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!
11-05-2024, 04:43 PM (This post was last modified: 11-05-2024, 04:45 PM by Thalassa.)
I'm the bad guy.
Per usual, the port was bustling with activity. It only added to the hustling onboard as she directed the crew. After finally getting her head screwed back on after a few months of guilt, pain, and confusion, she'd returned to The Marauder in full force. Thal was the Captain and this was her ship. She wouldn't accept any inferiorities. Despite the shifting season to Leafchange, she had instigated a ship-wide cleansing. They were swabbing the decks of any lingering bad luck, repairing any broken pieces that could serve as malevolent portals, even a black cat had found its way aboard, eyes scanning for otherworldly things they couldn't see.
Thal oversaw everything with strict commands and steely authority. Her characteristic hood was stowed away in her cabin, revealing a black linen shirt and tight trousers tucked into her boots. The dark tresses of her hair hung wild around her face and glistening blue-black horns. It gave her a more sinister look that had any disagreements dying on the crew's lips. Rolling up her sleeves, she helped heave a new rope up the mast, securing it to the rigging. Once it was tied, Thal swiped an arm across her forehead, noticing that the crew was fading after hours of work. Part of her wanted to push them through to finish the job, however, exhausted work only yielded in sub-par results.
Summoning her first mate, Spook, over, she waved a hand. "Tell the crew to take lunch, but when we get back, I expect diligence and perfection." With the command given, Thal didn't wait for her order to be fulfilled. She stepped onto the gang plank and into the port, searching for something that had occurred to her during their work. As much as her pride called to find the item herself, she wasn't going to waste time and let the crew dillydally in her absence. Pointing at a passing woman that she faintly recognized, Thal said, "You. Do you know where I might find a horseshoe?"
Even in Leafchange, Torchline was hot. Or at least it seemed that way to Rhiannon, who had rarely left Halo until this season.
The soldier swaggered through the port, her long braids tied up off her neck, further exposing her bare shoulders and upper back. She wore a dark tank top to ward off the warmth, but had chosen pants and boots for her bottoms - all the easier to stash weaponry. Seeing Rhiannon without some manner of protection would be worse, in her opinion, than seeing her naked.
She was just exploring some of the street vendors that had set up near the docked ships when a vaguely familiar voice interrupted her browsing, and she looked up with a raised brow at the speaker's tone. It was the woman from the Feverlands - but Rhi didn't know her name. She'd been quiet during their cleanup, so Rhi knew even less about her than she'd learned about their leader on that expedition.
"A horseshoe?" she repeated coolly, her brow still quirked curiously. "I haven't seen many horses around, but if there's a blacksmith nearby...?"
The response was not what she'd wanted. Thal huffed out an annoyed breath, rolling her eyes dramatically. "Nevermind. I'll find it myself." People unfamiliar with Kaiholo Port might think it difficult to find such a strange item in a coastal city; however, this port was special. It was the place people went to find unique and elusive odds and ends, and Thal was a frequent customer, earning her special assistance. That usually meant that any passing figures were more than willing to point her towards her objective. This woman obviously wasn't a part of that network. But she was familiar, which intrigued Thal enough to turn before making her way into the marketplace. "The name's Captain Thalassa. If you're looking for work, we could use some extra hands. Just wait here." Despite the rough tone, it wasn't a lie. Her men were getting tired, and it might be nice to have another woman put eyes on the progress.
Within a few minutes, Thal was returning with an easily procured horseshoe gripped in her hand. She waved a hand for the woman to follow her up the gangplank as she made her way across the deck of The Marauder. Her pace didn't slow, and she didn't look back to see if she'd followed, content with whatever decision the stranger made.
The woman huffed and rolled her eyes, and as she stormed off to find said horseshoe, Rhiannon shrugged to herself. She wasn't familiar with Torchline as a whole, much less Kaiholo Port specifically, and it had showed in her non-answer. Not that she was particularly bothered either way. Clearly, the woman knew enough to know where to find one herself - which begged the question: why had she asked Rhiannon to begin with?
Still, her brusque invitation intrigued Rhiannon enough that the soldier lingered, waiting patiently for Thalassa to return. It didn't take long before the captain reappeared, presumably having found what she'd been looking for. Rhi followed her up the gangplank with a look of mild interest. Her gaze roved over the ship; as far as she could tell, it was well-built and maintained perfectly. "I'm Rhiannon, by the way," she offered belatedly. "How can I help?"
The process may have been quick, but it would've been much quicker if she'd had some original direction to begin with, warranting her annoyance with the woman. Thal tried to push it aside, too curious about the familiarity and unmotivated to turn away extra hands. As 'Rhiannon' introduced herself, the captain continued to consider where she might have known her from. It left her quiet and stoic as she used a hand to summon the woman to the door of her cabin.
"Hold this here." She placed the horseshoe against her door, glancing sideways at Rhiannon's features while she simultaneously grabbed a hammer and nails. According to superstition, the horseshoe would bring luck on the voyages and guard them from spirits. Not that it would do any good against the Void.
The memory finally surfaced, causing Thal to bluntly say, "You were in the Feverlands." She'd been the other one to help clean up all the debris. There hadn't been much time for introductions between the work, and Thal hadn't been in the mood for them anyways (was she ever?). It made her wonder what she was doing in Torchline, however, she waited to hear what Rhiannon said before asking.
Thalassa held a horseshoe against a door, indicating that Rhi should hold it in place. The young woman did so, carefully aligning it so that it was perfectly upright and then moving her fingers out of the way of the hammer and nails. All she needed was for the captain to smash her fingers. She'd never live it down back home if she returned with an injury from a hammer, of all things - although, to be fair, there were stranger things to be hit by.
