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!
12-31-2019, 08:24 PM (This post was last modified: 12-31-2019, 08:32 PM by Kiada.)
i wanted to be ruined —
a little more than i wanted
— to be loved
The other team gets the ball, and Kiada hisses under her breath at the ice that costs the ground. But she’s safe, for a time, as she shifts just enough that she can avoid it — but she’s too distracted by that to notice Loren’s bears paw? As she gets squirreled away, spinning and turning until she can recover. But when she does? It’s on. She returns in vulture form, hoping that Deimos’ shield has cleared the ice enough that she can stand, take the ball Deimos makes, and throws it as hard as she can at Jigano. All’s fair in dodgeball, right?
Kiada returns from Loren’s swat, grabs the ball he makes and throws it at Jigano!
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
dont know where the lights are taking us but something in the night is dangerous
Well this is an interesting development.
Deimos’ fire is very effective! It burns away at the ice (don’t ask me how, fam), creating enough of a haze or a barrier that he must be difficult to aim for. Loren gets the ball to Jigano, who throws it at Deimos' ankles, misses as he shifts fully to eagle form and pumps out of range. The General, however, is obviously unable to catch it. It bounces underneath him and rolls, coming to rest against one of the larger branches demarcating their side of the field.
Kiada, on the other hand, is successful. Her ball hits Jigano and then bounces out of bounds. With another ball still in play, Wessex doesn’t put it back in.
She makes no move other than to jesture for the bard to move to the sidelines, leaving Loren and his bear alone on one side, with Deimos and Kiada on the other.
---------------
Jigano is out. If he wants, he can post first - then Deimos and Kiada, then Loren.
Ah well, that was the way the cookie crumbled, sometimes. You could dodge and duck and dip and... wait, he'd forgotten one. Maybe if he'd remembered to dive he would have avoided Kiada's shot? Alas, the world would never know. He lunged to the right as he saw her throw, but he just wasn't quite fast enough to avoid the ball entirely, getting tagged on a lanky elbow as he attempted to avoid the onrushing projectile. There was no denying he'd been struck, and he nodded at Wessex's gesture. He saluted Kiada with a grin as he trotted to the sidelines, calling an optimistic: "You've got this, Loren!" as he went.
Things shifted, changed, altered within a moment – the sunken tides rolling back afresh and anew. The ice melted, his eagle form had been successful in avoiding the latest onslaught, and Kiada’s ball, flung at Jigano, hit the bard, and then rolled out of play.
The twinge of success; a hint of pride extended towards the Harpy, a job well executed and accomplished curled and coiled in their connections – then he descended, shifting back to human practicalities again – one threat gone, a bear and summoner still lingering. Deimos presumed Loren would attempt some other assemblage of power and contortions, but he wouldn’t be the only one.
Compelling, he sought out any other local birds, and they came out of bushes and brambles, out of thickets and thorns, around four or so, two for each of the intended targets, hoping they would offer a distraction (hovering, trying to peck) to both Loren and the bear. Thereafter, while Kiada fetched the other ball, he created one more, providing them another opportunity to strike if one or the other missed.
Ready? He inquired, awaiting her sign, her signal, before they could hurl and toss at the same intervals and instances.
--
Deimos shifts back to human form, and summons some birds to annoy/peck at Loren and the bear. He creates another ball, intending to throw it at Loren, at the same time as Kiada.
Holy shit it worked, is the first thought that leaves the Harpy’s mind as she lands on the ice melted ground, lobs the ball at Jigano and hears and watches it connect. A fierce playful grin is sent to Jigano as the man leaves the playing field. And then it’s just her and Deimos, against the summoner and his bear.
She lets Deimos do whatever he needs to distract her while she sprints to the other ball, grabbing it and returning to Deimos’ side. She too, spends a moment to compel for the first time – a set of birds as well that might come to their aid and flurry around the summoner and his bear. Ready. She says to Deimos through their attuned link, signaling and beginning to throw her own ball in tandem with his – aiming for the summoner.
Kiada goes and grabs the second ball and returns, compels some birds to also help with distracting Loren and the bear, and tries to throw the ball at the same time Deimos does.
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
Sighing as Jigano got out, Loren squared off with the remaining opponents. At the bard’s cheerful call, the summoner shook his head ruefully, eyes crinkled with amusement. ”I really, really don’t.” Having trained with Deimos multiple times, and with the much faster and stronger member of their team already out, the Launceleyn didn’t like his chances.
As the General made more balls, and birds started circling, Loren didn’t bother trying to dodge. He simply called upon his water magic to try and make a spinning dome of water, to hopefully deflect the balls and deter the birds. It rose around him, but he didn't know if it was fast enough. He also had his bear try to place itself between himself and his opponents.
dont know where the lights are taking us but something in the night is dangerous
Wessex almost expects the General and Kiada to slaughter Loren in the next round, making this the quickest game of dodgeball ever, so she is pleasantly surprised when that doesn’t happen.
With two balls in play again, it would take some luck or excellent defense for Loren to avoid it all. Deimos’ ball ends up being sucked into the water spout and harmlessly spit out on Loren’s side of the field. Kiada’s ball also hits the water spout but is spun back out again and hits the bear, who has been successfully distracted by the birds.
“Bear’s out!” Wessex calls. Cause thems the rules. If you get hit, you’re out.
At Wessex’s call, Loren let his miniature water spout fall. Giving her an amused look, he dismissed the bear without lifting a finger. As it disappeared, he walked forward casually to grab both balls. Then, just like Deimos had before him, the summoner created his own. And then another, and another, until he had seven held gingerly in his arms.
