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!
Thankfully, the snow monster didn’t seem at all interested in the fallen potter, which allowed him to regain his feet. Shivering, obviously not from the cold, the Acended spotted a group of mostly strangers and he picked his way through the drifts to them. Glancing back at the retreating creature, the Amun shook his head before turning to the group. ”Anyone know what the fuck that thing is?” They were all just standing around their gawking, not doing anything about the snow monster in their midst.
Man, he hated Caido. He longed for his old home, now more than ever.
Pim was confused by the lumbering snow dragon, but continued to fly alongside it, calling out greetings in the language of his kin. But Phoebe felt no notion of it being a threat coming from it, and so when Loren asked if he should destroy it, she panicked a bit. "No! No, don't hurt it, Pim is trying to talk to it! It doesn't mean harm!" she called out hurriedly, worry etched in her tone. Pim seemed to think this was some sort of strange family member, and so Phoebe thought perhaps this was a struggling dragon for real.
The midwife hurried through the snow, moving as fast as she could. "Hello! Mr. Snow dragon! Can you hear me?" she called up to it, trying to get closer without getting dangerously close to its feet.
Melita wondered if it just wanted to be left alone, out in the cold, away from prying eyes and vicious potential; if it was just as tired as the rest of them, if it meandered away from upheaval, insurrection, and treachery. Perhaps it simply existed, like so many other things, taken and stirred and triumphed over, or coasting, ghosting along, long since lost its way. A part of her heart felt sorry for it, and the other portion wished she hadn’t come at all, the intrigue, interest, and inquiry fluttering away on the fans and plumes of sorrow. Her eyes lingered downward as Jigano’s fox form pressed against her ankles, stretching downward to offer a scratch to both vulpine and neighboring griffin.
Then she lifted her gaze, Fangorn still in her arms, as the massive creature deigned to move, maybe to better worlds, maybe to brighter ambitions; and a bristling contortion flickered over her as Phoebe deigned to screech and holler at it. Leave it alone she thought, a rankling edge settling over her jaw, a touch of the blighted insinuations and rage brandished within her skull, a sharp inhale expanding her chest. Fangorn shifted back towards her, attempted to be comforting, and she only followed to see what would happen next, if someone had to be stopped, if she was going to be the one to protect a maneuvering piece of animated snow.
This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight
09-22-2019, 11:42 PM (This post was last modified: 09-22-2019, 11:45 PM by Odd.)
If the creature heard them, it gave no notice. Indeed, even with Pim's draconian call the beast simply lumbered on through the snow; soulless, heartless, nomadic.
The winds howled through the barren plains as the snow seemed to fall all the harder. Within a few minutes the creature would likely disappear being the frosty elemental curtain.
As everyone seemed pretty fucking calm about this snow monster, Amun decided to take a closer look himself. Despite the crazy lady and her dragon trying to get its attention, it just lumbered onwards, either disinterested or completely unaware of what was going on, he couldn’t tell. Still, as his eyes took in the details, he realized he felt a little bad for the thing, despite the scare it gave him. It had obviously been in much better shape, once upon a time, and it was in disarray. Maybe he'd overreacted.
He wasn’t quite sure why he knelt in the snow, digging and digging until he came upon one small rock, a pebble really, and then another. Nor was he sure what compelled his to dash forward until he was in the path. Maybe he just hated to see something so majestic in such disarray. His sure, skilled potter’s hands darted around, piling snow together, shaping it like he used to shape clay.
Soon enough, a miniature dragon thingie had been formed from the snow. Ripping buttons from his own clothes—it wasn’t like he needed them—he made little eyes, then placed pebbles. Standing up, he waved at the larger creature, though he was pretty it couldn’t see him. ”Hey! We can fix you up, no problem. Look, see, I already made you a little friend.” It seemed like a small gesture, and even as he looked, he saw that it had something around its neck. Maybe that was important, maybe not, but it looked like an amulet of some kind.
