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!
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Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
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You will never do anything in this world without courage.
He'd sent Tal a letter before heading to King's End, asking to meet for a training session. Things had improved somewhat since their last meeting. He'd finally left Stormbreak, but he'd been able to talk with Koa and Lena, and he'd decided to spend as much time with friends, training throughout Caido. Maybe, if he kept moving, his fears (and the Family) wouldn't be able to catch him. That's probably why he'd taken to running places, building his endurance with every opportunity.
Slowing to a walk, he watched as Sol flew down to land next to him. His breathing was fast, and a line of sweat broke across his brow, making it harder to see the dark circles that still lingered beneath his eyes. They were certainly lighter, although not altogether gone. At least he didn't look half-dead.
Zavien ran a hand through his hair, glancing around to spot Tal as he absent-mindedly ran a soothing hand over Sol's head. He had to keep his eyes from looking for more sinister things, blinking away any paranoid purple splotches in his vision. There was no reason to suspect they'd be here. He should just focus on training with his friend.
The letter from Zavien had been welcome, especially in light of the other letter that had arrived from Sah. After the terrifying attack during LongNight and all the repercussions from it, Tal was almost pathetically grateful to have something pleasant to look forward to before he and Alys left for their trip to Torchline. He wasn't quite ready to have anyone over to the house when they still had a few more repairs to make on the side where the Void monster had broken through the window, but he'd agreed to meet the Dragoon at the Gambit. The maze was beautiful this time of year, with the new green of the fresh, young leaves almost impossibly vibrant. The first buds were already beginning to show amidst the thick foliage and it wouldn't be long before the hints of their colors would become visible.
For now, though, the snow was still melting beneath the bright blue sky, though the breezes that swept across the plains were bracing, to say the least. The sunshine was deceptively bright, making it seem like it should feel warmer than it did, but Tal was as comfortable as ever with his Frostbite Cuff easing the bite of the wind as he sat on a decorative rock near the maze's entrance and stared pensively back towards his home, tucked not-so-safely away in Meadowreach.
Boreal was nowhere to be seen - the dragon was with Alys these days, staying close to her in her own grief at Sascha's loss as well as for Tal's sake - but the courier spotted the light glinting from Sol's golden scales and he unfolded himself from the rock, standing to wave at his friends with a forced smile. "Over here," he called. "What kind o' trainin' did y'have in mind today?"
You will never do anything in this world without courage.
The sight of his friend was welcome, especially framed by the signs of Flowerbirth around him. The melting snow and growing buds basking in the sunlight was refreshing after spending so long in darkness. Then to add the smiling face of his friend, Zavien was able to push out a shadowed smile of his own. "Hey, Tal. Thanks for meeting with me." Sol agreed with a rumble but looked around, disappointed not to see his favorite white dragon.
Zavien's eyes scanned the area similarly as he caught his breath. "Is Alys doing okay?" He'd half expected her to tag along. From what he'd seen at the Feast, the couple had hardly been apart these days, and he hated the idea of being an inconvenience. She'd suffered a great loss and deserved the support of her significant other.
That particular thought made him wince, trying not to linger on his own complicated relationship. Instead, he latched onto the planned training, making sure his weapons were still secure after his run. "I was just hoping to focus on some weapon work, especially with my sword." He patted the scabbard of his Starblade before starting to stretch out his muscles. "Is there anything you were hoping to achieve?" He wouldn't be surprised to hear if his fellow Accepted already had a new quest lined up.
"I was glad t'hear from you," he admitted frankly, noting the shadows still lingering in Zavien's eyes like dark mirrors of his own. The question of Alys had him biting his lip but able to nod, though he couldn't stop the pang of worry in his heart at the distance that currently separated them. He'd made the hike out to the Gambit on his own today, however, and left the Peregrine - with his Constellation Compass giving him the ability to teleport back to his ship - back at the house with his partner. "She's... workin' on it." The words were hesitant as the memory of LongNight caught in his throat, but he shook it away and joined Zavien in some light stretching.
