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!
The classroom was shaping up rather nicely, Peter thought. Despite the hard work, the book shelves and desks were in place. He took a moment to stand near the front and look over what he’d done, and noticed... a few things off. Feathers in the corner, and noises that he had written off as the others working. He hadn’t been in Halo long enough to know the cause, but he knew enough to recognize a pest. Pests could not be tolerated.
Peter had to find the pests first to take care of them. He walked around the perimeter of his floor, head tipping this way and that as he searched for some sign of the unwelcome guests. Without any real thought, his ears and nose shifted, the senses suddenly much much sharper, enough that he could track the smell of the birds to a fireplace.
Well, that made this easy didn’t it? He could literally smoke them out. Peter built up a sturdy base for the fire, topping it with a log he dampened with his magic, to make it smoke. Then, he lit it. A simple solution for a potentially serious problem.
Peter lights a fire in the fireplace with the intent of smoking out the birds (little does he know the chimney is blocked)
PET
he is trying to tell you that there is some sort of shining star now buried deep inside him and he has to dig it out with a knife.
The group was quick to catch on to the Ningo's presence and set to work remedying the problem right away. How Zariah did like people with initiative. Maea's trick was quickly successful. Used to the snow as Ningo's were, they didn't exactly like balls of it being hurled at them. With an angry squawk, the white bird flew off the rafters and out the open window. Of course, there was snow everywhere now for Maea to clean.
And as for Weaver's trap? Well, these Ningo weren't the brightest suckers on the Tundra, and not long after she hid away did one land right in her snare and meet its untimely demise in a cloud of feathers and short lived squawks. And of course, Neron had no trouble at all freezing up the one chimney he had seen his poopy-assailant fly into. But as he appeared within the tower, he might notice something rather amiss.
Smoke, rising up the stairs. Why?
Because of dear Peter. Oh, Peter. Innocent, bumbling Peter. He had a good thought really, smoking out the bird who indeed had gone down to a roost in the chimney connected to the library. But he had clearly failed to check if the top was open, and as smoke began to billow and rise, two things occurred. First, the smoke came billowing right back out with great haste, filling the space and rising up the tower stairs. Second, came the Ningo, flying out of the fireplace like a bat out of hell, likely colliding with Peter's face lest he quite quick to dodge it.
2 of 3 Ningos are dealt with but now the school is filling up with smoke, oh no!
Her plan worked. Quite smoothly, if she were to say so herself. Maea grinned as the bird squawked in outrage and flew out the window, leaving a dusting of snow on the floor. Rolling her eyes at the mess, the girl went to find a broom and was soon hard at work sweeping up any mess in the corridor, from snow to scattered feathers and the occasional dropping. She even went the extra mile and checked through the rooms she had furnished, ensuring that they were all clean and orderly.
Using her telekinesis to lift the debris out of the window, she had just finished up her work and started to think about little decorations to add to each chamber, when the scent of smoke prickled at her nose. Thinking nothing of it at first, as this was a land of ever-burning fires, she closed the window and went to put the broom back. But the scent only grew stronger, and her eyes began to water. Picking up the pace as she made her way towards the stairwell, she saw that a great cloud of sooty smoke was billowing up from the floors below. Coughing as she inhaled a little of it, she wrapped a part of the dark rags over her mouth and turned to head the other direction, up towards the roof. This was a nearly empty building with very little that could unintentionally catch fire; it must be a problem with a fireplace. Best way should be to get that sorted first, then let the draft clear away the smoke.
She only just avoided running into Neron on his way down, and tried to halt him with a slight wave. "There's smoke coming in... I think a chimney must be blocked for one of the rooms below. Did you see anything that might have caused it?" she asked him. Maea hoped it could be remedied from above; she'd rather not head down into the smoke if she could avoid it, but worried about Peter and Weaver who were supposedly down there in the gray.
-----
Maea sweeps the floor and chucks the grime out the window. Noticing the smoke, she begins to head up for the roof. Meeting Neron on his way down she asks if he knows what might be blocking the chimneys.
lay your hands on me
one last time
MAEA
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Well this was interesting. If by interesting, one meant worrying and potentially dangerous. Squinting in the smoke, Neron could only make out Maea by the paleness of her form, and he covered his mouth with the back of his sleeve so he could speak to her. How indeed had the chimney become blocked? Whoops. His bad.
”Sometimes they freeze over,” he said, keeping his words clipped so as not to inhale much of the smog. ”Unless someone has any fire magic, it would be easier to cut it off at the source.” Even if that meant running down into it. ”Stay here, I’ll take a look.”
Neron set off further into the school, calling out for Peter and Weaver to check where they were and keeping an eye out for the fire so he might freeze it out.
Neron ventures further downstairs to find Pet and Weaver, prepared to put the fire out with his ice magic.
Her trap works, and there’s something admittedly satisfying about the squawks and flying feathers. There is always something satisfying about successfully catching your prey, and even more so because now she has dinner without actually needing to leave the building. Weaver sets about stuffing the bird and the lost feathers into her pack, figuring this was the easiest way to clean up without letting the bird go to waste anyway, when she smells the smoke. Like Maea, she ignores it at first, but not for as long. There hadn’t been smoke before and she’d been cold sitting in that corner waiting for the ningo to fall for her little trick.
