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!
01-04-2020, 08:53 PM (This post was last modified: 01-09-2020, 08:07 PM by the VOICE.)
LOREN
For the task that Neron set before Loren, he’d asked Peter and Kiada along. They’d arranged to meet just outside the cave that housed the portal. The summoner had dropped off a sack of smoked venison for the guards there when he first passed through this morning. Since then, he’d shifted into the form of a goose, and waited in the cold for his companions to arrive. When they showed up, he’d send a pulse of welcome and gratitude towards them.
Thank you, both of you, for coming. We’re looking for something called mageglass that’s rumored to be in the Fangs. It reacts oddly to Abandoned magic. He tilted his head at his fellow Attuned. I can answer any questions you might have upon the way. Peter, if you need a lift, let me know and we can work something out. Pausing long enough to see what the adopted Launceleyn needed, if anything (and sending a pulse of affection towards the other man), Loren took a running start before pumping his wings and lifting himself into the air.
Flying through the Fangs, his eyes sought out one of the many caves that peppered the mountain range. Soon a dark shape caught his gaze, and he landed in front of it. Shifting into a honey badger, he padded forward, peering into the darkness of the cave entrance. I’ll take point. Keep your eyes peeled for danger. With that, he plunged into the darkness.
This is an Attuned-only Plot Advancing PQ! There are two additional spots, and they have been filled.
tell the boy you love that you are too dangerous to keep
take scissors to the strings tying you to him
Her second trip to Halo was without her family – but that didn’t bother her too much. She’d healed from her injuries from Fiat Lux, she’d ensured Deimos and Amalia of her safety, that she’d be okay in the end. She hopes it’s true, but after the festival, well… Nobody knew anymore, did they? Regardless, she does it for Amalia, paralyzed and broken, and Deimos, who’s gone back to his typical brooding, of how he can’t protect everyone despite his best attempts to.
Perhaps a break is necessary.
So she arrives, spotting the goose with amusement as she lands from the skies, tucking her vulture wings in tight along her back. The instructions are clear enough – a scouting mission of sorts to try and find the mageglass. Fine, easy enough. As Loren begins to run to fly, Kiada spreads her wings and pulses a bit of amusement as she watches the goose take to the sky, before the predator follows suit.
As Loren finds something, tells them to take point, she gives him a pulse of ‘understood’ as she lands along the opening, shifting to her caracal form to see better within he dark, paws padding along the rockery.
Kiada follows behind Loren!
do not eat, do not sleep
perfection is not obtainable
by those who are weak
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
Peter was coming from the opposite direction of Loren, and whoever else he’d asked along. Honestly, it had been a surprise that he’d been asked, and an even bigger surprise that he’d said yes. There was still... tension (to put it lightly) surrounding Loren, and Peter does not want to get caught up in it. There’s enough to the quest to justify though, so Peter finds himself racing across the snows in a form not entirely meant for it.
As he comes upon a goose and another, far more vicious looking bird, he stops, trotting up the last few steps and returning a greeting to Loren. I think I will, do need help, but... Without finishing the thought, the hyena shifted, shrunk down into a tiny pale bat, an ability he’d discovered only recently. He was small enough now to cling to the back of either bird comfortably, and be carried along. The concern, and affection were met with a burst in turn, Peter still surprised when others were concerned for him.
There’s no choice for him but to be carried along as they apparently come upon the first step they’re looking for. As soon as they’re on the ground Peter flies up, thinking this form will be slightly more useful. Is there anything specific we should be looking for? He asks, flapping after Loren.
01-05-2020, 02:46 PM (This post was last modified: 01-06-2020, 03:14 AM by Loren.)
half across the world from me
lie the lands I’ll never see-
As Peter shifted into a bat, Loren made sure the adopted Launceleyn could feel the summoner's understanding and pride. You can climb on my back. He knelt down so the other man could get a good grip. Only then did Loren take to the skies.
They landed, Peter disembarked, and Kiada shifted. Then the three of them went into the cave, the summoner at the head as a honey badger. It was dark, but they were still close enough to the cave entrance (and their forms had decent enough eyesight, even in the dark) that they could see just fine for now. I don't know. Some sort of rock, I'd imagine. More importantly, there are predators in these caves, including dragons, and the caves themselves aren't exactly the most stable. So stay alert and stay safe.
