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!
After talking with Seren about the boxing ring, it had occurred to Saiden that he'd never actually visited. So when he found himself with a bit of free time, he'd sauntered over to the place. Peering in, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the dimmer exterior, he watched the fight currently in progress with avid eyes.
However, he soon turned towards the training area. He was surprised to see Seren herself there. Grinning, he made his way over to her.
"You're serious about this boxing thing, aren't you?" He nodded approvingly at her stance. "Keep your elbows up and your arms in a bit more. Gotta guard your chest and your head, that's where the important bits are." Demonstrating, he gave her a curious look, wondering how she'd take that advice.
I'm ready to start the conquest of spaces Reaching the starlight and silver fields
Looking up in surprise from her kid-sized sandbag, the young child gave her uncle a wide smile in welcome as he approached. She was sweaty and slightly out of breath, the tied back hair damp and unruly, but her eyes shone just as vividly as always.
"Hi! Yeah, I am. It's fun," she grinned, laughter never far away from her voice. Doing as he said, Seren raised her arms up higher, her small hands curled into fists like Sunjata and Ronin had shown her. "Like this?"
Playfully, she danced closer and aimed a light punch at Saiden's stomach. Technically she wasn't big enough to spar for real yet, but a bit of play couldn't hurt, right?
Come with the night the science of fighting The forces of gravity
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
Laughing at Seren's enthusiasm, Saiden grinned. "It is fun." He winked playfully at her.
Nodding at her improved form, he crouched down so he was closer to her level. "Perfect. Now I can't get to you from the front," he punched forward incredibly lightly, and his knuckled brushed her arm, "or from the side." Again, he swung a lazy fist, with no force behind it, towards her head, and their arms collided.
Standing up, he finished just in time for her to punch him lightly in the stomach. Putting his hands over the spot, he staggered backwards as if truly pained. Then, smiling, he crouched down again and gave her another one of those incredibly light punches, this time aimed for her gut. "Gotta avoid blows to the rest of your body by moving. Fancy feet and all that."
I'm ready to start the conquest of spaces Reaching the starlight and silver fields
With glittering eyes the girl nodded and took note of this, the way his sketched taps caught on her arms and hands as she 'blocked'. Seren smiled, and it widened further when Saiden staggered away from the small knuckles that made contact with his gut. He didn't have to play with her like this, but that he did was much appreciated.
His retaliation was gentle, slow and more instructive than serious. Seren took a step back and twisted like she had seen the real fighters do, trying to bring her torso out of 'harms' way. But she didn't do it enough, and Saiden still got to her. "Uff. Moving feet. Got it."
She didn't have to pretend to be pushed back by it. Though he was careful, she was so much smaller that a slight shove was enough to disrupt her balance. But she came back right away, arms up, and tried a slightly quicker one-two punch to his abdomen again (because she couldn't reach anything else). It's what she had been what she practiced on the sandbag when he came up to her.
Come with the night the science of fighting The forces of gravity
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
When Saiden actually hit Seren harder than he'd intended, he gave her a concerned look. However, she came back swinging, so he figured she had to be alright.
She punched at him, and he once more let her fists connect. Grunting as they did, he stood up and danced backwards, feet light on the ground and constantly moving. "See? Footwork is key. A stationary target is easy pickings."
Wisdom imparted, he crouched down again, and narrowed his eyes at her. "Now you try." He launched an incredibly slow jab towards her abdomen, telegraphing his move and giving her the chance to move away as he'd just demonstrated.
I'm ready to start the conquest of spaces Reaching the starlight and silver fields
It didn't hurt so he didn't have to look so concerned. Seren was more afraid of hurting someone else than of the pain itself. Eager and willing, she watched with keen interest how Saiden danced away from her lithe jabs, and when he measured out the slow punch a second time, the girl tried to mimic what he had done.
It was harder than it looked. Something akin to rhythm was needed in order not to trip over her own feet. Seren had the basics of stepping down, but she was fairly clumsy in how she did it. That was not good enough; Saiden's fist still reached her, though this time she didn't stagger from it.
"Again!" the child demanded, scowling in concentration. She came back to markher punches once more - one-two - and then tried to get ahead of the punch by beginning to move back even before Saiden had done anything.
Maybe that was the trick; to be ahed of the other person.
Come with the night the science of fighting The forces of gravity
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
As Saiden's fist connected, he immediately pulled it back. However, given how Seren demanded he give her another punch, he figured she was alright. Still, he hesitated for a moment before actually complying with her request. Indeed, he let her blows land first, flexing his muscles as he did to make sure they didn't actually hurt, not that he really needed to.
And when he finally did attack again, it was with another one of those glacially slow jabs towards her midsection, giving her ample time to move out of the way. "Don't waste energy making big movements. Just lean or step out of the way of the blow just as much as you need to. The counter attack while your opponent is off balance." His gut was wide open.
I'm ready to start the conquest of spaces Reaching the starlight and silver fields
She took it slower this time, and made use of all the time he gave her to actually understand what was happening and what she needed to do. Perhaps the slight headstart in motion helped too. The girl twisted her torso to the side even as her feet moved her backwards, and though it was slow she still felt a slight thrill when she escaped the contact with Saiden's fist.
Spotting the opening, she grinned and tried to exploit it. Using her off hand, the child tried to fit her small hand into that gap in his defense, cheerfully optimistic that it would work.
Obviously this was nothing like what went on in the boxing ring beside them, but to her it was exhilarating all the same.
Come with the night the science of fighting The forces of gravity
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
