
She’d asked Hadama to help her reinforce the rudders and had even practiced with Mateo in broad daylight, but night flying? That was a whole other breed of stupid, especially when the Sugar Tide still had moods of her own. A wrong lean here, a too-sharp tug there, and she swore the ship tilted just out of spite.
Still, the fact that Thal was beneath her, gliding like a dark wraith, watching for cliffs and currents and gods-knew-what, made it easier to breathe. Not safe, exactly, but... steadier. Like she wasn’t doing it completely alone.
"I’m just saying," Flora went on, raising her voice again over the flap of the sails, "if you let me crash out here, I’m going to haunt you. Probably by whispering nautical nonsense in your ear during sex." She twisted the wheel slightly, angling the Sugar Tide between two lower peaks. "Port...ish," she muttered to herself. " Or at least very port-adjacent."
Ahead, the starlit dark deepened—miles of tiny islands and mist sweeping out in every direction. Flora tightened her grip and leaned forward, brow furrowed in concentration. "Can you lead us on, like..an arc of the islands and then back again?"
As they passed over the leaves of a particularly tall tree, Thal fought the urge to dip lower and weave through the forest like a streak of shadows. She could hear wildlife rustling below, but nothing caught her eyes in the darkness. They were smart enough to recognize her as a threat, and even smarter to avoid the starlight so they might evade her notice. Not that it mattered - as she kept reminding herself: this wasn't a joyride.
Like she was trying to do the same, Flora's voice echoed into the night air, reaching her easily despite the wind currents. A huff of breath was her only response to the threat, just amused thinking about the last time someone whispered sweet nonsense in her ear during sex. She still had to let Vox know he'd been quite right about the ambiance of everything.
Twisting between the two peaks, she gave another grumble of assent, putting on a burst of speed to overtake the small boat. Acting like a glorified reptilian tour guide, Thal placed herself in front of the bow, just far enough ahead that her tail didn't snap against the hull of the ship, but close enough that Flora wouldn't lose her in the darkness. The flapping of her wings was slow and lazy, taking it easy on the new captain as she gave a gentle adjustment to their course, starboard towards the outer edge of the islands.
Sunlit Shadows (mastered) | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 60ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Type: Grey | Style: Offensive | Level: Mastered
Deadly Recall | Can recall 1, or 2, or 3 of her feathers to her hand, within a range of 30ft. Recalled daggers do 1/2 damage when recalled.
Rescue (Mastered) | Remi can bring a fellow Old God demigod to his side in a time of crisis for three concurrent posts. One use per thread. If the summoned demigod also has mastered this ability, they can remain until the end of the thread.
The Sugar Tide responded with a gentle sway as Flora mimicked Thal’s shift in course, her hands adjusting instinctively to the lyvern’s guidance. The wind slid cool across her cheeks, her legs braced wide to counterbalance the slight pitch of the deck. Somewhere in the back of her mind, a voice—probably Mateo’s—scoffed that starboard was definitely not “very port-adjacent.”
"Show off," Flora muttered affectionately under her breath, watching Thal’s silhouette ripple through the dark like a living current. Of course she made it look effortless. Even the lazy beat of her wings held that wild sort of elegance Flora couldn’t quite name, like the drag of a claw across silk or the curve of a blade unsheathed just enough to catch the light.
Watching Thal weave and dive like some sort of smug scaly compass had Flora grinning; the tension in her shoulders was easing, little by little, breath by breath. With Thal flying point, she didn’t have to pretend to know every ridge and ripple of the islands. She could just… follow. Trust. Which, y'know, would turn out to be a very close call indeed.
With Flora and the Sugar Tide at her back, Thal could almost pretend that she was just out on a leisure flight by herself. She led their course towards the edge of the collection of islands, spotting the open sea just ahead. In the dark, the tides rippled like a thousand shards of glass, glinting and reflecting pieces of the sky as if it no longer held an identity of its own, nothing more than the silent sister of the cosmos. It was peaceful in the way sleep was restful, the risk of danger lingering under the guise of calm.
