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!
And here they stood on the Sea of Dreams at sunset, the heat beginning to fade from the air though the sands still radiated beneath their feet. Hadama drew in a slow breath through his nose, though a mask of heavy linen passed over the lower half of his face. His hair was pulled back tightly in a braid and for once he wore a tight-fighting navy blue shirt with long sleeves and gloves over his hands to reduce the amount of skin showing. The shallow lake that had once stretched over the salt flats from the recent Flowerbirth rain was already vanishing beneath the surface, leaving a series of broad ponds only inches deep to reflect the fiery sky above. It was a calmer illusion of the Climb for the moment, though as the light faded those shrinking mirrors would reflect the stars above in a shadow of the Eyes of Vi instead.
And there were currently the flowers that grew in swatches across the desert, drinking greedily of the rare moisture to bloom in shades of shimmering purple and black. Insects buzzed around them, flickers of shadow drawn to the Void and a danger to the smaller life that hid beneath the desert's surface, though they would only be an inconvenience to the three who had gathered.
It was the fragrance of the flowers that was of far greater danger, and Hadama looked out over the beautiful, deadly garden with a shadow of a frown between his brows. "Be careful," he cautioned his volunteers. "If you think you have inhaled some of the fragrance, retreat until your head has cleared."
This is a PQ to push back the Void from Hak Etme for Hadama's quest! Let's get to work!
Round 1: Ideas for how to approach the task and destroy the flowers without getting caught in their fragrance?
Void Lotus (uncommon): Once a symbol of purity and enlightenment, the Void Lotus has been tainted by the void. Its petals, once pristine white, now shimmer with ominous shades of deep purple and black. The serene fragrance has transformed into a haunting scent that induces a sense of unease. Those who linger too close risk being drawn into a nightmarish dreamscape.
"We could burn it," the Ancient suggested, to no one's surprise. Standing next to Hadama with arms folded across her velvet-draped chest, she gazed out across the sea of void lotuses with a slight frown. A crimson scarf had been tied around her mouth and nose, muffling her voice slightly; she had drenched it in a lightly scented oil in an attempt at staving off the fumes of the flowers, though it remained to be seen how effective the tactic would be.
In the heat of the desert Maea felt alive like never before. Dressed down to only the armored gown and with her newly obtained glaive in hand, she had been considering her own skillset and concluded that there wasn't much else she could do about the flowers. "Possibly I can drop something on them from above, though I can't think of anything we have that might work on them. Are either of you versed in poisons?" She didn't think so, but it was worth asking.
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Maea suggests burning the flowers, or dropping a toxin on them from above.
Nova only had a colorful scarf wrapped around her mouth at the insistence of the others, not really seeing why such a pleasant smell should be considered dangerous, but if it was the only way she got to tag along, so be it. So now she had a bright rainbow tie-dyed scarf pulled up over her mouth, pressing her blonde and blue hair into her neck uncomfortably, making her shift and pull at the fabric to itch where it rubbed. Having not been prepared for the rest of the task, she wasn't wearing what some would call 'appropriate' attire. Her sunhat, yellow shirt, shorts, and white sandals left a lot of exposed skin, but it didn't stop her from skipping ahead to the field of flowers.
She crouched next to them, her head tilted curiously, slightly disappointed that they weren't as pretty as she'd been expecting. When Maea recommended burning them, Nova had no qualms about the idea, suddenly jumping and spinning to look at the others. "Ooh! Ooh! I can help with that!"
Hadama's gaze shifted to the Ancient beside him, and the solemn resolution in his gaze warmed to affectionate amusement at Maea's - yes, entirely expected - solution. He inclined his head in acceptance of it, fire having proven itself a good disposal method in the past. At least, when dealing with smaller amounts of Void corruption. "We will need to be careful of the wind," he only cautioned. "So we are not downwind of the corrupted smoke." He could no longer claim dominion over the air and protect them in that way, and so far as he knew they would all be at the mercy of the non-flammable elements.
But as for poison? "Mmh." It was a noncommittal answer to Maea's question, which was not a 'no.' But it was not a solution in this particular situation and environment.
And then there was Nova. He had been pleased at her willingness to help, but seeing how unprepared she was did not precisely inspire confidence in her understanding of the task at hand. This was far more serious - and more dangerous - than cleaning her mother's shrine had been. And when she went directly up to the flowers and put her face in them--
"Nova." His voice was a deeper rumble than Safrin's daughter often heard from him, caution lending it a more serious edge than he usually used with the girl. "Their scent is dangerous." But as she skipped back to them there didn't seem to be any ill effects of her inspection, and Hadama exhaled softly as she offered her own fire to their task.
