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!
Sunlit Shadows (mastered) | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 60ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Type: Grey | Style: Offensive | Level: Mastered
Deadly Recall | Can recall 1, or 2, or 3 of her feathers to her hand, within a range of 30ft. Recalled daggers do 1/2 damage when recalled.
Rescue (Mastered) | Remi can bring a fellow Old God demigod to his side in a time of crisis for three concurrent posts. One use per thread. If the summoned demigod also has mastered this ability, they can remain until the end of the thread.
The trees here don’t whisper so much as sigh in long, weathered exhales that shiver through the red bark and make even the breeze feel like a memory. Lanterns sway overhead like stars that got a little lost on the way home, casting flickers of warm gold across the skin-like bark and the twisted silhouettes rooted between the roots.
Flora adjusts the sleeves of her sweater, the soft knit bunching at her elbows as she nudges a low-hanging branch aside with the back of her hand. The wool is a deep, coppery orange that sets off the green-glass of her eyes, and her boots crunch quietly through a carpet of brittle leaves and old petals as they walk. A scarf, loosely knotted, brushes against her cheek with every step.
"I really appreciate you coming with me," she says, tone softer than usual—not clipped, not barbed, just quiet enough to match the hush of the woods. "It isn't that I'm scared exactly, but I have been attacked her twice." The Family were gone now, but given that there were still some Friends of the Family (looking at you, Liam), the queen would rather someone know about it if she went missing.
"I need one of Vi’s roses," she explains, fingers fidgeting with the edge of her sleeve. "There’s a grove in the Cordillera I’m trying to cleanse of the void, and...well, pretty sure you're the expert when it comes to finding them." Grinning at the ancient, Flora shrugs her shoulders. "But I also wanted to stop by the shrine and ask Ludo for something." Hence why they were wandering towardd the herald's little shrine.
"I'm glad you asked me," came the reply, equally hushed and earnest in its simplicity. With a her hands tucked deep into generous pockets and the collar of her black winter coat turned up against the wind, Maea strolled along through yellowed leaves with an air of serenity about her. A simple hair stick of carved wood kept the hair out of her eyes, save for some stubborn wisps that danced like spider silk around her face. "Hmm, am I? Then I'll have to do my best. Don't know if you know, but... Liam is infected, too. I'm looking for one for him as well. Don't worry though, I'll give you the first one we find - the Draig is too important to leave infected." Liam would agree, she was sure of that.
Casting a sidelong glance at Flora, pale eyes remained calm, if a bit thoughtful as she took in the air of the young queen. It had been a difficult year for her, and it showed; something in her posture, and the simple fact that she'd asked for help... It was tempting to ask questions - how she was feeling, what she was going to do now - but Maea hesitated, as it could make it worse to keep reliving ones difficulties.
"How does it feel to be back?" she asked instead, leaving the door open to share however much or little Flora wished. "I find myself missing the Grounds this time of year - anytime I smell apples it reminds me of home." Reaching out to push a branch out of the way, she held it back for her company to pass by, and flicked cool droplets of damp from pale fingertips once she let it go.
Sunlit Shadows (mastered) | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 60ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Type: Grey | Style: Offensive | Level: Mastered
Deadly Recall | Can recall 1, or 2, or 3 of her feathers to her hand, within a range of 30ft. Recalled daggers do 1/2 damage when recalled.
Rescue (Mastered) | Remi can bring a fellow Old God demigod to his side in a time of crisis for three concurrent posts. One use per thread. If the summoned demigod also has mastered this ability, they can remain until the end of the thread.
Flora’s grin sparks instinctively at Maea’s earnestness, a flicker of something real that tugs at the corner of her mouth before it curdles into a grimace. "Oh, I know," she says quickly, boots crunching through a patch of cracked leaves as she pulls her scarf tighter. "Believe me, I know." The shiver that ripples down her spine isn’t entirely from the wind. Her arms fold across her chest, trying to hold in the memory more than the chill. "If you’ve already been infected..you can see it." Her voice dips, low and hushed, like she’s worried the woods might overhear.
She throws a glance at Maea and sighs. "Every time I’ve seen Liam since he got infected, it’s like talking to a void monster wearing his skin. All...tongues and eyeballs and dripping." She makes a squirming motion with her fingers, nose wrinkling. "It’s revolting. Like a nightmare that tries to be charming."
But the disgust melts—unevenly—into a crooked, almost sheepish smile. "Anyway. I saw you two together, at my dads’ anniversary thing? Are you guys a thing now?" The question floats for a moment before Maea’s earlier one catches up to her, and she exhales slowly, watching her breath fog as it fades between the branches. "Being back’s...complicated, I guess?" Her eyes flick up toward the nearest lantern, its light caught gently in the peeling bark. "Half of me remembers the good stuff. Races through the Wildwood. Carving names into trees. Holding hands beneath the leaves."
Sighing, Flora regards the boughs above. "The other half just remembers getting jumped by the Family. Or fighting with Jack." She lifts a hand to flick a curled leaf off her shoulder. "So yeah. Complicated." The words are softer now, quieter, but they don’t lose their shape.
"How about you? When were you in the Grounds last?"
The bridge of her nose scrunched in disgust at the description, her mouth curving downward into a grim expression that had become standard whenever she contemplated Liam's condition. "I figured," she sighed, resigned against the ever present gnaw of concern. "I've told him I accept that it's his choice whether to remain like this or not, but it's really just an excuse to buy time. The moment I am able to he'll be cured, and if he's mad about it after..." She shrugged. That was a concern for later.
