From being an Abandoned who had rarely left the Hollowed Grounds, to embracing the call of adventure, to dying and being reborn first as an Ascended and then as an Ancient, Maea has gone through quite the amount of changes in her life. One thing remains common, though, in her attempts to find out just where she belongs; she’s always had a craving for knowledge which has brought her to so many places and to meet so many people here in Caido. We can’t wait to see what else is in store for her!
Congratulations, Maea!
Credits
Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
Skinning and hosting by the epically talented Kaons, and functionality fanciness by the coding magic of Neowulf. If you ever see either of them around, make sure to show them some love!
After his long time away, hiding from all those he once knew, Loren had an affinity for the hidden places of the Hollowed Grounds. Sure, they tended to be more dangerous than the more populated ones, but they also were more isolated, something the Launceleyn felt he needed more and more these days. Indeed, ever since his return he’d been in a flurry of reunions and meetings and tests and research sessions and preparations, desperate to find a cure for the blight that threatened his friends and the Greatwood beyond their borders as well as find a way to fight off the monsters that would come along with LongNight. It was necessary.
However, it was also overwhelming, especially the harsh words he’d had to subject himself to and the hard questions he’d failed to answer. He’d been expecting it, of course, but that didn’t make it any easier to stomach. Ronin and Remi had been the worst, obviously, but Beatrix proved to be unexpectedly difficult to face, though perhaps the summoner should’ve realized his half-sister would be less than pleased with him. At least Jace seemed okay with Uncle Loren, not that the librarian saw much of his nephew, given that he was basically Beatrix’s shadow. Yet another problem that he did not know how to fix.
Which is why he had slipped into the Underground: the tunnels down here didn’t care who he was, just what he could do. And Loren had always been better with his actions than his words, long disappearance notwithstanding. The Underground was warmer than the outside at the moment, but still chilly, so he was glad for the cloak he had wrapped firmly around himself.
Of course, even here, Loren was not alone. Unlike most of the company he kept, however, Astra was a delight: she bounded over the rocks down here with a near childlike glee, her hooves clattering on the stone ground. Her antlers glowed with a soft light, but it was still more than enough to banish the darkness down here, for which the Launceleyn was glad. As she darted back to him, he affectionately rubbed her head, then fished some of the hay he’d taken to carrying with him at all times out of his belt pouch and fed it to her. She munched on it happily, content to trot by his side as they made their way deeper into the earth. It was almost a pleasant stroll, if not for the threats the summoner knew lurked down here. Then again, he wasn’t exactly a pushover.
The crisp chill of deepfrost blew over the Ruins, where the black and tan shepherd dog trotted along. His breath clouded in front of his maw when he stopped for a moment to catch it, but he mostly kept his head lowered and his ears swiveling. Admittedly, some sporadic gusts of wind had his eyes closing and ears lowering until it passed. Cold wasn’t exactly his favorite environment.
Caleb has been keeping to himself recently. He wasn’t sure where he belonged in this world, and his schooling - rather, his life of being studied in a laboratory with tutors coming to provide general education - didn’t exactly give him the tools to build any kind of social skills or connections outside of the doctors and scientists he had been surrounded by. In a way, he missed that level of hell that was his childhood.
Ultimately, he found the entrance to the Underground. It wasn’t his first time there, but he certainly hadn’t ventured deep within the tunnels. There were fresh scents, though. He hadn’t caught them before, and it sparked his curiosity, so he decided to continue in the tunnels at a brisk trot.
The Underground was warmer than it was above, which gave him some kind of relief against the biting air. He wasn’t wearing his cloak at the moment, which was probably a foolish thing to leave at home, but it wasn’t something he felt he needed. His furs were enough. Hells, they would do more for him than the cloak would!
A gentle light moved around ahead of him, and he listened with his keen senses to the plodding of hooves. A luxere? If he had been on two legs, he might’ve smiled. There was someone with it though, and that was what had Caleb cautious. Caution was typically overcome by his curiosity… Following after the figures, the shepherd released a whine and sped up if just slightly to maybe catch up.
09-07-2019, 03:13 AM (This post was last modified: 09-08-2019, 03:16 AM by Loren.)
They say blood makes you related but
loyalty makes you family
Astra noticed their pursuer first: though she was magic, she was also a deer, and recognized a predator on her trail, no matter how domesticated said predator might be. The luxere gave an anxious bleat, and spun around, causing Loren to follow suit. However, whatever he’d been expecting—in the Underground, it could’ve been pretty much anything and everything not under the sun—a plain old black and tan shepherd dog was not it. The whine that came from the canine’s throat didn’t sound threatening at all.