"Then we will use fire. I will cut down what I can, if you will burn it out." He inclined his head to the ladies before turning his attention the first field of lotuses, gathering his magic within him. He released it, the moonlight spreading out to clash with the light of the sunset momentarily. The flowers within thirty feet of him were flattened to the salt, cut down though not completely destroyed.
That would take fire.
Oh, and Nova? The shadows at the edges of her vision were moving. Not swiftly. Not dangerously. Not yet. But there was very obviously something else in the desert, hiding just beneath the pools of water. Something very large.
Something that was, perhaps, very hungry. Though it didn't seem to be awake just yet.
Hadama uses:
Magic: Lunar Blessing | Can cause a burst of moonlight in a 30 ft radius that allows allies to roll with advantage for one round while damaging enemies. May be used 2 times per thread with a 2 post cooldown.
Type: Light | Rank: Mastered
Casting a faintly amused look between Hadama and Nova, she would have found it far more entertaining to watch her friend try to wrangle the exuberant girl if she wasn't in danger of hurting herself. Maea was glad it wasn't she who had to give the orders this time; it was quite enough to ensure she remained helpful and upwind of the invasive flora.
Following in the starchild's footsteps so she could be there to help if anything untoward happened, Maea summoned flame into her hands and began throwing it ahead of herself as she went, aiming for the center of the flattened area Hadama had created among the void lotus. Given enough heat a raging inferno could create its own weather and suck air in towards it, potentially eliminatingthe problem of the scent. Question was whether there was enough fuel to create such conditions here? A firestorm would have been convenient though.
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Maea throws fire into the center of the flattened area Hadama had created.
Fire Manipulation: Can create and control flames. Must be within a 30ft radius.
Type: Dark | Rank: Mastered
Startled by Hadama's serious tone, she paused in her skipping mid-motion, head tilting to consider his expression as if he might be joking. She obviously hadn't been so sternly spoken to before. Exasperated? Absolutely. Annoyed? In abundance. Sarcastic? Most of the time. But the dangerously low warning in his voice reminded her of Safrin's words, all motherly caution and concern. It made her bubbly smile fall a little beneath her rainbow scarf, suddenly not finding the outing very fun.
An invisible pout replaced her smile as she crossed her arms, only the scrunch of her nose and furrow of her eyebrows noticeable on her face. "Well, they don't smell very good anyways." Not that she'd gotten much of a whiff through her 'mask,' but her head lifted in defiance as she turned back towards the field in preparation of their ultimate demise.
The movement caught against a strange darkness at the edge of her vision, but Nova didn't pay it any heed, too excited to play with fire. She waited 'patiently' (feet shuffling, hands twitching, and eyes gleaming) for the others to do their part before she let out a giggle, her glee returning in the blaze of fire. Nova raised her own hands, adding fuel to Maea's fire with her own magic.
Nova uses her fire magic to stoke the flames!
Fire Manipulation: Can manipulate flames. Must be within a 5ft radius, control is weak and unstable and requires concentration.
Type: Dark | Rank: Basic
"Indeed." Hadama agreed with Nova solemnly, accepting her pout with serenity so long as she kept a safe distance from the dangerous blossoms. He inclined his head to her in gratitude as she scampered back and then turned to their first patch of floral foes. The dreadful lotuses had no way to avoid the lethal moonlight that fell upon them and the patch directly in front of the trio fell in a sudden flutter of petals and leaves cut apart and separated an instant before the combined fire of the Ancient and the Hybrid whooshed into the center of the pool of greenery. Not even the shallow water around them could protect them from the inferno that descended then. And while most of it was certainly Maea's doing, Nova's magic played an undeniable part as well, bolstering the Ancient woman's flames and whipping playfully between them.
Hadama looked on in stoic satisfaction as the foliage burned, and for the moment the air currents were with them. The pollen, caught and lifted with the sparks, burned into smoke that blew away from them, though the patch of flowers was not large enough to create its own inferno. There was simply too much water and sand beneath, and not enough fuel. Which was for the best, from what he understood of the dangers of Void-tainted smoke.
But they still burned well.
"Push it forward," Hadama called to Maea, striding to the side and indicating the next large meadow of lotuses a short distance away. "Do not let any smaller colonies escape." The latter was directed at Nova, in the hopes that she could hunt out the stragglers separated from the larger clusters and burn them to crisps.
For the moment, at least, the glow of the fire seemed enough to hold the shadows that twisted at the edges of her vision at bay.
So much fire, so little time. The burning is well begun and continues apace!
Round 3:
Maea, you're steering this fire truck.
Nova, you've been given your own mission, should you choose to accept it.
Nova has resisted the lotus's hallucinations this round!
