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!
09-23-2019, 01:37 AM (This post was last modified: 09-23-2019, 01:59 AM by Dante.)
DANTE
I'm a professional idiot
don't tell my mom
Sure, Dante didn't always make the best choices. He was never going to live down the day he'd traded a week's worth of food for a cool new necklace. His mother had ragged on him for that for longer than he cares to admit. Though in his defense, the necklace was advertised as being worth even more than food.
It wasn't.
So really it was just a matter of time before he noticed the disappearance of his only friend, Clementine. Sorry, Clemente. He'd been supplying the young man with his own blood to the point of exhaustion when in tandem with the blood he was regularly farmed for at a price hardly worth mentioning. What was wrong with giving some to another person in need? As long as his parents didn't find out, he would have given Clemente the last drop he had if it meant another would be cared for.
As it was, he was feeling a little too good lately. A little too much oxygen running through the thin boy's veins as the days turned into nights with no sign of his gangly counterpart. And while cattle weren't recommended to wander by themselves at night, the rules had never stopped Dante before. Having asked around for Clemente to the point of more than one suspicious look and being led to a closed-door down a dark alleyway... Seemed right up his alley, if you will.
Without a second thought, he's pushing the doors open wide with a yell that seemed to get stuck in his throat halfway out as if having second thoughts and leaving him choking. It didn't matter who's attention he drew to himself though. Taking just a step into the warehouse sends the scrawny youth tumbling forward and spitting him out into the early morning of somewhere with too much nature to be his home.
The tail end of his yell turns into a yelp as he's tumbling ass over teakettle and into the base of a tree. What in the Jersey Devil-- His hands immediately fly to the mess of curls falling into his eyes as he blinks hazily around him. The sun is just starting to crest the hill, the snow padding the ground having cushioned his fall but not his head from the tree trunk.
"Uh, hello? Helllloooooo? Is anyone there?" Dante groans while cradling his head, taking a quick glance around before letting himself fall back into the snowbank, staring up at the sky that couldn't be his own. But knowing where you weren't didn't help figure out where you were.
09-30-2019, 05:01 AM (This post was last modified: 09-30-2019, 05:03 AM by Evie.)
Evie
After meeting Senu on one of her late days out gathering, Evie had decided to venture towards the Spire more frequently. Senu had taken her little portal adventure quite gracefully, and it had been a huge weight off Evie's shoulders. It had warmed her deep inside to be able to provide aid to someone in need of help and understanding, to provide a bed and a meal. For all that her parents have bitterly spat on the Outlanders, Evie finds she doesn't mind opening her home and realm to them. And truly, it's not as if they can help it. Magic was fickle at best, and portals were far beyond their collective understanding.
So here she is. Again. Traipsing through the snow, grateful for the way it packs itself on top of the ash. It was impossible to get out of clothes sometimes, and seeing the scorched earth was an emotional burden in the first place. Though Evie was grateful for the fall of the barrier, there had been so much loss and grief that came in its wake. Seeing the land where it used to sit was just a reminder of all the bad memories. It wasn't even until recently that she had worked up the nerve to venture beyond the Hallowed Grounds.
Her macabre thoughts follow her as she walks, mostly aimless, just enjoying the crisp air and the crunch of snow. Until the silence is quite suddenly broken by a harsh thudding noise, and a young voice that calls out questioningly. Evie can't help the smile this time as she hears the cursing clearly, closer this time than she had been when she ventured across Senu. Nevertheless she hurries her steps, ginger hair a cloud of saturated color in the white-out landscape. The boy she comes across is splayed out in the snow, hands to his head, and Evie hides her laughter behind her hand at his dejected, dazed body language.
"You okay kid?" she calls, not wanting to startle him more than he probably is. "That sounded like a pretty hard hit. How is your head feeling?" If he needed she would work her magic on him, though she was reluctant to. He may not understand her magic, and she certainly didn't want to risk him blabbing. But she couldn't just let a child have a concussion, if it came down to it.
a golden cage, for all it's worth is still just a cage
Dante just about jumps out of his skin at the sound of a voice coming towards him. Sure, he'd called out to someone, but he hadn't expected anyone to actually be around. Not in this weather at least. Maybe the snow wherever he was wasn't cold...?
Taking a quick moment to reassess his situation he decided that no, it was still cold. And wet. And the back of his pants were going to be soaked through when he stood up.
Turning his head in the snow cradle the shape of his skull had created upon impact with the tree and sliding to the base, he had to blink a few more times than he'd like to as he adjusted to the pop of color in contrast to the stark white hellscape he had fallen into. Okay, maybe wet pants didn't make for a hellscape but they weren't making a great case for paradise either. Except, maybe, for the absolute angel who was talking to him.
Talking. To. Him. Oh, shit, right, words.
"Uhh, better now that you're here, beautiful." Even he has to bite back a groan as he tries to wink and ends up wincing. In a sad attempt to get up he found his vision swimming the moment he pushed himself up, a hiss of pain slipping past his lips as he feels his dinner from earlier try and make a surprise reappearance. What a great first impression to make.
"Quick question though, beautiful, where, uh, am I? I'm pretty sure it wasn't snowing when I left my house in the... City." He didn't have to point out the fact that they're basically in the middle of fucking nowhere if the barren landscape was anything to go by, though he raises a brow as he slowly lifts his head to meet her gaze once the world stops spinning.
