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 groan of the ground sends an anxious shiver down Peter’s spine, though he doesn’t shift right away, trusting enough in his reflexes to save him if the floor did give out. It’s the laughter that forces him to shift, wanting to be a smaller target, if nothing else.
His shape is much smaller and much better camouflaged than the rest, so he’s not shy about swooping past Deimos, joining up with Amalia and Adam. He expects to see a black robes figure, an insane cultist of some kind, and he’s ready to shift into something more dangerous in a moments notice.
Apricum stays close, though still out of sight, tucked back where Deimos waits. It is also ready and waiting to step out at a moments notice, the shear edge of its mind a comfort in Peter’s.
Peter shifts into a bat and follows Amalia and Adam around the bend. Apricum stays back and waits, ready to step in if needed.
please don’t believe in me
please disagree with me
Beneath the weight of him and the General, he can feel the ice begin to shift, hear it groaning acutely with the earring in his ear, and he lifts himself up with Amalia’s instruction to shift into his macaw form. It’s not quite as nice as Deimos’ eagle form, far more of a prey bird than a predatory bird, but it would work. That’s what his panther form was for, in the end anyway. The things he’d brought that didn’t shift with him are carried by Haai or himself, just to keep them onhand.
And with the rest of them, he follows behind, slipping past Deimos who takes the choice of remaining behind just in case. So he leaves the General to it, focusing his efforts toward the laughter around the bend, following behind Amalia, Adam, and Peter to scout out what exactly they might have to face. Haai remains behind with Deimos, a hint of smoke leaving her nose in her frustration of being ordered back, but she does as she’s told regardless. Do you see anything? He asks them, quietly through their attuned links.
Follows Amalia, Adam, and Peter around the bend!
love will save you, but it won't save me
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
There are a few bats that Amalia can utilize. Their senses detect just the once cannibal, though they are surrounded by about 10 bodies that have been frozen solid. This last alive member of the party is badly frost-bitten, though the bats have a hard time perceiving this through their echo-location. However as the group rounds the corner, they'll be witness to it quite clearly.
Glancing up, a finger held in the corner of (his, as it turns out) mouth like a cigarette, the cannibal makes furtive hooting sounds at the owl, reaching black-tipped fingers that look ready to fall off up towards the flying creatures, clearly intent on trying to eat one of you.
Do you stay and deal with the cannibal or continue on down the tunnel?
You will have flown ~30ft to get to this point. Do the companions follow or stay back?
Your random posting order is: Amalia, Adam, Deimos, Peter, Sunjata. Please try and reply within 48 hours. If you're using weapons/magic please list them in your summary.
One person alive, Amalia calls through the bond as the bats convey their messages. And a lot dead. We need to-
Be careful does not come out, because by then they're around the corner and the scene is well in view. One man, mad and half-dead from cold, swatting up at the starlit owl. With a shriek of alarm she dips away, circling around quickly in fear - both of him and for him. Don't hurt him! she cries out to the group, still rather too naive to have figured out exactly what this poor beleaguered soul is eating. If we calm him down we can heal him, and find out what happened, and get him to safety.
To this end Jyoti appears, calling out a soothing note and illuminating the tunnel with brilliant starlight in hopes of keeping the men (especially Sunjata and Adam) from escalating to violence.
Amalia attempts to dodge and fly around the cannibal. She tells the others not to hurt him because she is a naive child so they can heal him and ask questions. Jyoti tries to calm the cannibal down with starlight.
For a little while there was nothing of particular note, then all of a sudden it became very notable indeed and not in a good way - the man they came across was obviously, as he'd have put it back in his home town, 'not all the way quite right'. Adam was all for Amalia's plan of healing, feeling her pity and wanting to help his friend achieve her empathetic dreams...that was, until he noticed the finger in his mouth.
Uhhh, Ama, he's eating a fucking finger. I don't think he's a friend. Adam spoke through the bond just as the starlight erupted through the cave, making him squint his little beady eyes and fly a little wobbly. Oogh. Look, you can try heal him, but let's not stay around...and I'm gonna get Coffee ready to fight if we have to.
