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!
10-17-2019, 03:04 PM (This post was last modified: 10-20-2019, 09:44 PM by Court Official.)
You know I still like you the most
The best of the best
After he'd thought of the idea, he hadn't been able to let go of it. Jigano had told him that the monsters that trawled the streets at Longnight were once Ascended, and he did not know the bard to lie. The idea had stuck with him - people just like him, trapped now in the bodies of monsters, crawling and groaning down the streets. Did they still think? Still wonder why no one stopped to speak?
He had always been terrified of the monsters but now he felt an odd kind of kinship with them. Perhaps if he tried to show them who he was, what he was, he could make a connection with them.
Of course, he couldn't do it alone.
His initial thought had been to invite Wessex, but he immediately decided against it. For some reason he feared that she might disapprove of what it was admittedly a rather ill-thought out plan. This was the kind of thing he could impress her with later, but would rather not have to ask permission for.
No, he would invite Rexanna. She believed in him and more than that, she was strong. Sam knew if this was going to work they needed as many Ascended as they could gather, so he asked for her, in the note he sent before Longnight, to bring Bastien too. They would meet in the settlement, as close to the Temple as they could be to make the trip over easier.
Just three of them didn't feel very smart, though. He had been anxious to approach Remi, but the man was the strongest person he knew and one of the loyalest. Ironic, given he'd asked the Alchemist to stay safe himself only a few days prior, but he had to try this while the monsters were there - they could potentially bring back corrupted Ascended, get answers about the past and their futures.
His plan was something like this: He would use his barrier, the electric shock it gave, to stun the monster - hopefully Rexanna and Bastien could find ways to use their technologies to distract the creature or communicate with it. When it was distracted, stunned, somehow stopped....they would try to talk.
Remi? Remi was there so they didn't die. Also, he wanted a non-Ascended witness to the event. He could see it easily turning on them if people found out the Ascended had gone out to talk to monsters - at least Remi could help them convince people they did not have poor intentions.
At least, he hoped, if it all went wrong, the Ascended could all make themselves invisible and Remi could fly away.
Waiting with Remi, nervous and unsure if this was a good idea at all, he looked out into the darkness. "Thank you. For helping me with this - we may...really, really help somebody."
---
This is a PQ to try and use Ascended tech/abilities to communicate to the Longnight monsters! (Try being the operative word)
Bastien was absolutely sure this was a fools errand.
Monsters were monsters. Not anti-heroes, not golden-hearted weirdos, monsters. The only thing he expected to get from their mission was some wounds and maybe a look at the beasts that had lurked outside. Not that he wanted to see them, but he supposed it would provide good reference for a painting.
But Rexanna wanted to help and he could not let her go into that darkness alone. He knew if anything did happen to her out there he would play the moment she left in his head over and over, torturing himself with not knowing how she had died. If either of them did have to perish, it was better together.
Finding a moment where as few people as possible were looking at the door was difficult, with the amount of people milling about, but they eventually found one.
So he left the temple with her, peering out into the night. Even with his Ascended vision, something about this time of year felt dark. "We should stick to the walls. Be quiet." He said to Rexanna, more for something to say than anything else, and squeezed her hand, before beginning a slow walk towards the guild.
---
Bastien sets off from the temple to sneak towards Sam!
dirty laundry, hangin' out with the white lies 'til they're clean sheets
testing loyalties,
It’s her biggest fault, really. Helping and helping and helping. She knows that it is, but with Longnight and everything else about it, she can’t help but to agree to help. After all, last year she had basically done nothing aside from letting Jigano and Rory back inside the Rathskeller. This time, perhaps they could help before things went that bad. And so she had come prepared, with Bastien this time. Daggers and knives previously made that she keeps strapped to her.
Her bladed parasol, a gift from Arduinna also accompanies her. And she follows her husband out into the dark, feeling just about as prepared as she thinks she can be, silently praying to the Voice that nothing happens that they can’t recover from.
But she won’t know, just yet.
Squeezing Bastien’s hand back, she gives him a swift nod, aiming to slink along the walls and remain as quiet as possible to where they’re meeting Samuel and Remi.