Softening at the mention of the anniversary celebration, and the subsequent question, Maea nodded, a small and sheepish smile betraying her happiness. "We are, yes. Turns out you were right, and I was blind... It's still hard to believe it's real." Not simply a dream, or some hallucination she might have to wake up from.
Turning her focus back on Flora, she nodded while listening, recognising the mixed feelings as ones she'd experienced as well. "I wonder if it's like that for everyone, or if we feel it more keenly because we've settled somewhere else," she mused. "I went back for Kiada's wedding, so it's half a year now... It's hard to go back, though. I don't even use the portal if I can avoid it, in case I end up running into... anyone I know."
Sunlit Shadows (mastered) | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 60ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Type: Grey | Style: Offensive | Level: Mastered
Deadly Recall | Can recall 1, or 2, or 3 of her feathers to her hand, within a range of 30ft. Recalled daggers do 1/2 damage when recalled.
Rescue (Mastered) | Remi can bring a fellow Old God demigod to his side in a time of crisis for three concurrent posts. One use per thread. If the summoned demigod also has mastered this ability, they can remain until the end of the thread.
Flora’s brow lifts, surprise flitting across her face with all the subtlety of a tossed pebble skipping across still water. "You accept what he is?" she echoes, voice pitched somewhere between scandalized and shocked, like she’s not sure whether to argue or slap some sense into the ancient. But then Maea finishes the thought, and Flora lets out a sharp exhale, relief uncoiling in her shoulders as her arms drop back to her sides. "Good," she says, nodding once, firmly. "Because whatever he says, or how he acts, if you could see what I do...you'd know how completely, absolutely fucked up he still is." Her nose wrinkles again, the memory still clinging like cobwebs. "It’s not just a bad vibe. It’s like something’s living behind his eyes, and wearing his skin."
She shakes the thought away, like water flung from her curls, and the shift in topic lets her whole body lighten. Her grin returns as she elbows Maea gently. "But hey—congrats," she says with an arch of her brows, her tone teasing but warm. "That's awesome."
She tucks her hands back into her pockets as they continue walking, leaves whispering beneath their steps. Maea’s thoughts on homesickness earn a thoughtful hum. "Probably," Flora agrees. "Even if you settle somewhere new, the old place keeps echoing." With a little shrug, she adds, "I’ve lived in Torchline way longer than I ever did in the Greatwood. But...it’s still where I was born. Where I grew up. So I doubt it’ll ever stop feeling like home at least a little bit." She smiles, but there’s something wistful beneath it—like she’s already bracing for the ache to come back. "It’s just...one of those things you carry, I guess."
Knowing precisely who it was Maea wouldn't want to bump into, the young queen clears her throat. Whatever ease had stretched between she and the pale ancient, her loyalties were still steadfastly with Danta and Asta, so it was that she merely met the end of Maea's sentiment with a noncommital shrug.
On one hand, it might have been better if Maea could see the state of her lover and partner. It would have kept the fire lit under her ass to cure him, and solidified a resolve that flagged every time he smiled at her, so normally like he'd never been touched by the void. On the other, she was grateful that she never had to feign her reactions when gazing at him. Until she found a rose, waiting was all they could do... and she'd much rather wait by his side than from some far away place. "Yeah. I'll deal with it - I'm not going to leave him like that."
Returning Flora's well wishes with a bashful little smile, Maea bowed her head in gratitude for it. The conversation turned, towards homesickness and lingering regrets. When the young queen didn’t comment on the continued estrangement between herself and Asta, Maea let the matter drop, leaving it behind among the fallen leaves and allowed silence to fill the space. At least for her it wasn't uncomfortable; having reached a point where she couldn't do more than wait for the matter to fade from memory, or for Asta to decide what he wished from her in recompense, Maea recognised when trying to fix things would only make it worse.
"Would you be interested in coming to stay for a while?" she offered eventually, when her thoughts kept returning to homesickness and ways to ease the longing. "I haven't had a proper housewarming yet, but I'd like to invite some people over..." To spend time, get to know them better, exist in the same space between dinners and games and whatever else struck their fancy.
Sunlit Shadows (mastered) | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 60ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Type: Grey | Style: Offensive | Level: Mastered
Deadly Recall | Can recall 1, or 2, or 3 of her feathers to her hand, within a range of 30ft. Recalled daggers do 1/2 damage when recalled.
Rescue (Mastered) | Remi can bring a fellow Old God demigod to his side in a time of crisis for three concurrent posts. One use per thread. If the summoned demigod also has mastered this ability, they can remain until the end of the thread.
Flora nods without hesitation. "The Greatwood’s gotta have at least two more roses lying around somewhere," she says, the confidence in her voice bright as the lanterns above, even if it’s laced with the unspoken weight of how badly they both need them.
Maea’s invitation draws her brows up, the offer clearly catching her mid-step. She and Maea weren’t exactly thick as thieves, but Flora wasn’t in the habit of turning down a good party, either. After a moment’s consideration, she shrugs one shoulder. "Sure," she decides, her grin tilting crooked. "Though I hope you won’t think I’m too rude if I avoid the hell out of your boyfriend if he’s not cured by then." There’s no venom in it, just the blunt honesty of someone who’s seen more of the void than she’d like.
"Speaking of..." Her voice trails off as she nods toward the darker swell of trees ahead, where lanternlight pools at the base of a gnarled trunk. Ludo’s shrine waits there, quiet and watchful. Flora slips a hand into her pocket, fingers brushing over the familiar shapes tucked away there. "Be right back," she murmurs, almost to herself, before padding forward. One by one, she scatters a little parade of acorn men among the roots—some perched in hollows, others propped against the bark, their twig arms frozen mid-wave or mid-fall—until the shrine has a tiny, silent audience of its own.
