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!
Well, she'd made it past the portal. Zariah had accepted her furs (without one word of thanks, something Jiao was still annoyed over and would tell the first person she saw in hushed, scandalised tones) as a suitable offering, so now she had to cross over the mountains.
She had not planned this far.
Heading in the direction Zariah had pointed, she drew her cloak as tight around her as she could, ignoring the pain in her still-healing wings, and began to walk. Luckily she had prepared herself well with the heavy cloak and thick boots, but the air still had a cold bite to it she had never known before, one that made her grit her teeth as she continued into the white void.
The trip to the fangs was a long ass walk. Ingrid had to stop and take a breath eight times along the way, but she had finally made it. Even in flowerbirth, it was fucking freezing. The portal was in sight, and she was looking forward to exploring a new region and taking a break from the cold. Then, of course she spotted a teeny woman who was surely a traveler.
She's like a bite-sized bear snack.
Ingrid couldn't in good conscience let her get eaten, so she waved a hand in greeting.
"Just came through the portal, huh?" she asked, wearing her trademark smirk.
"Did you want some help getting to The Citadel before you freeze to death? I was planning on visiting the other side of the mindfuck mirror over there, but I can definitely put it off if you need a guide."
For all of Jiao's knowledge and her skills as a seamstress, there is no way to predict the icy chill that rushes at her. Indeed the farther she goes the more the cold bites into in, chilling her to the very bone.
In the distance a lone Ursur growls, its distance from the fae impossible to calculate.
Jiao trudged on determinedly, though it was becoming tougher and tougher to make her way along to the Citadel as the wind whipped around her and her feet slowly turned to blocks of ice. She wasn't even really sure if she was still going in the right direction, but she couldn't turn back either, that way also being a seemingly endless expanse of snow and mountains.
The voice suddenly cutting through the air was a welcome relief. Jiao smiled at the woman, glad to meet a friendlier native than the one that had greeted her at the portal. "Oh, yes please. I thought it would be easier than this to find my way." She hurried towards her new friend with a smile on her face.
That smile fell as a growl could be heard from somewhere in the distance. Automatically Jiao turned out towards the landscape, using her glamour to make herself appear about a foot taller with claws at the end of her fingers, hoping it might deter any beasts wanting to attack.
Ingrid grinned as the traveler ran towards her. She opened her mouth to say something, but she was interrupted by a low, guttural growl. "Was that a fucking ursur?!" she whisper-yelled.
"Holy shit," she murmured. That was all Ingrid could muster as the woman grew and sprouted claws. A partial shapeshift was the mark of a truly powerful Attuned.
Guess pipsqueak is a badass, she thought.
"I think we still have time to bail before it gets here. A hunter once told me that you have a chance of surviving as long as you're not close enough to smell its breath," she whispered.
It absolutely was not a good sign when your new guide to the area became alarmed - Ingrid's panic increased Jiao's and she looked about in the snow as if hoping to find a sword or a well-shaped place to hide. Of course, there wasn't anything.
At least Ingrid seemed to have a plan. "Yes. Let's go." She agreed, trudging along behind Ingrid and trying her best to breathe slowly, calmly, to not let the cold wind whipping her face contribute to her swirling mindful of panicked thoughts. "Have you seen one in person before? The...urrr-suurrr?" She asked, not quite sure how to pronounce the word.
Oh shit, Ingrid thought as the wind picked up, making it impossible to see and hear.
"I've seen them, but only while running in the opposite direction," she answered. She was already feeling out of breath. Fuck. Where the hell had this storm come from?
Survival odds in this weather? Not fucking great... Am I prepared to die here?
Ingrid's hand felt for the flask she carried with her at all times. It was far too light, meaning it was completely...
Empty?? Fuck no. I am not going down without my booze.
"Dear Gods, I'm asking that you please guide us safely to the Citadel!"
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OOC: If this situation counts as real danger/life-threatening (I can't quite tell?), Ingrid is using her channeling! If not, I tried to leave it so it could also be seen as a prayer.
The howl grows louder across the frozen tundra, how far away it is is impossible to tell given the stretched acoustics of this place, but one thing is certain: it is growing closer. There is an ominous icy chill in the wind now, your fight or flight instincts like needle-sharp warnings flickering up and down your spine.
Run, run, run—
In the mists of snow and white-out gloom all around you, sentient eyes appear like burning suns. The ursur is as large as it is prehistoric and across the yards that separate you from it, its hunger is palatable and obvious.
Ingrid's plea might be all that will save you.
Does save you, as it happens.
The air writhes and blurs and a creature not unlike a woolly mammoth not that you know what that is appears. Sort of. Comprised of snow and the icy remnants of a warm breath in the frigid air, the incorporeal creature bellows soundlessly, a non-sound that makes the ursur start just the same.
Unsure, the ursur paces in the white, hardened eyes focused on the pair of you, but deterred by the great creature barring you from it.
Ingrid's channeling conjured a spirit that has taken the form of a mammoth to bring you safely to the Citadel!
In the rising cacophony of wind and howls, Jiao thought she was definitely done for. Rising her hands up above her head with her eyes shut tight she grit her teeth, preparing for pain, for a shock before eternal dark; when this did not come she slowly lifted her gaze, stumbling back a little in surprise as she saw the mammoth behind her.
"Oh. U-um, this is good...?" She asked Ingrid, unsure. At least the Ursur seemed to be keeping back, so Jiao wouldn't waste time before she tried to head towards the Citadel. "I don't really understand what's happening, but we should go while it is."
12-21-2019, 03:45 AM (This post was last modified: 12-21-2019, 03:45 AM by Ingrid.)
I'm not beaten by this yet
Ingrid felt warm: a rush of respite for maybe a millisecond before the cold set back into her bones. Her prayer was answered.
As the ice crystals in the air coalesced into what looked like a massive, hairy version of her former king's companion, Ingrid's eyes sparkled with joy, and as it turned out, there was in fact some mortal danger. Y'know, the ursur staring them down? The bear was huge. Like, really fucking huge. Good thing there was a frosty mastodon in the way.
"DUDE, I CAN'T FUCKING BELIEVE THAT FUCKING WORKED!"
Giddy, she turned to the hairy ice elephant. "Thank you and bless you! I'll light a candle for you, kind spirit." Ingrid turned to Jiao, still unable to contain her excitement. "Let's get the hell out of here." She gave a whoop and a holler and started again in the direction of the Citadel.