Still, that didn’t stop Astra from pawing at the ground for a brief moment. However, when the dog came closer, she gave it a curious look, then shook her whole body and relaxed. Making a reassuring noise, she gently nudged the summoner forward, not that he needed much prodding. Kneeling, he gave the dog a gentle smile. A quick glance confirmed that this was a very good boy indeed. ”Well hello there. Aren’t you cute?” The Launceleyn’s voice was low and soothing; while the dog seemed friendly enough, it was still an unknown animal and it was always best to approach those with caution.
Tentatively, Loren held out his hand for the dog to sniff. Up close, he could see that, while the canine was well taken care of, there were traces of snow and water in his fur, which was presumably unpleasant. Then again this weather was pleasant for everyone. Even the multiple layers the Launceleyn was wearing felt inadequate, so perhaps even natural furs weren't up to the cold and wet of Deepfrost.
Not exactly having any true experience in the real world, Caleb never would have thought of himself as a predator. Predators hunt, kill, stalk… Alright, maybe what he was doing could have been construed as stalking, but that certainly wasn’t the intention.
The animal ahead sounded afraid, but when the man turned around, Caleb slowed his approach. He wasn’t trying to charge forward or spook either of them, and a piece of him felt guilty for having done so to the deer. As the man knelt to the ground, Caleb gradually closed the distance, his ear flicking once, enjoying the sound of the man’s voice.
He couldn’t remember seeing the man around the Hollowed Grounds, but then again, he also had willingly put himself into seclusion. Was this a newcomer who didn’t know his place, like Caleb? Or had he been here for longer and just decided to wander into the Underground for the hells of it? It wasn’t exactly the wisest place to explore from the pup’s perspective, but he certainly wasn’t going to tell anyone what to do.
A hand was extended towards him, and whatever cautionary attitude Caleb might have had before was complete gone by now. His nostrils flared slightly around the man’s hand, picking up and committing to memory the fresh scent of his current companion. The dog’s body language was entirely calmed now; his ears relaxed, oak brown eyes wide and eager, tail wagging. He sat down and tilted his head, lifting his paw with a canine grin to place onto the man’s hand.
To Loren’s delight, after sniffing his hand, the dog offered up a paw for the summoner to shake. That indicated some degree of training. Loren took it solemnly, though amusement twinkled in his eyes. ”It’s very nice to meet you.” Tilting his head, the Launceleyn grinned. ”Though I do have to wonder who you belong to.” The canine was in much too good shape to be wild, not that Loren had all that much experience with wild dogs. However, there was also the paw thing, which made him pretty certain this was someone's pet.
Then Astra decided both that the dog and the man were not paying her the attention she deserved and that they’d made a new friend here today; she thrust her black nose into the dog’s own (shoving Loren aside in the process) and sniffed the canine, then let out a contented bleat before nuzzling the god’s neck. Standing, she gently nudged the summoner to move forward and laughing, he released the dog’s paw and stood.
”Well, you’re welcome to tag along with us, boy. You certainly wouldn’t be the first stray to do so.” Loren smiled at the luxere—who had indeed basically just followed him home one day out of the blue—and then turned back towards the tunnel deeper into the underground. Hopefully with both animals at his side, the Launceleyn would continue his journey into the depths, heart lighter now than it had been before.
Delight surely would’ve been displayed when the man accepted the closest Caleb could currently give to a handshake and grinned. He liked this person. Though he didn’t entirely know why, he felt comfortable for the first time since...well, practically since he had come to Caido. Was it his decision to greet the man as a dog, therefore inciting no immediate judgements? Or was it the man himself who gave a good-hearted response?
However, the aloud musing had Caleb’s heart racing. Who did he belong to? His first thought was that he belonged to the ArtFer scientists, but he supposed that wasn’t the case anymore. If not them, then who? That was kind of his problem. He didn’t know how to answer that question, but the worst part was that the man who questioned was asking literally.
A piece of him nearly froze at the question, unsure of how to handle it. Should he just go along with the situation and allow the man believe he was a simple dog? Should he shift and maybe mess up whatever little connection he was making? Should he not shift, but risk making the man mad the next time he saw him? He had an internal panic at the decisions, feeling Sawyer willing to take over and waiting just under his skin. Not now, he told himself, not wanting to let that side of him show.
Thankfully, he didn’t have to make the decision right then, as the nose of the deer suddenly pressed against his own. Caleb’s eyes widened, and he immediately stood on all fours when the man released him, his ears alert and his tail wagging eagerly. He answered her bleat with an active bark of his own, his gaze farting between the man and the deer.
The man’s laugh, though… He didn’t understand the lightness in him that he was feeling, but he wasn’t about to question it.
He offered for Caleb to come along, and the dog certainly wasn’t going to turn him down! Could it be that he had made a friend? Well, it might be a bit of a complicated start considering he wasn’t standing on two legs, but it was a start nonetheless. He figured he could explain another time. His steps were light and quick as he indeed followed at the man’s side, occasionally darting ahead and stopping, looking back with his mouth open and tail wagging, to wait for them to catch up. He didn’t remember the last time he had just freely enjoyed himself like this.
