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!
05-24-2020, 04:41 AM (This post was last modified: 05-24-2020, 04:41 AM by Jigano.)
Jigano was good at finding out information. And with LongNight just around the corner, he was burning the candle at both ends trying to do his part in preparations. For the Grounds as a whole. For the farm that was his home. For his Guild and his friends and his people...
And they had lost their Healer, Phoebe abandoning them without so much as a word to their faces as she sought greener pastures. Not that he blamed her, but the method she had chosen was... frustrating, to say the least. It left Evie scrambling to fill a gap she hadn't expected to be dragged into at the last minute, and it meant trying to stock an Infirmary and College that had been closed down without warning for the inevitable injuries, illnesses, and corpses that the most dangerous week of the year would bring.
As one of the Heroes of Haulani who had diverted the lava's flow and saved the town, he'd found the locals happy to chat with him on many topics. It was during one such conversation in a bar that he'd overheard talk of the ramphires, beasts whose horns and plumage were said to possess medicinal properties. It was worth checking out; at the very least the meat would be appreciated, and if the beasts did have some curative magic then all the better to rebuild their supplies. So he'd posted a notice asking for a guide into the jungle to track these elusive creatures and now he waited at the edge of the jungle on Apopo's slopes to see who - if anyone - would come, wearing his simple sleeveless tunic over linen pants and leather boots, white hair pulled back in a simple tail for the day's travels.
Lirsi wandered up the slopes of Apopo, her hair tied back in a braid. She was dressed in light clothing, her feet bare. She wore a pack on one shoulder, full of a few necessities for venturing into the forest around Apopo's slopes.
Spying a man, she called, "Are you Jigano? Searching for ramphires?" She offered a sly grin, adjusting her pack. "Let's go, then."
Jigano looked up at the voice, expression brightening as he took in the woman, who appeared to be well-provisioned and comfortably familiar with Torchline's climate. The little gryphon who had been hidden in the shade nearby yawned and perked up, feline tail twitching with interest as he waved back and began to make his way towards his (hopefully) guide for the day. "I am, in answer to both," he agreed with a grin. "What can I call you?" He hefted his own small pack as Isuma - a pale creature, part snowy owl and part snow leopard - took to her wings and circled the humans below, chirruping a bright greeting.
"What can you tell me about ramphires?" he asked conversationally, fingers itching to pull out his journal and take notes while they walked, but opting for the wisdom of keeping his eyes on the jungle so he didn't trip.
Lirsi shrugged, "Call me Kinne." When he asked about ramphires, the young woman shrugged. "Ramphires are herbivores, travel in packs, pretty small, easy to hunt and catch... Feathery, horned, and they've got some medicinal property. Not sure what, though. I don't deal in medicine."
She led the way into the forest, humming thoughtfully. "So why are you after them?"
"Pleasure to meet you, Kinne." He nodded amiably as they began to trek into the jungle, following her lead. The information she shared with him was useful, confirming the rumors he'd heard and adding a few new tidbits besides. Her admission that she didn't deal in medicine brought a crooked smile to his lips that widened as she asked a question of her own.
"I was hoping to learn more about their medicinal properties," he said with flicker of rueful amusement that the thing he was most curious about was the one she couldn't answer for him. "We need supplies to stock the Infirmary in the Grounds for LongNight and every bit helps. I can dry or smoke the meat for foodstores for that week, too, so no part should go to waste." Assuming they could figure out just what properties the feathers and horns had.
"How often do you hunt them?" he asked curiously. Isuma bounded from branch to branch above them, half-scampering and half-flying as she paralleled their path from the canopy.
Lirsi nodded, "That's good to hear. They taste pretty good." To his last question she shrugged. "As a girl, my father and our family hunted together. But not much since." But it had to be like riding a bicycle, you never really forgot how to hunt.
"At the very least, it will be a nice change from stringy venison and gristly mutton," he agreed ruefully, looking forward to being able to offer those sheltering in the former Medical College a little more variety in their diets during that most dangerous of weeks. He tilted his head at the brief glimpse of her past, a curious brow raised at her back as he followed her through the increasingly dense foliage of the jungle. Remembering how the trees of the Greatwood had once responded to Arduinna, he reached for his Earth magic to help bend the vines and underbrush from his own path, letting them spring back once he was passed.
"What do you do now?" He might have asked after her father, but all too often that answer seemed to be he died, and Jigano didn't want to bring that shadow over their burgeoning conversation so soon.
Lirsi rolled her shoulders in a shrug. "I make ends meet the only way I know how." Nothing more to say on that topic, she lowered to the ground, peering through the underbrush, searching for tracks. "I don't talk to my pops much, and my brother's been missing since I was a little girl." She explained, fingers tracing through the dirt.
