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!
11-20-2019, 10:38 PM (This post was last modified: 11-23-2019, 02:12 AM by Oliver.)
OLIVER
Training inside sucks. Oliver had learned that during LongNight. It wasn't exactly an accurate representation of how things would normally be and also he kept feeling like he was about to run into a wall or some shit like that. Now outdoors? Outdoors felt like a perfect place to practice his magic safely. He wanted to try it out with someone else, but there wasn't really anyone Oliver felt as though he could ask. Almost everyone seemed too busy to be bothered. So, he'd just have to work on it alone without any practice.
There wasn't anyone in sight...or well, there wasn't when Oliver first arrived. Once he had found himself a nice, flat area to work, Oliver had kind of started to zone out. Relaxing his body, Oliver took a few deep breaths before his personal training started. He lifted up a small rock that was by his feet and tried to allow it to float around his body. He wanted to maintain a constant height of it being one foot off of the ground, as well he wanted to keep a nice momentum. He would have preferred to keep it in a nice circle...but that was asking for a bit too much.
Once he made one full turn, he set it back down and allowed himself to rest before trying again with a second rock.
I JUST WANT MY EXISTENCE TO BE MORE THAN TREMBLING
my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,
for it is infinite.
As soon as the sun set, Amun set off. He’d been informed that there were clay deposits in the Hollowed Grounds, but not where, which was kind of an important piece of information. Now that his pottery studio was all up and running, he kind of needed the materials to run it. Which was why he was doing a far more thorough exploration of the Hollowed Grounds than he had in the past, checking the whole perimeter for any sign of the clay.
Which was where he found Oliver, doing something. Approaching from behind the other man, the Ascended spoke in a wicked whisper. "Whatcha up to Blondie?"
The sudden voice caused Oliver to jump. His head shot up and the rock fell to the ground, hard. Thankfully, he hadn't reacted violently. Otherwise, ouch, Amun might've gotten a rock to the head. Once he saw that it was Amun, his shoulders dropped and he relaxed. It was just Amun, all was well.
"Well, hello to you too, Amun." Oliver flashed the other man a smile before glancing down. He had a small bit of blush, mostly due to the fact that Amun caught him practicing something so...small and unimportant. Also- did Amun even know that he had magic? The two hadn't really talked all that much after Oliver found out.
"I'm trying to practice using my magic. You know, train up a bit. You're welcome to join me, if you'd like." Oliver knew that he'd like some company, especially if it were Amun.
I JUST WANT MY EXISTENCE TO BE MORE THAN TREMBLING
my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,
for it is infinite.
Amun smirked. ”Magic, huh? You been holding out on me Blondie?” Glancing down at the rock then up at Oliver, the Ascended let out a little chuckle, the sound dark and low. "What other tricks do you have up your sleeves?" At the offer to help out, the potter waggled his eyebrows. "I'm not much of a fighter."
However, Amun squared off against the other man. "But if you insist, Blondie, how could I refuse?" The Ascended winked again, a mischievous light in his eyes. "Try to keep me off you, if you can." Then the potter rushed forward, his fist rushing forward to try and punch Oliver in the right shoulder. Seeing as it was evening, the Ascended was very fast.
There was a playful eye roll and Oliver shook his head. "Believe me Amun, I would've told you much sooner if we didn't keep meeting so briefly. I only found out on one of the last moments of LongNight." Really, he probably would've told Amun. He had heard that the Ascended's could use the powers of those they drank from, so it only seemed fair that he inform Amun about it. Would he tell Amun about his other magic? Nope. Not yet, at least. Gotta keep 'em waiting for something.
It wasn't a surprise that Amun had accepted his offer. Oliver had assumed he would, seeing as Amun wasn't one to back down from something. One thing that did come off as a surprise was how incredible Amun was. The speed at which he surged forward was shocking. Oliver barely even had enough time to squat down, just narrowly missing the fist.
