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!
Darling, you take the high horse and I'll take the high road
"Awfully convenient that the pair of them led the way in." Eloise muses from somewhere behind Zephyr, sounding entirely unworried about the entire thing. There seem to be more than enough heroic types ahead to keep the lavapus's attention, which is more or less the way you like things. Still, it wouldn't hurt to even the odds a bit.
Re-directing her illusion magic, Eloise creates three replicas of Saiden Hali. The trio dance around the monster; one holds the cook's couldron, banging loudly on it, the other removes his shirt, revealing his abs, and the third seems to be going in to kiss the creature.
Later perhaps she can tell Saiden how helpful he was to the group, if all goes according to plan.
Eloise stays behind Zephyr and creates the illusion of 3 Saiden's near the creature to try and draw its focus.
Base Illusion: Can create 100% compelling and complex illusions within a 30ft radius.
Type: Grey | Rank: Mastered
If you're too good for us, you'll be good riding solo
Given that Nate’s upgrade is suited only to identifying weak points in biological systems, he will be infuriated to find that the lavoctopus is in its prime. It has no pains or aches or infections or disease. Does it have a weakness? Oh, probably. But is that weakness something that ails it? Not that he can see. (Neat idea, though!)
Sunjata attacks the creature with his off-hand, and unfortunately it shows. He barely grazes the tentacle as it snaps back to the lavoctopus, the blow not landing, doing. Nothing. And unfortunately, Jata sets the tone for the rest of the team. Neither arrow nor knife manage to hit the creature, though through some strike of luck (thanks, Eloise!) the appearance of three sudden morsels in its lair does draw its attention.
It goes on the attack, three tentacles swatting at the illusions. It is momentarily distracted.
i'm shaking, salvation i'm flying faster and faster and i...
Fuck. Fuck. All it takes is the one failure (on his part, let's not think about everyone else right now) to really drive home the fact that, oh, he's kind of useless in this moment. Kind of can't do anything. At least things haven't gone to shit around them, Nate keeping well back, and the octopus distracted by the more successful efforts of others in the group.
It gives him a moment to think, though he needs more than just that, because the first thought in his mind is to grab one of the water bottle from his bag and throw at the octopus as hard as he can, arcing it high to avoid hitting anything that wasn't his target, and reaching for a second as soon the first is out of his hand. Pemota rises higher, letting her light shine over the group, an attempt to keep everyone levelheaded, calm, instead of giving in to panic and fear.
Nate does nothing throws a water bottle at the lavoctopus
i was the darkness and you were the light tear it apart and then we supercollide
but am i too late? or hearts to your spades, if i don't suit you? then what do you want from me?
He can feel the heat off the tentacle as he grazes it with the brass knuckles, and he hisses a bit when he staggers without having any luck with his hit. But he manages to step back a bit, focusing again to watch as the rest of them all miss their shots as well — except for a few Saiden’s dancing around. An uncomfortable memory tries to breach the surface, of the illusion magic and Luci, before he swallows it down and tries to press a bit into the edge of the cave like Melita has done.
A thought hits him, and he bends down to grab a rather medium sized rock, prepping his non dominant hand again as he goes to try and punch the rock toward the monster, hoping to direct the jets of water into the distracted octopus. If nothing else, maybe it’d at least do something. Haai continues her post in front of Nate, keeping that protective barrier just in case.
Sunjata tries to punch a rock at the monster and activate the jet stream to shoot at it! Haai remains as a guard for Nate.
Type: Grey
Flooded Brass Knuckles | brass knuckles inlaid with sapphires. When something is hit with these, jets of water pour from the sapphires with shocking force. Made by Remi.
so we're not written in the stars, but i'm okay with that. i'm okay with anything
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.
The fact none of them had accomplished anything, though the illusions were a great touch, rankled at her. It’s a bristling emotion, settling into her spine, rigid and taut while she thought about sneering into the void. It wouldn’t have done any good, so she breathed, eyes watching as the rest of them attempted to achieve a movement, a motion, against the octopus blocking their path.
With its attention potentially snagged and distracted by Eloise’s machinations, the youth remained where she’d been, tucked away in shadows, and grabbed hold of another ice arrow. Straight and true she thought, she honored, she prayed, placing the armament on its designated string again. Maybe her luck would prevail, maybe her aim would hold, maybe all that training would finalize into something other than this miserable sight. Otherwise, she’d have to come up with another tactic.
--
Melita tries to fire an ice arrow again, staying tucked along the shadows.
