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
Life sucked.
Spirits sucked.
The gods.... had nothing to do with this.
Delta was fucking sick and fucking tired of staying up at the surface, but nope. Did she have a say in this? Quite literally: Absolutely not. The damn voice in her head ALSO had control over her body, yanking and pulling her up towards the surface. She was absolutely exhausted. Dark circles were very obvious around her eyes and there were bags that would rival even the oldest of cats. She was sad, exhausted, and unable to do anything about it.
As someone who loved to explore, it broke her heart. The trials of LongNight had destroyed her, creating a husk of the person she once was. There weren't many choices she had, unfortunately. Everything she did had to be at the surface at this point or at least near it. It didn't leave her a lot to do, but she did manage to 'spice' up her pitiful excuse of a life by changing up where she laid down for the entire day.
Today, she chose the maw where she currently lay, arms holding onto her self as she rested on a partially submerged part of rock. It meant that a good three inches of her body was covered in water but the rest remained in the brisk air.
Olavi had been on a wander looking for any new humans collapsed on the shore or in the sea: when the seasons changed over and new visitors came, they often overindulged at the bars and wandered away to the dangerous waves, where he could pick them over for anything in their pockets. He'd found some good shit that way.
Seeing a figure leaning up against a rock by the Maw (odd, not often you saw tourists all the way out here) he swam up quietly, just under the water, sneaking his way up to see what was available...a few feet away, he realised it was a mer. Rolling his eyes, Olavi was about to give up and swim away, when he noticed it was the princess. The petted little thing that Maru showed off sometimes: maybe this had potential after all.
Straightening up, his torso out of the water, he swam up to Delta, preparing to put on his best charming voice. When he needed to, Olavi could pretend to be a better man than he was, at least when it was advantageous. "Hey, girl." He greeted as he went to rest on a rock opposite. "You alright? You're looking pretty rough." Giving what was meant to be an assuring smile (though with sharp pointed teeth, it was hard to do that), he leaned into his crossed arms, watching her carefully.
07-03-2020, 05:30 AM (This post was last modified: 07-03-2020, 05:31 AM by Delta.)
Every day's a little harder as I feel my power grow
Hey girl
It’s not nice. Far from it. It would’ve been normal if Delta to say something in response to the comment, frustrated that she was referred to in a less than kind way. The only thing that would’ve saved the mysterious voice was his, well, voice. Or the tone of it. It wasn’t aggressive nor condescending, meaning maybe it was genuine.
Fortune for him, the fight had long died, leaving behind only smoke from a once roaring fire.
Eyes flickered and she found her fingers clenching. Slowly, she tried to sit up, as she did so she started to speak. ”No- I’m doing just-“ She cut herself off as she felt her body shifting. Her teeth becoming sharp and a shark dorsal fin appearing on her back. The skin on her body shifted in spots, becoming rubber like and gray.
An exhausted huff left her and she laid back down, arms splayed. ”Well.... I guess that answers your question.” It was embarrassing. So. Embarrassing. ”I’m sorry that you have to see me like this- don’t worry about me.” She didn’t even get a good look at this mysterious voice, so that’s great. Just great.
Delta rolled a 12
Don't you know there's part of me that longs to go into the unknown?
As Delta struggled to get up then appeared to undergo an unwilling metamorphosis, it was clear something here was wrong, perhaps moreso than he had originally thought. He watched with one brow quirked up in a perplexed bemusement as she transformed: his similar tail flicked in the water as he leaned up to look her over.
"It leaves me with a lot of weird fucking questions." He said, ignoring her apology; seeing her like this felt valuable: future blackmail material, or at least something secret about their glorious leaders he could use later. "You trying to shift? Did your dad not teach you how to do it right or something?"
Every day's a little harder as I feel my power grow
The first response is extremely valid. Such a thing would leave anyone with questions. It certainly at least answered why she's so tired- or at least to Delta it did. She was ready to remain in this position, answering questions laying down, until the man made his second comment. One that normally would've fired her up, causing anger and annoyance. Instead, she let out a tired sigh and sat up.
Finally, she was able to get a good look at him. Tall, half shark. Someone who she couldn't place the name of but might've seen on small occasions in the distance. Her voice was once more quiet, rather than angry or aggressive. "My dad did nothing wrong." So the game of ignoring her father wasn't going to be happening here. He wasn't human, so of course this would happen. "I was cursed... this is all because of me, so please don't put any blame on him." The last thing she needed was for her father to get blamed for her foolish decisions.
