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!
Ronin scoffed under his breath - he didn’t think he had changed the world, really - but he didn’t pull away from her touch as she caressed the palm of his hand. The light pulsed between them and, humbled as he was by the words of his goddess, he could merely stand in silent acceptance of Safrin, of what she had made him into and the role he might now play in the cosmic games of the world.
”Then I ought never fear the sharpest edges,” he murmured, gazing back up at her with troubled blue eyes, a sad smile tugging at his lips. The confirmation of it - that he would do his all to protect the Grounds against the creatures of Longnight - did send a shiver down his spine, and he had to force himself to meet the goddess’s eyes. For all the uncertainty in their meeting so far, did he trust her?
Did he trust the lady of the stars, who had shielded him from the pains of death and had exalted at plucking him back from the sky?
sweet dreams till sunbeams find you, sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
"You ought not fear anything ever again." Safrin whispers. "In this life you have me. In the next, you shall have Aoife again."
Had Safrin the need to breathe, she might have held her breath. As it was something inside of her was indeed held as Ronin gave his answer. He could easily have said no, and few would blame him. Safrin was known to be manipulative, and Ronin had seen the mechanisms of her cunning himself.
"Then trust me when I say the path I set you on now is not one that all will understand. It is not one to be written down as a bedtime story for children. But it is true and necessary. Dark Star as you are, soon, you shall be a light in the darkness."
Her hands against his cheeks, his eyes brought down to stare into hers, Ronin would be fundamentally changed in a way he'd not yet experienced. His limbs would shift and yawn with magic that hummed through his bones, pulling him down until he stood before her on four legs but with eyes that still blazed blue. Atop his head a weighty set of antlers that glowed with brilliant light.
Now do you see what it is you must do? She asked him, though her lips didn't move. Stepping aside, Safrin would reveal a mirror so that Ronin might see what he had become.
Ronin has been given a luxere shift! In order to keep this shift he must:
1. Complete 2 training threads entirely in this form prior to LN
2. Raise his STR stat to 30 before LN
In order to have Vanya sent to Mort's realm, Ronin must defend the Hollowed Grounds against the LN monsters for the entire week.
but in your dreams whatever they be, dream a little dream of me
Even now, with Safrin's whispered reassurances, Ronin could hear the threads of her manipulations. But he found he didn't care so much - not that he planned to die any time soon, but the promise of Aoife was real and it warmed a part of him he had thought was long gone cold. He gazed into the cosmos of her eyes, a huff of laughter leaving him at the knowledge that his story would not be the fairytale of the soldier-turned-hero (and once upon a time, it had been). No, Ronin knew the dark recesses of the world in which he walked, and they were as necessary as they were fearsome.
A light in that darkness, though? His lips parted to ask more, but suddenly he found himself unable to speak. He felt unable to move, to blink, to react in any way other than to stare at his goddess as the magic thrummed through him. From tip to toe (or hoof?), Ronin warped and changed, on the exterior at least. By the time he stood before Safrin, not as a man but as a luxere, it was on four very wobbly legs.
Panic tried to set in, the weight of something pulling his head down, and he pawed nervously at the ground as she stood aside. Suddenly it dawned on him, the implication of protecting the Grounds at Longnight, at lighting the way.
I'm a deer.
As the first words thought down a true Attuned bond, Ronin's were lame, it was true.
sweet dreams till sunbeams find you, sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
"A luxere actually. I would have thought the glowing antlers would have given that away." Safrin said aloud with a small hum of laughter. Her fingers went to the stretch of skin behind his large ears, digging into the pale fur in a few well-placed scritches.
"It will take you time to learn how to move in this form. I recommend you not leave the trial and error of combat in this body until LongNight is upon us. Your light will cast away the monsters, but if that was all you'd need I'd have simply given you a lantern." Stepping back and looking down to meet his gaze, Safrin nodded. "Do you understand, Ronin?"
but in your dreams whatever they be, dream a little dream of me
A luxere. Yes. Of course, I... sorry, this is... Ronin's breathless laughter cut off into a low external rumble as Safrin scritched behind his ears, and it felt indescribably good in a way that was utterly foreign to him. Turning his head into it, he had to be careful not to bonk her with his antlers, the hunter trying to balance on his hooves and risking stumbling over like... well... like Bambi.
At the talk of combat, he sobered somewhat, gazing up at Safrin and snorting his affirmation. I see, he said. I will do all I can to be ready by then. I won't let you down, he vowed. And he wouldn't. Just as soon as he could be brave enough to walk.
03-17-2020, 09:46 PM (This post was last modified: 03-17-2020, 09:46 PM by Safrin.)
sweet dreams till sunbeams find you, sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
Smiling sadly, Safrin's lips and tongue holding back secrets she wouldn't share, she nods. "Alright. Off you go then." She won't say she knows he'll do his best, that she can count on him, that she knows he'll succeed. Those are words for knights and their shining armour, and Ronin's has long since been tarnished and lost along the way. And though she loves him, for this and for everything else, she doesn't say it.
Something has changed in him, and she won't push him any farther than she already has. Not until she has to.
but in your dreams whatever they be, dream a little dream of me