Type: Light
Bowstring Bracelet | At first this bracelet appears only as a length of intricately braided bowstring. But with an arrow in hand, upon miming the action of knocking and drawing it, the user will feel a bow beneath their fingers, as if it was there all along.
Type: Dark
Fire/Lightning/Ice Quiver | A magical quiver with two compartments. In one, it turns any arrow placed within into a flaming projectile when shot. In the other, the arrow becomes imbued with electricity. In another, it is infused with ice. (Made by Remi)
we used to play outside when we were young & full of life & full of love
Honestly this time you almost do laugh, because the illusions of Saiden Hali are fucking hysterical. "Fuckin' glad we brought you," you mutter to Eloise, watching the giant beast smack at the fake cook. "Look- if things go sideways were gettin' under my cloak an' gettin' outta here. Grab Mel if ya can."
Maybe the biter will hear you, but fuck it. He's here by his own mistakes and he's supposed to be the gods-damned muscle, and he's done shit all so far.
Reaching into your bag again you pull out the second knife and hurl it once more at the monster. As much for show as anything else.
Darling, you take the high horse and I'll take the high road
"She certainly seems...grabable." Eloise purrs, glancing towards Melita who looks all heroic and worthy of her own bedtime story, what with her magic arrows and coppery curls. The illusionist however has no need to be portrayed any such way, and happily hangs back in the shadows behind Zephyr, letting those with less to lose or just more stupidity, take the brunt of the assault. Despite Zeph's command, if it comes down to saving herself or risking her skin for Melita? Well her choice will be obvious. There's honour among thieves and shipmates perhaps, but that doesn't mean anything if it ends you up in an early grave.
Doubling down on her illusions, one Saiden begins to sing about making sushi out of the creature, while the other 'conjures' a wall of water and thrusts it to cover the lavapuss, hopefully forcing it backward.
Eloise continues illusioning as a distraction. One 'Saiden' creates a wall of water to intimidate the creature.
If you're too good for us, you'll be good riding solo
It’s a mixed bag - a bottle of water and a knife go sailing between the slim spaces between the creature’s splayed tentacles (sorry, Nate and Zephyr !), rattling off into the darkness. You can hardly be blamed, though, with the majority of the group hunkered around the corner of the tunnel and only Sunjata in full view of the thing. Or can you be blamed for that?
Then the Flood hits - literally and figuratively, as Sunjata smacks the rock and it hits a bullseye, jets of water blasting directly at the lavoctopus. It lets out a keening sort of screech, steam hissing from its form, and damn if that didn’t hurt it.
Then Melita follows up with an icy arrow and the thing screams, starting to thrash about its tentacles.
One of them smacks at the Saiden with the water, courtesy of Eloise, but the other two strike directly at Sunjata, leaving more burns on whatever flesh it can get hold of. And damn that will hurt.
i'm shaking, salvation i'm flying faster and faster and i...
Between most of them, they make a good strike, though all Nate can really focus on is his own failure, the bottle arcing uselessly over the octopus. There's so little he can do, in the face of this, and he feels useless. A feeling only made worse by the fact that Sunjata is hit again, two searing tentacles smacking out at him.
It's hard to tell if he can actually smell burning flesh, or if it's simply a reflex, an illusion conjured by his mind to rip his heart higher into his throat, but whether it's real or not, Nate swallows it down, closes his eyes against the image of Sunjata being hurt, because he's still standing. He can move past this, can focus on the beast itself, the way it's flagging, attention split by illusions and injury. Stepping past his snarling guard, just a bit, still kept safe by the bend of the tunnel, Nate throws another bottle, trying to help in the one, small way he can. At least if this is their final stand, if the efforts of those who are actually effective are successful, he's in place to rush forward, tend to the burns and wounds.
Nate throws another bottle and gets in position to grab Sunjata if the octopus dies.
i was the darkness and you were the light tear it apart and then we supercollide
but am i too late? or hearts to your spades, if i don't suit you? then what do you want from me?
Some silent huff of thanks to the gods that the rock gets hit and sends the jets of water right into the creature – followed up with Melita’s arrow, and he’s hissing as he goes to draw his arm back. It’s right after a moment of reprieve, watching all the attacks and the illusions shift and change, before those two godsdamned tentacles snake out at him, wrapping with a singing slap against his side and tears through the shirt as well, the other around a leg.