"I'm sorry that you have to see me like this... I'm Delta."
Don't you know there's part of me that longs to go into the unknown?
Oh, Olavi certainly could argue about things her father did wrong, but he wasn't interested in that right now: he just watched with a calm face, chin in his hand. Certainly someone had done something wrong, because Delta looked rough.
"Cursed, eh?" He asked, continuing to look at her with fascination, not embarrassed at all to be obviously intrigued. "Who did that to ya, then? Thought a good daughter of Maru like you would know how to pray properly." Not that he'd ever prayed himself, but he had to imagine it couldn't be that hard; kneel and promise your loyalty or whatever, kiss the alter a couple of times (basically, what he did with Nerissa most nights).
Olavi considered not returning the introductions, but he was trying (sort of ) to charm her. "Olavi. I've seen a lot of people a lot fucking worse."
07-04-2020, 11:44 PM (This post was last modified: 07-04-2020, 11:45 PM by Delta.)
Every day's a little harder as I feel my power grow
Another slight insult to her father, great. She still had to defend him apparently. "It's not that." Did nobody else know about the spirits? Apparently not. "The shrine has been taken over by angry spirits. I cant reach the gods at all. Brought offerings and everything. The spirits only appear for me, but I don't know about anyone else." So hah, merman. Maru did teach her well! She just couldn't properly pray thanks to the annoying pests that had taken over their precious shrine.
It seemed Olavi's words were magic as the moment he said that he had seen 'worse', the young mer's eyes widened and she immediately shifted into a great white shark. Her body was absolutely massive, taking up much more room than ever before. Fluttering her fins, she tried her best to make sure that her gills were covered. fuck It was a silent remark, clearly that she was used to it but still frustrated that it had to happen now of all times. Have they been this bad? If only she could give him the side eye, alas, she was both a shark and too emotionally drained for such actions.
They made it so I shift into this damn thing. I cant control it. It just does whatever it wants.
Delta rolled a 17! so now she's a shark
Don't you know there's part of me that longs to go into the unknown?
"Huh. Never been one for praying myself, so I wouldn't know." Olavi shrugged. For all he knew, Delta could be telling complete fiction, but it didn't really matter too much to him how she had gotten this way...just how he could use it. It seemed easy enough to pick holes in her story, truthful or not. "If they only show up for you, how do you know it ain't just you doing it wrong?"
The sudden shift was so unexpected that Olavi couldn't help the laugh as he watched the shark wriggle about trying to cover her gills. "You know what, maybe not." He spoke back to her out loud, not liking to use telepathy in his half-shifted form (it felt oddly intimate, and that was something he saved for Nerissa. Still, he supposed he could let her in one way.
Slipping back down into the water and shifting himself into his own shark form, he swam around to face her in the sea. You know, being a shark isn't that fucking bad. May as well take your blessings where you find them and be thankful you aren't a scallop or some shit.
Every day's a little harder as I feel my power grow
His question is honestly pretty damn valid and she doesn't exactly know the answer to it. "I mean...you're kinda right. I don't know for sure, but it feels weird. I don't know of anyone who has even prayed at the Shrine so I won't know until then." She could truly only assume and at this point, she was starting to believe that maybe the gods just would never show up. Maybe she wasn't meant to meet them in her life.
The sense of humor from the man actually manages to make Delta feel slightly better. Then, he only makes things genuinely better by shifting into a shark himself. Her fins flutter slightly in excitement as she looks at him. Well- yes... I mean- That wasn't quite the issue at hand- er- at fin. My problem is that... I cant control it... it just happens. And I've already scared one human and he could've attacked me. It's scary. Through the bond, he can most likely fear her genuine worry and exhaustion.
Should she be honest? Fuck it. I asked to have a big shift and so I was cursed. I go to land constantly and I wanted to be near light and I also forcefully shift or partially shift into a shark. It's the most she's really said in a while, mostly due to the isolation during LongNight. All this talking is starting to make her feel slightly better, but that doesn't remove the exhaustion she still feels from all those sleepless days.
Don't you know there's part of me that longs to go into the unknown?
Olavi didn't have any answers for her about the shrine; he hardly hung out with what could be called a religious crowd and had never researched what the Gods were likely to do when one prayed: if you couldn't con something out of them or threaten them, what was the point? As far as he was concerned, as long as they kept out of his business, he was keeping out of theirs. "Sounds like you should just leave them alone."