Evie's face goes through an acrobatic range of emotion in quite a short time as the kid rustles and rouses at her tone, his less than charming reply breaking the silence between them. That list includes: incredulity, amusement, disgust, and tentatively fond resignation. Nevertheless she can't help the soft laugh that escapes her, not wanting to encourage his behavior but amused nonetheless by his forwardness.
Sharp blue eyes watch as the boy moves, taking in each wince and hesitation in his movements, cataloguing them for future purposes. He goes to speak again, and she can practically see the daze in his eyes, rolling her own as she steps forward and slowly reaches out her hands. "Here, hold still." It's a risk, one that still howls in her head from habit and fear more than anything, but he's young. Lost. Evie can't just look away from that. Her hands reach to cup his cheeks, partially because despite her age she is also a little shit and doesn't mind teasing him with the contact. Her magic is easy enough to call up, weak but wielded efficiently from years of practice. Directing it through her touch, repairing the bump, the pain, the headache. Small things, but they would ease his pain in turn. That's all she could ask for.
Releasing him when she can do no more, Evie braces her hands on her hips and smirks down at the boy. "Well kid, you're not exactly at home. This is Caido." Her she gestures to the general land around them. "People like you arrive here through what we call mortals. Like magical rips in reality. I'm sorry, but we haven't found a way to get you back home yet." Here she turns more somber, emotion pooling in the crevices of her frown, darkening the jewel tones of her eyes.
"My name is Evie. I've lived here my whole life. And a good thing too, because you arrived here at one of the most dangerous times of the year. LongNight is approaching, a time where the sun doesn't rise and monsters roam the dark. I know, very dramatic," she huffs a laugh, aware of how ridiculous it all seems to a foreigner. "But it's true. I can take you to safety, at least. What's your name?" Hopefully this deluge of information would distract him from his pitiful flirtations, but she'd be amused by the attempts regardless.
a golden cage, for all it's worth is still just a cage
The angel in front of him, Evie, has a lot to say. A lot of words going over his head at least. Caido? He'd never even heard of such a place. Though if there were 'magical rips in reality' then it would probably make sense as to why he hadn't. But her hands are on his face and he instinctively closes his eyes, a comfort radiating from the woman in front of him for even just a moment before his pain is receding just as her hands do.
Questions regarding magic, healing hands, and portals, would have to wait for later as the rest of what she says starts to piece together in his head. Man, and he thought his world was kind of fucked-up. At least they weren't pulling people from other dimensions during the most dangerous time of the year. Unless that's how it was year-round and he was being spared the gristly details. Even with a waning headache, he'd still appreciate playing dumb to this new world for a bit longer. Considering anything else seemed a bit too much for the moment.
And if what she was saying was true, as she insists it is, then Dante has no reason to sit in the snow any longer than he has to. And who is he to say no to a beautiful woman?
"My mom calls me Dante, but you can call me whenever." The line is weak but he follows through with a wink as he pushes himself to stand, uneasy on his feet as the snow compacts under his condensed weight. "Hopefully wherever you have in mind is warmer and has more cool..."
10-16-2019, 12:15 AM (This post was last modified: 10-16-2019, 12:16 AM by Evie.)
Evie
Evie feels a little bad for the kid, having all this information dumped on him. At least Senu had been a little older, a little more acquainted with magic and its forces. It's why she doesn't hesitate before she uses her magic on him, even though it still feels like struggling through a deep trench of mud and muck when she makes herself use it. It gets a little easier every time, but she's not sure that feeling of taint and disappointment will ever go away.
The pick-up line pulls her from her thoughts, and she tosses her head back in a deeply amused laugh, practically vibrating at the ridiculousness of this boy. "And you can call me when you're twice your age, kid." Nonetheless her eyes sparkle with humor, voice still gentle as it curls between them in the frigid air. Evie wouldn't intentionally hurt his feelings, no matter how silly or bold his words may be.
"I can't promise cool hand stuff, but it'll definitely be warmer. You feeling okay to walk? Maybe you can tell me about where you came from." She's curious to say the least, and maybe it will shed some light on the similarities and differences between their realms, enough to give Evie a starting point on helping him adapt. Turning, she begins making her way through the snow back towards the Sanctuary, confident that he'll follow along. They didn't have any time to waste after all.
a golden cage, for all it's worth is still just a cage
Hey, that wasn’t a direct no! Dante preened silently under the attention though the twinkle in his eye gives way his train of thought as he throws a wink her way. He’d lasted fifteen years without her in his life, what was another fifteen spent waiting for her? Beauty like that didn’t crack, he was sure of it. Dante doesn’t get more than a moment to celebrate his nonexistent ‘victory’ before Evie already has her back turned to him.
He can’t imagine it’s too far of a walk if Evie was just wandering in the area, despite how desolate it seemed. The question piques his interest though— she was interested in him? He hasn’t expected this turn of events regardless of what world he happened to fall into.
”Me? Oh uh yeah, sure!” There’s a skip in his step as he moves to catch up. ”I’m from this city, I haven’t been outside of it so I couldn’t tell you what that’s like, but, it’s kinda dirty. No matter how much you clean, there’s still just dirt.” Dante’s nose wrinkles at the thought.
”There’s a lot of people there, too many for our resources. But most are uh... Gifted? I guess. They live off of blood though and people like me who aren’t ‘gifted’ kind of get the short end of the stick like a common cow. All in all this is a pretty nice change of scenery, I’d say!”