Peeking over her shoulder, she checked on the boat, pleased to see that she was keeping up nicely as they rounded the tip of the last isle. It seemed a good point to redirect their route. Tucking her wings, she twisted into a barrel roll to the side then caught the wind to slow herself. She hovered for a moment so that she wound up on the port side of the vessel, a physical barrier between the hull and the land as she guided them around its edge back towards the mainland. A low humming sound was the only audible indication she gave of their new course, letting Flora infer the rest as they skirted the eastern most island.
Sunlit Shadows (mastered) | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 60ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Type: Grey | Style: Offensive | Level: Mastered
Deadly Recall | Can recall 1, or 2, or 3 of her feathers to her hand, within a range of 30ft. Recalled daggers do 1/2 damage when recalled.
Rescue (Mastered) | Remi can bring a fellow Old God demigod to his side in a time of crisis for three concurrent posts. One use per thread. If the summoned demigod also has mastered this ability, they can remain until the end of the thread.
The Sugar Tide groaned in quiet protest as Flora yanked at the wheel, trying to follow Thal’s sudden barrel roll and sharp redirect. The sails snapped overhead, their stained glass catching starlight in fractured bursts of violet and rose, throwing colour across the deck like a broken cathedral window.
"Shitshitshit—no no no, don't tip—" Flora hissed through her teeth, scrambling to adjust the angle of the rudder. The wheel bucked like it had opinions about this turn, and her bare feet skidded slightly on the deck as the wind hit just wrong. But then—miraculously—the little skyship levelled out.
"Ha!" she gasped, triumphant, curls wild around her cheeks from the gust. "You are such a drama queen," she muttered to the ship, affection bleeding into her voice. Her hands relaxed, just a little, on the wheel.
A beat later, she spotted Thal hovering sleek and smug off the port side, dark wings coiled in perfect command of the air. Flora raised her voice above the sound of the wind and rigging. "Alright, show-off," she called, grinning. "Let’s see what she’s made of. Put on a little speed, and I’ll see if we can keep up!"
It was reckless and probably a terrible idea. But it was also exactly what she needed.
Unexpectedly, Flora tried to follow her maneuver, which was impossible considering she didn't have wings. The resulting tilt of the boat was unsurprising, and Thal watched carefully to make sure it didn't capsize, prepared to shove her weight against the hull or mast to keep it upright. Luckily, the Queen seemed to have it under control, and her words had the lyvern making a chortling sound that was unmistakably laughter. But apparently Flora hadn't been pushed far enough yet, and she had to respect the steely spirit.
Some might know that Thal didn't do 'a little speed,' so when Flora gave the all clear, she darted forward on swift wings, a streak of darkness in the sky. She kept their port tilt, gliding cleanly around the edge of the outer islands like she was being swung around on a string. Her tail streamed behind her, shifting with the redirection of her body as she skirted the last shoreline, the mainland coming back into view. Only then did she slow enough to glance behind.
Sunlit Shadows (mastered) | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 60ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Type: Grey | Style: Offensive | Level: Mastered
Deadly Recall | Can recall 1, or 2, or 3 of her feathers to her hand, within a range of 30ft. Recalled daggers do 1/2 damage when recalled.
Rescue (Mastered) | Remi can bring a fellow Old God demigod to his side in a time of crisis for three concurrent posts. One use per thread. If the summoned demigod also has mastered this ability, they can remain until the end of the thread.
The moment Thalassa takes off like a void-streaked comet, Flora throws her whole weight into the wheel. The Sugar Tide lurches in protest—more startled than rebellious this time—as its sails flare wide with the wind. The skyship catches the current like a breath held too long, and then they’re flying.
Not soaring, maybe, not yet—not with the grace Thal has—but flying in the way that makes Flora’s heart pound and her voice spill out in a half-laughed scream. "Go, go, go!" she shouts to no one and everything, wind tearing at her curls, her whole body leaning into the momentum as if she could will the ship to go faster just by loving it hard enough.
The stained-glass sails shimmer with speed, their coloured reflections flickering madly across the deck and over her skin. The rush of air, the roar of rigging, the stretch of the ocean and sky around them—she’s drunk on it. When Thal glances back, Flora is still standing at the helm, grinning like a madwoman and giving her a double-handed shooing motion to keep going. Her laughter is carried on the wind like music, chasing after the lyvern’s tail with reckless delight.
