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!
my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,
for it is infinite.
Amun had been showing Letha the ropes in Caido. Unfortunately for the relatively new Ascended, that included combat training. So, wanting to stretch his legs a bit in addition to the rest of his body, he'd arranged to meet with her in the Glade after dark.
In his hands he held two wooden training swords that he'd 'borrowed' from the barracks. They had enough of them that they wouldn't notice. As he waited for her to show up, he held on in his hands in a practiced stance. The other leaned against a nearby tree.
Although the sky was overcast, he had no trouble seeing as he swept in a pattern of blocks and strikes, looking almost as if he was dancing. Around him, small stones glowed softly, though with his vision he didn't need their illumination.
Letha was a new creature. She was weak, and all of the other Ascended knew it. Despite her weakness, the woman had been ready to give up her life to fight the LongNight monsters. The balance between stupidity and bravery was definitely tipping. Amun, her guide, had offered to help her get stronger. She did not hesitate to take up his offer.
It was easy to find him, despite the surrounding darkness. There were many things that Letha was growing in thankfulness towards, due to her Ascended status, and one of them was the ability to see clearly at night. Upon finding the man in the Glade, she stood and watched him move for a few moments before stepping forward and making herself known. "I'm ready,"
She stretched out her arms from her side, over her head, and rolled her shoulders back down. She had chosen to wear some of the clothes that Amun had lent her, simple gaucho type pants and a loose-fitting sleeveless shirt. She chose them for the ease of movement, and she no longer had to worry about the biting cold that the autumn night brought.
my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,
for it is infinite.
Thankfully, Letha showed up before long. Amun grinned at her, and paused with his blade mid-strike. "Thanks for coming. It's good to see you again." He did his best to be bright and chipper for her. Despite his lingering grief, he was actually happy to see the new Ascended once again.
Lowering his practice weapon, he headed over to where he had stashed the other wooden sword. Holding it out to her hilt first he cocked his head to one side. "Have you used a sword before?" There was no judgment in his voice, just an almost businesslike tone. He'd tailor the session to her skill. Even if he wasn't a master swordsman, he could do that much.
And hey, if she was a master, maybe he'd be the one getting a lesson.
Honestly, Letha couldn't remember to tell him with confidence if she had ever worked with a sword before. Nevertheless, she stepped forward and took the wooden weapon from the crafter. "I guess we will see." Maybe they would both be surprised, today. the weight of the weapon felt balanced in her hand as she took a step back and lifted it some. She grasped the hilt carefully, before turning her body in a way that she had watched Amun do as she approached.
It felt familiar.
Whether Letha remembered it or not, warfare was in her blood. Her maternal grandmother was a legend mercenary, her paternal grandfather a fiery warlord. Her parents, though choosing a life of crafting, did well to at least teach their children something of their ancestry. Twisting again, a spark lit the corner of Letha's eye and she struck towards Amun's leftside ribcage.
my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,
for it is infinite.
Honestly, Amun hadn't actually been expecting much from Letha to start with. In fact, he wasn't even in a proper stance when she attacked him. However, for Ascended at least, age and experience went a long way. He was able to dance backwards a little, trying to twist his body to the right out of the way of her strike. Sadly, he wasn't quite fast enough, and she managed to score what would've been a shallow cut.
Then, feet finally planted, he countered by lunging forward. His goal was to tap her left shoulder. He wasn't putting his full force behind the blow, but he was using all his speed.
Honestly, Letha hadn't actually been expecting much of herself to start with.
But, it felt more than familiar. It felt right.
It surged through her, this sense of confidence and strength. The corner of her mouth would have turned upright, if not for her steely concentration, at landing her initial strike on the more experienced man. Where Letha might have some basic training in her history, she lacked tangible battle experience.
His experience showed when he was able to regain his composure and come after her with his own strike. She tried to recoil, to pull herself away from him. She let her center of gravity fall back some, and twisted her body to attempt to pull her leftside away from him. At the same time, she lifted the wooden sword in an attempt to block his strike. However, her lithe frame did not carry her quickly enough, and Amun's sword struck down on her right forearm, rather than what she hoped was her own practice sword.
Instinctively, she pulled a hiss through her teeth.
There was no familiar sting. No warmth spreading over what would have been a smarting welt.
The surprise shocked her and her hiss turned into a hollow gasp, her eyes widening and meeting Amun's.
my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,
for it is infinite.
Amun had already danced out of Letha's reach, bringing his practice sword back into a neutral position as he prepared for her counter. When none came, and she gave him a surprised look instead, he grinned.
"To make up for lacking physical pleasures, we're immune to pain." Then his eyes narrowed. "But we can still be damaged. You should be able to scan yourself, which not only tells you the state of your body, it will also tell you the state of any upgrades you'll eventually get."
Explanation finished, and having given her more than enough time to regain her composure, he stepped forward again. His blade flicked towards her injured left shoulder again, but he changed direction almost immediately. It had been a feint, his real target her right wrist. He twisted his own wrist to redirect the strike, though again didn't put his full force behind it.
