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!
As Deimos instructs, Hotaru's sharp eyes never leave Maea. Were she an Attuned, the tip of her catlike tail would have twitched to betray the way she considers the woman prey. A proficient fighter surely, and a good match in that aspect. They dance around each other without connection, and when Deimos' words taper and the next round begins Hotaru is ready. Itching and eager. So when her opponent's water magic starts to form to try and trap her, she escapes the only way available to her - under.
Hotaru throws herself forward into a low roll, coming up onto one knee as her creation magic springs to her fingertips. In mockery of the woman's ice creations, slightly thicker metal needles fill her palm and she throws them towards Maea with her electric magic clinging to their metallic conductive forms. Pouring salt in the wound so to say if they connect.
Hotaru rolls under the water magic, Creates a handful of metal needles, electrifies them, and throws them at Maea.
Dark twisted fantasy turned to reality Kissing death and losing my breath
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
Jigano wasn’t quite sure what happened; one moment he was in control, weaving his earth magic in a way that had grown smoother and more controlled over the past season and a half that he’d had it, surprised and delighted by the sudden shift in it towards smoother creations of his mind’s eye – and something newer still, creation of something previously unknown to him.
The next, it felt like the energy was muffled, wrapped in cotton swabbing and held at arm’s length from him. The pit beneath Rex continued to grow, but far more slowly and only in fits and starts, a few inches here and there. His shielding wall began to crumble in places, the earth only building up to about three feet before it began to subside again. Not all at once, but it slumped and sighed as the magic holding it together faltered and sputtered, unable to maintain the shaping by will and power that Jigano had been using to build it in the first place.
Startled, the bard retreated, putting space between him and Rex as he reached almost blindly for the strings of his magic. As if he crossed a threshold the magic came back, flaring bright and strong within him once more. His eyes widened and he stepped forward again—and the power fizzled and popped. Arching a brow at Rex he offered her a crooked grin. ”That’s a nasty new trick you’ve got there!”
Again the agile woman managed to avoid Maea's attack, and responded immediately with a counter. When she realized the water had become pointless she simply dropped it down to cascade out over the training yard and moved to defend herself. Maea tried to swat the electrified needles out of the air with her telekinesis, but either the electric current repelled her mind magic, or the sharp projectiles simply moved too fast. They slipped right through her grasp and hit her squarely in the chest, penetrating deep as electricity discharged and made her twitch uncontrollably, staggering back from the force of the impact.
Red flowers bloomed from her shirt around the vicious stems planted in her flesh. Fortunately the shocks had numbed the worst of the pain, but the shock of the impact was still enough to make her wince.
"Got me," she conceded with a pale smile at Hotaru. It did not seem anything vital had been hit... but her hands still shook, and as her head began to spin Maea eased herself down to the ground before the could fall and made the damage worse.
Light is easy to love Show me your darkness
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
02-08-2020, 01:51 AM (This post was last modified: 02-08-2020, 03:14 PM by Deimos.
Edit Reason: Clarification
)
remember that you can't save everyone
remember that you have to try
A yielding to advice had seemingly made the difference: carefully scrutinizing, pacing, walking, wandering in between both miniscule, orchestrated feuds, gaze catching glimpses, pieces, of other intervals working, taking form and shape. Thinking, processing, analyzing, giving in to more than just the bare minimum of watery ramparts or portions of earth, diving into what could be done, what could be handled, instead of tossing it into the ether and fringes. Jigano apparently had grown in leaps and bounds since their last ventures, as other things were taking shape within the loam and soil, and he arched a brow, gaze narrowing, intrigued. Created? Contorted? Orchestrated perhaps much like Deimos’ own intervals. “New?” Came on a rumbling chuckle, as if not daring to meander passed a stifled amusement – stare rendered back to Rexanna as she sought to attempt a hit.
Ah, but she’d listened – and a great notion of satisfaction filled his chest as the upgrade she’d previously tested and utilized upon him came to fruition, their speculations and examinations proving quite useful. They ceased the churning of soil, they forced it to struggle, to meander, to not give rise to mastery. He didn’t say anything, but the smallest smirk for her would serve for all the things he’d crave to say. Well done. Proud of you.
