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!
Flowerbirth had returned to Caido with the rising of the sun, which lent its warmth to even Helo, melting snow and coaxing forth the meager plant life that made the tundra home. This particular morning was pleasant enough that Rhiannon had left her coat on the hook in the barracks when she went out after a morning training session, her toned arms on display in a tight-fitting, long-sleeved shirt and pants that were easy to move in. She wore a sword on one hip and a dagger on the other; after the events of Deepfrost, she had determined not to go without weaponry, particularly since her magic was weak, at best.
The barracks were loud behind her, with soldiers training for the first time since LongNight had covered their world in darkness. Rhiannon had been one of them, but now it was nearly time for lunch, and she’d decided to go pick something up for herself and a few friends. As she exited the palace grounds, however, she almost ran into a stranger. Dodging to one side, she blinked with surprise. ”Hey!” she said, reacting before she could think. ”Watch out!”
Said someone staggered aside. A muffled "Sorry!" could be heard from behind a stack of new blankets piled high in the arms of a young girl. A pair of green eyes peered up over the burden, taking in the woman and the palace grounds beyond.
"Uh, sorry, do you know your way around here? I'm supposed to deliver these to the barracks..?" Beneath her coat she wore an apprentice smock and an apron. Bits of wool and thread clung to her clothes, and a faint scent of lanolin and dust followed in her wake. Or perhaps it was the blankets. Either way, her rounded cheeks were rosy with exersion and the burden heavy enough to drag on her arms. Awkwardly she tried to relieve one arm at a time, but it didn't help much.
Don't talk like you know me when I don't even know myself
The stranger, as it turned out, was a young girl, perhaps in her mid to late teens by Rhiannon’s estimation. Although the soldier wasn’t older by that much, she was struck by how young the girl looked. ”Oh, uh, no problem,” she offered. She hadn’t really meant anything by her outburst, and this girl was hardly old enough to even be here. Rhiannon supposed she had run around a fair bit when she was that age, but she still couldn’t help but wonder where the girl’s parents were.
Then she took in the girl’s appearance, noting the apprentice smock. Ah, that made sense, then. ”Barracks are that way,” Rhiannon said, pointing back the way she’d come. Then, taking pity on the stranger, she said, ”Here, give me some of those. I’ll show you the way.”
"Oh, sure! Thanks, that helps a lot." Fumbling with the stash of blankets she passed about half of them over to the woman, huffing a sigh of relief as the strain on her arms lessened. "I'm Venna. What's your name? Are you a soldier?"
Bright eyes looked the woman up and down, frank and unabashed. Despite being on unfamiliar ground there was a surity in her stride as she hurried along, of a kind that implied she was exactly where she should be, doing precisely what she should. The confidence of youth, perhaps, or at least of one who wasn't afraid to make mistakes.
"I'm new on the job," Ravenna explained unprompted, keeping up a steady stream of chatter as they headed for the barracks. "I thought I'd be learning to weave but so far it's been a lot of fetching, carrying and running errands... Is soldier work like that too?"
Don't talk like you know me when I don't even know myself
Rhiannon accepted the stack, then began to lead the way towards the barracks. ”I’m Rhiannon, and yes, I am.” With all the girl’s chatter, she was beginning to regret stopping to help, but she was already doing it now, so there was no going back. She was friendly, which Rhi supposed was a good thing, but even so…
They made a turn and approached a door that had been propped open for the breeze; Rhiannon led the way inside confidently. ”Sometimes,” she admitted. ”When you first start. A lot of being a soldier is learning to follow orders.” Something that she was still working on, particularly when she didn’t like the order being given. She thought of the titan battle and winced. ”It’s all about discipline, really. Sounds like your work is similar.”
Considering that angle, Venna hummed airily. "Never figured crafting had much to do with discipline, but maybe you're right." At least she was getting to see more of the Citadel, and her supervisor had said something about business trips eventually - which, hopefully, would mean getting out of Halo. Nothing bad about the region, but Ravenna missed the sun and warmth of her birthplace, and anything green would be a vast improvement.
"So, these are supposed to go in a supply closet, and then I'm done for the day. You still have work to do, or wanna find something fun to waste time on?" It was a leisurely offer, no hard feelings if the woman declined. If she wound up on her own, the raven-haired lass would go home, pick up the spindle she had received to practice on, and spend the day actually learning the trade. She'd been told it only took practice to get good at spinning thread, and the finer, more consistent her spinning, the better quality the weaving was going to be. Perhaps a soldier would find that kind of patient work boring... but she liked it, and had every intention of getting not just good, but masterful.
Don't talk like you know me when I don't even know myself
Rhiannon grinned. Everything had to do with discipline, from completing one's chores at home to working out to holding a steady job. This girl would figure that out eventually - or, you know, maybe she wouldn't. That wasn't Rhi's problem either way.
As the soldier led the way to the supply closet, she considered. She was done with work for the day, but spending her free time with a girl who couldn't be more than - sixteen? Seventeen? - didn't land high on her list of things to do. Gods, what did teenagers even do for fun these days? "I actually have to get home," she lied smoothly. "Maybe some other time?" Or maybe not, if Rhi had anything to say about it. Hopefully the apprentice wouldn't have any hard feelings.
