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!
06-04-2020, 08:18 PM (This post was last modified: 06-16-2020, 05:04 PM by Bastien.)
BASTIEN
Hanging things on walls was all well and good, but Bastien was beginning to find the fact that there were blank walls to cover at all galling. In the Artist's Sanctuary in Venice he had covered the building top to bottom in murals the second he'd moved in, but that had been a different time, one where he had had all the time in the world to dream and prepare for things.
Now that they were facing Longnight once again though, he thought it would be a good time for the Artist's Sanctuary to get a little beauty treatment. It could dry over the week it would be left behind and working on the piece could help to lift the spirits of the people...though he could also put in a little extra incentive.
He'd bought from the market a collection of herbs and salts that he was told, when burnt and inhaled, would give the user a pleasant buzz for several hours. While he couldn't partake himself, this was the kind of chemical lubricant he loved to have to hand, so he'd immediately taken them and put them in a burning pot, the lid of which kept the smoke in: all someone needed to do was open it and breathe in.
With that to the side to 'inspire' anyone coming in, he began with his sketch for the main focus of the mural: the four Gods that involved themselves the most with Caido: The Voice, Safrin, Ludo and Frey. The guests could paint whatever they liked between these figures or indeed help with them: he would not begrudge them improving upon his sketches. In one corner, Pittore was accomplishing a particularly abstract masterpiece, little fingers scratching out colourful streaks on the wall.
born from dark water, daughter of the rain and snow
Amalia would generally shy away from this sort of thing. Art, led by an Ascended notorious for a type of party she would be scandalized by the mention of... It is far, far from the Shield's scene, to say the very least.
The only thing that draws her into the dark, crowded studio is the fact that he is supposedly to paint the gods. Which, remembering his last such endeavor, she finds questionable at best.
She slips in quietly through the door, eyeing the questionable bowl and instead lingering on the sides of the room. Jyoti, far more curious, goes to investigate Pittore's work, leaving the Shield to look upon the sketched out silhouettes. Despite herself the girl drifts forward, interested in the process she cannot ever hope to master. "How do you intend to capture Frey?"
better get to diggin' while my body's getting cold. i keep tryna fight it so just promise when i go, you'll bury me low
One last trip to the Grounds to gather the rest of the items he needed, as much as it begrudged him to do so — to step away from Nate after everything. But it needed to be done before the darkness fell, surely his lover would understand. But he hasn’t quite made it to the Advocates guild just yet, not as something distracts him along the familiar walkway of the Domiciles as he trudges his way there. Paint, something, Bastien, and Amalia.
He certainly debates walking past… But well, he’d helped Deimos recently with fixing up the perch. Perhaps Amalia wouldn't begrudge him too hard — especially if under the guise of helping Bastien. Someone, from whom Sunjata can recall, is quite a free spirit. Perhaps more of that was needed nowadays, and so he slinks in and spies the paint and everything else. “How to capture Frey indeed.” He rumbles by greeting, following up on Amalia’s comment but giving Bastien a wide grin of greeting.
SUNJATA
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
This is perhaps their last time walking the Sanctuary before Longnight. A convincing case had been made to spend the week of darkness in Torchline, where it was supposed to be safe, and Osozo had planned to leave sooner, rather than later, to take the time to settle into an entirely new place. For now though, they're still in the place they've been calling home, wandering and looking for something to do, some way to spend their last day, instead of merely puttering through it.
And the universe, ever kind, delivers.
Osozo only marginally recognizes the the Artist's sanctuary, it's proprietor. But they watch one, two, enter the dim, strange smelling building, one of whom they recognize, and they decide to follow. The worst that could happen was that they'd be asked to leave, right? They mean to give out greetings, to be polite and say hello, but their gaze is instantly drawn to the sparkling little whale, and the greenish homunculus it floats around. "Is that a gremlin?" They exclaim, stepping past the others in the room to investigate Pittore.