People were running for the monster, and Loren sighed. While it had shown no signs of aggression, there was no reason to antagonize it either. Unfortunately, from where he was, there was very little he could do to protect them if the snow-dragon-creature did decide to get violent. Knowing it was probably going to look incredibly foolish—and also knowing that it was his duty to protect people from their own stupidity as well as potential rampaging monsters—he summoned a yeti, which was not at all bothered by the cold and snow. He had his the yeti pick him up, bridal style, and dash forward far faster than he could carry himself, catching up with the snow creature.
Upon closer inspection, he noticed an amulet around its neck. He frowned, not sure whether it was magical or just old. Still, it was probably worth a closer look, as it might explain why the creature was animated. Having the yeti set him down, he sent it forward to try and have it gently remove the amulet from around the snow creature’s neck.
While the snow monster lumbered onward, indifferent to all of them, despite the screeching of dragons and others following suit with their curiosities, other motions were set into play. Some kneeled by it and constructed miniature contortions. Why Loren thought it was necessary to summon a yeti, have his frame picked up, and carried over to the creature, only to try and remove the amulet around its neck was foolish and ludicrous. Deimos couldn’t fathom the particulars except greed or curiosity, perhaps a mixture of both, and tilted his head back to Kiada. What on earth…, because he was truly baffled, and ordinarily the beast wasn’t so bewildered or confused.
Then, of course, there was the notion of what to do about the whole thing. Nothing? Let Loren potentially get mauled? Watch as others vied to conduct the same actions? His eyes narrowed. The unknown brute had only existed, hadn’t warranted a threat, hadn’t garnished or gathered any ominous, treacherous, foreboding reaches – but maybe not it would, because none of them could leave well enough alone. He sighed and remained, watching, waiting, for some asinine, inevitable turn.
But they couldn’t – they just couldn’t manage to wander off and permit the poor creature to lumber back into the abyss. Was it curiosity, stoking, clambering, soaking into their sights, their spirits, so they couldn’t fathom how this was wrong? The snow monster was no Undine, dying before their eyes. The snow monster was not a massive flinthopper, destroying the forest around it. It was simply an enormous, maneuvering piece of snow that hadn’t done anything to anyone.
Her rage quietly kindled beneath her veins, pervading, pumping, and persisting through her blood. Fangorn growled at her side, perhaps a warning, perhaps encouraging, and she stalked only a little bit forward, not chasing after Loren and his ridiculous campaign across the snow, beheld by some other monster. “Leave it alone!” She shouted across the snow, not the blight talking but her, her beliefs, her motives, her agendas, defending something that likely had no thoughts or feelings, but deserved better than this lot. As Loren’s hands reached for the amulet though, a sort of abhorrence and wrath settled over her, and if she were a carnivore fangs would’ve orchestrated their way past her lips and mouth, her hackles would’ve raised, her claws would’ve been known, apparent, and ready. But she wasn’t – just a girl, just an angry, infuriated girl.
“That’s not yours!” The youth screamed and howled, a bellow resounding in her chest, aching across the void. She was too far away to do much of anything except holler; but the irritation, exasperation, helplessness flooding through her was enough to prompt something else altogether.
And though the god hadn’t answered her latest pleas (because maybe she was a monster), her whispers, her thoughts, her feelings, were still immersed and entangled into the snow. Ludo, she pulsed, can you stop him?
--
Oops. Melita got mad and channeled Ludo.
This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight
Jigano had merely meant to watch and make sure the beast wasn’t heading towards any farms or steadings, content to trot at its heels like a second and much smaller beast of snow and ice, blended in perfectly with the weather around them. It had, indeed, seemed to be heading off into a direction that would be harmless, and he would have been content to let it go…
But others were not so ready to give up the hunt. Phoebe and her little pink lizard continued to harry it, a young man he didn’t recognize tried to distract it – a kind gesture, at least, well meant and rather sweet. And then Loren…
Gods least fortunate, man. What the hell? As the Yeti reached for the amulet Jigano growled, his warning likely lost in the thickly falling snow. Melita’s warning, however, was far more effective, and though his wild friend wasn’t close enough to help, he was.