Motioning onto the next onslaught, he bore witness as Maea unfurled her watery cascades to a greater designation – listening to his previous intonations, glorifying the art of the rivulets and ripples in a surrounding, pervading force. “Clever,” he acknowledged, only shrugging when it failed, sometimes even concentration and precision couldn’t amount towards another’s luck – as Hotaru’s pulsing machinations hit and pummeled, waging electric designations, sparks, across Maea’s form. Savage, just like the olden days, and his brows arched significantly towards the Valkyrie, a wink registering somewhere before dissipating, as if it’d never been there.
Thereafter, he motioned towards Zuriel, and the unicorn, still haughty, still an ethereal, dignified creature of the forest, wandered to those who required healing or mending, bending her horn towards Maea specifically, and anyone else who wished for it.
Then he could address them again, for their final test and opportunity to battle and endeavor, turning towards them, arms across his chest. “Well done. Sometimes it is not the act of simply wielding your magic, but how it will assist and achieve your goals. Which leads to your last test.” He studied them for a moment – presuming most were familiar with the most dangerous aspects of this world: especially after LongNights, especially after caverns and hunts amongst Halo. But practice ensured more muscle memory, more inherent factions, leaving them not so wide open to the perils of these lands. “Most of you have already experienced a situation where you must work together to accomplish a task.” Whether it be some manifested monsters, some overtly menacing cannibals, some bewildering, bewitching tempest – they were all bound to encounter something tempestuous; an inevitable swing. “Often times the mission becomes complicated or disastrous when communication or motives are not aligned.” Which, unfortunately, he’d learned in dark basements, in slowed, labored breaths, along the pinnacles of other, potential death knells. “Decide how you would like to tackle this.”
Within a moment, he withdrew his arms so his palms faced outward, immediately unleashing a massive wall of flame. It rose and rose, higher and higher, draconic and consuming, a colossal tower of twisting, turning embers, bewitching infernos, catastrophic imbalances. Almost like a colossal shield, an unwinding tower, if it were simply a barrier or partition, they might find it easily conquered. After he’d built its height, he started to billow pieces and chunks of ember away from it, cinders and balls of fire meant to cascade down and around them – slowed, a lethargic pace, obviously not meant to harm or hinder any of them, but to give the crowd time to think, before it became a potentially, damaging mess.
Because this wasn’t about heroics. This wasn’t about one person, one individual, ascending to the forefront and reigning victorious, better than everyone else. Each person had a gift, had a talent, had a means, had a measure. They could all achieve, assist, and help. But they needed to think.
--
Zuriel has gone to heal anyone/everyone who needs it (especially Maea).
Rolls from previous rounds:
- Jigano hit Rexanna!
- Rexanna critically hit Jigano!
- Maea missed Hotaru!
- Hotaru hit Maea!
For this next round, work together to figure out how they’re going to defeat the wall of fire and descending fireballs. You do not need to attack Deimos, but the fire itself. What will you do?
02-08-2020, 01:42 PM (This post was last modified: 02-08-2020, 03:21 PM by Maea.)
MAEA
She eyed the unicorn warily as it approached her. Maea had never seen one up close before, and there was something about its size and the very intelligent look in its eyes that made her nervous. She stood very still as the creature began to administer its healing, breathing into the pain as needles were removed from her flesh; then sighed as both discomfort and numbness eased away. Only the bloodstains and the holes of the fabric of her shirt remained to suggest she had been injured at all, and even those were a bit hard to look at. Maea had been sick more than she cared to think about, but never injured. Not like this. It was... not a wholly pleasant experience.
Once she was patched up and back on her feet, she joined the others in listening to Deimos further instructions. Her eyes widened at the sight of the fire he created, awe and instinctual fear making her retreat a few steps as the heat of it washed over them. Quite without thinking, Maea reached for the dregs of water she had spilled over the ground and wove it, brought it up in a protective dome of liquid in front of them and above their heads - especially thick over Rexanna, so that no sparks or stray flames would touch the Ascended woman. The water was clear and quite transparent, doing nothing to block the view of the threat before them.
"I can shield us from the fire like this," she said to the others, sparing a quick look around. "I will back the rest of you up with it and with ice, so perhaps Jigano can make a path of earth through the flames, and then Rexanna and Hotaru can go in to take Deimos on at close quarters? Defeat the fire by making him unable to produce it."It was a quickly drawn up plan, and delivered with quite some confidence - but her tone suggested she was more than willing to accept other suggestions if they had any.