With that, Loren led them down a narrow tunnel, footsteps soft against the rock. It curved slightly, before finally opening up into a larger cavern. Stalactites dripped from the tall ceiling, and across the far wall there were three tunnel openings, one on the left, one on the right, and one in the middle. The one in the middle looked much narrower than the other two. The one on the left might have been slightly bigger than the one on the right, but it was nearly impossible for him to tell in the low lighting. Any preference for direction?
Some sort of rock. Peter let a pulse of amusement ripple through him, something that might have been a laugh in a human shape, or at least a soft huff, because, weren’t they surrounded by rock? But he assumed Loren meant a special rock. Something... abnormal. Glowing, or shiny, or something. Predators would be a little easier to spy at least.
Peter flapped above the other two, keeping his eyes and other senses peeled for anything. He stopped on a stalactite, clinging to it and looking down at their three options. Maybe... the middle one? He suggested, uncertainty in his voice. Or... I could go look really fast. I’m smaller than both of you, it won’t take long.
Peter suggests the middle and offers to quickly survey each path
tell the boy you love that you are too dangerous to keep
take scissors to the strings tying you to him
She’s never quite realized how fast bat wings move, but with it she’s intrigued briefly before she follows Loren down the path, tufted ears flickering with her uncertainty, listening for any sounds that weren’t coming from them, when they come across the tunnels – pausing and letting her long tail flicker along the ground as she watches ahead through the dark and listens for anything out of ordinary.
A preference for direction, though, she tilts her head and sees how narrow the middle one is. Do you think it’ll be a tight fit? She asks quietly, head cocking toward the badger. Perhaps not for the badger, nor for the bat – but her on the other hand… Well, she’s a bit larger in her forms than she’d prefer for something like this. But regardless, she tilts her head to the slightly larger one. I think we shouldn’t split up, though. Last time we did I was captured by the Fae and tossed into their Pit so… I’d rather not find out what Halo’s equivalent is. She offers, a hint of sad humor leaving her toward Peter and Loren.
That and Peter is small, so if something happens to him, she’s unsure of how they’d find him.
I’ll follow behind whichever way you guys prefer to go. She says after a moment.
do not eat, do not sleep
perfection is not obtainable
by those who are weak
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
01-07-2020, 06:00 PM (This post was last modified: 01-07-2020, 07:02 PM by Loren.)
half across the world from me
lie the lands I’ll never see-
Loren stared ahead as he considered the middle tunnel. Only one way to find out. Middle tunnel it is. Glancing up at Peter, the summoner cocked his head to the side. Kiada is right. Let's stick together. Again, I'll take point. With that, the honey badger padded ahead, making his way towards their chosen path.
It was indeed a tight fit, especially for Kiada. However, she managed to squeeze through without problems. Similarly, Peter would have no difficulty navigating the space. It was actually Loren who encountered an issue: as he walked through the dim and narrow tunnel, he stepped on an especially sharp piece of rock, slicing his left front paw open, leaving a smear of blood behind every time he stepped. It hurt, but he ignored it.
Thankfully, the tunnel they chose widened soon enough, leaving them room to breathe and spread out a bit. There were cave walls on their right and directly ahead. If they peered down the tunnel to their left, they could just see a small opening about halfway down, on the right side of the tunnel, though from here it seemed just large enough for even Kiada to fit. The tunnel itself took a left turn at the end, and it was impossible to see around that corner. Turn back, turn right, or go down to the end and turn left?
01-07-2020, 08:04 PM (This post was last modified: 01-07-2020, 08:05 PM by Kiada.)
KIADA
tell the boy you love that you are too dangerous to keep
take scissors to the strings tying you to him
She nods to Loren and follows at the back of the group – slipping through the best she can in the tight squeeze of the middle tunnel. She sucks in her breath, feeling the rock on either side of her pelt, but manages to get it through fine. But when she smells the blood from Loren’s paw, her nose scrunches up slightly, wondering if he plans on doing something about it or not. Do you think that leaving a bit of blood behind as a trail might attract… Unwanted company? She asks Loren, not sure what to do about it – not sure if he has healing magic or not, but wanting to do something about it rather than get them trapped in here.