"Alright!" she calls, voice hoarse from grinning. She slaps the wheel with one hand, beaming up at the sky where Thal hovers like a smug slice of night. "You win! Bring us in—I don’t want to land solo."
Seeing that Flora hadn't toppled over or fallen too far behind, Thal bobbed her head in approval, a low rumbling laugh echoing in the starry night sky like a distant roll of thunder. She picked up speed again, but slower this time so that the boat might be able to keep up. The mainland was a short distance away, and she barely had to flap her wings as she let the wind guide her lower. Sand slowly replaced water beneath her, then rocks, then glass, making for a soft landing as she set down.
It wasn't until the Sugar Tide was safely anchored and Flora's feet were firmly planted on the ground that Thal shifted back to her Ancient form. The flight had brought a wide grin to her face, satisfied with having felt the wind beneath her wings, the world at her feet. There was a relaxed confidence to her stance as she gave the Queen a teasing wink. "Not too bad for a newbie. Be a little careful on the quick movements, but I think you've got the basics down."
Sunlit Shadows (mastered) | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 60ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Type: Grey | Style: Offensive | Level: Mastered
Deadly Recall | Can recall 1, or 2, or 3 of her feathers to her hand, within a range of 30ft. Recalled daggers do 1/2 damage when recalled.
Rescue (Mastered) | Remi can bring a fellow Old God demigod to his side in a time of crisis for three concurrent posts. One use per thread. If the summoned demigod also has mastered this ability, they can remain until the end of the thread.
Flora leaps down from the Sugar Tide the second the anchor settles. The wind has whipped her curls into a salt-sweet tangle, and her blood is still singing with the thrill of the flight, the adrenaline of not dying. But as Thalassa shifts back—grinning, powerful, utterly in her element—Flora’s breath catches for a very different reason.
Gods.
For a second, she forgets how to move.
The telltale signs are unmistakable now that she knows what to look for. A wrongness in the angles of Thal’s face. Too many eyes. The way her smile seems to melt at the corners, dripping violet like candlewax. Her skin slick with some shimmering, sticky sheen that catches the starlight all wrong. It’s like looking at her through warped glass—recognisable, beautiful even, but broken.
Her heart skids in her chest. The instinct to back away is immediate and awful, but she clamps down hard on it, letting a bright, breathless laugh tumble from her lips instead—too high, too sharp. "Okay, that was honestly amazing," she says, waving a hand as if brushing off the burn in her stomach. "I seriously appreciate you showing me the ropes. Pretty sure I’d be a smear on the ocean without you."
She’s retreating already, her body angled toward the ship, words spilling too quickly now. "I’m, uh, totally wiped though. Gonna crawl into bed and not move for like... ever." She flashes a grin that doesn’t quite reach her eyes and starts backing up toward the Sugar Tide’s ladder. "Let’s do this again sometime, yeah? When I've had more practice?"
Unaware that her unmentionables were on display, Thal couldn't quite pinpoint the reason for the sudden oddness to Flora's voice. For someone unused to flying, perhaps the altitude had gotten to her? Or maybe the adrenaline? Although she didn't seem the type so easily shaken - having died and all. Whatever it was, it made her laughter sound almost nervous, strained and forced.
Thal watched her more closely but just quirked an eyebrow with a teasing grin. She wasn't great with appreciation, so she left that alone as she said, "I'd think something more like a cute little shipwreck, but at least everything's still intact."
It didn't surprise her that the trip had wiped her out, although Thal was feeling more energized than tired herself. Once the adrenaline wore off, she might have a different opinion, but at least she'd be able to fly home before then. For now, it gave her eyes a vibrant blue glow as she shrugged her shoulders. "Sure. Maybe next time you'll stand a chance against me." Her grin was sharp with fangs (that Flora will probably see too many of), a promise that she wouldn't go easy on her. Then, with a flippant wave of her hand, she stepped away. "See you around." Despite the 'innocent' phrase, it might seem almost ominous to the Queen as Thal shifted and vanished into the night sky.
