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!
There is the sound of rocks behind him and Oliver thinks he's in the clear, but alas, it is the exact opposite. A rather heavy big gigantic cat comes crashing into him. Falling to the ground, Oliver lets out an annoyed huff, almost ready to shift into a cat himself and fight her back- but no. No. He holds back those instincts and decides to go down a different route.
The first thing he does is use his illusion magic, creating a fire that begins to circle his body, hopefully spooking the cat on top of him. He then tries to lift her off using telekinesis, following by throwing even more rocks at her.
Hopefully, if Aisha did free him from her grasps, he take off in a run with the flag in hand, hoping to cross over that line and win this match.
Oliver tries to create fake fire using illusion magic to spook the kitty, lift her off using telekinesis, and throw rocks at her using a combo of earth and telekinesis.
My heart beating, my soul breathing, I found my life when I laid it down, Upward falling, spirit soaring
Decisive moments came in the heat of battle, when the hours were long, when the day was harsh and grueling, when hostilities continued to collide one after another after another, no end in sight. There were key instances, when soldiers broke through lines, when troops were rallied, when flagging opponents were worn and despondent, that proved who was strategic, who was gritty, who was determined. Sometimes it wound down to fortune. Sometimes it was collaboration. Sometimes it was the right second, the right opportunity.
And though this was just for play, it was also for practice, war games to hone and sharpen the mind, to see who could outlast even in mere child’s invocations.
So he watched as they considered and configured, flags taken and snatched, those subtle, intricate designs, those strides of teamwork molding and infusing into the sanction.
Oliver’s efforts to instill illusionary fire, to scare off the leopard, to impart combinations of enchantments and invocations simply came too late. His earlier success in snagging their adversary’s flag was now sorely lacking, and Aisha refused to budge, accurately ensuring the blacksmith’s efforts would go no further.
Which meant it was left up to Freina and Rance. The wind was a clever ploy, and could’ve blown the raven off-course, send him into another spiral, or gesture him backwards. Instead, Rance must’ve learned from his earlier mistakes, and continued sailing on and on and on, until he’d reached his own side, ensuring victory for the Attuned.
“Congratulations to Team Blue!” A round of applause ensued from the Sword, and content with their measures, wound his way before their masses. “Well done. You acted as a team, and had an effective strategy.” He paused, contemplating and considering their efforts. “As reward, I can make you any weapon you would like.” They could keep their flag too, if they wanted.
Then he turned towards Oliver and Freina. “You were persistent, and used your magic well cleverly. Next time we will work on accuracy.” If they chose to seek the General out again – methods, measures, and lessons in concentration. To the younger man, because he hadn’t forgotten earlier dealings, he reminded. I will speak to you after. When everything was said and done.
--
Congratulations to Team Attuned! Feel free to pick a weapon and Deimos will make it for you!
Aisha sped on with the flag, their banner billowing out from between her teeth like blue fire. When at last she'd landed at the end of their side, with the flag safely as far away as possible from the other team, she glanced back to the offensive affair. Rance soared through the air with a clipped accuracy, winging against Freina's winds and crossing the line with the other teams flag.
Aisha growled her excitement, keeping hold of the blue flag and bounding towards the raven, prancing about and boasting their win. Her victory dance was interrupted by the welcome congratulations from Deimos, shifting back to her human form as he offered a reward. Chest still heaving from the exertion she'd put in, and unable to stop beaming she nodded to him, hair a wild golden mess that flopped into her face.
"You already know what I want," she said with a friendly smirk, "I can come find you later with specifics?" Aisha had some specific ideas in mind, hoping to maybe recreate something she'd lost. It wouldn't be the same, but she could sure try.
Freina might have knocked him out of the air if luck had been on her side, but Rance's tumble was controlled and he sped through the air to victory. One he hadn't expected to be satisfying, especially not when partnered with another, but he couldn't even resent Aisha's bossiness when it resulted in such good results for their exercise. He circled above the prancing leopard a couple of times before dropping down to the ground, releasing the flag in midair so that he could catch it in a human hand.
The offer of an actual prize -- a weapon at that -- was even more unexpected. Aisha responded first, which gave him a moment to think. He'd never been much interested on weapons, but that had been in a land where it had been safe to assume he'd never need them. The Hollowed Grounds, at least, weren't as friendly.
"A bow. I've at least handled that." Albeit, only a couple of times. "Can't accidentally fuckin' gut myself with that. I leave the details to your expertise." He'd also keep the red flag, as a reminder of the lessons he still wanted to learn. If he intended to survive and be more than just a bystander, this would have to be a beginning, not a one-off.
He could’ve predicted Aisha’s chosen munitions, trained in the art of the sword, but not the schematics and design behind it. The beast nodded and smirked at her request, a conviction to listen to them later and impart it as best he could. Rance, however, he didn’t know much about, save for raven forms and seemingly some predisposition to sedition (which likely would’ve rendered him some sort of kinship with the General, considering his acts of covert or overt rebellion over lifetimes). Instead of mulling any further though, he indicated his listening with another nod towards the man, pondering over what to carve into the armaments. “You may both pick them up later today.” They’d be ready once he’d gathered materials together, and spoken to Oliver.
The rest of them would be free to go, their work complete, their poise, precision, and predilections intended to be heightened from the training techniques. If they could learn to collaborate frequently with one another, instead of shirking or shrinking in the perilous fault-lines of this world, they’d be all the better for it.