Rex follows Bastien to try and sneak to the meeting spot!
Remi had definitely pointed out the irony to Sam when he'd been asked to tag along. Of course it was followed up with instant agreement. Part of making sure that no one died in the cold, was, well, following along with stupid plans. Then again he wasn't one to judge; all of his plans of late were stupid, as had been pointed out to him numerous times.
Dressed warmly (though the cold would likely be the last thing to kill him), Remi shifted into a raccoon-shape to perch on Sam's shoulders as it would be much quieter that way. He'd have to shift back if magic was needed, but until it was, he figured the less noise the better.
THE
ALCHEMIST
Table coding by Sky
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
As Bastien and Rexanna leave the Temple (the nice, safe temple), two shadows detach themselves from where they had been stretched long by the light of the luxere, trialing behind. Then, without so much as a whisper, they lurched forward. Perhaps it was because Bastien had the gall to voice such an obvious suggestion (or because his bad dice roll required narrative flavour), the pair swarmed over him. Slicing at his beautiful skin, their claws sink deep into his legs, slicing one of his achilles tendons, and slicing away a significant chunk from the thigh of the same leg. Then, quick as you like, the shadows melded into the darkness again.
As Samuel and Remi leave the guildhouse (the crowded, not so safe guildhouse), they too are attacked, and as with before, the shadows target only one. Small and adorable raccoon-bodies provide little protection, though perhaps because of this the damage is not so severe. Slicing along one of Remi's arms, the monsters click their teeth and claws ominously, disappearing into the darkness once more.
Remember! By being outside you risk death! The chance of instant death is about 1% (okay, literally 1%), but if your characters' HP dips below 0, you will indeed be dead.
The waiting was torture. With every second Sam felt they were a step closer to being ripped apart; his faith in the monsters was growing thinner with each moment spent in the dark, every shadow becoming a towering beast in his imagination.
Eventually it seemed one of them did make itself known, rushing past them and slicing at Remi's arm, something Sam only realised when he felt the Alchemist's little paws tense on his shoulder. He reached up to hold Remi's back and asked: "Are you alright? I think that means one of them is here. Rexanna and Bastien haven't arrived yet, but..."
If they had the attention of a monster, it was worth using it. "Remi, go stand somewhere nearby...I don't want to hurt you. Please stay close though, in case things go...poorly. But not to fight. To...help me get out of here." With that said he waited until Remi was out of his way, then turned himself invisible, followed by activating the barrier around himself.
He hoped that if the monsters couldn't see the human within, they might find the barrier less tempting to attack - though if they did, they'd find themselves shocked, and possibly stunned into listening.
In the clearest, loudest voice he could, he yelled out: "Hello? We want to help you, out here! Do you remember The Voice, or um, The Core? She might be able to help you! We know her. Can you speak to me?"
It felt like he was trying to talk to ghosts, and he didn't know if he expected a response. But at least he could say he tried.
The raccoon did tense, small nails digging into the material of Sam's jacket as he barked a muffled and pained sound. He couldn't answer his friend, but he did titter under his breath, looking into the blue eyes he once knew so well, and nodded.
The alchemist hardly understood Sam's instructions, but then again there wasn't really time to ask follow up questions, nor was making any more sound than necessary strictly advisable. Creeping down from Sam's shoulder and shifting into his body, he gave the ascended a wary look before pressing himself against one of the nearby houses and barricading himself in on three sides with stone that he might appear less of a target.
THE
ALCHEMIST
Table coding by Sky
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
dirty laundry, hangin' out with the white lies 'til they're clean sheets
testing loyalties,
Things are off to a great start. In the blink of an eye, the shadows are upon them, lurching for Bastien – claws outstretched and slicing and slicing, and she’s thankful that they can’t feel pain. Thankful still they haven’t gone that far from the Temple. She can’t do much against the shadows, she can’t even see them as they appear, and they’re gone before she can accurately react. So in the darkness, she pulls Bastien’s hand to her chest, aiming to find his face. “Go back to the Temple. Look for Loren, he might be able to heal you. I’ll go.” She says it quick, rushed, hoping he doesn’t try to argue the point with her.