Damn.
Weaver drops the bird back into the trap, leaving it all there to cleanup later. She won’t be needing dinner if she burns to death. Instead she runs back outside, through the door where, at least, the memory snow was no longer in the way. The memory snow was still a lovely castle, and she scoops some of it along with regular snow into her pack, not really caring what she grabs so long as her pack is full.
After that, she races down the stairs, which are quickly filling with smoke. She pulls her shirt up and ducks her chin, covering her mouth and nose as best she can. She’s not too far from where Peter had started the fire, and the smoke is thick and heavy now. Somewhere in the distance she hears Neron calling out, and she responds as best she can through the smoke and fabric. “Here!” she yells, coughing some before dropping to the ground on hands and knees, trying to sneak beneath the worst of the smoke.
Weaver begins to crawl. The smoke is black above her and this is stupid, but Weaver is reckless in a stupid way. She’s trying to get to the fire, trying to dump the collection of snow which is unpleasantly melting on her back into the flames to put them out. It is moments like these that remind her why she really needed to learn her magic. This would be so much easier if she mastered it. Hopefully the snow would be enough, or someone would show up with a better plan.
***
Weaver calls out to let Neron knows where she is and then crawls toward the fire planning to dump snow on the flames unless someone comes with a better idea.
weaver
-- ask no questions, and you'll be told no lies --
As the fire caught, and smoke began to billow from the damp log, Peter smiled, proud that his plan had worked. Then, the smoke all came rushing back into his face, choking and blinding him in one foul cloud. He dropped to the ground, hands immediately coming up to rub at his burning eyes before he remembered he could rinse them out, and doing that instead. Once he had solved his immediate problem, he moved onto the next one, directing a flow of water to the smouldering logs, stifling them completely.
And causing an even larger cloud of smoke to billow out, somehow thicker this time, like the water used to douse it had only given the cloud more body. Peter is reduced to a coughing mess on the floor, curled into a small ball in a futile attempt to keep out of the smoke. He stays down, taking a moment to catch his breath, to try and settle on a course of action.
There was a window, he thinks. Maybe just a particularly clear sheet of ice, but if he was lucky it would be a proper window, that he could open. Granted, the open door hadn’t done him any favours, but maybe an actual escape for the smoke would help. Staying low, he crawls over to where he thought he remembered the window, reaching it and searching for a latch, or something, blindly. As he fumbles, he hears Nerons voice, and calls out in response, barely a managing a ”Here! Before erupting into more coughing.
Peter douses the fire, and attempts to open a window to air out the smoke!
PET
he is trying to tell you that there is some sort of shining star now buried deep inside him and he has to dig it out with a knife.
Peter, thankfully, was successful in getting the window open. But alas, it is but one little window in a very large building filled with lots and lots of smoke. It won’t do terribly much to air out the entire tower, the narrator is afraid to report. And though he was lucky enough to not be struck in the face by the fleeing Ningo, that subsequently meant that the third blasted bird was still on the loose!
The library did look nice though.
Neron, Weaver, and Maea might notice something flapping about in the smoke, but whether they could deal with the bird within the cloud was another matter entirely. But thankfully, the lack of heat might be the first clue that the building was indeed not on fire, just the victim of a series of unfortunate events. At least they were together though.
And where was Zariah? Oh, probably watching her school be made into a hot mess with a very disappointed look on her face.
One Ningo still on the loose and the tower is still filled with smoke!
Hearing Weaver and Peter within the room was a good start, Neron also coughing by now and having to duck low to the ground to try and navigate his way around. The hiss of the fire being put out was like music to his ears - at least no fresh smoke would be produced, but there was still a very irritating flapping within the room. Swearing under his breath and having to swipe at his eyes (they were streaming from the stinging smoke), Neron remained still, trying to pick out the panicked movements.
When he thought the ningo had flown into his line of sight, he reacted instinctively, and a lash of freezing cold water was directed at it. If nothing else, it would discourage it from moving around more, he hoped.
Neron gets low and tries to strike the ningo with freezing water to slow it down!
For a moment she consideredd disregarding the order to stay put and follow Neron down into the smoke. But seeing how thickly it welled up from below, the slender girl thought better of it and started up the stairs again, to reach the roof.
Bracing against the strong wind, she made her way across the assembled training yard, admiring the layout with some appreciacion along the way. Reaching the chimneys, she searched them to see which one that had become blocked, and found it soon enough. Frowning, she thought it curious that only one of the openings had been covered and not the others... but kept a quiet suspicion to herself as she moved to smash it open again with a chunk of ice she picked up.
Hopefully, the draft from the fireplace would help suck the smoke up and out from the tower. Not about to leave the others to suffocate below however, Maea hurried back inside and made her way down, praying to her gods that no one had been seriously injured. It would be rather an inauspicious start to the new school...
