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!
because when you stop and look around, this life is pretty amazing
"If a dragon ate me then my body'd be used for sustenance. How's you killing us better'n that?" Tilting your head and furrowing your brow, you inspect the cultist closely. Sure, being eaten isn't ideal, but you fail to see how it's any worse than being killed here and now.
Oia asks important questions, as always, causing you to fall silent as you wait for answers. When the larger group of cultists gathers you watch them carefully, your own magic ready to push arms out of the way should they attempt to fire arrows.
Kai asks what the cultists will do with their bodies, basically. He readies his actions to animate a cultist to shoot someone else, should they attempt to fire at Oia
Oia's questions were good ones, if potentially inflammatory. Kai's was the sort that he should have expected from a child of Rae. Jigano held up his hands placatingly, glancing at the additional cultists with wary eyes. "Perhaps we can talk while you show us to the path out?" he suggested, looking to his companions for confirmation and motioning gently for them to follow the anxious cultist they had been speaking to if he was willing to show them the way out. "We mean no harm in coming here. We were curious and didn't know... but we don't wish to fight anyone. We would just like some answers to our questions as we leave." Gods, he hoped Kai and Oia would be willing to walk and talk at the same time, if it lessened tensions and made it less likely that violence would break out between the two groups. Jigano was acutely aware that they were outnumbered, and he had no idea what the offensive capabilities of the monks were aside from arrows, but they clearly were willing and able to kill to keep their sacred path clear of pesky mortals.
Jigano asks the cultist to lead them towards the path out, and suggests they walk and talk at the same time. He remains ready to defend Oia if she is attacked.
With each person speaking, the Cultist actually directed answers to each one. It was nice to see some sort of respect. This was far different from Oliver's view of a cultist, seeing as he was giving some damned good responses, though he was a tad rude at times. He wasn't a fan of how he spoke to Kai, but his frustration was hopefully well hidden.
Gulping hard, Oliver nodded in response to the man addressing him directly. He did have a fair point, in a way. Oliver didn't necessarily agree with them choosing to murder people, but they did seem to have good hearts. If he weren't worried about the potential risk of dying, he would've suggested the man start out with educating rather than immediately threatening them. That...seemed a lot more logical and more likely to get a point across.
Soon, a large group of cultists appeared before them and finally, Oliver got a good understanding of the situation. With each person saying what they wanted, Oliver waited patiently for his own turn. He wasn't exactly a fan of Jigano immediately deciding to leave, especially when the dragon was still probably lurking right outside the mountain. "If I may ask... how did you come together to form this group? As well, have you yourself ventured through these mountains? Can you tell us what they hold so that we do not have to venture to see for ourselves?" Maybe if these cultists informed them about what the mountains held, they could call it a day and head back home.
"If you're willing to tell us your knowledge, we are willing to listen then we will leave. If not, then we can leave when it is safe for us to venture back outside."
Oliver tries to bargain with the Cultist. He asks for the cultist to tell them more information about what the mountains hold! In return, he promises to leave without venturing forwards into the mountains. But, if the Cultist refuses, he also promises that they will leave.
'There are no conditions, young one." The man replied to Oia. "Though if you truly want to forsake your soul and walk into assured death, we will not follow you." They were a warning, if not a slightly murderous one, and nothing more. "Because your soul would find Mort, rather than being trapped here." He said to Kai.
Gruffly the man (and indeed the group), nod in response to the bard. Pointing towards a dimly light tunnel, sconces of fire suddenly are alight on the walls, showing a pathway through the mountains (and presumably) out.
"How do any groups form?" The cultist replied with a look towards Oliver. "Through need. Many lost their lives and their souls to the dragons of these cliffs before we took it upon ourselves to serve as the dam that might protect the world." Tutting, he shook his head. "A lucky few have ventured into the fields and returned to tell the tale. Some have flown high over, enough to see the waterfall and catch glimpses of the lighthouse. None have seen them in person though. Not for millennia. The dragons cannot be tricked or reasoned with. "
"But you are stopping us." You point out, perhaps a touch petulantly. 物の哀れ snorts, feeling your unease and trots to your side. His antlers light up the space beside you as much as the sconces on the wall do. Instead of turning to your companion though, you look to your twin.