From a trot to a lope, and from fox to horse the white Attuned shifted in between the veils of thickly falling snow, trusting it to mask his transformation when combined with his coloring. The white horse could not pass as easily over the fresh powder as the dainty fox, but he could put some serious force behind a charge to try and shoulder the grasping, greedy Yeti away from the poor beast with whinny of blight-twisted anger and support for Melita ‘s call.
She watches high above as the creature continues on, glancing to the ground to spot Melita and a few others – Loren, for instance, watching while he darts toward the creature in another creature’s arms, and had she had the brows in this form to do so, she’d raise them. Melita’s voice pipes up from below, but it’s nothing compared to the rumble of Deimos in her mind and heart, through their attuned bond that Remi is also linked up with. And a feeling of distaste rises within her.
Nimbly, she lifts herself higher to try and block the view of her vulture form with the smaller version of the eagle, for Melita to hopefully not see, as she watches the events unfold. Not a clue. It’s an unhelpful answer, crimson eyes skating over the beast with the amulet. She’d have to agree with Melita down below, but she refrains from saying anything of it. Should just leave it alone. A quiet statement meant for Remi and Deimos, a silent agreement.
KIADA
Kiada has a large X scar on the right side of her neck.
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Kiada, without killing her <3
A rag slaps away the yeti's arm - rather, it slaps away the arm from its body. Ludo appears like whispers of smoke draped around the creature, protecting it from further harm. Chastised, sad and utterly done with Deepfrost and mortals, the deity's mask is blank of all emotion. Nonetheless, it has appeared.
"This does not belong to you, summoner," it advises Loren spitefully. "This creation belongs to a boy in the Hollowed Grounds. A boy who is no longer here, thanks to the snows. You will leave it be."
With all that had occurred between himself and the Launceleyn, Remi felt unable to stop what he was seeing. He'd said he'd leave Loren alone after all, but this...
He has not been here...here does not know. The large feline called to his attuned counterparts, meaning of course that Loren had missed nearly a year of strange magical happenings. Happenings that would suggest that leaving things be was normally the best course of action in cases like this.
Melita's call made the beast stiffen as much as Ludo's appearance did. Taking a step backwards, the manticore sends an anxious pulse to those around as he holds his breath. Surely Loren is not stupid enough to argue with a god, least of all Ludo.
trying to take what's lost and broke and make it right
Coding base by Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
09-24-2019, 05:20 PM (This post was last modified: 09-24-2019, 05:20 PM by Loren.)
Love mends even the broken parts
If Melita and the Attuned who was a white horse had actually given Loren a chance to respond instead of jumping to conclusions and basically assaulting him, he would’ve immediately backed off. Although he had his reasons for wanting to examine the amulet, he didn’t feel that strongly about it and it certainly wasn't worth causing a ruckus over; it had been a natural curiosity coupled with the thought that maybe the amulet was powering the snow creature. As it stood, he barely had time for his eyes to widen before it seemed that all hell broke loose.
The horse charged, the red-headed woman screamed, but mostly the summoner suddenly felt the weight of a deity’s regard as a rag sliced the yeti’s arm from its body. Immediately the Laucneleyn banished his creature and knelt in the snow, bowing his head. ”Of course. I will leave it alone, I promise and I apologize. I meant no offense, great one.” Contrition and fear warred in his voice, and he could feel himself trembling from the cold and the terror both, and sweat trickled down his spine despite the snow and the chilly temperature..
Silence bred silence in the Deepfrost snows. Loren had not let anyone know what he had planned, and so they were all left to draw their own conclusions. Such things rarely ended well when the blight had its influence on those reactions. Anger and frustration spilled over in a brute-force charge that was highly unusual for the bard, who usually preferred a more oblique approach.
A charge that was entirely unnecessary, it turned out, as a familiar ragged shape draped over the snowbeast and disarmed the Yeti. Jigano slid to a halt, snorting and ducking his head in respect to the masked god. He sent Remi a pulse of reassurance as he stepped up beside Loren on four pale hooves and raised blue eyes to meet those of the mask of the soul guide soberly. Can it be taken to rejoin the boy? Concern for the strange creation and for the summoner both moved him to speak up, hoping that ire could be deflected and the beast might yet find its maker in this cold and cheerless storm.