She took what Amun said and solidified it. Stepped back, the woman regained her balance and composure. Wiping the initial shock away with the informational commentary on part of what it meant to be Ascended, she steadied her mind. If she could not feel pain, how far could she push herself? Steely blue eyes watched as Amun adjusted his own stance, striking out for her once more. She balked, trying to dodge what was coming her way. Being the same height as Amun did not gain her a good amount of a defensive for ducking to avoid his strikes. Instead, she would need to focus on how swift she could be.
Unfortunately for her, Amun's formal training was trumping what she had in her past life. The feign worked, catching the woman off guard. Amun was able to strike her right forearm again. Thinking quickly, Letha pushed up with her right arm before pushing out with her left. Her aim and intention was to push Amun's elbow, her blow an attempt to move his sword away from her, but not strong enough to cause hyper-extension damage.
my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,
for it is infinite.
Smiling a bit as his strike landed, Amun briefly toyed with the idea of wrestling Letha, testing their respective strengths. However, she'd already surprised him once, and he didn't want to be caught off guard by her again. So he let her push his arm out of the way, not worried about getting hurt from overextending in the slightest.
Partly that was because they didn't feel pain, but mostly it was because he was pivoting, using the force she was supplying and his own body to spin. As he did, he sank the momentum from the turn into a punch with his currently free left arm that he hammered towards her right side.
Letha was not sure what Amun would do in response, but she was expecting him to use her blow to his advantage. As he spun, she gritted her teeth and lowered her center of gravity. She bent her body, held her shoulders tight, and pushed forward. She used as much of her weight as she could manage, trying to knock the man over.
Her assault did not come without consequence, however. Even in her attempt to close the distance between them and knock the crafter off his feet, his punch still fell. It hit her on her right side, but higher than what he probably intended. Even though she could not feel the pain of the attack, she let a wince and a sharp huff escape her lips from memory of what it might have been.
Trying to keep her balance from toppling over herself, she struck out at him, hoping to hand a blow to his stomach.
04-27-2020, 05:51 PM (This post was last modified: 04-27-2020, 05:51 PM by Amun.)
my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,
for it is infinite.
Amun's punch landed, but it wasn't exactly a victory. Slightly off balance from the blow he landed, he wasn't expecting Letha to rush him. Therefore, she'd be easily able to knock him on his ass.
However, he wasn't out of the fight yet. Tossing the practice weapon aside, his hands darted forward. They sought her shirt, her hair, her shoulder, anything he could grab. If he got a grip, he would yank her forward and hold on tight, fully intending to bring her down with him.
If he was successful, he'd twist midair as best he could, trying not to let her collapse on top of him. Her fist hammered into his stomach, but he didn't even acknowledge it.
He grabbed a fist-full of her hair and she falls with him, caught completely in his grip. She felt no satisfaction as her blow hit his stomach. She supposed that while fighting someone who could not feel pain would not be as satisfying as she imagined. Amun was trained, and had lived in this state for longer than her. There was no exhale of imagined, remembered, pain that fell from his lips. While his hand in her hair did not cause her pain, either, it did send her to the ground with him.
As her shoulder hit the packed earth, a fire erupted in her chest. It tore through her, consuming every fiber of her being. Some ancient, carnal fuel fed the heat in her belly. As if the souls of her ancestors burst forth from her body, Letha awoke. She turned her body, arms scraping and pushing. She attempted to turn herself, blue eyes narrowed with focus and determination. Her neck craned with Amun's grip in her hair, but she tried to change her position as best as she could and send a knee towards his jaw.
my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,
for it is infinite.
Thankfully Amun managed to take down Letha with him. However, while he wasn't opposed to using her hair as a grip, he was opposed to pulling any of it out. As he felt her struggling against him, and then felt her knee connect with his jaw (causing his head to snap to one side), he felt his eyes narrow.
Then he closed them entirely and detonated his flash bang at point blank range.
This close, he was stunned as well. Even with his eyes closed, he felt his body go slack as his sensors were temporarily overwhelmed. All the fight went out with him as he released her and just lay prone on the ground.
She could feel his hand release her hair as she twisted, and relief filled part of her. Though she might not be able to put her real opinion down, she did like the length of her hair and appreciated that she would not have to chop it off because Amun had pulled a chunk out.
Her knee connected with his jaw and a satisfied tingle reverberated down her leg. It was short lived, however. She tried to wriggle free of his grasp entirely when she was disoriented by the flash bag. The light consumed her and she fell backwards, landing flat on her back. She was starfished next to Amun, her eyes wide despite the white that now covered her world. Panic raged through her veins, and everything in her screamed at her to get up and run.
She couldn't move.
She tried to gain her composure again over her panic. Her mind whirred, sensors scanning and trying to make sure everything she was was still in once piece.
"Wow." She finally breathed out, her panic subsided. She was impressed.