They don’t have time.
And she wants him safe.
They haven’t gone far, and she hopes that he can make it back okay. And without saying a word, she squeezes his hand tight enough to convey everything she has. “I love you, be safe, I’ll be okay.” Before she helps him just enough to get near the Temple that she feels comfortable leaving him again – and she sets out once more to approach the meet up.
While not feeling pain was no doubt a blessing most of the time, Bastien found it worked against him now, as he didn't know his leg had been attacked until he was suddenly down on the ground, his ankle snapping uselessly as he fell down with a curse of "Fica fottuta!", only just remembering to keep his voice to a hissed whisper.
Before he had even had the time to think over what to do, Rexanna was grabbing his hand, urging him to go back and find Loren. A refusal immediately found itself on his tongue, but he swallowed it, knowing she was right. With one leg out of commission he had no hope of running away from any further monsters, and an alive husband waiting for her was more use than a dead one.
"Rexanna." He said, just before she left. "Take this; it may be of use to you. And..be safe, love. If you do not come back I will never get out of my dark painting period." There was a smile there, but the humour was not fully felt within it. He took the board from his back and gave it to her, holding out the three feet of metal with a shaking hand.
The look he gave her, a studying one that said I love you as well as committed her to his memory, was a sad one, then he activated the invisibility the Ascended had received against the monsters and began to crawl back towards the Temple as best he could, hoping he had not just made the biggest mistake of his life.
---
Bastien gives Rexanna his hover board and crawls back to the Temple with his Signal Blocker on!
As he had spoken out to the darkness, Sam had expected silence to greet him. Perhaps a roar and a force coming to hit against his barrier - instead there was a voice, evil and real, and it scared him more than any scream could have done.
But he was here to talk. He swallowed, tightened his hands into fists. "Then we won't speak about them. I just have questions. Why do you attack us? What do you gain from all this, hiding and pretending to be us, hurting people? Is there anything we can do to convince you to stop?" Perhaps he was too hopeful, but these almost childish questions were the ones that had been in his mind.
Nails digging into his palms he looked out beyond his barrier into the shadows, waiting for a response with his heart in his throat.
In terms of strategy, Remi had really no idea what to do. He didn't know the Bastien had departed but that Rex still lingered invisibly. Thought that Sam's disappearance was just regular levels of invisibility. Communication something they clearly lacked while in front of the monsters, should probably have happened a bit more prior to stomping out. Then again, Remi's task was to protect, and there wasn't much more clarity needed than that, given how quickly plans just go to shit.
THE
ALCHEMIST
Table coding by Sky
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
10-18-2019, 08:20 PM (This post was last modified: 10-19-2019, 06:12 PM by Rexanna.)
dirty laundry, hangin' out with the white lies 'til they're clean sheets
testing loyalties,
He hands her the board, and she takes it gratefully with a gentle squeeze. She hopes this isnt the last she sees of him, she hopes it isn’t the last time he sees her either. And with it, she tries to calm her mind, making her way to the meeting with the hoverboard and parasol under her arm. She knows that the creatures are tempted by items and upgrades, and she knows she wields both now.
And her heart grows heavy. Especially as she spots the barrier, a lone shadow, and Samuel’s voice. She tries to slink along through more of the shadows, trying to blend in despite it all, focused on the task at hand. She holds onto her magic, even carefully ensuring Loren’s Sparkbird is within her, and she projects her own voice toward the shadow. “We want to know you more. Will you talk to us?” It comes our confident, but inside she’s shaking. “What do you want from us?” She’s ready to activate her magic, her special chip the voice had given her, should she need it.
NOT A GOOD FEELING ABOUT THIS BUT REX MADE IT.
Aaaaand she asked a question, ready to go invis asap xD
Ahh there they are. Not hidden, merely veiled for a time because odd can't fucking read. With a gruesome and organic twisting sound the darkness seeps forward, shiny eyes glimmering just out of reach.
"Give us everything you have." They say. "And we will let you live."
