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!
02-04-2020, 02:19 AM (This post was last modified: 02-04-2020, 02:19 AM by Random Event.)
RANDOM EVENT
As Kaimana and Oia'i'o sneak along, things go fairly well. At one point, perhaps because he's looking towards Oliver and his uncoordinated shifting, he steps on a dry stick beneath the snow that emits a yawning thwack. Luckily for Kai (and Jigano it will turn out), the (real) giant is focused on the screeching clouded leopard.
Ambling faster now towards him, Jigano only very nearly misses being squished beneath one of its clunky feet. It isn't look at the blue-eyes in the snow and so isn't as susceptible to trip hazards. That, and given its monumental size, it's more likely to crush the fox.
Then there's Oliver. The giant is momentarily confused by the disappearance of the large cat, not quite putting two and two together that the sudden change only means that it was an attuned. This momentary stupidity leaves it staring blindly before hunger forces it forward, a giant hand snarling out with shocking aim to snipe the bird from the air. Oliver, might have instantly been squished just then, crushed to nothing in the palm of the giant if not for...
...well. A dragon.
From the skies comes a streak of grey. Bullet-fast, it grabs the giant in its talons which only puts into perspective the sheer size of the flying creature. Instantly, the giant whithers, life pouring out of it like dust. The dragon spares no time with the rest of you, though as it turns and flaps its mighty wings, you're all shoved into the cliff hard enough to knock the wind from your lungs and sending snow cascading around you.
High above, the cliffs give an ominous whine...
Your random initiative order is: Oia, Kai, Jigano, Oliver. Include post-summaries at the bottom of your post and list any relevant magics or items used in your posts. You have 48 hours to reply.
You aren't worried about the little bit of sound that you and Kai are making; there's so much going on that you doubt if the giant can focus on anything other than Oliver. To your credit though you are still getting your illusion to flail about, but it clearly isn't working. Not able to hear the exchange between Jigano and Oliver, you think it's of his own volition that he shifts into a bird. Why he didn't in the first place is beyond you though. Had you known Jigano could fly as well you would have given them both puzzled looks.
As the dragon sails from the sky, your eyes widen to bright blue saucers. Immediately you reach out for Kai and then pinch yourself to make sure this is real. You don't have your notebook out, but that's alright. You won't be forgetting the details of this anytime soon.
Glancing toward Kai you mouth grey dragon, before you're blasted back against the rocky mantel of the cliff. The air in your lungs is unceremoniously flung out and you find yourself on your hands and knees spluttering to gain your breath.
because when you stop and look around, this life is pretty amazing
Flight seems like an obvious early choice, as the pair could likely have gone above the giant, but maybe they wanted to have more of a challenge. You understand that sometimes humans make the less-rational choice just to have an extra thrill, or some adrenaline; is that it? You fix Oia with a questioning, puzzled glance and shrug.
That's when the dragon appears, and oh my holy Dama above it's big.
You reach for your twin at the same time she reaches for you, brown eyes wide and transfixed on the scene. Like a bolt of lightning the dragon descends, plucking up the giant like you might an interesting bug. You're so busy watching every single detail that the blast of wind catches you entirely by surprise; you're blown back into the walls of the chasm before belly-flopping unceremoniously into the snow. Rolling over onto your back you lay there for the moment, a vibrant and goofy grin on your face despite the fact that you can barely breathe through your crushed diaphragm. Dragon!
Kai is lying on his back in the snow, still totally taken with the dragon
Probably just as well the tripping tactic had failed, Jigano would have time to realize later when he could think back on this adventure from the comfort of a comfortable chair in front of a warm fire. He had overestimated the giant's attention to details, almost fatally.
In the moment, however, all that mattered was the giant suddenly lifting away into the sky beneath the talons of something far larger than Jigano's own shift, withering away - was the dragon using Life Drain to feed off the giant?! - and leaving the fox awestruck and unguarded against the downdraft that sent him rolling, far too small to brace against such a force of wind.