Flying in a high circle above the cannibal where he could not be reached, Adam asked Coffee to follow close behind, ready to dip down and blow a stream of fire directly in the man's face if required. He was all for non-violence, but when the enemy in question was eating a literal human hand, he wasn't going to take chances.
--
Coffee is following behind Adam in a high up circle above the cannibal, ready to melt his face if things go south. For the moment though, Coffee and Adam stay up high out of the way and don't attempt to engage.
He flew behind, bringing the companions along, listening to the distinction and potential problems up ahead. That it’s another human being was actually a surprise – Deimos was used to rockfalls, dangerous creatures, and the like. Which just meant another sense of foreboding, based upon what individuals were capable of.
The warning from Amalia only indicated a clear sense of potent rage as black-encrusted fingers reached for her – a rampant snarl pulsed inwardly through the cold, malicious haze, and were she not granting other orders, the beast would’ve done just that. Maimed. Ripped. Tore apart, with little to no hesitation. Why did they have to deal with him at all?
Instead, he plummeted, a wild descent towards the mad man (also ignorant of cannibals lurking in the midst – uncertain of why death lingered so readily in the threshold – was the dude eating a finger?). It would’ve been so easy to unfurl his talons, to release the pent-up vitriol and vehemence; swallowing it down, down, down, perhaps on Jyoti’s starlight, perhaps on the warnings contained, perhaps on Zuriel’s enigmatic pulses through their minds.
Shifting back to human form, he resumed action, reaching into his bag and procuring the rope he’d brought. He then attempted to tie up the stranger, to lessen the pending threat while they figured out what to do.
--
Deimos and companions come in. He shifts back to human form, and attempts to tie up the cannibal with the rope.
- until you had blood glistening on your teeth
- until your suffering paled in comparison to their own
- until you learned to enjoy the sounds of screams
It is not really the sight of the cannibal that affects Peter, but rather the scene around the man, the bodies, frozen and torn into. It would be easiest, wisest to keep moving, and yet they pause, Amalia talking about healing him, bringing him to safety. He’s not the type to argue though, never has been, and it seems their course of action has already been decided.
Peter dives down behind Deimos, calling Apricum to him as he shifts back to his own human shape. He pulls a spear from the air and keeps it pointed at the cannibal, a step or two behind the general as he makes to tie up the threat, offering quiet support, and an extra set of eyes on the other bodies, the edges of the cavern. The undead luxere stands at his heels, ready to extinguish the light around it, to offer a place to hide if need be.
Peter shifts back to human form and uses a spear to hopefully keep the cannibal cowed while he’s being restrained. Apricum is ready to use its dark powers if things go sideways.
please don’t believe in me
please disagree with me
Uh, yeah. First off, he’d heard the stories of cannibals being here. But the view of seeing the bodies laying about, the cannibal with the black fingers reaching for the owl, Adam’s commentary on a fucking finger being in its mouth. There’s a shudder that crosses his feathers as he follows the group. Adam agrees to let Amalia heal it, but Sunjata’s gaze slips toward Deimos and the companions that come in as well.
He doesn’t think it’s worth it, doesn’t think they should waste the healing on the cannibal when it wouldn’t change anything. It would stay as it was, hunting humans in Halo, and that was a danger enough. So he lands, shifting into his panther form, a group erupting his throat at the sight of the cannibal. He’s not worth the healing. He tells them, a pulse of frustration clear from the attuned bond.
End him and leave him with the rest. A final decision, before Sunjata attempts to launch himself at the cannibal, teeth aimed for the throat. They were here for dragons, not saving cannibals who'd likely prefer to turn around and stab them in the back once at its full power.
Haai comes in with Deimos, Sunjata thinks it’s a bad plan and ignores everyone else’s suggestions to try and heal him and attacks anyway in panther form, going for the throat.
love will save you, but it won't save me
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
There is no calming a mind consumed by madness. The cannibal, for his part, is quite content and delighted with his world, frostbitten and nearly at its end though it may be.