OSOZO
The touch and gaze of those to whom we are less than nothing
Though he has no intentions of staying in the Grounds during LongNight - despite the crippling desire to help and defend as he always has, he knows this land far too little and is aware he'd only be a liability - it doesn't mean Harper has no intention of helping at all. Ironically it seems he always ends up here, amongst the colors and charm that Bastien seems to exude from every pore.
Sunjata is the only other soul he knows in the ragtag collection, and he gives a cheeky smile towards the tattooed man before turning and approaching Bastien. "Hello again. I didn't wreck anything too badly last time, and the mural was gorgeous. Care for one more set of hands?" Bastien's talent had been, and still is, undeniable. Ignoring the other three for now, sensing something odd and tense between Sunjata and the woman he doesn't know, he awaits commands from Bastien and contents himself with reading the room.
I'll be with you each and every night Chasing that horizon in your eyes
Amalia and Sunjata entered in quick succession and Bastien found he could not resist a joke at their echoed question: "Perhaps with a net?" The loud laugh he gave out after this was likely to be far more of a reaction than his guests would have, but it was important to laugh at one's own jokes.
Osozo's entrance was a rushed one, the Demi-God immediately going to investigate Pittore, who had turned in surprise to stare at Jyoti and now the strangely colourful person looking at him. As if convinced they were more interested in his art than himself, he held out his paint-covered hands with a loud 'bap!' showing off the mixed colours in his palms. Bastien, deciding they all seemed to be getting along fine in the corner, left Pittore to entertain them himself.
He held out a hand to shake Harper's and welcome him in, glad to see returning faces: someone to ask into the guild eventually, perhaps? "Come in, come in! The more the merrier."
It seemed after that that he had enough to begin, so Bastien gestured to the table before the wall, which was covered in a great array of paints, brushes, sponges stamps and inks, anything a prospective artist could need. "Feel free to have your pick of anything you need to work: I have begun with sketches of all four of our primary Gods--" A quick glance to Amalia, to see if she'd challenge that. "--but you do not have to stay obedient to my lines. I would advise everyone pick a space. And...if you are looking for a little inspiration...."
Bastien pointed to the pot in the corner with a salacious smile. "That shall surely help."
--
Choose if you want to paint in the Frey, Safrin or Ludo section! One person will be left over, they can either pair with someone else or paint between the Gods :)
If we should be arrested before we sleep I'll see you outside in a few days or in a few weeks
With a gremlin and a starwhale there, Osozo was completely distracted, shifting eyes taking in the animate patch of galaxy and the patches of paint on the creature's hands with the same amount of reverence, as though they were the most important pieces of art the Demi-god had ever seen. They hold out their own hands to Jyoti and Pittore both, unblemished for the moment, asking for permission to touch.
The distraction lasts through most of Bastien's explanation, though Osozo is listening enough to get the idea of what they're doing. They really do pick the best times to wander, don't they? Almost unwillingly, they step away from other people's companion's and towards the table, grabbing an armful of materials almost at random. Paints, stamps, sponges, in a rainbow of colour.
Deciding where to start is nearly overwhelming, but with Bastien apparently taking care of the Voice's image, there were no other Gods they felt confident portraying. So Osozo began to apply colour around the figures, smearing tones together with their own hands as often as they used the brushes or sponges. There seemed to be some intention to the motions they made, though it seemed to only be a random smear of colour at the moment.
OSOZO
The touch and gaze of those to whom we are less than nothing
better get to diggin' while my body's getting cold. i keep tryna fight it so just promise when i go, you'll bury me low
More arrive, and Sunjata’s attention shifts momentarily to Harper and offers the man a small smile. No hard feelings between them – despite what the wedding might have had others believe. Besides, he truly enjoyed the time in the bar that Libbs, Maea, Harper and he all had. But that was what felt like forever ago. A small smile is given toward Osozo in greeting as well, before his attention flickers back to Bastien and chuckling lightly at the response given. “I bet Frey would love that.” He remarks with a bit of sarcasm, a quiet laugh.
