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!
02-27-2020, 04:59 PM (This post was last modified: 02-27-2020, 07:28 PM by Eloise.)
if the journey of a thousand miles starts when you take the first step
Deals like this were done in the Fingers. It didn't seem like a red flag. Neither did being told to come alone. This was how things were done, or so Eloise naively believed. All she knew of nefarious backroom deals were what she'd gleaned from Raza and the tales she'd grown up with as a child. That, combined with the way she'd leaned so hard into her illusion magic as the one thing that made her strong and set her apart, had made her blind to the risks she was taking. But if she was going to be a strong and independent woman in this new world, she couldn't ask for help.
Right?
The tide had come in, having already flooded the lower portions of the caves. Still, Eloise entered with her chin held high, trying to ignore the icy bite of the water against her sandaled-feet as she walked through the caves. You belong here. She told herself, the fake-it-until-you-make-it mantra of the blueblooded-class coming all too easy to her.
Dressed in all black (cliches were a comfort), Eloise fought to keep her arms at her sides, rather than crossing them uncomfortably as she so badly wanted to do.
i'll travel for a little while, & i won't be coming back
The laughter that echoed along the walls of the Fingers seemed haunting and too loud, however gruff it might be. It bounced off the water that flooded the areas below, echoing back up at her. And when they appeared - because of course it was a they - it was with a great deal of bravado and swagger. Three of them, brutes all, looking very pleased indeed to see the blueblooded slip of a thing all alone in the labyrinthine pathways.
"You got what you promised, darlin'?" one of them wanted to know, falling to a halt only a few steps away from her. In his hand he clutched a cloth bag which clinked with the sound of crystal. "We don't waste a deal like this. Cough it up, we're busy men."
if the journey of a thousand miles starts when you take the first step
Her mind was a siren of warning sounds then. Three? Three for little old her? And in a place like this, and excuse the potential racism and hangovers from Northaven, but without cuffs on their wrists or social decorum to label their blood blue or red, Eloise had no idea what they were capable of.
"I'll show you mine if you show me yours." Eloise purred, years of training hiding away the shiver in her voice, making it sound like smooth silk as she flashed the three an alluring smile. Gods how she hoped no one could hear the hammer of her heart. Hopefully they'd interpret the colour on her cheeks as some sort of attraction to them. Men like this always did.
i'll travel for a little while, & i won't be coming back
"Promises, promises." The ringleader of the whole charade practically filled the pathway all by himself, and the two lackeys behind him seemed keen to see around him. Still, he swaggered forward and held out his hand, the cloth bag sitting fat in the centre of his palm.
"It's all there, clear as day. Mageglass ain't cheap, darlin'. You better be serious about what you're offerin', or we'll have to up the ante on our prices." He jerked his chin at her, waiting for her to take the fucking bag and cough up her own goods.
if the journey of a thousand miles starts when you take the first step
All she could think of was how his hands were the size of her throat and how he had a good foot if not more on her. Smiling breezily, Eloise reached into her pocket. What she withdrew, was a stone not unlike an opal, attached to a fine silver chain. In what dim light there was, the gem sparkled like sun-fire. How much was illusion and how much was real, was not for the men to know. Once she had the mage glass she'd be the master of her own destiny, and thugs like these wouldn't be able to touch her. "It's called the pulse stone. Brought from the world I came from." She couldn't quite remember the lie she'd told them. Was it that it made your enemies run in fear? Or did it turn them into bats?
Swapping the bag for the gem, Eloise poured out the crystals into her palm. They certainly seemed...ordinary. But then, Eloise had no idea what mageglass even looked like. She expected power to hum through her veins for simply having held it, but felt nothing. Still, her ego kept her from asking any questions that might otherwise reveal her ignorance.
i'll travel for a little while, & i won't be coming back
The goon watched the bag leave his hand and the stone enter it with the sort of hunger that suggested he was after more than some pretty bauble. Still, clutching the necklace and holding it to the light, he grunted some form of agreement and tossed it behind him for one of his lackeys to catch. Neither of them managed it, and of course they both started scrabbling to pick it up.