Deimos is successful in grappling the cannibal (he is far superior in strength of course), but the man does spit a wad of half-chewed finger into Deimos ear, cackling madly as he is bound. Turning towards Peter, the cannibal snaps his teeth towards the spear, not at all phased by the threat of death.
Because no one has thought to stop anyone else*, Sunjata is easily about to lunge forward towards the cannibal who, of course, hardly is in a position to defend himself. His mad cackles turn to gurgles as blood pours from his torn throat. All the while his eyes are alight with a deep madness until all goes dark.
The cannibal is dead. Do you investigate the area or continue down the path?
* Remember, in turn-based combat situations, if you want to prevent someone from doing something, you have to announce this during your turn and hold your action for precisely this purpose. Unfortunately the only way anyone might have stopped Sunjata would have been to state during their turn "if anyone tries to harm the cannibal, my character will____".
Your random posting order is: Amalia, Adam, Deimos, Peter, Sunjata. Please try and reply within 48 hours. If you're using weapons/magic please list them in your summary.
They are working well together, with Deimos grappling the stranger down while Peter and Adam stand at the ready. Everything goes surprisingly smoothly, which means of course someone has to fuck it up. Amalia does not have a chance to register what's happened before Sunjata shifts and lunges, a black streak launching itself at the mad, frail figure.
No-!
But of course it's too late. By the time she reaches Sunjata there is a spray of crimson and the gurgle of death as a life is stolen- and why? Fury rips through Amalia, changing her feathers to fur and claws as she hurtls herself at Sunjata, a snarl upon now feline lips. Though she is smaller, though she still lacks strength in her hind legs, the girl does not care: she aims to tackle him to the ground, to knock him from the fallen figure who is too far gone to save.
Why did you do that? the girl growls, long horns curling from her forehead in her ire, flames dancing dangerously along her limbs. You murdered him! He wasn't any threat to us, and you murdered him!
Amalia is FURIOUS. She shifts to a leopard-qulin mix and tries to tackle Sunjata and demand answers.
For a precious couple of minutes everything seemed to be going to plan. Deimos was tying the cannibal up, he was ready and waiting, Pet holding the spear out but not attacking...then Sunjata made a move so quick and violent that Adam for a moment closed his eyes to reopen them, wondering if he'd taken something that was giving him a particularly bad trip and forgotten.
But...no, Sunjata really had just ripped the guys throat out and Adam felt Amalia's anger before he heard it, her yells really quite ferocious. Working on instinct alone he plunged to the ground, shifting into his human form (hitting the ground on his side, narrowly avoiding dick-smashing right into the rock) and attempting to slide between Amalia and Sunjata, hoping that Amalia would not attack him. Coffee came down too, eager to follow his friend, fluttering about the fighting pair.
"Ama, we don't want two murders. Let's...let's calm it down a bit so Sunjata can think over the stupid fucking thing he did without this turning into any kinda fight, right after you just got outta the infirmary." Hopefully his emphasis on the last part would make it clear he was doing this more for Amalia's benefit than Sunjata's; she was surely stronger, but it wasn't impossible Sunjata could get a hit in - Adam didn't know the extent of his powers.
--
Adam flies down, shifts to a human and tries to squeeze between Ama/Sunjata to reason with Ama. Coffee comes down too.
No sooner had he tied the man up, and shaken the finger out of his ear, Peter readying a spear, that it didn’t matter anymore – Sunjata’s idiotic reign continuing in its eager persistence to derail everything. The heathen was instantly no more amongst fangs and vitriol – and though Deimos had sought to do the same, he’d resisted; not here for tending or healing the cannibal, but for grasping information. Those opportunities were gone now, vanquished. Jaw clenched, not a single sound uttered save for a stifled, long-suffering sigh, he removed the rope from the limp, prone, bloodied body, stuffing it back into his bag.
