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!
Give me the burden, give me the blame, I’ll shoulder the load and I’ll swallow the shame
They were blessed, in a way, to barely be touched by the plagues of the air. The effects of volcano, of long dark night, of monsoons, none of it truly translated underwater, save for some inconveniences. Even those though, were easy to manage, if you knew how to.
Though it had taken longer than usual, had been messier than she preferred, business had begun moving again, all her little cogs and plans falling into place smoothly. Which left her with a touch of free time, moments to spend with Olavi, the excuse of work on the forefront of her mind, though surveying was hardly work.
Most wrecks on the ocean floor were discovered quickly, picked clean almost immediately. Not all of them though, and with the mouth breathers dealing with storms and worse, there was a chance they might get lucky, find something fresh, something overlooked. Nerissa kept close to the ocean floor, a single point of bioluminescence serving as a beacon to her beloved and her companion both, while she headed towards the one place where sunken ships were most likely to be overlooked.
The maw was familiar to her, it's deep dark embrace a comfort, in a way few other places were. Even now, her deep peace leeched through the bond towards Olavi, a wordless warmth washing over her, towards him. Are you ready to descend, my dearest?
Ain't it the life of you, you're lighting up the place?
Looking around sunken shipwrecks was one of Olavi's favourite activities: it was time spent with Nerissa somewhere they could be (usually) entirely alone, they often found interesting or valuable things and he could laugh at the stupid humans that thought their wooden rafts would survive the sea. A win win.
He followed Nerissa's light easily, used to this now: once he had found the dark with nothing else but her beacon unnerving, but now it was almost comforting. Totally alone with Nerissa, able to focus and follow. The shark idly swam behind the light, peering from side to side sometimes to see if he could spot anything else around them: occasionally he picked up the edge of a rock or old mast, perhaps the bottom of the sea floor when they were close to the bottom. Of course, they were about to descend much lower.
Lead the way, Neri. Not too fast, remember. The pressure down here gets to me.
Give me the burden, give me the blame, I’ll shoulder the load and I’ll swallow the shame
The lights before Olavi pause, keeping still until he catches up, until she can reach out for him, hold his face in her hands and press her lips against the planes of his cheek, the tip of his nose. I know to be careful for you, dearest. She promised easily, pulling away again once she had laid a final kiss to his lips, teasingly light. Scylla paused along the edge of the maw, endeavouring to keep a look out, of sorts, though in truth she was at her depth limit.
This was her favourite part. Taking a moment to steady herself, Nerissa outstretched her arms and twirled, slowly drifting backwards into the hole, glowing tentacles trailing along behind her. True to her word it was a slow descent, no effort imparted by her to hasten it in anyway.
Truth be told, Nerissa would be content to fall nearly to the bottom of the maw, where cold, crushing pressure and volcanic gas made the world strange and alien, though so familiar, so welcoming to her. Today though, she was with Olavi, and they had at least a little bit of a mission. Pale eyes opened wide, taking in the craggy walls of the volcanic tube, searching for evidence of anything new, anything as of yet untouched. It seemed luck was on their side. They had hardly descended at all, though Olavi would maybe feel a touch of discomfort, the press of pressure in the back of his head, when Nerissa caught sight of a small skiff, caught precariously on some hidden edge.
In an instant, she righted herself, and led the way towards the craft. It was smaller than anything they usually bothered with, but it was new, and anything this small travelling in the storms above had to be carrying something good. The dim glow of her tentacles illuminated the boat, revealing a small opening leading deeper into the craft. Would you like to do the honours?
Ain't it the life of you, you're lighting up the place?
Olavi smiled as he let Nerissa kiss him, feeling for just a moment sweet and protected - that was a very rare occurrence, but something about his love just brought out the vulnerable side in him. That mood continued as he followed Nerissa down, down into the dark and heavy depths of the ocean, eventually seeing only the tips of her tentacles for light.
When they finally came across a rowing boat, the edge of it just enough illuminated by Nerissa for Olavi to see, he swam to it and nudged it to see if it was settled deep into the sand: despite how precarious it looked it was. This had been here a while.
Absolutely. Stick a light in there behind me so I can see what I'm doing if there's anything to fight. With that said Olavi swam to the entrance and with his large sharp teeth bared, went into the darkness of the boat, ready to take on anything that might be lurking within.
Give me the burden, give me the blame, I’ll shoulder the load and I’ll swallow the shame
I'll do better than a single light for you, dearest." Nerissa purred, her already small form shrinking down more. Like this, she could dart around Olavi, use every tentacle to illuminate the interior. All manner of growth had happened within the boat's body, algae's covering every inch, and smaller creatures, crabs and shrimps and snails fleeing from her dim glow, from the larger form of the shark-mer. There are barrels lined up along the edges of the boat, as well as a chest, which is far more exciting than what they usually find in wrecks.
