Third time is the charm

Maea

My heroes had the heart to lose their lives out on the limb

As promised, it was but a few days later that Maea returned to the shrine. Flickering across the floor with reckless abandon, it was safe to say that she enjoyed her newest ability. The faint pop of air rushing in to fill the void as she teleported was incredibly satisfying, and the scattering crackle of sparks when she appeared again all but reduced her to giggles every time. Maybe she'd spent too much time around Nova, if glitter and fireworks got her this worked up. 

Undoubtedly she was in a good mood as she knelt before the altar. The customary offering of blood was given, and a gift of a highly polished feirw skull she'd found was added to the pile of bones scattered around the altar stone. Was it the crow in her that prompted these random gifts? Perhaps it was simply a sign of affection, that the pale-skinned Ancient saw something pretty or interesting and wished to share it with one she was coming to love. 

"Dark Mother," she called sweetly, as blood dripped from a cut in her palm. "Will you help me? I would like to finish this wonderful armor, if it pleases you." Touching a hand to the velvet gown she had come to wear like a second skin, Maea could only conclude that it had been a very good idea, and well utilised. And despite the many ideas she had for useful tools and additional abilities, the main concern would always be to stay alive. 

---

Maea asks for a quest to upgrade her armor to Mastered. If the roll fails, please use MP! 

Type: Grey | Style: Defensive | Level: Upgraded
Valair Armour | A beautiful black dress lined with crimson, stronger by far than it appears. This item blocks physical damage. Requires a 3 post cooldown between uses.

And I remember thinking — I want to be like them

Dygra

"Back so soon."

There is no judgement in the low and sensuous voice, only quiet welcome and expectation, and warmth will flood through Maea from the knees upward as she lowers herself to Dygra's shrine. The walls shimmer with heat, and something like affection seems to glitter in the eyeless sockets of the assorted skulls settled in decorative piles around the altar. 

"Armour is nothing if it not used. And it appears you have been putting it to good use," the goddess purrs, her disembodied voice filling the space as if with liquid, velvet darkness. "Very well, little dark one. As with the offering, you must give blood and spill blood to complete your task. But I sense this will not trouble you as it once did."

---

Maea did not roll high enough and so 450MP has been deducted.

Maea has received a quest! She will get:

Type: Grey | Style: Defensive | Level: Mastered
Valair Armour | A beautiful black dress lined with crimson, stronger by far than it appears. This item blocks physical damage. Requires a 2 post cooldown between uses.

She must:

1. Complete a training thread wearing the armour, using only unarmed strikes. (No weapons or magic allowed!)

2. Complete a training thread allowing someone else to wear the armour, using only unarmed strikes. (No weapons or magic allowed!)

3. Complete a thread spending a night out in the Boneyard in Hak Etme with only her armour and abilities to survive.

4. Complete a thread sating her bloodlust on a Lial in The Climb whilst wearing the armour. No shifts may be used.

Table coding by Sky <3

Maea

My heroes had the heart to lose their lives out on the limb

"Motivation is overflowing, I wanted to make the most of it," Maea agreed, smiling happily as the presence of her goddess filled the room and her innermost being, expelling doubts and hesitation until only Dygra remained. She was long past the point of questioning her worthiness in the Dark Lady's eyes. Why would she answer, after all, if her child was unwelcome?

Listening intently to the instructions, she nodded in agreement to the assessment. "Indeed. I do believe that examining my reservations with logic helped me see the misconceptions for what they were. I mistook predatory instincts for evil, and failed to include people into the natural food chain... as though we're somehow exempt from the flow of life and death, or the chaos that comes with striving for everyone's own version of 'right'." She huffed a quiet laugh, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. "It was so simple and yet it took me this long to understand; it's a bit embarrassing." She could only chalk it up to a character flaw, and do her best to keep an open mind from here on out. It did help to know that she didn't have to like something to accept it - that she wasn't a failure for being different or viewing things from her own perspective. That's what being an individual was all about, after all.

As for the tasks themselves, they were straight forward and uncomplicated. With no questions to ask and eager to get started, Maea soon excused herself and left to reunite with Liam. The notion of him witnessing her during a hunt was nerve-wracking... but also thrilling. If he could accept that feral, bloodthirsty part of her, was there anything he couldn't stomach? She hoped he would - thought he might - yet there was only one real way to find out. 

[FIN]

And I remember thinking — I want to be like them