"I was," she said, smoothing her face into neutrality rather than wince at the memory of just how unhelpful she'd been. "You shifted into a lyvern." It had been much more helpful than Rhi's ursur shift would have been, and her lightning magic had been just as useless. "I've been traveling a bit this season. Grew up in Halo, but wanted to see what else is out there." She might as well make small talk while they worked.
The admission didn't surprise Thal. She just nodded her head. "I did." There was no haughty pride or judgement in her voice, just flat acknowledgement of the fact. She was starting to get more comfortable with the shift and it was turning out to be much more versatile than her lava wyrm shift. Perhaps it was the sheer size, or the fact that it had wings, but she found herself using it often. It just seemed naturally.
Her lip came up at the mention of the stubbornly cold climate. "I've only been to Halo once and I have no plans to return." Even then, she'd been inside. Maybe once she had better control of her fire magic or some magical cloak, she'd consider traveling there more. For now, it made her too uncomfortable to even think about the biting chill of the snowy air.
Hammering the nails into the horseshoe, she stepped back to make sure it held in place. "This is to keep away spirits and other bad omens. I'm not the superstitious kind, but my crew finds comfort in it." Thal scoffed lightly at the stupidity of it all. Whether they put up wards or called out to the gods, trouble would find them if it was determined enough, and she wouldn't mind frying whatever dared come after her or her home.
As a hybrid, Rhiannon had shifts of her own, though at present she could only turn into an ursur. She looked forward to the day when she would have a winged shift of her own. She could only imagine how it would feel to fly, how incredibly freeing it had to be. In the meantime, it was strangely satisfying to turn into something as deadly as an ursur, even if she had to be careful back home not to accidentally cross paths with any hunters who wouldn't be able to tell her from a real one.
Rhi released the horseshoe and stepped back, nodding at Thal's admission. Rumor had it that Ancients preferred the heat, and that was something that Halo was sorely lacking. Even having grown up there, Rhi sometimes found herself longing for a bit of warmth, especially in the depths of winter when she had patrols outside the Citadel.
"It can't hurt," Rhi said with a shrug. She wasn't particularly superstitious either, but whatever helped them sleep at night. "I imagine it pays off to keep the crew happy?" She wasn't a leader herself, but as a soldier who followed, she knew that her preferences being taken into account was one way to ensure her loyalty.
Thal scoffed lightly again. "I suppose so. Sometimes it's easier than instilling fear." Although she still used that tactic often, not that she had to do more than flash her fangs. However, honey and flies and all that junk.
Her head tilted to make sure it was centered along the door. Content that it was, she waved a hand at the horseshoe dismissively. "It's also nearly impossible to find a sailor who doesn't believe in all this nonsense. And they're a stubbornly superstitious sort." She'd tried talking them out of it multiple times, but no matter how many times they argued, their fear of the spiritual unknown was more than their fear of losing a job. It was almost enough to convince her of the stories.
Looking to Rhi, she narrowed her blue eyes, assessing. She seemed to be the capable sort despite her lack of assistance during the Feverlands cleanup. Strong, quick, able to follow directions. Jerking her chin, Thal asked, "What exactly do you do?"
Ah, one of those. Rhi had to admit that ruling with an iron fist could be just as effective as fostering camaraderie, though she personally felt that the latter was more likely to yield loyal followers. Still, she was just a soldier, not even a captain, so what did she know? With a mental shrug, she turned her attention to Thal's description of her sailors. "Were you a sailor before you became a captain?" she asked. And if so, why didn't she believe in the protective powers of a horseshoe?
As to Rhi's job, she lifted her chin slightly, proud of her role and what she contributed to her home - even if she knew there was still so much more that she could do, one day. "I'm a Deepfrost Shield," she said, referring to the soldiers of Halo. What she didn't say was that she was a veritable nobody within their ranks, not yet having proven herself with enough to rise further than grunt.
"Briefly." She didn't mention that it all started when she awoke on a beach, alone with no memories. Unlike most sailors, she hadn't grown up on ships. All she'd known was that the ocean called to her, and working on a ship was the easiest way to keep it abated. Sighing, she left the door behind as she made her way towards the gangplank. "It didn't last long." As she leaned on the railing, keeping her eyes peeled for her returning crew, Thal felt a moment of sentimentality, running her hand along the worn wood. "The previous captain died and left her to me." And that's how she'd ended up here, Captain of The Marauder.
Listening to Rhi's response, it all seemed to click. She was much too composed and disciplined to be a simple mercenary. Nodding her head, she confirmed. "So a soldier. Makes sense." Although soldiers didn't always spend their time with their squadrons, motivating Thal to glance again at the woman. "As long as all goes well today, you'll always have work here if you want it. We could use more women on board." Contrary to what some of her crew thought of women and the bad luck they brought, the Captain liked the occasional female contribution to the work.
12-05-2024, 02:23 PM (This post was last modified: 12-10-2024, 02:42 PM by Rhiannon.)
Rhiannon
The captain was a woman of few words, it seemed, but Rhiannon could respect that. After all, words rarely mattered on the battlefield - or, she suspected, sailing the seas. She needed to be able to give orders and ensure those orders were followed, but she could do that by ruling with an iron fist or appealing to the sailors' loyalty. That was all that really mattered.
So Rhi nodded as Thalassa shared how she'd come by her ship, unsure what to say and therefore electing to say nothing at all. Conversation shifted to Rhi, and she held her head high under Thalassa's scrutiny. She was pleasantly surprised when the captain offered her work - she got the impression that Thalassa didn't hand out such an invitation lightly, so she must have done something right, despite her less-than-stellar performance in the Feverlands. "Thank you," she said, aiming for a grateful note without being too eager. After all, she already had a job and responsibilities back home. "I'll be glad to help when I can. I'm often on patrol in Halo, but when I'm not there, I'll look you up."