Like the twins he would have been inclined to lie there watching the great creature fly away, but large, sensitive ears picked up the whine above, and a moment later he realized what it might presage. Shifting back to his human form without waiting for the nicety of a bit of privacy, he staggered over to Kai and Oia, wheezing with the lack of air in his lungs as he offered them his hands, trying to get them up on their feet so they could face the next danger as a group.
Jigano shifts to human form and tries to help Oia and Kai to stand up. Also tries to get his breath back.
The little bird does indeed notice the near death experience and it nearly causes his heart to burst from his chest. Once the giant had moved away, he quickly shifted back into a leopard so he could be a bit more prepared for a fight...until he saw what stopped the giant. With wide eyes, he watched the dragon seemingly turn the giant into a pile of nothing before dragging it off, but not before he was hit with a massive gust of wind, pushing the air out of his lungs momentarily and flinging him off to the side.
It took him a couple of moments, but he soon shifted back and lifted himself off the ground, his breathing still a bit irregular, but it was fine. He was fine. All was fine.
Glancing over at his group, everyone seemed to be recovering decently well but within the silence were unspoken words. Everyone was clearly thinking the same thing and even Oliver had a piqued interest, but would it be safe. "This dragon....gods. I don't know...but I was told a myth by someone...her name was Weaver and she told me about this dragon that lives within the mountains. She said it was just a children's tale...but it makes so much sense." Oliver had purely assumed it to be just that. A tale for a child when they needed to sleep, but obviously it was much more than that.
"If you guys feel safe and believe that this would be good for us....I say we should travel more. See why the nature thing called us here... because I think it may be involved with the dragon... call me stupid, but either the creature has something to show us or it's working for the dragon," Yeah, the last part sounded super bad out loud, but it was still a possibility. The spirit thing was either good or bad news. Of course, Oliver would give the group the opportunity to speak up and he would go with the majority vote.
"These mountains hold so much...and the dragon may be the key to unlocking something great. I don't want to kill it, no...but maybe we can figure something out." Letting out a hum he thought for a moment, contemplating what they could do. "Do you three know of any way we can try to communicate with it? See if the dragon is willing to speak with us?" Surely, the dragon was intelligent and maybe even willing to compromise. Maybe.
Oliver offers to go follow the dragon! The majority vote is what he will go with!
He also suggests the idea of somehow communicating with the dragon!
It starts slow; a few balls of snow and ice tumbling harmlessly down. If this was a snowball fight, you'd be throwing them harder than what is currently cascading down. But it's coming faster now, the low whine of the cliffs high above threatening to give way...
A sheet of snow falls, nearly covering Oliver. Perhaps because of his already-high adrenaline he is able to spring out of the way. But winded or not, a decision needs to be made.
Staying where you are is no longer an option unless someone does something very clever indeed.
Your random initiative order is: Oia, Kai, Jigano, Oliver. Include post-summaries at the bottom of your post and list any relevant magics or items used in your posts. You have 48 hours to reply.
You are winded and vaguely injured, but a grey dragon is simply too good of a research opportunity to let a potential cracked rib get in the way. Though you dislike contact, you're half-buried in snow and your long legs are mostly buried so you're forced to accept Jigano's assistance. You nod briskly, mumbling, "..gratitude.." under your breath.
Glancing towards Oliver as you brush yourself off, you raise a brow. "This whole mountain range is full of dragons, everyone knows that." Or at least you did and had anyone asked you what to expect from these bluffs you'd have told them. Only, no one did.
"Sprite." You correct sounding slightly pleased. At least Oliver isn't calling it a siren anymore. "Stupid." Hey did say to call him that and you do think the idea is stupid. 'Working for it? Like a symbiotic relationship or a social-contract?" You glance at Kai to see if he can offer any insights.
'Dragons speak common." You point out, before looking out over the edge of the cliff where the dragon has disappeared to. "I can't speak that loudly though. Can you?" You ask turning back to Oliver, just as the cliffs above groan and whine.