It throws him off balance, staggering him into the wall of the cave again, and he grits his teeth as nausea bites in the back of his throat. “nog 'n pyl.” Another arrow. He grits out to Melita, trying to take a moment for a breath of air before his mind tries to wrap around what he’s searching for. Up against the wall as he is, he doesn’t think he can manage to bend down to grab a rock again, and so he uses his surroundings, batting the brass knuckles against the wall and trying to aim the jets of water back at the octopus.
Jata staggers against the wall and hits the cave wall with the brass knuckles and tries to direct the jets at the creature again.
Type: Grey
Flooded Brass Knuckles | brass knuckles inlaid with sapphires. When something is hit with these, jets of water pour from the sapphires with shocking force. Made by Remi.
so we're not written in the stars, but i'm okay with that. i'm okay with anything
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.
With success came failure – a moment of triumph for her arrow striking true, for the frozen features intermingled with monster’s flesh, and then a moment of apprehension as Sunjata bore the brunt of the assaults once more. They needed to end this quickly, for his sake, and her teeth clenched, her grasp tightened, irritation nettling into the brunt of her existence.
But she couldn’t give into the temptation of launching over him, of taking the heat – he’d likely not forgive her – the enticement still there, apparent in her movements as she came closer and closer. Perhaps one more volley would do it, and they’d be freed from the monstrous void, allowed, permitted, to move on to what they were truly here for. A breath loosened, and one of her hands grasped hold of his shoulders – a meaning to her touch, to let her know if he needed to shift back into the cave, rest, recuperate, while someone else took the hits.
Then she maneuvered the bow once more, drawing another icy arrow from her quiver, notched, tightened the strings, aimed, and attempted to fire – fervent, hopeful, it’d be enough.
--
Melita fires another ice arrow at the octopus!
Type: Light
Bowstring Bracelet | At first this bracelet appears only as a length of intricately braided bowstring. But with an arrow in hand, upon miming the action of knocking and drawing it, the user will feel a bow beneath their fingers, as if it was there all along.
Type: Dark
Fire/Lightning/Ice Quiver | A magical quiver with two compartments. In one, it turns any arrow placed within into a flaming projectile when shot. In the other, the arrow becomes imbued with electricity. In another, it is infused with ice. (Made by Remi)
we used to play outside when we were young & full of life & full of love
Hey, the meat shield is doing what he was meant to! You wince in sympathy as tentacles lash Sunjata, the smell of burning flesh never one you're happy to have fill your nose. Better him than you, but fuck, that's not going to feel good later. Or now.
Your knife doesn't land, but then again you weren't trying particularly hard. You've got the molotov if you're feeling especially stupid brazen, but it seems like the 'Biter and Melita have things under control in the damage department. Maybe you should feel worse about contributing basically nothing to this quest that you're leading, but at the end of the day a job's a job, and you brought them on for just that reason: to get the damn job done.
You'll chuck another knife at it, though. Wouldn't do to appear too blase, after all.
Darling, you take the high horse and I'll take the high road
"Wouldn't it be a kick in the teeth if this turned out just to be the appetizer?" Eloise muses from behind Zephyr. She's only half joking.
Mixing magics now, 'Saiden' picks up a stone (courtesy of some telekinesis on Eloise' part), and tries to lob it at one of the wounds created by Melita's arrows. Meanwhile, the last remaining Saiden will run directly at the creature's mouth, if only to try and soak up whatever flailing tentacles might have been headed towards Sunjata. He might have pissed Jack off, but if this is just a tasting of what else is down in the tunnels, she doesn't want to see his usefulness used up so soon.
Eloise has one of her illusions pick up and throw a rock (using her telekinesis), while the other runs straight at the lavoctopuss as another distraction.
If you're too good for us, you'll be good riding solo
Well, lucky in the sense that the creature before you is certain to die - an icy arrow slices through the air and punctures through one of its tentacles, causing it to screech and flail the appendage around. At the same time, brass knuckles hit the wall and send a jet of water arcing over it, dousing it thoroughly.
And oh does it shriek, tentacles flailing - but thankfully your illusionist has provided an adequate distraction this time, and all of its attacks sail straight through the imaginary Saidens.
The narrator hardly needs to mention that both water bottle and knife do not hit their marks. Thanks for being there, boys.
Not all is well, though - whilst some octopi (or squid, don’t judge me on accuracy) squirt ink, this one chooses something much more dangerous - magma. And it gushes from the creature with its dying wail, pouring across the tunnel floor. There is more of it than there has any right to be, and it looks set to flood the place in a short amount of time.