In his shark form, he was a mighty creature: bigger than the average in his species, with scars and chips in his fins, sharp teeth that he had no trouble displaying. Idly floating just under the water, he would have rolled his eyes at Delta had he been able to. Humans get scared when they see a fingerling at the beach. You've got fucking teeth - if someone gives you trouble, use 'em. Honestly, at this point, he was just beginning to feel sorry for Delta, though not in the empathetic way: the way where he was wondering what the fuck Maru had even taught this kid.
The fuck you wanna go to land for? He asked, rolling in the surf. We got all we need right here.
Every day's a little harder as I feel my power grow
Maybe he was right. Delta didn't want to hear those words, but Maru had said kinda the same thing. Both of them were older and clearly knew a lot more about the world than she did, so maybe they also had a point. "Well, I guess you're right... I'll just try to work on my goals using other means." There was a small part of her that wanted to go to the gods a final time- to see if they could remove the curse from her.
It had occurred to her that she should fight back, but it also felt so rude to just bite a chunk out of a person. Well- I guess I could bite someone. I guess if it comes down to it, I'd rather do that than anything else. Maybe Olavi wasn't too wrong about all this, even though he continually misunderstood everything that she was trying to say.
Just as quickly as she was a massive shark she shifted back into her original form. Rolling around, she adjusted herself so that she could probably speak with the other shark. Do you want to shift back as well? The invitation was sent through their bond just to make sure that Olavi heard her, otherwise she'd go with whatever made him the most comfortable.
No matter what he chose, she'd continue on with what she had to say. It wasn't that I want to go to land- I have to. It's the other half of the curse. This merman sure was the exact opposite of understanding, damn. This one just feels never-ending... other curses I have- She quickly cut herself off, realizing she shouldn't mention this is her second time being cursed. Sorry, that I have heard of, they seemed to have limits... but I've had this since way before LongNight.
Delta rolled a 4! So she's back to normal
Don't you know there's part of me that longs to go into the unknown?
"If you can't earn it yourself, you don't deserve it." Olavi said simply, looking down his nose at the princess, who was, in his opinion, sounding more and more entitled by the moment. Everything he had he'd worked for, and the idea of going to beg the Gods for something as a quick fix was almost tacky.
Her hesitation to bite anyone was equally hard to understand; did she not have any sense of self-preservation? He'd known that the daughter of their dear King had to have had a cushioned life, but he was beginning to feel like in comparison he'd had the roughest life imaginable in the sea. Seeing Delta transform back he did too, not needing her permission for the shift; he easily stretched back out over the rock, enjoying the sun on his back.
Olavi snorted as she spoke, a laugh spilling from him. "You got more than one curse? Fuck girl, you gotta sort yourself out. If you want I can go throw you on the beach." It was a real offer, though he doubted she'd take him up on it.
Every day's a little harder as I feel my power grow
The words are harsh and all Delta can really do is nod along. She isn't in the mood to fight and she's also clearly made a pretty miserable impression of herself. "You're probably right," It's said softly and quietly, hoping that maybe Olavi will relax as well. Delta isn't one for arguing, especially not now that she's so exhausted.
His offer is nice and appreciated but she finds herself shaking her head. "No, no. It's fine." She found herself slowly moving after making the comment until she found a nice rock to lean up against. Looking back at Olavi, she raised an eyebrow at him. "At least I didn't get cursed one of the times I went. It was.... well, it's kinda hard to explain them? But he told me he couldn't help me. And then he left." A light shrug is offered towards him before she finds herself shifting the subject drastically.
"Could you tell me a bit about yourself? I've been talking so much. What do you like to do?"
Don't you know there's part of me that longs to go into the unknown?
Olavi knew he was right and gave a smug nod in confirmation of that, every bit a supporter of pulling up bootstraps (metaphorically, of course) and earning your own victories. He'd never once depended on the Gods for anything and when the girl before him had every advantage she could need, he thought it bizarre she felt she had to.
Surprised that Delta reacted as if he'd actually offered to do anything nice (most people, upon hearing 'throw you on the beach', would not be happy), he leaned his cheek on his hand as she told yet another shrine story: did she do nothing but bother the Gods? "Shoulda listened. What the hell're you actually aiming to get from them that's worth all this trouble?"
He was hesitant to talk too much about himself. Olavi doubted Delta was familiar with the underworld of the city, the shadowy crowds he hung around in; he didn't want to at all open her eyes to it. "Oh, you know. Swim around, get lots of nice shit, hang out with my lady."
