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!
After a short break on the deck of the ship, Thal waved for Maea to join her in the sky again. They were approaching the Brizo Sea and she didn't want to distract or influence the progress of the crew. So far, things had gone well, no signs of trouble through the easier oceans, however, things would start to pick up in the coming days. The Brizo Sea was full of storms and churning waters that weren't friendly, even to the most skilled of sailors. Luckily, they'd spent the last few seasons traveling between Torchline and the Hollowed Grounds, so if they screwed up now, she'd never let them hear the end of it.
Shifting again, Thal rose to the sky, quickly placing herself above the range of some darkening clouds. It looked like they might have their first storm fast approaching. She wasn't sure how she and Maea would do amongst the stormy atmosphere, but she was willing to give it a try until things got tough, then perhaps land back aboard the ship, tucking out of the way while they weathered it out. The low grumble of her throat said as much when she looked to the Ancient, letting her be the decider on when they descended.
"If I could fly I would never come back", you said
Feeling much refreshed after the meal and the rest, Maea launched herself back into the sky in the lyvern's wake. With the worst of her exuberance worked out of her system, her beady eyes paid more attention to the world around this time and noticed the brewing storm clouds about the same time as her friend. It was the first time she ever braved weather of this kind out in the open, and she was simultaneously thrilled and wary about what was about to come.
As the wind began to pick up her white wings beat hard to try and keep her in place near the wyvern, but soon she realised how exhausting it proved. Bracing herself mentally, Maea locked her wings instead and began coasting, round and roundin sweeping circles. Like a ragdoll she began to rise and drop at the whim of the air current. Beneath her a roiling mass of clouds obscured the ocean from view, and as light slowly dimmed her sole points of reference became the pull of gravity and the dark blue-black sheen of Thalassa's scales. Lightning flashed below; errant energy sizzled and cracked along pale wingtips, like witch light or the supernal glow of a wisp.
Not nearly as light as the gore crow, Thal wasn't buffeted as heavily by the wings. She tilted occasionally to better catch the updrafts, but stayed relatively even keeled, drifting above the cloud cover. Her eyes scanned for her ship through the gaps, assessing whether they were still on course. It was hard to tell, but at least they were still floating, and the sails hadn't ripped yet.
She didn't hear Maea's response, turning her head to find the corvid in a rotating suspension, giving in to the mercy of the currents. It might help her stay in flight, but she wouldn't get very far and the ship was still in motion below them.
Letting out a low grumble, Thal dipped her head in question, asking if Maea wanted to land on the deck, to weather out the storm. As thrilling as the flight was, she wouldn't mind the break. She'd also like to see the crew up close, whether they were calm or panicking under Spooks guidance.
"If I could fly I would never come back", you said
This time she actually heard the lyvern's rumbled query. Call her a coward, but as the winds picked up and brought along a spray of water soon to coaleace into heavy rain, Maea's confidence steadily waned. Dipping downward a few times she croaked gratefully for the suggestion to land, and began to descend towards the ship.
While the idea was to not get in the way of the sailors, perhaps none could fault them for taking over the crow's nest in weather like this. If it made the crew sweat a bit extra, Maea saw no harm in that. Actually, she would even go so far as to lock up in the aft cabin with a brazier under a wing - unless Thal was willing to serve as a private heater in her wyrm form. Somehow, Maea doubted suggesting it would be painless.
A strike of nearby lightning seemed to confirm their decision to descend, a warning that things were about to get much worse. She watched as the wind buffeted Maea, swinging her around and threatening to swipe her from the sky. Thal flicked a tail and tilted her wings to fight against a particularly strong gust before she tucked down.
As they made it below the cloud line, rain began to splatter against her scales, light but aggressive in its urging. It poured in sheets over the waves, peppering it in dimples that make the ocean look darker, more dangerous. She tried her best to shield Maea from the worst of it, flying just high enough to block the force while they landed back atop The Marauder to wait out the storm.