"Weapons... sure," he agreed, though with a flicker of unease in his eyes. The reminder of all that he should be doing made him wince, however, and he chewed his lip pensively. "I... think I'd like t'work on defense today. Blockin', rather'n attackin'." He hadn't even been able to pull his Dagger since LongNight, and he sure wasn't going to pull it against a friend today. "Lemme just get th'shield out."
As shields went, it was fairly simple. Medium sized and round, made of hardened wood riveted together behind a tough leather covering that Tal strapped to his arm before settling into a ready stance. "Lemme see what that fancy sword can do," he called, a ghost of his old self making a brief appearance as he let his friend's company and the beautiful day chase some of the purple shadows from his thoughts.
You will never do anything in this world without courage.
Zavien could understand 'working' on things. He himself had chosen to work through his fears like some kind of chink in his armor, hardening and strengthening around it so the link might not cause a collapse of the structure (ie him). So, it didn't surprise him that Alys might do the same, finding ways to mend her own pains.
Smiling softly, he kneaded nervously at his hands. "Well... I wish her luck. And if she ever wants to talk..." He didn't know how much use he would be; he wasn't the best with words. But maybe it would help to talk with someone else who'd been there, if she hadn't already. He'd only spoken to Soh, and she hadn't known about his death, so it wasn't exactly a 'transparent' conversation about events.
Luckily, fighting didn't involve a lot of talking, and he could push through whatever fog of emotions still clogged his brain. Nodding his head at Tal's request for defense, he made one last stretch of his arms while hiding the subtle wince from the scarring at his side. "Works for me." Zavien pulled his sword from its sheath as his friend gave a teasing taunt. Chuckling, he shook his head. "Okay, but don't let it touch you. I don't want you to get burned." He lowered it to the ground for emphasis, the patch of snow by his feet sizzling as it melted.
Once Tal showed he was ready, Zavien slid into his stance. It felt a little more awkward than before, still familiar but tense. He had to shift his weight to dispel the cobwebs that seemed to drape around him before working through the practiced movement of a side strike. The movement was slow, testing, easing into the spar.
"I'll pass it along. Thanks, Zav." The tightness in Tal's chest eased a little at the reminder of how many friends they had willing to lend a hand in their time of need. Sunjata and Zav and Soh and Sah, and that wasn't even counting Alys's own set of friends... He reached up to rub the back of his neck, expression losing some of its anxious tension as he rummaged around in his Bag of Holding for his shield. The wooden construction hadn't seen a lot of use yet, but he wasn't ready to wrap his hand back around a dagger yet, not even an unmagical one.
"Y'should be more worried about what'll happen if it does touch me," the courier replied with a strained but lopsided grin as he straightened and finished strapping the shield to his forearm. "I'm a pretty sore loser, y'know?" But he trusted in Zavien's training and resilience to be able to take the consequences of a zap, and he squared up with his shield held defensively in front of him, braced for his friend's first move.
The soldier came in from the side and Tal shifted, awkward with the unfamiliar weight pulling at his arm. He jerked his arm to put the shield between him and the sword and overbalanced as the momentum of it pulled it wide. "Fuck!" The growl came out in frustration at himself but he was still moving, spinning to reach out with the dagger in his other hand to knock the sword away--
Oh, right. He wasn't holding his Dagger. The weapon had become so much an extension of himself that he didn't realize his mistake until his empty hand slapped against the flat of the starlit sword. He managed to knock the blade wide of his body, but he yelped as the hot metal seared his bare skin, and he backpedaled to put some space between them. Shaking his scorched fingers with a hissed scowl at his own stupidity he reset himself and nodded to his friend. "Well, I'm a fuckin' idiot, but that wasn't too bad. Gimme another shot an' let's see if I can get it right this time."
You will never do anything in this world without courage.