Either way, it gave the ringleader time to reach out and snatch Eloise's wrist, jerking her forward a good foot or so. "I don't reckon it's worth that much up close," he informed her. "You're gonna sweeten this deal, darlin'. The night's young and we got plenty of time on our hands. Now get on those soft little knees and earn i--"
Whatever he had been about to say would cut off rapidly into a sort of... gargling noise. So consumed had he been (and his thoughts, besides) in whatever the former duchess would be doing with her hands and mouth - by choice or otherwise - that he had neglected to gaze over her shoulder.
Where a larger man would have been obvious, Jack had been able to amble along the shadowed pathway without so much as a wink of notice. And he'd wasted not one second of time, reaching over Eloise's shoulder to plunge something small and thin and ever-so-sharp into the side of the thug's neck. Blood began to flow, to pour from the wound, and naturally, madness ensued.
if the journey of a thousand miles starts when you take the first step
His grip was like iron against her wrist, and instantly her blood went cold. Even if anyone heard her screams, these caves would distort the sound far too much for anyone to find her. In time, that was.
Her mind whirled to try and buy time. Maybe she could convince him that a more private setting would do them both good. Maybe she could make it seem like her tongue and teeth had started to melt, or that—
—his blood was hot and gods it was everywhere. Whatever deftly severed his jugular hadn't loosened his grip on her. Too stupid or just too horny to realize he was dying, he clapped one hand against the waterfall of red while dragging Eloise down to the ground with him as he collapsed. Her knees hit the stone as he'd always intended them to as he mouthed silent threats her way, beady eyes turned to whoever it was looming (not so large) over Eloise' shoulder.
Far too terrified to scream, Eloise tried to wrestle her wrist away, aiming a kick for the man's face. Glancing over her shoulder it was to see, wonder of wonders, fucking Jack. Though in that moment she had no idea if this was something meant to inspire relief or just another sort of terror. Jack after all, wasn't the hero-ing type.
i'll travel for a little while, & i won't be coming back
"I would let her go, mate." Jack's voice sounded distant even to him, though that was probably the vestiges of the migraine still lingering. (It would explain, too, why his vision was a little blurred). His smile was savage, and just a bit impressed, as Eloise's leg kicked out and connected with the thug's jaw. Leaning down, Jack wrapped an arm about her waist with the intention of hauling her back and away from the dying man.
The two goons behind him were hindered by the fact that their lump of a leader was literally blocking the way, and Jack waved the small stiletto blade at them in his free hand. "Sorry lads. This one already owes me far too much to be makin' petty deals with you. Off you go." A lie, of course, but something had to be said to explain his presence. "You can keep that useless bauble for the trouble."
02-27-2020, 07:27 PM (This post was last modified: 02-27-2020, 07:28 PM by Eloise.)
if the journey of a thousand miles starts when you take the first step
Jack wasn't particularly strong but then again Eloise didn't weigh very much. Still, she tensed as his arm wrapped around her, the haze of blood and threats of rape clouding her judgement. Sober though, she'd still not know what to make of all this. Questions of why he was here, how he'd found her, and why he'd bothered to help would come later. For now, there was only the run-away beat of her heart and the fear his words inspired.
..already owes me far too much.. Out of the frying pan, into the fire as they said.
Reaching for the bag holding the mageglass in a way that suggested Eloise was at least trying to be stealthy about it, she gulped, shakily getting to her feet. This involved trying to wriggle away from Jack, her skin slick with blood. 'You heard him.' She called with a bravado that entirely sapped her energy, as the main goon appeared to burst into black flames. Garish light licked at the walls offering a chilling heat that threatened to spread should the lingering duo wait any longer.
Trying not to throw up or pass out, Eloise turned to stare at Jack over her shoulder, chest rising and falling rapidly. "What do you want, Jack." She asked in a low voice, fringed with fear.
i'll travel for a little while, & i won't be coming back
They certaintly did hear him. Jack let Eloise go without a fuss, busy watching to make sure the other two thugs were going to go on their merry way and leave them to it. At the sight of their ringleader's body suddenly bursting into black flame, they needed no further encouragement. His boots slowly soaking with dark red, Jack waited for them to be well out of earshot before his blue eyes flicked down to his navigator as she sneakily grabbed at the "Mageglass". "You're so fuckin' naive," he half growled.
And what did he want? "For you to grow some fuckin' common sense, that'd be a good start," he snapped. "You come swannin' through Torchline, makin' yourself known, makin' it known that you're part of my crew, and you pull stupid bullshit like this?" He jerked his head at the bag in her hands.