Six of them rose in the air without a visible sign, lifted by his telekinesis. They spun in a dizzying spiral above his head, as fast as he could manage and he smirked at his two remaining opponents. Without changing his expression, he unexpectedly launched three at Deimos and three at Kiada, hoping that in the confusion they'd get hit by at least one each.
Loren grabs the two balls on his side and creates five more. Then he launches three at Deimos and three at Kiada using his telekinesis, while holding onto one.
Deimos had been hoping for the summoner to be overcome, overwhelmed by their assault, but luck seemed to wane haphazardly between the teams – and his eyes visibly narrowed, then rolled, when Loren copied his previous antics with creating more of their chosen weaponry. He did put a spin of originality on it with the telekinesis, circling, swarming, and the beast contorted, assembled, a makeshift shield and shelter over the pair of them, hoping it would instill some time, some opportunity, for them to be protected and covered while they manifested more chances for their success.
He ducked underneath – compelling the birds to his mastery once more, honing them to fly towards the balls, either alter the balls’ trajectories, pathways, by their talons, their wingspans. Meanwhile, since Loren seemed intent on keeping the others, he concocted two more balls, one for each of Kiada’s hands.
--
Deimos creates a shield/shelter for he and Kiada to duck underneath. He compels the birds he summoned previously to alter Lorens’ balls flight path, and creates two more balls for Kiada to use.
The ball she throws hits the water spout and spins out, hitting the bear, and Kiada can’t help the quiet hum of laughter that leaves her when Wessex says the bear is out. But then it’s Loren’s turn, and she’s trying to prepare herself to evade the best she can, watching as he makes what feels like a million dodgeballs, shifting to her vulture form to try and dodge and dip and duck… You know the drill.
Deimos creates the shield, and she watches as he starts to compel birds, and she does the same but in an attempt to try and distract the summoner, hoping they might fly in circles around the man before grabbing the balls he makes for her to toss. And after a heartbeat of hoping she doesn’t get hit with the dodgeballs, she tosses one after the other at Loren.
Kiada tries to evade the dodgeballs either by Deimos’ shield or dippin, duckin, divin, in vulture form while compelling birds to try and distract Loren’s concentration on his magic. Provided she doesn’t get hit, she’ll throw the two balls at Loren!
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
dont know where the lights are taking us but something in the night is dangerous
The thing about having that many balls on the field is that everyone chance of getting hit goes up exponentially. Unfortunately, Wessex didn’t think of this because she’s never played dodgeball before. The only way to avoid being hit is to hide. OR dip, duck, dive and dodge. Whichever is easiest. Whichever is smartest.
The mastered magic is quick - one of theirs a little quicker, given the showing-off. Tsk, tsk, haven’t you learned anything from the movies? Don’t hesitate, just do.
Deimos is able to duck behind the barrier, successfully avoiding Loren’s balls. Kiada is quick, but maybe not quick enough. She ducks behind the barrier too, balls bouncing up and off the shield, amongst the birds, going every which way. And maybe Loren isn’t paying attention. Maybe Kaida isn’t either. When she pops out and throws her balls, they manage to catch the Launcelyn - but his come back to bite her in the ass (errr, head actually).
Which leaves… the one who stayed behind the shield the winner.
The shield had been meant for both of them – a barrier, a divide, against the barrage of attacks and assaults; and for a moment, he thought there would be a simultaneous victory, teamwork in spades, in arms, in makeshift, mocking, jocular brutality. The beast couldn’t see Loren from behind their blockade, but he watched as Kiada popped out, tossing, launching the newfound weaponry, only to be caught in the head quickly thereafter.
Something in his heart sunk, even if it all was just pretend and pretense.
The General thought to concoct another ball and then drive it home towards the summoner, no longer ducking behind the shield, only to see Loren had been knocked out as well – a successful venture in the Harpy’s spirit and mettle. Which simply left him as the vanquisher; a little flat, not how he’d wanted to proclaim conquest (with fire and blood and ash), simply remaining, simply winning, by mere existence.
If there were any misgivings in it, he didn’t extend the notion or sentiments in his nod towards all the participants. “Good game,” and a teasing, taunting layer of attuned connections sent towards Kiada, masking all the other motions.
As the ball hit Loren, he sighed. However, his own ball hit Kiada in the head. Giving her a sheepish grin, he shrugged. However, his triumph was short lived, as he realized that Deimos had escaped the onslaught unscathed.
Letting out a huff of laughter at the General's gruff and short response to his victory. "Good game!" In stark contrast with Deimos, the Launceleyn's voice was bright and not at all bothered by his loss. "Guess I've got a lot of work to do." With that, he nodded at Deimos, Kiada, and Jigano. Finally, the summoner turned to face Wessex. "Thanks for hosting." With that, he turned to head back to the festival proper.
As the game swirled to its conclusion, Jigano grinned at his teammate, offering a pulse of consolation. "Sorry for abandoning you so early," he apologized, a rueful tilt to his lips. Not that he'd had any choice in the matter - Kiada's aim had been true, despite his best efforts to dodge her throw.
He offered a deep bow to Kiada and Deimos as the winning team, giving the Harpy a wink and the General a nod of respect. "Thank you for the match! Looks like I'll be bothering you two for some more training in the near future." There was always something to learn and improve at, and this had certainly shown where one of his weaknesses lay. As he had trained with Melita before, so he would need to keep working on refining his earth magic again in the future it would seem.
Though there was no love lost between him and Wessex, Fiat Lux was a festival of rebirth and joy, not a place to air grievances at least not until Capture the Flag, and he simply gave the Wraith a formal nod of acknowledgment for her part in hosting the game before he headed back towards the festival to find a skewer of grilled magna vermis and a mug of honeybeer to refresh himself with.