09-08-2019, 02:59 AM (This post was last modified: 09-08-2019, 03:16 AM by Loren.)
They say blood makes you related but
loyalty makes you family
The dog seemed quite amenable to continuing onward, and Loren found himself grinning, especially as Astra continued to rub against the canine. Clearly the luxere was delighted to have another furry friend to play with. Though the summoner certainly thought he petted her enough, perhaps he should look into getting her a companion full time. Still, it was hardly a priority, and there were definitely more important matters to attend to.
Of course, instead of actually doing any of them, he was descending deeper into the warren beneath the Hollowed Grounds. However, already the evening was steadying his less than stable nerves and mind, and nothing dangerous had presented itself, so he saw absolutely no reason not to continue on (though he made sure to note every twist and turn they took). As they walked, he let his mind wander. ”I can’t keep calling you boy. Hmmmm. Well, you probably already have a name, but I don’t know it. You don’t mind if I give you a temporary nickname, do you boy?” Astra gave the Launceleyn a curious look, but she wasn’t too concerned: considering how often he spoke to her as if she could understand every word, she was used to it.
”Let’s see...black and tan. Spot? No, too common. You found me in the underground so….oh! I got it. Rocky. How does that sound to you boy?” Loren was probably a bit too excited at the admittedly dumb name, but this was probably the easiest problem he’d had in a long while.
The man continued on into the darkness, and admittedly, Caleb wasn’t the most comfortable with it. He wasn’t going to tell him otherwise, but the Underground has always been one place that he had no real desire to explore. There was a piece of him that also didn’t want to make the man go on alone, though - despite the luxere companion he had with him.
When he spoke up, Caleb’s ears perked, and he looked up at him occasionally, while trying to keep his eyes mostly in front of him and avoid any embarrassing trips or stumbles. So, the man wanted something to call him? He supposed it made sense, but it wasn’t exactly like he could speak his name while wearing his furs. That would probably be weird as all hells in and of itself...
Spot was the first proposed name, and Caleb might have sneered at it if he could. Spot? Come on... He could do better than that! Then, he came up with Rocky. While no, it wasn’t his name, Caleb liked the way it sounded and didn’t have a way to give his real name, so why not?
He barked excitedly, his ears up and tail wagging behind him. He didn’t know exactly why he liked the nickname, but it kind of sounded like a character in a book or something that he used to enjoy before Caido. Some kind of sentimental tie to the title, so he decided to keep it. Maybe even past their little journey.
Either the dog was more intelligent than most, or it had been a while since Loren had been around a dog. Probably the latter: he was much more used to creatures of myth and legend these days than he was to plain old animals. Still, he loved both kinds of creatures equally. So when Rocky barked in acceptance of the temporary name, the summoner laughed, then scratched the dog behind the ear. ”Alright, boy, Rocky it is.” Standing up, the Launceleyn gave Astra an obligatory head rub (she got a little jealous when she thought he was paying more attention to another animal, or sometimes person, than her) before turning to continue making his way through the underground.
The silence grew companionable, and Loren felt his heart and steps grow lighter as time passed. This was...nice. It was rare he got time to himself, or time where he didn’t have to worry about what to do and what to say and could just be. Even the threat of danger didn’t concern him; he was pretty sure between the three of them they could handle anything the underground could throw at them.
”I wonder if we’ll see the Prince.” The luxere gave him a curious look at the name, so Loren grinned at her and decided to give her a proper explanation. ”Remi told me about him. Apparently it’s an early Ascended, but something went wrong with him.” The smile on the summoner’s face gained a sad edge. ”I wonder if there’s anything to be done to help him.” Similarly to the LongNight monsters, the Prince had once been a person, and the Launceleyn hated the idea of condemning anyone to such a fate.
Astra, sensing his sorrow, brushed against his side in an attempt to provide what comfort she could. Then she tensed and let out an anxious grunt. Pausing, Loren stretched out his eyes and ears for any sign of what distressed her. Then he heard it: the scrabbling of paws on stone.
Whirling, he saw eyes in the darkness and teeth, and fur. In the faint glow of the luxere’s antlers, he could just make out a ratlike body, but far, far larger than any rat he’d ever seen. Hesitating, he glanced behind them and saw more of the creatures in the darkness. This wasn’t good: even Loren, who loved most living creatures, knew true predators when he saw them. And it seemed the three of them were prey.
Then the first unusually large rodent rushed ahead and the Launceleyn reacted on instinct. A hydra appeared in the narrow confines of the tunnel and roared in outrage from all nine heads. Hunkering down next to it, the summoner ordered it to strike at any rat that dared approached; many of them did, and were felled by the hydra's deadly mouths. For his part, Loren grabbed Astra and hopefully Rocky and placed them under the hydra where they’d be safe.