Unaware of Tal's eventful LongNight, he didn't find the request for defense strange. After all, Zavien had only recently completed his own shield that now hid within his bracelet. So when the basic wooden shield was strapped in place, he grinned at Tal's joking, a hint of his former light returning to his eyes. "That makes two of us." Although, honestly, he was all too happy to accept his weaknesses, smiling as he planned for what to improve on next time.
He supposed he should have been more suspicious of Tal's lack of experience based on the simplicity of the shield, and maybe the way he stood with it, but he was distracted by his own self-assessment as he moved through his strike. By the time he knew what was happening, Tal was already exclaiming. Zavien nearly cursed himself, his arm going slack as he rushed forward to check on his friend. Shame flushed through his body at the lack of control on his part. If there was any permanent damage or scarring, he'd never be able to forgive himself. But before he could reach forward to assess the injury, Tal was already squaring up for another hit.
Frowning, Zavien shook his head in disbelief. "Okay... but maybe block it with your shield this time? That's kind of the point." He waved his hands dramatically with a strained grin. As much as he was teasing, there was a level of seriousness because he did not want to hurt him. "And if you need to take a second to heal, that's totally fine." If Tal took the opportunity, he would wait patiently, but if not, he would sink back into his attacking stance to proceed when they were both ready. This time, when he swung his sword, it was more to the front, almost painstakingly slow so that the courier would have time to get in position for the block.
Hopefully he'd have a chance to talk to Zavien after they'd finished their spar, but for the moment Tal just wanted the physical activity to push the memories of that scream and the sight of a gaping throat from his mind. And the good news for him was that it worked! As he fumbled his block and then burned his hand, all thoughts of LongNight were shoved deep down inside where they couldn't bother him for the moment. He huffed in exasperation at Zav's teasing, but he didn't turn down the chance to activate his Ring and soothe the burn across his palm and fingers. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, wise guy." he grumped, like a cat whose fur was ruffled after falling off a table.
When he was ready he made a rude gesture with his newly-Healed hand for the Dragoon to attack again, lips twitching towards a rueful smirk as he was forced to recognize his wounded pride for what it was. This time he made sure to keep his balance, however--
Not that it was necessary. Zavien moved so slowly that Tal had no trouble getting his shield up, taking the sword on the wood-and-leather board and then twisting it to the side to send the blade sliding harmlessly off to his right. "C'mon, Zav. My grandma coulda blocked that one, an' she's been dead for twenty years!"
You will never do anything in this world without courage.
Zavien laughed - actually laughed - at Tal's reaction, surprising even himself at the sound. It startled him enough to cut the noise short, but the remnant of the smile remained, and he stuck his tongue out in retaliation to the gesture. Then his attack was being thwarted without any signs of effort. He might have praised Tal if not for the fighting words.
The insult had him blinking as his sword fell harmlessly to the ground. "Oh really? Did she leave you that shield when she died?" He wasn't particularly proud of the diss, but he still gave Tal a wink before moving more quickly on his next attack. Zavien kept it simple, going for a downward strike from the left. It wasn't much different from the other ones, although he let the training quicken the motion to near-battle speed.
Well, he had told Zavien to laugh, so he couldn't blame the other man for doing so. Not much, at least. Not when it really did feel good to hear it after all that the Dragoon had been going through since Deepfrost. And besides, his next attack felt almost insultingly slow and careful, and it wasn't like Tal was made of glass. He managed to get it properly blocked and everything, but his friend's clapback had the courier's brow wrinkling in confusion.
"Uh... no? Grams ran th'Sundries store. Don't think she ever touched a shield in 'er li-- Hey!" While Tal was distracted by trying to figure out if he'd been insulted or not, the Dragoon went back on the attack and this time he wasn't holding back nearly so much. Tal shifted his shield a little too quickly again, but this time he was ready for the weight of it to pull at him and he managed to stop it while it was still between the sword and his shoulder. It was far less neat than his last block, but he didn't need to be neat when he could use his muscle to catch the sword with a grunt and shove it back. It was definitely the wrong way to use the shield and it wouldn't work against someone stronger than him...
But Zavien didn't need to know that, right?