Thankfully, there were still plenty of rocks and stones littering the ground. If Amun wanted to fight then hopefully he wouldn't mind a small bit of magic. It wouldn't hurt, right?
Willing the rock, Oliver sent it flying at the back of Amun's leg before he tried to punch the other man's shoulder himself. Of course, what he didn't expect, was that Ascended individuals couldn't feel pain: meaning his distraction rock probably wouldn't work as planned.
I JUST WANT MY EXISTENCE TO BE MORE THAN TREMBLING
my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,
for it is infinite.
Smirking at Oliver’s words, Amun flashed his fangs. ”But you didn’t, Blondie.” The Ascended place a hand over his heart and staggered backwards a few steps, an over the top wounded expression on his face. ”Honestly, I’m hurt.” Then the potter waggled his eyebrows and winked.
The other man ducked, which was a bit of a surprise. Not as much a surprise as the punch Oliver hammered back, or at the brick that hit the back of Amun's leg. Both hit, but they didn't hurt, obviously. Though the Ascended stumbled a bit and twisted, he still had a great deal of momentum carrying him forward. So he put on a last burst of speed, hunched down a bit, and prepared to tackle Blondie.
Yeah, he didn't, but Amun also didn't stick around to talk to him. It takes two to tango. "And what are you going to do about it? Hmm?" At least Amun wasn't the last person to know about his powers, that's the bright side of this. Honestly, Oliver was a bit surprised Amun hadn't discovered the powers after drinking from him.
To see that his attacks had actually done something brought a strong amount of confidence to Oliver. It made him feel powerful, like he actually knew what he was doing. This was the first real time that he had fought another person face to face. Prior, he had only hit someone with a giant stick and the other opponent was a fake unicorn. Neither could compare to what was happening.
Quite unfortunately, his newfound confidence would turn out to be a curse as he had managed to completely let his guard down. He barely even noticed Amun before he was rammed into and basically tackled to the ground. Oliver let out a yelp of surprise and tried to knee the other man off of him, using his magic to throw a rock from nearby at his side. Hopefully, with both of those combined, he'd be able to get out of his grasp and escape.
I JUST WANT MY EXISTENCE TO BE MORE THAN TREMBLING
11-23-2019, 12:18 PM (This post was last modified: 11-23-2019, 12:18 PM by Amun.)
my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,
for it is infinite.
Winking, the Ascended crossed his arms. "Probably nothing, Blondie. You could've come talk to me at any time, if our brief meetings were bothering you so much." The potter waggled his eyebrows, a mischievous light in his eyes.
Amun let out a triumphant cry as he tackled Oliver to the ground. Lips already opening with the hint of a smirk to make some quip, the Ascended tried to shift so that he could pin the other man as they fell to the ground. Unfortunately, when the two of the landed, the combined force of Blondie's knee and another rock were enough to toss the potter to the side, causing him to land on his back.
Letting out a growl of annoyance, Amun scrambled backwards just a little, turning as he did. Then he hammered a kick at the other man's side. It was an awkward angle and uncoordinated, but it was still a kick.
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'll tell ya the next time I find out something big about myself." Tons of big things had happened, so Oliver would tell him eventually....eventually. For now, though, he had bigger things to pay attention to: such as winning this little fight.
Oliver was genuinely surprised that his knee and rock had actually gotten Amun off of him. Part of him was under the belief that once Amun had tackled him, it was all over: that he had merely lost this war. However, his knee was surprisingly super effective...or maybe it was the rock, eh, doesn't matter. What does matter is that Amun knows how to kick. Letting out a wince, Oliver's body lurched involuntarily.
The kick did deter him, but it didn't prevent him entirely from doing anything. The sudden pain in his side made him quite a bit slower, but Oliver would still make an attempt to sit up and then tackle Amun himself. Two could play at that game and Oliver wasn't exactly ready to show the other man his second magic, at least not yet.
I JUST WANT MY EXISTENCE TO BE MORE THAN TREMBLING
my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,
for it is infinite.