"This area seems to be building up to an avalanche. We should not stay here." You tug at Kai, mentally feeling for both Meraki and 物の哀れ, and try and move as quickly as you can around the bend of the cliff and out of the path of the falling snow.
Oia says DUH DRAGONS and since its flown away she doesn't know how you're supposed to talk to it. She decides to run further instead of staying under the avalanche path.
because when you stop and look around, this life is pretty amazing
You accept Jigano's help easily enough, though you're rather more interested in contemplating what you've just seen than thanking the bard. Oops, but manners fall a far second to grey dragons. Oh, sure, dragons are fairly common around these parts, but this is exceptionally fascinating. Staring at the retreating figure, you begin to form a string of questions, rather uninterested in the strange back and forth between Oliver and your sister. "I wonder if took the giant back to its roost - maybe it has hatchlings to feed. It is Longheat so they're prolly gettin' close to fledged if they're there."
Sensing Oia's eyes on you, you tune back into the conversation, a furrow to your brow. "It seems unlikely that the sprite's takin' us to the dragon 'cus the dragon wants it to, 'cus the dragon didn't seem interested in us. It coulda been a trap, though, I guess." You shrug far too lightly, clearly not deeply perturbed by this idea.
Oliver wants to follow the dragon, which seems like a fine idea to you except of course that you cannot fly. "If you find its nest will you draw it, please?" you ask the Attuned enthusiastically, "An' maybe see if you can find a sample of its scat for us to inspect, so we can know about its normal diet? Oh! And any body fluid it might excrete would be good to study, too!"
Y'know. Normal things.
There's a rumbling brewing and Oia has your hand, so it's time to let thoughts of dragons go for now. Following your sister away from the avalanche you glance back to make sure Jigano, at least, has come along, still unaware of the latter's capacity for flight.
Kai says SURE GO AFTER THE DRAGON AND PLEASE BRING BACK SAMPLES, then follows Oia around the bend to avoid being smooshed
Oliver certainly had some interesting theories, and Jigano was more than a little bemused at his fellow Attuned as he shared them with the group. The bard nodded along to Oia's comment about the mountains being full of dragons - Ingrid's comments had certainly indicated such - but at the mention of the sprite and the dragon working together he just shook his head.
With Oia up and on her feet he looked the little group over--
The warning rumble didn't leave much chance for conversation, and as the snow slid down Jigano just raised a brow and stepped adroitly out of the way. "Kai, Oia'i'o, I'd love to learn more about the local dragons from you as we travel. I can offer Healing in exchange if anyone was hurt. And I see no reason not to continue following the sprite," he added, reaching over to offer Oliver a hand up as well and trying to hurry everyone on their way. They were all, as far as he was aware, capable of walking and talking - quietly - at the same time. "Oliver, while I appreciate your gumption, I would like to point out that all of us together are in no shape to kill a dragon of that size. I'm not even sure why we'd want to, seeing as it just accidentally saved our lives," he added with a rueful grin to the young adventurer. "Let's focus on following the sprite first, and trying not to get knocked off the mountainside by an avalanche." So saying he followed after Oia and Kai, heading around the bend and hopefully out of the avalanche zone.
Jigano asks Kai and Oia to share knowledge of dragons in exchange for Healing if anyone wants it. He offers to help Oliver up and tries to keep the party together and moving out of the avalanche zone and back after the sprite.
The others weren't so keen on following after the dragon and honestly, once the twins started to give even more information on the dragons Oliver's mind was pretty much changed. He was under the impression that only one dragon existed, so when he learned there were multiple? Hell no. Those things probably fly in flocks. Then Kai only seemed to confirm this by mentioning there were most likely babies and a dragon that big must have babies the size of cows. Hell. No. Jigano was a bit more direct and at that point, he had settled that he was voting no. Thankfully, the other three were ready to continue along the path.
Following the path was decided by the majority vote and just at the right time as Oliver barely ran away in time to miss being covered in snow. With a bit of heavy breathing, he turned to look over his shoulder before following after Oia around the bend. "Do you think we can find the sprite again?" He asked to Jigano, the nearest person to him. The twins were leading the group for now, as in they were in front of him and his hybrid companion. "What do you know about Sprites?"