Soon enough, however, the tunnel widens and she inhales fully and steps off to the side, gaze drifting from the new set of tunnels, head cocking slightly as she contemplates the options – deciding perhaps to go with straight down the tunnel and to the left. At least she could fit here. I vote down to the end and left. Her ears flicker with uncertainty, gaze watching out for anything that might just randomly pop out at them.
do not eat, do not sleep
perfection is not obtainable
by those who are weak
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
Peter hums, as much as he can in this form, when the plan is decided, and follows Loren through the centre path, taking care to keep near the roof so the two larger attuned have as much room as possible. It made him feel like he was being helpful. When Kiada mentions something about blood though, he drops, landing on Loren’s back and clambering over to his shoulder. Are you okay? There is a pang of worry sent along before he continues.
I read somewhere that bat uh... bat saliva is a... it’s... it makes blood stop faster. There was an offer in his tone that slowly trailed away the more Peter thought about it, suddenly worried that maybe he’d reversed the fact. He was quiet after that, trying to work it out, before he’s distracted by the squeeze widening into a chamber.
Another path, another choice. There’s no doubt in Peters mind that they should keep moving forward, but past that he’s no sure. He lifts up into the air again, circling in the chamber and trying in vain to peer down their options, to glean more information.If we go all the way down, we should check the uh... the opening. To make sure nothing can get behind us. Never mind that there was already ample opportunity for something to get behind them.
And the Fangs, they go on and on and on. And there's something there, maybe, at the opening they wish to wander down. Something small, and white, and fluffy.
It roars at them. It's pathetic.
There's a little lost Ursur cub in the way of the opening on the left!
As they wandered down to the end of the tunnel, Loren sent a pulse of reassurance to his companions. It’s just a scratch. Granted, the evidence for that was slim, but he carried on gamely. The air was cold, but he ignored that as well, trusting in his fur and his fat to keep him warm.
However, when they arrived at the end, the sight of the Ursur cub caused him to halt. Staring at it, he glanced briefly at Kiada and at Peter. Keep an eye out for its mother. And I say we fly over it. With that, he shifted to a goose, though he'd only move on if his companions agreed. He also called to the cub, trying to reassure it that they meant no harm and ask it kindly to let them pass, though he wasn't sure how much the cub understood.
Loren suggests they fly over the cub, and tries to call to it to ask it to let them past.
tell the boy you love that you are too dangerous to keep
take scissors to the strings tying you to him
She continues on behind Loren, ignoring the pulse of reassurance. If the blood from his paw does attract unwanted company she’d absolutely be the first to tell him ’I told you so’. But so far so good. They don’t stop again until she hears the small cry of a cub, an ursur cub at that, and Kiada grimaces internally. She lets Loren decide what to do, let’s him try to calm the cub while she keeps her eyes attentive to their surroundings, ears wide for the possible mother that might appear.
Shifting into her vulture form, she chooses to follow behind Loren to try and fly over the cub as well, keeping quiet and indifferent towards most things while remaining vigilant.
Kiada follows Loren to fly over the cub while keeping an eye out for the mother!
do not eat, do not sleep
perfection is not obtainable
by those who are weak
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
Loren insists he's fine, and it will have to do for the moment. There's more pressing things to focus on than a little blood after all. Things like the cold, pressing in from all sides, or the bear cub, between them and their destination.
Peter stops, clinging to a bit of bare rock, and looks down at the bear, at Loren's goose form. Staying out of it's way is probably a good idea. What if it's mother is behind it though? It seemed an important point to consider, if they were worrying about it. Should we try to stay high? To avoid anything behind it? The questions were asked as he followed the other two over the cub, though he did spare the poor thing a glance.
The cub - poor, lost thing - looks malnourished and cold, as if it has been away from its mother for some time. Indeed, there is no sign of an adult Ursur as the group sail overhead, and it bleats pathetically after them.
Perhaps it is because Loren is concentrating too hard on the waif that he does not see what lies ahead. The tunnel narrows considerably, and drops away into a deep, dark void, like some enormous blade has sliced through the ice. It seems to go on into the darkness for some time. Above lies a maw of icicles - delicate and very, very sharp - and Loren knocks against one of them as he flies through.
It is enough to send the others plummeting.
The group clears the Ursur cub and Loren knocks one of the icicles along the cave ceiling. This causes a ripple effect, and a rain of icicles showers the group.