He wasn’t even remotely surprised to witness and feel Amalia’s rage; watching her pounce towards the panther with utterly no intention of stopping her. They were all on restless edges, and the General was equally sick of Sunjata’s constant, pain-staking, drama-infused actions. If he was poised to become an enemy of the Shield now, that would be Flood’s concern.
A tilt to his head, gaze watchful as he witnessed Adam attempting to restore the peace. He sucked in another breath, and a rumble to his tones, for the first time since they’d begun their sojourn, resounded through the cave, directed mainly to Sunjata, but also everyone else involved. “You asked us to help you. If you cannot handle working with others, listening to opinions, or doing something with rational thought, then you should leave.” He’d had enough of the consummate rogue tendencies, the painstaking foolishness, and ridiculous adventures surrounding Sunjata’s incapability of thinking. “We could have used him for information.” A minor kick to the dead body, before his piercing eyes slid back to the panther. It was a warning, and the only one the man would receive. They could carry on without him.
His gaze lifted to Peter. “Help me scout the rest of this area?” They could at least do something useful in the quarrels – though if Sunjata even attempted to lay a single talon on the Shield, Deimos would insist upon retribution. What was one more dead body?
--
Deimos tells Sunjata to either get it together or leave. If Sunjata goes to attack Amalia, then Deimos will attack in return. Otherwise, he goes to explore the surrounding area.
- until you had blood glistening on your teeth
- until your suffering paled in comparison to their own
- until you learned to enjoy the sounds of screams
Peter turns as Sunjatas words echo through their minds, as the growl echoes through the cavern, and it’s the only thing he can do before the man turned panther is pouncing, tearing at the cannibal. Privately, he thinks it’s probably for the best, and steps back out of the splash zone.
It’s Amalia’s rage that panics him more than anything, wide eyes turning to her, growing wider still as Adam steps in front of her. Without thought, Pet does the same, stepping in front of Adam to help brace him. And to add in his own two cents. ”He wouldn’t have... talked, or anything, anyway. Not to us.” Maybe less helpful, less soothing than what Adams said, but more sensible. ”They’re... exiles. Criminals. Monsters.”
If everything remains calm, if they don’t have to talk down a brawl, then Peter will look to meet Deimos’ eyes and nod, stepping away from Adam to examine the edges of the cavern, to rifle through the pockets and coats of the bodies, the cannibals included. Apricum will pick its way forward, bony hooves tapping the icy floors, examining the next descent curiously.
Peter stands by Adam, and if Amalia and Sunjata don’t try to kill each other he’ll look around the room and go through the dead bodies. Apricum examines the way forward.
please don’t believe in me
please disagree with me
The no that is shouted within his mind is disregarded for teeth shredding and tearing out the throat of the cannibal, among the stream of blood that splatters and mats against his black fur. But the cannibal is dead, and Sunjata pulls away in time to spin and see Amalia rushing toward him in a half mixed shift of a variety of the ones she possesses, arguments going on in his mind, Adam and Peter separating him from the onslaught of the Qilin. Haai returns to land beside Sunjata, smoke puffing from her maw but no flame just yet.
And Sunjata has no fight in him for fighting the Shield. If she wants to attack him, so be it.
Blood continues to drip from his maw as he focuses his steel gaze on Amalia, ears pinning to his skull as Deimos adds his own two cents, and with a pulse of annoyance he keeps his gaze on Amalia, whether she tackles him or not. Let’s get one thing straight, shall we? We are here for one reason, to get a dragon. We are not here to try and save cannibals and try to put them on the right path. I’d rather not freeze to death down here to stop and chat with every vagrant we come across. A brief pause. So the rest of you can search the den, but I’m going to keep going forward, like we should be doing.
Sunjata doesn’t attack Amalia, but remains in place should Amalia try to tackle him. If she isn’t successful, he’ll turn to follow Apricum down the path with Haai.
love will save you, but it won't save me
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