"I'll eat my left fuckin' bollock if that is actually mageglass," he said. "Who'd you think you are? Raza Ekambe? You know what they'd have done to you down here?" he gestured to the still body on the ground before them. "They'd have fucked you to death. Until somethin' in you broke, and they'd probably have another go before throwin' you in the sea."
if the journey of a thousand miles starts when you take the first step
Naive. That she was of course, but it didn't make it a happy thing to hear him snarl at her. "Well it isn't like I can just stay aboard the Ark, what with you judging my every fucking step and the men thinking I'm some useless joke who should be in the kitchens instead of Saiden." Tears swam in her eyes and she angrily blinked them away, smearing a blood-soaked wrist across them which only served to make everything worse. It didn't matter that she couldn't cook. Didn't matter that she wasn't a half bad navigator. It didn't matter that eyes followed her wherever she went, because at the end of the day she was still fucking alone here.
"If you could get your mouth anywhere near your balls we'd never see you again." Eloise snapped back defensively, trying to hide the back behind her leg though it was clearly too late for that.
How easily he painted what might have happened made her wince, the feeling of nausea in her stomach cresting sharply in the back of her throat. Far past the point where embarrassment had any hold on her, Eloise pulled out a chunk of cloudy looking crystal that looked even cheaper than quartz and was light in her hand. Glancing up towards Jack, the flicker of hope amidst all that she knew to be the case a quickly-dimming spark in her eyes, she waited for his inevitable verdict: not mageglass
i'll travel for a little while, & i won't be coming back
"Judgin' your every fuckin' step? Fuck off - I got better things to do with my time," Jack quipped back, fighting the urge to roll his eyes because... well, it hurt. "Maybe if you didn't swan around like you were still a fuckin' duchess, people'd warm to you a bit more." He raised his eyebrows, the stiletto in his hand disappearing back to gods knew where. As she swiped at her face (and bloodied it, good job), he gave the lengths of the pathway a good, long look, making sure that no one was approaching.
By the time he gazed back at Eloise, she was holding a chunk of useless looking rock up at him, and it didn't take too much of an appraising eye to see it for what it was. "Smoky glass. Drop it - it'll shatter," he said simply. "I hope what you traded was worth it. And next time," he snapped, staring at her hard, like he could see the bruises under her illusion, "don't come to a shady as fuck place like this alone, makin' deals with people you know nothin' about." It was clumsily and angrily said, but the meaning was clear: ask for fucking help.
if the journey of a thousand miles starts when you take the first step
"And yet here you are." Eloise was now that in that oh so helpful space of needing and wanting to be appreciative, but finding her hackles raised too high to back down now. She snorted at being told she had been swanning around, though he probably wasn't wrong. Eloise hardly wore much clothing at the best of times, gave very few fucks who she offended on the ship, and accepted help from no one.
Much to her dismay, Eloise' lower lip trembled treacherously. She rolled her eyes up to keep the tears from falling, lashes fluttering in an attempt to blink them away. Dropping the crystal as he suggested, it did indeed shatter as if had been thin glass. Her toes curled beneath the straps of her sandals as she hurled the bag of worthless mineral against the wall.
Trapped beneath his gaze, Eloise seemed to shrink into herself. "Fine. Next time I'll bring all my many friends with me." She said through nearly clenched teeth. Gods how she hated how sulky she was being. She needed to straighten up, to thank Jack for showing up int he nick of time however he'd mentioned it, and take his warning and his advice. She couldn't though, not just yet. Not with self-pity and loneliness and failure like wads of cotton in her mouth.
i'll travel for a little while, & i won't be coming back
"An' what a pity I got here early," he shot back at her, tilting his head and kicking at the boot of the dead man, as if to remind her what his arrival had prevented (and culminated in, but there we go). He didn't watch as the crystal shattered to the ground, or as she hurled the rest of the useless material, and he hastily raised a mental block against the flurry of emotion battering his telepathy. Neither of them needed that right now. Silently, he held out a hand for her to go first, in a gross parody of a gentleman's manners - the sooner they got out of the Fingers, the better.
"You know what my fuckin' job is, right?" he said, voice low and still irritated. "What I've done for a livin', for over a decade? What the fuck made you decide to strike out on your own? What were you tryin' to do, escape? Get a kick out of it?"