The only other thing of interest is most likely the reason this boat is where it is, a crack in the floor of the boat where Nerissa's light's don't quite reach. It almost looks as if some great fin came crashing into the vessel from below, splintering the wood up and in, and sinking the poor vessel. It's not something Nerissa spares much thought to though. Regardless of how it came to be here, it's here now, ripe for the picking. Do you think you can open that chest Lavi-dear?
Ain't it the life of you, you're lighting up the place?
Olavi was always humbled by the sheer beauty and magnitude that Nerissa's lights could reach, the entire cabin illuminated for him to see. The Shark drifted about in the space, checking around for threats. When he was satisfied there were none, only little pests grumpy at the interruption he turned back to Nerissa, his large tail hitting the back wall as he turned and brushing off years worth of algae and dirt.
He noticed the crack in the ground, but for now didn't think too much of it either: probably another looter in some past time, struggling with the small space like he was. Of course. Olavi faced the chest and swum back a couple of feet, then with all his muscles, swam forward to ram the old wood, splitting it easily. With his teeth on the lock and wrenching the lid open, it wasn't long before the contents were available to see.
Give me the burden, give me the blame, I’ll shoulder the load and I’ll swallow the shame
Thank you dearest. A swell of warmth flows from Nerissa to her beloved, her small body brushing along his much larger one on her way to the chest, her sickly blue light throwing the contents into stark relief. Bottles. Elaborately made crystal bottles, worlds and patterns adorning the outside edges. The crate looks like it could hold two dozen, like it had once held that many, but with it’s rough opening, and who knows how long spent under the waves, only eight remained intact, sealed with cork and wax.
The small squid stretches into a mermaid again, Nerissa not even needing to think about the change before she’s reaching out to grasp one, and bring it close to her face. I’m... not sure what this is. She silently admits after a moment of turning it over and over in her hands. It looks like alcohol, but there’s no makers mark, and I’ve never seen a bottle sealed this way before. Clearly at a loss, she offers the bottle to Olavi to inspect, letting him draw his own conclusions.
Ain't it the life of you, you're lighting up the place?
A soft, rumbling laugh would come through their bond, the kind that could suit only a shark; he swam back a little to look at the chest as Nerissa opened it, his eyes only able to see ahead of him (but luckily, he was used enough to adventuring with his love to expect her touch beneath his belly). He didn't recognise the bottles at all, at first assuming they had to be booze but rethinking that as he saw how intricate they were.
Shifting back into merman form himself to look the bottle over, he took it in his hand and tilted it one way and the other. Well, there's one way to find out if it's alcohol. With a tug he pulled off the cap, only a fraction, and held it to his mouth, tipping the contents in: they would be mixed with sea water, of course, but he'd get enough of an idea.
It was definitely not alcohol.
Shutting the seal and passing it back he shook his head, making a face. Whatever it is, it ain't for drinking.
Give me the burden, give me the blame, I’ll shoulder the load and I’ll swallow the shame
Her lover accepts the bottle Nerissa offers, her pale eyes focusing on him in the dim, her head tilting at his words, his perhaps unwise choice. But neither hand nor tentacle lifts to stop him, as the cap is ripped off, a swirl of something wafting through the water. Her face wrinkles at the same moment Olavi's lips wrap around the bottle, the smell hitting her as the taste hits his tongue.
Definitely not for drinking. She agrees, her words all but overlapping the tail end of Olavi's. Her hand lifts to cover her nose, the spreading scent of the amber fluid almost burning. What is it? Despite the way it seems to pain her, the rest of the unbroken bottles gathered up and carefully put away into her bag. They had to be worth something, packed up carefully as they were.
However, it seemed she moved too eagerly, too greedily. As the bottles were gathered up, the wreck shifts, so slowly it's not noticeable at first, not until the boat is tilted dizzyingly around them, the waterlogged wood groaning as it scrapes against the wall of the maw. Nerissa looks around them, then reaches out to grab Olavi's hand, tugging him back towards to crack in the hull they had slunk in through. We need to go! There is a rare note of panic in her voice, though not for herself.
Ain't it the life of you, you're lighting up the place?
Mmm. Olavi continued to pull faces, swimming backwards to avoid the swirls in the water before them, the acrid smell and taste only reminding him further of the bitter leftovers in his mouth. Dunno. If it {i]is for drinking, maybe its some kinda drug. That\'s the only way I can see anyone tryina take it.{/i}[/say} Personally, he wasn't sure any high was worth the unpleasant burn, but Olavi had seen people do stupider things chasing one.
He was about to posit his next theory, that it might once have been something good that had turned sour, when the creak of the wood shifting position sounded all around them and the world tilted to one side, the entire boat beginning to sink down. Olavi was well aware that they had to leave before Nerissa said and with her hand grasped in his swam as quickly as he could towards the gap, strong shark tail pushing heavy amounts of water behind him which shook the ship further.