Amun shrugged, though there was an easy smile on his lips. "Whatever floats your boat, Blondie." Winking, the Ascended gave Oliver a once over, checking for any sign of another magic. Nothing sprang to mind, so the potter just shrugged.
Then they were sparring, and scrambling in the mud. As the other man went for a tackle, Amun's eyes narrowed. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to avoid the tackle entirely, but he scrambled enough out of the way that he got his arms and legs between himself and Blondie. So when Oliver landed, the potter heaved with all of his might, attempting to toss the other man to the side and escape. Amun rolled a bit, using Blondie's momentum to assist with the throw.
Scrambling around in the dirt is a very accurate statement. Oliver had chosen to wear an outfit that he didn't mind get messy, considering he had gone outside specifically with the intention of practicing. Oliver had figured he'd get mud on him somehow, considering both how clumsy he was and the fact that there still seemed to be hints of memory mud every so often. He hadn't quite prepared for someone else, so he didn't look the most fashionable. Of course, the outfit still looked amazing on him or so Oliver claimed.
He hadn't prepared himself for the launch, considering he didn't really expect Amun to consider doing something like this. Oliver figured it'd be easy, that he'd take Amun and pin him to the ground, however, soon his body was thrown off to the side. His body hit the ground sideway with a thump and he let out a quiet groan. Okay. They were gonna play dirty? Then fine.
Oliver turned his head and quickly tried to cast an illusion of fire. However, he hadn't practiced this really much at all so while he intended it to look realistic and close to Amun, it just kind of seemed to be floating ever so slightly off of the ground. Still, it looked like fire at least and would hopefully give Oliver enough time to sit up and recover from that toss. He had hopes that Amun would be distracted long enough for him to prepare his next plan.
I JUST WANT MY EXISTENCE TO BE MORE THAN TREMBLING
my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,
for it is infinite.
No one was more surprised than Amun that his throw actually worked. However, as Oliver was tossed aside, the Ascended rolled in the opposite direction, trying to put as much distance between himself and the other man as possible.
And he was very much glad he did, because fire exploded into being.
Letting out a startled cry, the potter scrambled away. His hand instinctively closed over something, and he lifted it and threw it at Blondie, trying to disrupt the spell. It turned out to be the rock the other man had been playing with earlier. The potter didn't stick around to see if his projectile hit. Instead, he shot to his feet and put on a burst of speed, running as far as possible.
The fire did help to get Amun from attacking him anymore, sure, but it did far more than Oliver could've ever expected. Never had he considered that his illusions would be that realistic. Now sitting up, a rock was thrown at him and immediately, the illusion ceased and the fire was gone. The rock narrowly missed his face, merely hitting him in the shoulder.
Instead of staying around, Amun seemed keen on getting as far away as possible. The blonde's eyes widened and he tried to get to his feet, yelling out to the other man. "Amun, wait! There is no fire! It was just an illusion! I'm sorry!" There was a pang of guilt in his voice. Damn did he feel like an absolutely shitty person for this. It had started out so well, and yet he had to ruin it all. Well Oliver. You've really fucked up this time. There goes one of the people he genuinely thought he could eventually befriend, scared away by his inability to think before acting.
I JUST WANT MY EXISTENCE TO BE MORE THAN TREMBLING
my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,
for it is infinite.
As Oliver yelled after Amun, he halted. It was a good thing his heart didn't beat and he didn't need to breathe, because his heart would be racing and his breathing would be labored. However, he could still feel the fear coursing through him. Which was why the Ascended turned, a dark look on his face for the first time in a long time. "So, that's your big surprise, huh Blondie? Illusion magic?"
The potter crossed his arms. "And you thought, during this friendly sparring match, 'oh, wanna know what would be fun? Scaring the very flammable Amun to death with an illusion of one of the only things that can actually kill him.'" Amun shook his head. "You can keep your apology." With that, the Ascended sped away, and was soon lost in the night.