"It isn't your place to decide how anyone dies." You add to the cultists, eyes unhappily on Kai as you march down the tunnel.
because when you stop and look around, this life is pretty amazing
"The souls of Ascended don't go to Mort and they aren't upset about it." Reason, it seems, does not work on these people- they're very adamant in what they believe, which you can respect until it becomes what you're supposed to believe.
But whatever.
You turn with Oia to leave down the sconce-lit path, reaching out to squeeze her hand reassuringly, also obviously upset. "We can come back when we learn to fly," you tell her, utterly confident this will eventually happen. "An' talk to the dragons then."
He listened avidly to tales of lighthouses and waterfalls, already considering ways to approach these distant landmarks. Somehow he doubted his own dragonform would be particularly useful in this endeavor, unless it came to a fight - and even then, something the size of that grey dragon would easily take him down. But a raven, those creatures already used to send messages between Halo and the Hollowed Grounds? If messenger ravens could fly through the mountains safely, then perhaps an Attuned raven could as well, too small to be of interest as a meal to something so large as a dragon.
He glanced over to Kai as the young man came to the same conclusion, though his interest was more in accompanying his sister than the rest of them, and the bard hid a wry smile at the young man's certainty. Perhaps, being demigods, they very will could learn to fly without being Attuned.
"Do the dragons ever attack each other?" he mused, wondering if the twins or the cultist could answer his question. Either way, he followed down the newly-lit path, curious about the magic just revealed. It was interesting to hear Kai confirm what he had long suspected about Ascended souls, though. He might have argued that the Ascended at least had a choice, one made when they prayed to the Voice, but technically those forging deeper into the mountains might have a choice, too. If they knew their souls could be lost to the dragons and still decided to proceed, that was up to them, not the cultists.
Either way, Jigano knew he'd be back eventually. Now that he was aware of souls lost within the mountains it was only a matter of time before he did something particularly noble stupid.
It was a lot to take in, but it would also prove to be helpful. Oliver would make sure to report back all of their findings. There could be a large chance that they could gather a proper group of people who could be able to survive against the dragons. Surely, someone had to be strong enough for that. The dragons weren't placed here without a reason. Oliver just knew it. For now? He'd simply leave it at that. The cultists were being reasonable and surprisingly kind, so he'd do what they asked.
He'd make sure to stay in the back of the group, wanting to protect the twins from any attacks from behind. Who knows, maybe the cultists weren't actually as kind as they appeared to be. Turning to face the lead cultist, Oliver nodded to him. "Thank you for teaching us about what you stand for, as well as trying to protect us." Make a friend rather than an enemy.
And with that, he joined his group down the tunnel, heading back to civilization where hopefully, there weren't any giant ass dragons.
"It is our place if we make it so." The man said with a stoic nod at Oia's comment, before glancing towards Kai. "Aren't they?" He shrugs. "Those who are murdered aren't upset about it either, given their lives end. Doesn't mean we shouldn't try and do something about it."
Leading them through the tunnel to where sunlight filters out into the comparably safer landscape of Halo, the man looks towards Jigano and shakes his head. "Not normally, no. There are enough creatures in the mountains to eat, and enough careless wanderers as well." This seemed to be said in the direction of Kai and Oia, who continued to hint at obfuscating his efforts.
Going no further, the man pointed towards the opening with a gruff nod. "See to it that you spread what you've learned here. The dragons will kill you. The way to Caido is not for you. Not any of you. Not yet anyways." And, before this might be further questioned, he and the rest of the men retreat back into the belly of the mountain.
Congratulations! Oliver and his PQ+ group have discovered The Draig Cordillera. New records have been added to the guidebook (or will in 2 seconds), as well as the flora/fauna.
Be warned: the cultists were not exaggerating. Though posting in this new land is technically possible, the chance of instant death is extremely high.