Nova hummed and danced along with the crackling flames, quite enamored by the way it gobbled up the flowers. It felt like she was doing more than she was, and if anyone asked, she played a much bigger part than people might have correctly assumed.
But then Hadama was redirecting their efforts, assigning her with the very important role of leaving NO SURVIVORS. Burning with a new purpose of her own like a woman going off to war, Nova flicked Hadama a swift, practiced salute. "Yessir!" Although the 'obedient' facade was ruined by her following giggle, spinning on her toes to get to work. She spotted her first victims, sticking out her tongue in concentration as she pulled a bit of flame to the flowers with various magics, still very ignorant of the darkness at the edges of her vision.
Nova uses a combination of air and fire magic to guide the flames towards the leftover patches!
Fire Manipulation: Can manipulate flames. Must be within a 5ft radius, control is weak and unstable and requires concentration.
Type: Dark | Rank: Basic
Air manipulation: Can manipulate the air. Must be within a 5ft radius, control is weak and unstable and requires concentration.
Type: Grey | Rank: Basic
There was something very satisfying about drawing on her powers to their full capacity. As water had once been her staple tool in dealing with problems, so fire had become its successor. A reawakening into who she had been born to be, a mage of untold promise granted a second chance by the dark goddess. If there was any part of becoming ancient that Maea could fully embrace, it was the penchant for magic, be they dark or not. This was something she could have learned as abandoned, too. When she dug deep and spilled her energies into the spark that had been her birthright, it felt like she truly was herself, fully and completely - and she relished that sensation.
Despite the inherent danger it was with a look of serene relaxation that the petite ancient expanded her reach of the magic to its fullest extent. Thirty feet did not seem much, but that was a good and solid number when all of them was set ablaze. Walking forward into the new crop circle Hadama had created for them, she carefully ensure that Nova and the king would be excluded from her wildfire before blasting the void flowers with the full extent of her powers.
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Excluding Nova and Hadama from the fire, Maea walks towards the new flat patch and fills the entire 30 ft circumference of her reach with mastered fire magic (and having a blast doing it)
Fire Manipulation: Can create and control flames. Must be within a 30ft radius.
Type: Dark | Rank: Mastered
As soldiers went in the war against Void Lotuses he could do far worse than Nova, and he accepted her salute with a solemn nod that nevertheless held a spark of affection in emerald eyes. She was a menace, yes, but he had long had a soft spot for such. Melita and Kaiden were proof enough of that, even if Kaiden was now--
He turned his thoughts away from that current, focusing instead on the firestorm at hand. Maea had the destructive elements he had requested under control, much like a conductor overseeing a symphony of flame. She walked forward with an almost regal bearing into the inferno that leapt and swirled at her whim, spreading to the full limit of her powers.
And then spreading further. Within thirty feet of Maea the fire bent willingly to her command, but beyond that the embers began to drift and land beyond her sphere of influence. Some fell into water and died. Others struck flowers too green to catch. But some found homes in drier patches of foliage and took root, spreading crimson blossoms of their own to devour the black lotuses.
In truth, the lack of control was not ideal, but Hadama could not deny that it was effective. "Spread it as far as you safely can," he instructed his old friend, a challenge in his eyes as he added his gravity lances to the destruction, reaching beyond her radius to rain preemptive destruction down on more distant flowers before turning to look for Safrin's daughter.
Nova was a natural firebug, it seemed. Her air magic swirled the fire around her, but also catching the floating pollen and flinging it high and wide. She danced around the edges of the conflagration, making sure each and every isolated patch of flowers got its just desserts! In the desert! Haha, what a coincidence, right? Right, Nova? Just like the shadows coincidentally danced around her feet! So happy to see her! So hungry for more of her magic to flow into the sand! And not just waiting for it, no. They began to coil up her legs, plucking at her skirt and sinking into her skin as they absorbed the very magic from her bones in greedy gulps. And as the fires around Maea danced higher, the shadows around Nova only grew deeper and stronger, beginning to drag her down into the sand.
Into the hungry earth.
Round 4:
Hadama and Maea have almost completely destroyed the corrupted bloom across the Sea of Dreams! One more push should do it!
But what's this? Nova rolled a nat 1 is in trouble! The shadows from the fire have come to life and are eating her magic - and trying to pull her down into the earth where something big and toothy is waiting to finish the meal!
Safely, was it? Casting a quick glance in Hadama's direction, the disappointment in her face suggested that restraint was the furthest thing from Maea's mind right now. The flowers burned so well, and with little else to get in the way and surrounded by people who vould look after themselves –
Actually, belay that. Nova was sinking into the sand. Sighing to herself, Maea pulled her flames back in to a measly twenty foot radius so she could control the sparks flying off her wildfire, and went over to offer Nova a hand. Like a curtain drawn to make space for them both the fires died down between them, leaving a space in the midst of the conflagration so Nova wouldn't get burned.