But then once everyone had arrived, he settles a bit to focus on the wall and what Bastien had asked of them. Painting, for the primary gods, a quick glance given toward the pot in the corner, before his steel gaze flits back. A few moments of consideration while everyone else starts to kind of figure out where they wanted to start, and Sunjata’s gaze flickers toward Amalia once more. “Guess I’ll take Frey?” He rumbles, waiting for a protest. But he’d never seen Ludo aside from the event on Torchline’s shores.
So he goes toward the table, grabbing a variety of random colors – ones that blend together well enough with an almost cool sort of tone. He’s familiar enough with art – the tattoos on his skin a reminder of diving into those more artistic waters. But he’s not exactly an artist much himself, so he focuses on something that could be abstract enough to work and make sense, adding to that somewhat fluidity that Frey held with the way they appeared differently to everyone.
He starts with blocking out a few different shapes for their face and torso, half mixing and melding the colors to cover a variety of bases – recalling how Frey often appeared to him with a similar darker bronze hue of Lusea’s skin. But he leaves it open for everyone else’s imaginations, sparks of a variety of colors splashed within with a pallet knife. And before he knows it, he has a base down for the shape.
Sunjata takes Frey!
SUNJATA
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
born from dark water, daughter of the rain and snow
Already an uncomfortable situation, the arrival of Sunjata does nothing at all to set Amalia's mind at ease. She shrinks from his voice, turning to glare as he enters so nonchalantly, the memory of Sam's recent admissions and her encounter with Nate still bright on her mind.
The other two are unfamiliar, though they seem to know Bastien well enough. The stranger with the shifting features does indeed earn Jyoti's attention, the starwhale cooing curiously at the interesting Ascended. She remains engaged until they all separate to paint, at which point she goes to join Amalia in decorating the gods, taking her appropriate place - with a glance at Sunjata - in front of Safrin.
With little artistic skill of her own the Shield knows she cannot do justice to her goddess' beauty. So she begins with dark blues and purples, intending to paint the starry skies that accompany the goddess before daring to add color to the figure within.
Harper takes the man's hand and shakes firmly, though it has nothing on the warmth that exudes from his smile. He enjoys the Sanctuary, though he has never considered art to be a hobby of his in the past. It's soothing, and though the tension seems intent on staying relatively steady, he intends to unwind a little with some paint and a big ass wall. Normally he'd take the spaces between out of an inborn hesitancy to paint something so grand with such minimal training or skill, but one of the others has already claimed that particular task.
It could be worse, he tells himself. It could have been Frey he was left with, and he has never met them at all. Instead he gathers some whites, blacks, browns, and golds and hustles over to the spot where Ludo is depicted in arching lines to be covered by the paint. Setting to work with his tongue peeking out between his teeth, hoping he doesn't ruin this beautiful work with his unnaturally fumbling hands. Blades were so much easier than brushes.
Harper takes Ludo!
I'll be with you each and every night Chasing that horizon in your eyes
What had started as one drawing by Bastien was swiftly improved tenfold by the additions of those that had turned up to help; as always different minds were able to add things he would have never considered, their colours, shapes and lines all speaking of their personality in ways he wasn't sure they even realised. While he worked on his own parts of the figures (usually editing in some detail on the face), he mostly stood back to watch the others work.
Eventually, they had the wall covered. There would have to be a second session later, once the paint had fully dried and details and corrections could be added, but for the moment he found he was very pleased with what they had accomplished indeed. A colourful and involving mural, one that made the whole room brighter, depicting the Gods all four next to each other; representative of the equality he was hoping to achieve in the Hollowed Grounds.
"Thank you, all of you." He smiled as he looked around the room at the end of the night, at the four very different painters (and Pittore) that had made it come to life "When we come together, we can make something truly beautiful."
{FIN - ended early for LN}.
If we should be arrested before we sleep I'll see you outside in a few days or in a few weeks