Oliver decides that yeah, they should just follow the path. So he runs after the group and easily stays with Jigano, who he begins to talk with about Sprites.
Jigano rolled well. But Oliver? Oh dear sweet little child.
Falling into step beside the bard, the ground below all but shatters. Jigano with all of his animal-agility is able to jump to the other side as the ground below gives away entirely. Shards of ice sprinkle into the pit at the same time Oliver does and down he falls, nearly 20 feet. It's enough to break one of his ankles, crack 2 ribs, and dislocate his shoulder.
Oliver HP: 20/45
Your random initiative order is: Oia, Kai, Jigano, Oliver. Include post-summaries at the bottom of your post and list any relevant magics or items used in your posts. You have 48 hours to reply.
"I think I'm okay." You reply, patting yourself down and finding only a bit of discomfort. Then again, you're remarkably bad at actually paying attention to things like pain.
"Well...there are a number of dragon species rumoured to live in this mountain range. Some are quite deadly, others annoying. Grey dragons such as the one we just saw are the most dangerous. They have magic that can instantly kill just about anything. It is why they can feed on creatures like giants, sheer-size aside." You reply quite matter-of-factly, before glancing to Kai to see what he might add.
It is then that Oliver falls. You aren't immediately concerned, though you realize that you have Jigano's rope. Without saying a word, you simply offer it out silently to the bard.
02-07-2020, 07:00 PM (This post was last modified: 02-07-2020, 07:00 PM by Kaimana.)
because when you stop and look around, this life is pretty amazing
"Grey ones're rare, 'cus it's hard for an ecosystem to sustain so many large predators," you contribute to Oia's dragon description, happy to share information. "An' the others are a little bit smaller, an' green ones are the smallest an' the least dangerous. But they can curse you an' cause trouble. The other ones aren't as efficient as greys at catching prey, though." AKA, no insta-death.
At this point the fact that Oliver has fallen into a pit doesn't surprise you overly much. The loud noise has you turning around, though, peering down into the darkness below as you fall to your knees beside the edge of the crevasse. "What d'you see down there?" you ask, ever curious to know more. "Is it a cavern? Does it look inhabited?"
Jigano was relieved to hear that everyone seemed mostly unhurt from the dragon's downdraft. He took mental notes as Oia and Kai talked, intending to write the information down once they were somewhere warmer. "They're quite a bit different from the dragons I was used to on my wo--" The discussion was cut short by the crack of ice and the reflexes of a man who was, for better or worse, just a bit paranoid. Times like this it served him well, and he made the leap to firmer ground on animal instinct...
Realizing too late that Oliver had not joined him. Peering down the pit he grimaced at the sight of the young man's foot bending a way it definitely should not have. The bard nodded his thanks to Oia'i'o, slipping his pack off again with a wry smile beneath his scarf, a crinkling of his eyes showing between it and his cap. "Can you find something to anchor it to? I'll take the Attuned way down and try to Heal him, but if I can't fix all the damage we may need to haul him up with the rope. He's got a small animal form that will make that easier, though." Honestly, Jigano could probably fit Ollie's fox form into his pack. Might even be able to fly with him in his raven form, but it wouldn't be comfortable for either of them. One problem at a time, though.
Jigano hesitated for a moment longer, grimacing faintly at the necessity twice in one day, but he shifted to his raven form. taking his magic items with him, and tried to reach the bottom of the hole, then returned to his human form to lay hands on Oliver with a murmured: "Hold still, now, let me get that shoulder back in and straighten that ankle and then we'll get you back on your feet."
Jigano asks Oia to anchor the rope in case they need it to haul Ollie up, then flies down in his raven shift using Item Shift to keep his magic items with him. Assuming there's no time sensitivity in this round he'll help Oliver get his ankle straightened and his shoulder back in place while using his Mastered Healing magic to try and put him back together in working order.