-----
Maea heads up onto the roof to open up the chimney Neron previously blocked, hoping that the draft from the fireplace will help clear some of the smoke. Then she returns down again to help the others.
lay your hands on me
one last time
MAEA
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
She hears the sizzle of the fire going out and immediately relaxes. Removing her slightly wet pack from her back, she rolls over and just lays on the floor for a moment. With the window open the smoke is a little better, though not nearly enough, and she finds she can sort of breath from this particular position on the floor beneath the smoke. As she’s laying there, debating what to do next, she sees some flapping in the midst of the smoke. You have got to be kidding, she thinks, groaning slightly.
If she could see better, she’d just throw a knife at it. The problem with that plan is that she can’t see well enough through the smoke to ensure she won’t just hit another person, and both Neron and Peter are nearby. So much for another free dinner. Instead she grabs some snow from her pack, sits up, and forms the snow into a ball before chucking it in the direction of the ningo when she can see it somewhat clearly. Maybe if she could hit it hard enough it’d be stunned and go falling to the ground, making for an easy catch. They were stupid enough creatures, it might work.
She forms another snowball in case she sees it flying by, grabs her pack, and moves along the floor again (she is getting vastly tired of crawling, so she tries crouching which is better but still not great) looking for other windows. There was one open nearby, given that she could feel the cold air pouring in, but there had to be others in a building this large. So she sets to work opening any nearby windows she can find and hurling snowballs if she happens to spot the ningo again. Never mind the mess she was making in the process, she thinks. The snow will melt…
***
Weaver throws a few snowballs at the ningo hoping to stun it, and works on opening any windows she can find.
weaver
-- ask no questions, and you'll be told no lies --
01-24-2020, 06:27 AM (This post was last modified: 01-24-2020, 06:27 AM by Peter.)
Peter breathes a small, wheezy sigh of relief when the window opens, and he gets a breath of fresh air. It burns, both because of his coughing and the coldness of the air, all but freezing his throat. When he turns back into the room though, his face falls, smoke still lingering heavy in the air. Sighing heavily, he tries something desperate, reasoning to himself that at least some of the smoke is steam, and all steam is is water. It’s worth a try, if nothing else.
He reaches out and tries to pull the water towards him, towards the window. It doesn’t work, not in the way he expects it to at least. A breeze, weak, but enough to be felt against his skin blows towards the window, drawing more of the smoke out. Peter doesn’t have time to question the newfound ability, and instead heads towards the closest coughing he can hear, focusing the whole time on sending a breeze towards the window, coaxing the smoke outside.
Peter uses his newly discovered air manipulation to get the smoke flowing towards the window, and goes towards the closest person he can hear, trying to clear the air around them.
PET
he is trying to tell you that there is some sort of shining star now buried deep inside him and he has to dig it out with a knife.
The Ningo was hit first with the freezing water, shocking the poor, troublesome bird. Then it was hit with the snowballs and it came tumbling out of the air, making an unfortunate landing right on its head. Well, at least Neron got his revenge.
As for the smoke it seemed that Peter finally remembered his new magic, and it did wonders to coax the air out of the newly opened windows and chimney - thanks to Maea. And sure enough, as Weaver continued to open the windows, the smoke rushed out, leaving cool, crisp, fresh Halo air in its place.
"My, my, wasn't that an adventure." Zariah said with a low hum as she entered the library, the click of her heels slow and measured. "But, it's done as least. All that's left are the fireplaces to light. Then our task will be complete." she said.
Last round! Light a fireplace then you are free to go!
She came back down just in time to see the smoke funnel out of the windows and up the chimney. While the scent of it lingered for a time, it was not unpleasant and let a homey feeling to this newly constructed building that she approved of.
Relieved to see that everyone was alright, she threw a glance at Zariah, who conveniently had not participated in any of these tasks - what had she been doing, exactly? - and nodded a quiet confirmation of the final task. After making sure that Peter was alright, that his coughs would subside rather than escalate, she retreated back up the stairs to her designated floor. It was a simple, if tedious process of lighting a fire in the hearths within each of the rooms, and as she went through the motions Maea picked up the song where she'd left off before.
Only when all the fires were crackling merrily and spread a pleasant warmth throughout each of the rooms did she stop, and prepared to leave. Maea took a last look around to make sure nothing was out of place, and reflected that one of these would be hers to sleep in soon enough. Once everything was in place, when all the little kinks had been worked out... as she hoped they would.
She looked forward to this new chapter of her life.
------
Maea lit the fireplaces in the rooms she furnished. Maea Out! Thank you, it was a very fun PQ! <3
lay your hands on me
one last time
MAEA
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Wiping at streaming eyes, Neron was pleased to see when his vision cleared that not only was the Ningo taken care of, the smoke was clearing from the room as well. Clearing his throat and straightening up, he surveyed the group before them and nodded both in thanks and appreciation for their help. Quite what Zariah had been doing whilst they’d been running about trying to stop her new school from catching fire he did not know, but the moment called back to his time in Northaven, of not knowing what to expect next. He didn’t dwell on it for long.
Instead he set about their final task, returning to the top floor to set the fires crackling in the hearths (and more fool to any Ningo that decided it wanted to try its luck a second time). Soon a ruddy amber glow brought the training area to life and, satisfied that his work was done, Neron departed.