It did not even occur to her to wait for someone else to take the lead, utterly focused on the task at hand.
------
Maea makes a dome of water between the fire and the group to protect them all from the heat and the scattered embers (especially Rexanna) and suggests a battle plan!
Light is easy to love Show me your darkness
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
02-10-2020, 07:59 PM (This post was last modified: 02-10-2020, 08:00 PM by Jigano.)
"I don't think we're supposed to gang up on poor Deimos," Jigano grinned at Maea. "But quick thinking with the water shield. Let's just focus on fighting the fire itself for the moment." Only Deimos would know what the fiery night at the Mathair had been like, some focusing on putting out the blaze, others on calming the luxere. Not so different from the year before and the wildfire ignited by the oversized flinthopper, really. In this case, though, the fire was more directed and controlled, meant to be a challenge rather than a threat.
Jigano looked to the other two women, arching a brow in challenging curiosity. "I can try and smother the flames at the base of the wall with my earth magic. Rex, Hotaru, what can you do to deal with the fireballs and upper portions? Or can you do anything to boost or assist myself and Maea?" Because they hadn't trained together before today, so they didn't know each other's strengths and weaknesses. He knew of Hotaru's electricity, but hadn't realized she had creation magic until today. The same with Rex's fireworks and her strange magic-subdual power. What other tricks might they have up their sleeves that might tip the balance against the fire?
Jigano reached out with his earth magic as they spoke and began to create a smothering firebreak around the base of the flame wall, buying them a bit more time to develop a more cohesive strategy together while they worked it out as a team.
Jigano asks Hotaru and Rexanna what their magic can do against the flames and uses earth magic to try and smother the fire at the base of the wall while they figure it out.
To be honest, she doesn’t have much else. But she tries to feel for that small portion of her that has her separate magics, searching and seeking for something other than her fire to add or remove from the flame that approached them. Jigano’s question is met with a quick glance while she focuses on the wells of power within her, power that was hers and not stolen, not taken – unable to be taken.
She finds something new, in the space where her transmutation usually was. Something shiny and weak and different, and she reaches for it to bring it to life – watching as she tries to take some of the ice from Maea to shift it into water to try and either make the fireball smaller, or try to douse it completely. She focuses hard on it, brows shifting together at the surprise of having water magic now.
There is a dark glee that unfurls in her chest when she strikes true, no matter how fondly she may think of her partner. Despite how she has mellowed and matured through the years, there will always be a sinister darkness inside that rejoices in being powerful. Straightening from her crouch she turns an ear to Deimos, and can't help but groan softly as they are immediately faced with fire.
Maea's orders come next, but Hotaru is already moving towards Rexanna. She has nothing but faith in Deimos' abilities and control over his magic, but she is protective of her sister nonetheless, especially in the face of her greatest physical weakness. Jigano's words come next, and she bumps her hip against Rexanna and gives her a look, lips twitching even as her mind churns with possibilities.
"I only have my electricity and creation I'm afraid," she responds as everyone's magic comes to the fore, biting down on her bitterness at being useless once more. "Unless you want to electrify some water as a weapon." It surges to her hands in offering, though she's reluctant to attack Deimos directly when it's clear that's not his intention with this exercise.
Hotaru moves to be a physical shield to Rexanna while she uses her magic, offers her lightning but otherwise isn't able to do much else.
Dark twisted fantasy turned to reality Kissing death and losing my breath
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
It was intriguing, to not be wholly involved in orchestrating, in planning, in trying to come with ways to combat – to be the adversary, the instigator, the provocateur. More than once he allowed the flames to dance (bored, albeit a bit juvenile, machinations not necessary at the moment), a promise of burning potential had this been any other circumstance, waiting, weighing out their odds, listening to the collaboration.
Maea’s water wasn’t a surprise – a likely suspect given the entanglements he’d provided. He did arch a brow at her notions of attacking him to cease the play altogether, a subtle shrug inwardly, knowing his capabilities, his own tactics readily at display if necessary. Her leadership instincts, to draw herself up at the helm, were intriguing – he wondered how often she’d had to do these same damned things, reaching and plucking and striving to unite everyone at the forefront of their current debacle. If anyone would bristle, hiss, or claw at the commands.