"This way." She turned, leading him carefully. "What do you do?" She didn't know much about him and didn't really care, but it was polite to make conversation whilst one hunted. That way she wasn't hunting around with a complete, total stranger.
Oh ho, a mysterious one? The lack of detail set the bard's curiosity to itching, but he held it in check for the moment as he paused behind her to let her read the trail. He might have shifted form to better sniff out the scent of their quarry, but he had no idea what a ramphire smelled like, so he relied on Kinne's expertise to guide them both.
"I'm sorry to hear about your brother," he offered quietly, and stepping back to give her space as she rose and began to lead the way once more.
Her question brought a flicker of mischief to blue eyes, however, and a desire to tweak her tail as she'd done to him. "Mostly I stick my nose in places I probably shouldn't, when I'm not helping out on my partner's farm." He spoke with a friendly tone, keeping his eyes on the jungle around them, alert for other predators. "Do you do much sailing?"
"Eh. It's the way of the seas, I guess." Her brother was a figment of her past, ever-so close but ever-so far away. Lost but never forgotten.
"Sticking your nose in places can be lucrative, though." She replied, with a chuckle. As he asked about sailing, she lowered to a crouch, nodding through the growth. "Don't mind sailing." She replied, under her breath.
The rampshire was alone, and appeared to be injured. Something had previously tried to take it down, and ha failed. "Think that's your prey." She murmured, softly. The creature was beautiful, and clearly healthy, save for the wound in its side.
"I'd never seen an ocean before I came to Torchline," he admitted, voice quiet as they trekked through the birdsong and animal calls of the jungle. "There's still so much I don't know about it..."
Jigano grinned at her chuckle, tilting his head in acknowledgment. "That's true enough. Dangerous, but so far the rewards have outweighed the risks." Most of the time, at least. Not always, though, as the memory of lost friends lingered. He might have said more, but as Lirsi crouched and went quiet he held his tongue, peering through the foliage to the beast beyond.
A feathery pastel herbivore it nonetheless looked strange with its combination of beak and horns, and he watched it in fascinated bemusement for long moments. "So it is..." he murmured just as softly. He flexed his hands, feeling the magic singing in his soul beginning to swell at his call. A dragon seemed a bit much for this situation now that he was seeing the shy beast for the first time, too big to crash through the dense undergrowth in a prolonged chase, but he had other measures to call upon.
A spear formed from creation magic, mixed with earth and fire. The bard hefted it cautiously, sighting between the leaves and feeling a momentary pang of regret that he had to kill the creature before he could take the time to study it further while alive. It was a fleeting worry, and he swiftly tensed and then relaxed as he flung the weapon with all his strength, grunting in satisfaction as the ramphire looked up in surprise - too late. It staggered, the weapon sticking out from its chest, and took a few stumbling steps before sinking down with a low cry.
Lirsi watched, amazed, as the strange spear was created. The woman's lips curved in a wicked grin of appreciation, at the ease with which that spear took the creatures life.
Faster, safer, less harmful to the environment. Once it fell, giving its low cry, the woman straightened and spoke, "Thank you for taking it quickly from this world." No creature deserved pain in death; at least not for too long. To die a death was simply the circle of life, but still, death could be other things than harsh and slow.
Quick and less painful was the way to go. "The ocean is beautiful, but she is a dangerous mistress. Oftentimes sailors heed her call and never return, but she is useful, not only for travel, for food, but also for her healing properties." she stated, quietly. "I hope the creature yields some use for you and yours, and I hope that you share that knowledge if you find it."
"As Ludo wills it," he murmured solemnly in return, dipping his head at her thanks. Fox though he was at heart, killing was a matter of efficiency, to protect or feed, or to harvest those things needed for safety and life. He didn't take joy in prolonging suffering, though he also didn't use his Beastmaster ability to call animals to the slaughter.
He pushed his way through the shielding greenery into the clearing to inspect the fallen beast, kneeling beside it to rest his hand on its plumage and try to determine if he could feel the rumored magic of it as they spoke. "Healing properties of the ocean?" he asked curiously, glancing back at her. "And... where does she let you travel to?" He wasn't used to speaking of the ocean as a woman, but he fell easily into his guide's cadence as he loosened a knife from his belt and began to gut and clean the cooling ramphire for carrying out of the forest.
"Mmm, the oceans water can help wounds heal, allergies and sinus infections as well. It's quite amazing what water pulled from its source can do."
To the other question, she shrugged. "Here, or there. As a girl I'd see ocean everywhere we looked." Her lips curled at the memories, chasing her brother around on the deck, climbing various ropes and untying knots for fun.
"Alas, I need to go. I've got another job to do, can you find your way down Apopo safely?"
