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!
We're inside a Tulmhainar? Jigano asked, startled and confused by Amalia's revelation, but excited by the possibilities of it. They already knew that Tulmhainars were capable of incredible feats of bending the world around themselves, but... there was only supposed to be one on the world... wasn't there?
Hello? he reached out on his own, trying to make contact with the mind Amalia said waited all around them. I'm Jigano. What's your name?
He stayed back from the Shark book, not wanting to anger it further and trusting to Tarasha to be able to calm it, though he kept a wary eye on her and remained ready to Heal her if the book didn't take kindly to her admonishment.
Jigano tries to talk to the presence himself, and stays ready to Heal Tarasha if the book gets bitey.
Given how exciting this apparently all was, Ronin found he had very little to do other than wait and see. He had barely anything to do with any Tulmhainar, knowing of them only through stories, so he could only stand by in quiet confusion and interest as Amalia and Jigano attempted to continue conversing with it.
Meanwhile, the book-turned-shark started to get a bit snappy, and he glanced to Tarasha as she spoke to it in a tongue he didn't recognise. "You want me to hold the bag or anything?" he asked.
Ronin stands around some more, and offers to hold the bag for Tarasha to put the shark book in it.
06-01-2020, 07:39 PM (This post was last modified: 06-01-2020, 07:53 PM by Safrin.)
For a moment the book in the fae's hands remains braced and bristly. The leather binding wrinkles in a snarl revealing yet more teeth as it considers her scolding. Eventually, apparently having decided Tarasha was the more formidable of the two (her song making it feel sluggish in her hands), the book closes its jaws and pages, falling into a content silence.
Not me, precious earth-mind. The creature replies. I was always here, this place build around and from me. !nu⁄=a //o@na answers Amalia. Oh no/ The creature answers with an amused smile, the warmth and radiance of its amusement coiling brightly around the words. That is the voice of a dying star, placed here to sustain me with the memories of all it has seen.
Hearing Jigano 's voice, the creature replies with its name once again, the series of whistles and clicks comprising '!nu⁄=a //o@na', likely impossible for the bard to repeat.
Please include a summary of actions at the bottom of your post.
you said it seems like forever since we've seen each other
For the long moment that passes after my scolding, I feel my heart in my throat, the book growing more and more teeth. I begin to tense, preparing to drop it, or launch it, anything to get it away from me, it begins to settle, growing calm in my hands. I feel my shoulders sag a little, and turn to face the Demi-god, still humming the song as I nod, and wait for him to open the bag to deposit the book.
Well, that seemed... fairly straightforward. I was expecting something more, though I'm not really sure why.
With the books away, I flutter towards Amalia, noticing the strange concentrated look on her face. I pause, staring at her for a moment, then tap her shoulder, trying to get her attention. "We've gotten the books you pointed out. Is there anything else we need from here?"
Tarasha bags the last book, then waits for Amalia's next instructions
A dying star?! Amalia repeats, excitement and wonder still rife in her mind. Why did it keep telling me to ask? What does it want? She runs her hand deeper into the water now, while Jyoti skims its surface, her curious attention turned to the waterfall.
Commotion from behind her distracts the girl; turning back, the Shield sees that the books have been collected; she hears Tarasha's call to go. There is so much she wants, needs to know about this place: she might have spent days or weeks here, she thinks, already reluctant to be parted from the questions she holds.
"The books... were our primary purpose." Standing up, Amalia casts another reluctant look around the room. "But this place has so much more to it, I think... more than we can find in a day." !nu⁄=a //o@na, she calls, doing her best to approximate the name, May I come back and visit you again? And when I do- is there anything I can do for you? Or bring?
Ama agrees to leave and asks the not-Tulmhainar if she can return/bring it anything/do anything for it
06-05-2020, 02:27 AM (This post was last modified: 06-05-2020, 02:27 AM by Jigano.)
!nu⁄=a //o@na he tried to think the name back, knowing that even if he couldn't force his human throat to make such sounds, he might at least come close with the agility of his mind. I would like to hear your story someday, if I may. Or however much of it you would share with us. He flashed Amalia a smile of amazement, sharing her excitement and awe.
The Shark Book succumbed to Tarasha's lullaby and Jigano relaxed a bit more as it joined its companion in the bag. The Fae Seeker's question had him looking around with a slight frown replacing his smile. "There was an entire shelf of books that these came from before," he mused, trying to spot it. "And the Portal book as well. Let's take a look around and see if we can find it, or any other books we might have missed the last time we were here."
Jigano asks !nu⁄=a //o@na if it would share its story with them someday, and suggests they look around for the missing Portal Book and any other books from the shelf their original trio had come from.
Needing no further prompting and with the Fae at his side a bit preoccupied with her song, Ronin quickly took the bag and held it open. The shark book went in without a fight (phew) and all seemed fine. Suspiciously fine, but that wasn’t really anything unusual when it came to the Hollowed Grounds. Closing the bag and handing it back to Tarasha, he glanced back to the rest of the group.
”What now? Do we need to do anything with the creature in the water?” he asked, glancing around the library and saying on guard, just in case. He remembered the Spire and all the nasties that had been hiding in there. Who knew whether they were safe here, even if the library was Safrin’s.
Ronin holds the bag and hands it back to Tarasha once the book has been put inside.
Indeed. It has reached a state where it can only answer questions, and even then, it does so honestly, but poorly. Just a word at a time and only for a few moments. This, Amalia would find matches with her former experience in the room. That is very kind of you, child. !nu⁄=a //o@na replies. A rumble of laughter causes small ripples to appear in the surface of the pool as if from a long way down, as the Sage tried to click and cluck his way through the name given. An admirable try.
Yes, come back if you like. I shall be here look after you take your final views of the sky, so do not rush on my account. Though.. The bookshelf gives a rumble of mighty displeasure as Jigano suggests looking for the books' missing kin. I sense there is one here who has fallen out of favour with our Safrin. Perhaps it best you come back another time, in happier company. !nu⁄=a //o@na suggests to Jigano and Amalia, not knowing that it was one of them causing the disturbance.
Well, I've dragged my feet and so it's time to go! Apologies! Final posts if you like, but out, out, out!
For a moment Jigano felt a flicker of excitement, pride and awe at having brought a laugh from such an ancient creature. The questions he had for it! The things it must have seen, must know! So many possibilities--
Cut short, a bucket of ice water dropped down his spine at Safrin's name. He glanced at the angry bookshelf, then around at the oasis he had discovered, now closed to him forever, it seemed. There was little to be done but draw his dignity around himself and nod to Tarasha and Ronin. "Perhaps it's already gone. I'll head back and keep the tunnel stabilized." He knew when he wasn't wanted, at least, and he wouldn't stay to ruin the chances of the others.
Head held high and senses alert for trouble on the way back, he moved back into the tunnel, keeping an eye out for anything that might have followed them and ready to use his magic to reinforce the tunnel if it started shaking again.