Unfortunately, nothing goes quite to plan. Something else they’d all experience, again and again and again.
Maea’s dome of water looked substantial, as if it would shield the rest of them – but the press of heat, the demand of fire, the coiling of ferocity might have just been far too much more. It hissed, steamed, and fell apart, fracturing as the flames rose higher and higher.
Which meant there was a domino effect. No pathway, no guard for Jigano’s earth magic rendered it almost pointless – the inferno raged and tore through the mound, eating away at earthen wares, hungry, avaricious, clambering for more.
Rexanna’s water incantations were met with a similar accord; almost smited indignantly, and from behind the wall of flames Deimos winced at these tides of misfortune. The fireballs hastened downward, slowed down in case the Ascended Queen or anyone else in their reach needed to dodge, but otherwise carried on their pace, their energy, their zest.
Only Hotaru managed to do anything successful: a makeshift shield for Rexanna, ensuring no harm came from the raging embers.
Still a challenge then – and so he waited, palms still outward, pondering what scheme they would come up with next. Had it been a series of bad luck (often something weighing down their parameters and potential within more difficult, daring sojourns) or something else?
Because it amused him, Deimos drew the wall of flames higher, a threatening, overbearing, overwhelming, overpowering wake, the heat pressing, clawing, down along summer calamities. The fireballs grew in diameter, plunging, plunging, plunging towards the four.
--
Eeeeeesh, bad rolls fam. You may decide if you would like to take damage from the fireballs.
Deimos has made the wall higher, and added some more fireballs!
Maea’s dome does not hold (MISS).
Jigano’s earth mound does not hold (MISS).
Rexanna’s water does nothing (MISS).
Hotaru successfully creates a shield for Rexanna (HIT).
He didn't get burned, but his clothing became a little singed and he had to hurry to pat out some sparks in his hair as they failed to put a dent in the fire - and Deimos turned up the heat. Minor inconveniences, but as a bard he knew the real danger lay in frustration and a lowering of morale. He wasn't always the best at encouraging people to work together, but he tried for his friends's sake to keep a brighter outlook.
"You make a good team!" he flashed a grin towards Rex and Maea in spite of the disappointment of all of their initial attempts falling apart. "We just need a little more practice working together. Hotaru, can you watch our backs? Give us a headsup if one of us is about to get hit?" She was already doing it, and he didn't have a better idea for her lightning at the moment.
Water, though... maybe it just needed to be more directed? He reached for his magic again, bronze and green strings thrumming within as he concocted something new: a funnel made of hard clay with a handle that he gripped tightly against the creation's weight. "Maea, you've got the right idea to protect us from those fireballs," he cheered her on, then offered Rex a wry grin. "Rex, can you divert some of that water over here? Let's see if pushing it through the funnel can increase the water pressure enough to douse the base of the flames against our General's efforts."
Jigano suggests Hotaru continue protecting them and Maea should keep working on her shield. He makes a large clay funnel to act as the nozzle on a firehose and asks Rex to divert water to it to see if they can put the base of the fire out with high-powered water spray.
Her water was turned to steam and dissolved with a hiss. The girl gritted her teeth in irritation, especially when the failed attempt at shielding her friends almost cost them more than a few burns. Luckily Hotaru was protecting Rexanna, and Jigano looked fine. She was rewarded with a few scalds from the steam along her arms, but nothing serious; it just stung and smarted when she moved, chafing at her skin like this task was chafing at her temper.
"Let's see if I can't do a bit better job at it," she replied to Jigano's encouragement. Setting her feet wider apart until she stood secure, Maea dug deep into her reserves and pulled on the ice. From the ground, a thick wall of ice rose up, rumbling and cracking as it grew up, trying to simultaneously shield them from the heat of the fire and wall it in, leaving only a gap for the funnel Jigano made so that the others could try their own attacks through.
The General was stronger then her, it seemed, and she would not be able to match him in height... but perhaps she would be able to encircle it. Prevent it from growing outwards to the sides, at the very least.
"Watch out for projectiles from above!" she called to the others through gritted teeth, her concentration on keeping the ice from melting on contact with the fire. No doubt there would be a sudden onset of mist over the Settlement today... Oops?
------
Maea tried to close Deimos' fire in with a thick wall of ice, hoping to surround it and build in Jigano's funnel so that the others can douse the flames with water (or try other attacks through it. The wall reaches perhaps halfway up along Deimos's fire.