"Right, that wasn't so bad. Are y'sure you're gettin' anythin' outta this trainin', or is it all me?" Tal teased as he shrugged off the exertion and brought the shield back in front of himself again.
You will never do anything in this world without courage.
Tal's confusion made his head shake, nearly making him explain the joke, but that wouldn't make it much of a joke then, would it? Smiling against the lightness of their spar, Zavien let the momentum of his strike reverberate through his body before bringing it close again. At least things seemed to be going better.
The question may have been meant as a tease, but he answered it truthfully. "It's enough for now. I just need to work through the motions." He needed practice stretching out the muscles that had been torn during his injury. Starting slow and simple seemed the smart thing to do, letting the practiced movements ease the wound into something similar to before. It would never be the same, but he could get close.
Shifting his weight, Zavien twisted his body to pull a side strike like the fist. This time, he went a little faster, pulling at the tender scar painfully. He winced, but pushed through to swing the sword at Tal.
Tal wasn't great at reading other people. In fact, he was generally pretty bad at it in most cases. When it came to his friends, however, he made a bit more of a conscious effort to pay attention, and he started to notice the little winces and hesitations in Zavien's movements that hadn't been there before. The courier frowned, teetering dangerously on the edge of a scowl. Before he could say anything, however, the sword was arcing in at him once more and he had to move or take a nasty slice - or, worse, shock Zavien on accident when the blade hit his armor!
The Dragoon was moving more quickly and Tal had to scramble to get his shield into position. Third time was the charm, however, as he took the lessons from the last two successful blocks - and the first catastrophic miss - and kept his weight back on his heel to help ground his hips and, through them, the shield. He twisted with his whole body instead of just his arms and this time the shield slid smoothly into position to take the sword and deflect it back as the courier stepped into his friend's guard, using the shield to slide up the blade until he was chest to chest with his friend.
"Right, I think I got it. An' you prob'ly need a break, too. How about y'show me what's goin' on an' let's see if my Ring can help at all."
You will never do anything in this world without courage.
The sword hit against the shield with a soft thud, luckily avoiding any more skin (or apparently vests). Tal's block was certainly better than the previous, even coming forward to trap the blade between them. Zavien could still feel the tug of pain at his side, but it faded when he wasn't twisting anymore. It was still embarrassing that Tal noticed, and he sighed softly as he stepped away.
"You can try, but I think it's mainly the scarring..." A little nervous of bearing his wounds for Tal to see, he moved slowly. Zavien lifted the right side of his shirt to expose the wide, jagged scar that now ran from armpit to mid abdomen, the skin puckered and pink in its fresh state. His body was too warmed up to feel much of the cold that hit his side, but he fought back a shiver, nonetheless, waiting for Tal's response to the gruesome display of flesh.
It took a moment to unstrap from the shield, but Tal let it fall with relief, shaking the tingles out of his arm as Zav tugged his shirt up. The courier glanced over and then did a double-take, letting out an impressed whistle at the mass of puckered tissue. "Holy shit, Zav! That's even bigger'n mine!" He stepped closer and dropped to a crouch on his heels so he could examine the wound more easily. A frown marred his expression as he fell into his thinking-scowl, and he reached up to almost touch it-- then stopped and shook his head at himself.
"Bear fat," he said decisively. "Or horse liniment. Somethin' with some grease to it, good an' thick." He pushed himself back to standing and dusted his hands off. "Get a big ol' tub of it. You're gonna need it. Use th'heel o' your hand t'rub it in as hard as y'can stand, mornin' an' night. Five, ten minutes each time, all over that mess. It'll keep th'scar from gettin' tight an' healin' hard." He shrugged ruefully and patted his own ribs. "I got swiped by an ursur when I was learnin' th' Tundra delivery run with my aunt thirteen, mebbe fourteen years ago. It's a pain in th'ass for a few months, but trust me, it makes a difference." And the Dragoon definitely didn't want to get stuck with a tight pull there for the rest of his life!