"Here. Can you get up?" She wasn't sure what was happening exactly, but hoped a steadying hand was all the young firecracker would need to get back on her feet.
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Maea scales down her radius to 20 ft to control the embers better, and goes to offer Nova a hand up.
Fire Manipulation: Can create and control flames. Must be within a 30ft radius.
Type: Dark | Rank: Mastered
Skipping through her own mission, Nova finally started to notice the way the shadows seemed to flit around her vision. Vesper's magic was so familiar that she didn't think anything of the overly friendly tendrils of darkness, even letting out a small giggle as they stretched and reached for her legs while she danced around the burning patches of flowers. It wasn't until the grasp turned sharp and biting that she became annoyed. "Hey! That's mean!" But they didn't stop. With a small yelp at the pain, she stepped away, trying to pull the flames with her so they might force the shadows away, but it only seemed to deepen their hunger as they snagged at limbs and clothes.
Nova swatted at them, feeling the way each nip seemed to eat away at her magic. It was like ripping a part of her soul, her heart beginning to bleed as each sense and element was torn from it. She let out a scream of agony as her fire stuttered out, the magic no longer singing in her veins, refusing to answer her calls. "Get them OFF!!!" Her hands pulled and grabbed at the intangible substances that were trying to eat her alive.
And just when she thought it couldn't get any worse, the ground seemed to open below her, the sound of wet gnashing teeth clear in her mind. The beast was waiting for her, salivating on the taste of her magic that the shadows had teased it with. It gnawed at any bravery she thought she might possess, and Nova panicked, unable to see past the illusions that had consumed her, unable to hear Maea's compassionate concern, unable to do anything more than scream and thrash about. She couldn't fight the force swallowing her whole, or the air that wouldn't fill her lungs, or her own very vivid imagination that threatened to drive her mad.
Hadama accepted Maea's disappointment with an arched brow given their recent conversations in control. He was more amused than anything else, however. Things were going well and the lotus meadow was swiftly meeting its end, and the wind had thankfully been with them, pushing the tainted smoke away from the team--
Well. The natural wind, at least.
Nova's cackling had been something of a background noise since the burning had begun, like the singing of cicadas in summer. Not unexpected, but occasionally loud enough to startle. It wasn't until she screamed that Hadama turned sharply to find the source of her torment. Maea had already begun to make her way over to the other woman, but not before Nova dropped to the sand and began to thrash about. It was a good thing that the Ancient was controlling the fire near at hand, or else Safrin's daughter might have rolled into some of it without realizing.
Hadama moved towards her as well, but he could see nothing outwardly wrong with the girl. Whatever visions had terrified her were within her own mind alone. And therefore his healing could not help. "Finish burning the flowers. I do not know how else to help her," he admitted to his friend, his brow creased with worry and a faint show of his displeasure at being so helpless. He could not simply cure her, but he could at least lift Nova into his arms, holding her gently but firmly so she could not injure herself as she worked through her nightmare.
At least as the pollen count decreased and the lotuses burned their power over her began to fade as well, the hallucination losing cohesion as a crisp, clean twilight breeze blew across the desert sands from the west.
Last round:
Maea has free reign to finish the lotuses however she wishes
Hadama is making sure Nova doesn't hurt herself
Nova is beginning to shake off the brief but potent nightmare!
Nova's plight escalated rapidly and before Maea could get an answer or grab hold of the girl, she began screaming and thrashing about. Expanding her fire free area to accommodate for Hadama, the ancient nodded sharply and turned so that she had her back against her comrades. Designating everything behind her as a safe zone, her focus turned on the remaining flowers ahead of her.
Gathering her energy to take control over the flames, she put a twist on them and sent them off away from her, hopefully allowing small fire devils to continue on their own past her reach. Pushing forward to cover as much area as possible, she kept sending projectiles out, away from herself and from the others, so that anything that did catch on fire was something that was supposed to burn.
It felt good. There was chaos, wildfire, conflagration - and then there was this. Like being a force, a firebrand that burned at will and spared what she willed - and unlike the last incident with the bloodboon, this time her mind was perfectly clear.
Maybe Hadama was right, after all. She had been terrified of flames, once, and look at her now. Maybe one day she would learn to wield that dark blood magic with the same ease as she did this fire, as long as she practiced it regularly.
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Maea keep her friends behind her and uses mastered fire magic, trying to send small fire-devils (fire tornadoes) spinning out past her radius of control to reach as many flowers as possible.
Fire Manipulation: Can create and control flames. Must be within a 30ft radius.
Type: Dark | Rank: Mastered