Light is easy to love Show me your darkness
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Hotaru bumps her hip and Rexanna instinctively moves – though she realizes her water does little to help the onslaught. The panic sets in as she realizes Hotaru’s making herself a shield for her and Rexanna steps behind the Valkyrie with all the love she can muster in her heart for her sister. “Thank you, love.” She murmurs over Hotaru’s shoulder. But the water does little, and they all seem to fail except for Hotaru – and Rexanna begins to panic perhaps a bit more – though she finds Deimos has slowed them somewhat… For her, perhaps? Her flammable parts?
Jigano speaks up and she does as he suggests, shifting the water over toward Jigano in the hopes that it might work out. As Maea calls out the projectiles, Rexanna tries to duck a small amount more. “I’m afraid I might be more of a danger should they reach me.” A slightly nervous snort leaves her – though she knows that Deimos would never intentionally harm her. Still, she ducks somewhat behind Hotaru in the hopes that she won’t catch on fire.
03-04-2020, 10:13 PM (This post was last modified: 03-04-2020, 10:14 PM by Hotaru.)
Hotaru gives Rexanna a loving smile despite the literal raining hell over them. "Of course, dearest." Jigano seems to have the same idea, and she calls back assent over the maelstrom of sound their magical attacks cause. She never moves from her stance in front of Rex, the most vulnerable of them all. As much as she would like to be everywhere at once, Hotaru still has only one body to maneuver during this training. The mild sting of errant embers is shouldered stoically, preferring they bounce off her skin instead of her sister's.
With her own minimal stature it's difficult to be a proper shield, but she shamelessly rips off her outer layer - leaving her in only her cloth bra - and with a flourish drapes it over Rexanna for further protection. It's really the best she can do unfortunately with such offensive-based magic.
Hotaru continues blocking Rexanna, rips off her shirt to cover Rex with it to help block any debris.
Dark twisted fantasy turned to reality Kissing death and losing my breath
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
03-04-2020, 10:37 PM (This post was last modified: 03-07-2020, 01:41 PM by Deimos.)
remember that you can't save everyone
remember that you have to try
Ah, finally, some headway. Jigano’s efforts, while fumbling, the clay tunnel ceasing to make a complete funnel, were enough of a direct machination to unfurl a series of events. It was a combination of Maea’s and Rex’s efforts, in the end, that contributed to the lessening of the fire – ice encroaching, surrounding the inferno, eating away at its core, at its emblems, at its banners, at its flickering flames. A gradual slowdown, a drifting of cinders and embers cast by his fingers, by his palms, by his hands, followed suit, a diligent observer and witness to their combination of attempts at this endeavor. Rexanna’s water pummeled and pulsed as well, finally stable, strong, and caustic, repelling the fire’s stern, strong advance. Even the projectiles were lessened, until they gradually faded away to nothing, steam and ether, smoke and fumes.
He covered up the laughter, the snort, at Hotaru’s bravery and decision at shielding tactics, arching a brow in her direction, struggling not to roll his eyes. Surely there was a better way (or she’d need to arm herself with some more enchantments and incantations).
Eventually, it all ceased and desisted – gone along vapors and edges, their mission and roles complete. The fire gone, pummeled into naught; as if the massive walls or projectiles had never been there, only leaving behind a bit of scorched earth.
“Well done,” he offered, brushing his hands together. “Collaboration is difficult to find no matter the circumstances, but you have managed to maintain it, and be successful because of it.” His thoughts rumbled briefly to their last Spire adventures, and despite the modicum of danger within it, they’d all channeled and worked together – even if it had meant nothing in the end. Sometimes individuals prospered more, and it would only come down to how they funneled and finessed in their moving parts. “Thank you for coming today. Remember what you learned, and try to harness it.” In whatever circumstances or danger they’d find themselves within. Challenging their minds, their strengths, their accord, their motivations, their calculations – sometimes warped and forced to find new leverage, new grounds, depending on their parts, their capacities, and their upheavals. “Come by anytime you wish to train.”
Then they could come and go as they wished; if any of them required healing, Zuriel was available once more.
--
Woohoo, you are done fam! You may post once more to wrap things up if you’d like! I will be archiving in a couple days!
