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!
Every day's a little harder as I feel my power grow
A normal person may give up at this point or go to receive advice from an expert. But Delta? Nope. The first time, she was cursed, second time the being just told her that they couldn't help her. That last experience was a sign that she probably wouldn't always be cursed if she visited and that there was still hope. It wasn't a god, but it wasn't nearly as violent as her first encounter.
Whatever. It was a roundabout way of saying: Delta was far from giving up on her attempts to have an audience with one of the gods!
On this particular occasion, she did have a specific request in mind. It wasn't as extreme as the ones she had prior, but it was one that she really did want fulfilled. Besides, it'd be nice to speak with the gods rather than encounter yet another spirit.
As she should, Delta came with offerings. They weren't as spectacular as before seeing as she was draining on effort (and on things to give that were actually suitable for a god). In this instance, she had some... unique gifts. For Frey was a statue of a topless mermaid. It wasn't accurate, not at all, and clearly once belonged to a sailor. For Ludo there was a small fish that was also a statue. Lots of statues here. Safrin had a bracelet. Small little gems lined the chain, making it shine and reflect light.
"If I may speak with one of the old Gods, I have a request."
Don't you know there's part of me that longs to go into the unknown?
05-26-2020, 04:16 PM (This post was last modified: 05-26-2020, 04:17 PM by Random Event.)
random event
"Such pretty pretty pretty things you bring us, little one."
It's dark here, at the bottom of the ocean. Darker still when the skies high above seem suddenly shrouded by clouds, cutting off the little light that filters through the sea. The darkness wraps around the shrine, leaving the waters murky and unclear. Delta will find herself unable to see past the tips of her fingers; she will not see what it is that reaches out with shocking swiftness, snatching the offerings and pulling them into the dark.
"Pretty pretty pretty things. We like these very much. Tell us what you want, little one, and we will help to grant your dreams." Delta will see glinting in the water a row of sharp, white teeth.
Every day's a little harder as I feel my power grow
The world around her goes dark and flashes of her previous two experiences come to mind. The blinding sensation she experienced the first time and then the ink like creature with glowing eyes. Both times are reminiscent of this one as a mouth appears, grinning at her with sharp, piercing teeth.
It's voice causes her body to shudder, but she is happy to know that her offerings were good. That whatever this being was appreciated them. The gods hadn't responded to her thrice now and all she could do was put in enough trust that this being could grant her the desires she had brewing in her mind.
Staring forward at the teeth, she spoke up confidently, knowing this was exactly what she wanted. What she needed. "I desire a second shift, a larger one. A shark or a whale or maybe even an octopus. I want to be larger, stronger. I want to show others that I can and will fight if needed." Her lion fish had quills, yes, but it was also small. She wanted something large.
Don't you know there's part of me that longs to go into the unknown?
"Big and strong and dangerous? My my my, aren't we the big bad mermaid."
The dark water seems to shift and move, swirling around Delta. The teeth vanish and reappear, and she can make out what seems to be eyes blinking blindly in the depths. A tendril of darkness caresses her cheek, and the place where it touches will feel cold, as though the sun has not kissed it in years.
"Only those who are already frightened yearn to fight and scare and hurt. Tell us, pretty little one, what do you most fear?"
The darkness is closing in now, the teeth close enough you can feel the cold radiating off of them. And though she may or may not want to, Delta will feel compelled to answer, her deepest fears exhaled like bubbles into the creature's voracious grasp.
Every day's a little harder as I feel my power grow
Words follow and Delta isn't sure how to feel. Is it wrong that she wants to be powerful? It sounds patronizing, but she doesn't dare speak up, instead she is far more focused on trying to find the being as it had disappeared from her vision.
Tendrils move towards her face and she is met with the cold, biting feeling of something pressing up against her cheek, caressing her face. It's icy and sharp, only added by the feeling radiating off from the teeth as the being speaks once more.
The request is a shocking one. Normally on any other occasion, Delta would never be so open about something like that. One should never confess their fears: it's reserved for those most trusted and even then, it must be a closely guarded secret. Despite these feelings, she finds herself speaking, being forced to utter the things that haunt her at night. "I fear suffocating- dying alone on the beach. I fear a war caused by others and us being forced to partake just because we are forced to remain in the waters... I'm afraid of being alone." So many fears leave her mouth. Three. Three things that scare her, each in a different way.
Don't you know there's part of me that longs to go into the unknown?
Ah, yes, delicious delicious truths. The water seems to rumble with contentment, the teeth growing into a broad, hungry grin. "Yes yes yes, we hear your fears little pretty. So many things to worry about! But do not worry, no no no. We can help you."
A surge of darkness presses through the water, settling over Delta like a second skin before seeping beneath her scales. Delta will feel a presence in her mind, a second set of thoughts racing alongside her own. "There little one, now you will not be alone. And as for being big and scary...?"
The teeth dart forward, and for a moment Delta can make out an incomprehensibly hideous creature. Opening as wide as an unhinged snake, the teeth bite into the mermaid's chest, leaving behind searing pain in the...
Um...
Shark?
Oh no! Delta rolled a critical failure, and so has been double cursed!
Delta has been possessed by the spirit of a drowned sailor! The spirit is incredibly paranoid about everything and especially terrified of deep water! Delta will hear its voice louder the darker she is. In full sun, it will be an annoying whisper. At night, she will have difficulty controlling her body, hear loud voices, and be terrified of open water.
Delta has been bitten by a spirit of the deep! She can now partially-shift into a great white shark... but never voluntarily. Every other post she must roll a d20. On 1-5 she will remain herself, 6-14 partially shift into a great white shark, and 15-20 fully shift! She has no control over this.
Delta can break her curses by doing the following:
1. Spend a full night at the surface of the ocean (minimum 4 posts)
2. Be bitten by or bite an Ascended
3. Betray someone who trusts her
Every day's a little harder as I feel my power grow
They said they could help her. The being said it would be helpful- but then it wasn't.
It was so violating. It molded into her and she wanted to rip it off, scratch at her skin and claw at her head because she could feel it. It was inside her and she wanted to yell, but no voice left. No sounds could leave her as she floated, shock filling her system.
Then the voice. The voice. It was in her. It echoed in her head and only made her skin crawl more. The reverberations haunted her. The help would come, help with her receiving her wish, but it felt so wrong. It wasn't right, not at all. A bite and she was shifting, a familiar feeling and ability but she was large. It wasn't normal, nothing about this shift was. There was a pain and her hands wanted to go for her chest- the tear it off- but she couldn't. Sharks don't exactly have hands.
Something was off and she hated it.
It was haunting and all she wanted to do was tear off the being and free herself from the growing thoughts as they echoed within her head, consuming her fully.
FIN! c: C: c:
Don't you know there's part of me that longs to go into the unknown?
