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!
08-24-2020, 08:36 PM (This post was last modified: 08-24-2020, 08:37 PM by Loren.)
like thunder gonna shake the ground
Still trying to learn the limits of his latest shift, Loren had asked Morgan to meet him in the training grounds, specifying that he'd been in the form of a lion. She was one of the few strong, swift, and skilled enough for him to trust that she'd actually make him work out. And stop if things went sideways.
Flying in the form of a goose, he shifted into his lion. He was larger than a regular lion, with weirdly metallic fur. Padding around, he flattened the snow, leaving a level field for them to spar on. Then he settled in to wait, the cold and his instincts making him lazier in this form than he normally was.
Some nights, I wish that my lips could build a castle Some nights, I wish they'd just fall off
The chance to train was always one Morgan tried to take, especially now that her Warden responsibilities had amped up and she spent less time out on the Grounds than she used to; she never wanted to be caught rusty, inexperienced in a battle when it was an important moment.
Exiting the Palace and coming onto the Grounds, she was for a moment surprised to see a lion stood there by her training dummies and weapons, but realised after a moment the true identity of the creature. "Ah. Am I to fight you like this, then?" Morgan asked, walking into the Grounds with her warhammer balanced over her shoulder.
But I still wake up, I still see your ghost Oh Lord, I'm still not sure, what I stand for
As Morgan spoke up, Loren rose to his feet. He grunted affirmatively. Then, realizing, that she probably didn't understand cat language, he nodded. It looked odd in this form, but hopefully conveyed what he needed to communicate to her.
Waiting for that to sink in and her to prepare herself, he padded back and forth, loosening himself up. Then, when she seemed ready, he simply charged at her with all the strength and speed he had at his disposal. There wasn't any particular strategy involved, but he made up for that with velocity and sheer bulk. His claws were out to give him purchase on the slippery ground as he attempted to bowl her over.
Some nights, I wish that my lips could build a castle Some nights, I wish they'd just fall off
Morgan had certainly never seen a lion nod before, but she got over the strange sight enough to understand it's meaning. "Very well." Never having fought a lion either, this would certainly be a new experience.
She wasn't sure how to begin the fight, but Loren seemed to make that decision for her. The sight of the lion bounding towards her was certainly a fearsome one, but she had fought worse foes on real battlegrounds. Leaving her warhammer for the moment, Morgan instead summoned her water magic and taking a step back to brace herself, held out her hands to shoot a wide and strong beam of water at the lion's face, hoping to knock him back.
But I still wake up, I still see your ghost Oh Lord, I'm still not sure, what I stand for
The stream of water caused Loren to abort his charge. Not because of the force, exactly, but because it blinded him and got in his mouth and nose. Continuing to move towards Morgan, he adjusted his approach so he was headed to one side of her. As he did, he swept out with own paw.
Not at her though, but at the ground beside her. His claws scoured the ice and snow sending it flying in a cloud of projectiles directly towards her. The snow was just a distraction, but hopefully the ice might actually score a few cuts on her.
Some nights, I wish that my lips could build a castle Some nights, I wish they'd just fall off
Whatever the reason, Morgan's magic had the intended effect of discouraging Loren from charging at her; she stopped the stream after he changed course, trying to jump back from whatever it was he was attempting, expecting a strike.
Cleverly, Loren did not deliver one: instead he sprayed up shards of hard, sharp ice which flew up towards her, some of them shooting just into the gaps of her clothing and leaving thin, little cuts: hardly a wound to write home about, but an annoying shot of pain all the same. Clearly, Loren was not above a little bit of dirty tactics; Morgan decided she would not be either.
Leaning for a moment as if she were about to pick up her warhammer and swing with that, Morgan instead flicked a finger and with a clang, a sword from the rack on the wall flew towards Loren's side from behind him.
But I still wake up, I still see your ghost Oh Lord, I'm still not sure, what I stand for
Snarling with satisfaction as the ice he'd chipped up managed to score a few shallow hits on Morgan, Loren pivoted neatly to face her. As she reached for her warhammer he tensed. However, it was to gather himself for a leap as he pounced directly for her. As he did he took a deep breath of air.
Faintly, he felt something impact his side with enough force to bruise. However, like every other blade he'd encountered in this form it failed to cut through his skin. Indeed, it clanged strangely as it hit him as if it had struck metal armor instead of fur.
Some nights, I wish that my lips could build a castle Some nights, I wish they'd just fall off
It seemed that her ruse had worked, but as the knife struck Loren in the side, it bounced off as if it had hit a wall, falling uselessly to the ground; Morgan stared at it, frowning, clearly bewildered by the unnatural turn of events.
Trying not to let herself get too caught up in the questions about Loren's form for the moment, she tried to take her warhammer truthfully this time and step back, disengaging to give them both a moment to refocus and attack again: preparing herself, holding her hammer before herself, she nodded, indicting Loren should try to pounce once more.
But I still wake up, I still see your ghost Oh Lord, I'm still not sure, what I stand for
Seeing as Loren was already mid-pounce, he had no trouble following Morgan's instructions. However, as she reached for the warhammer, his eyes narrowed. Already bounding forward, he twisted his body somewhat.
Instead of going directly in to attack her his head snaked forward, jaws open wide. His goal was to clamp down on the haft of the weapon, wrest it from her grip, and toss it aside. However, he'd settle for ruining whatever defense or attack she had planned.
As his moved forward with his mouth, one paw swept forward as well towards her ankle. He was aiming to knock her off her feet or off balance. Again, he was careful not to use or engage the long and deadly claws he had at his disposal.
Some nights, I wish that my lips could build a castle Some nights, I wish they'd just fall off
Loren did indeed manage to surprise Morgan as he went for the hammer instead of her or trying to dodge, her swing already on an angle that allowed him to grasp the handle and twist, at the same time reaching for her ankle: Morgan did go down, hitting the ground on her side with a groan.
She'd been long trained to get back up as soon as possible, though. Kicking her legs up and jumping to her feet as quickly as she could, Morgan would attempt to soon be upright and use her telekinesis to take the hammer in Loren's mouth and lift it violently, hoping to toss the lion off and throw him away to give her a moment to truly recovery.
But I still wake up, I still see your ghost Oh Lord, I'm still not sure, what I stand for
Growling as he ripped away Morgan's warhammer and knocked her to the ground, he readied himself for another strike. As he felt the force of the telekinesis begin to pull on him, he instinctively clamped down the haft of the weapon. When his front paws began to lift off the ground, though, he changed tactics. Instead of fighting against the pull he added to it. At the very apex, he released the warhammer to go winging through the air.
And, having gotten a bit of height, he collapsed down towards the Warden. Careful to keep the claws out of it, he was trying to pin her beneath at least part of his bulk.
Some nights, I wish that my lips could build a castle Some nights, I wish they'd just fall off
As the hammer came flying towards her, Morgan managed to duck down, avoiding it's blow (and good job too, because it was heavy and would do some serious damage at any sort of speed) but unable to catch it as it spun past. The hammer clattered to the ground somewhere behind her, and while she could turn to find it, she thought her time was better used fighting the lion before her.
Loren successfully pinned her to the ground, but Morgan wasn't about to give up just yet. Lifting up her knees she gripped either side of Loren's rib cage and twisted as hard as she could, hoping to throw him off or at least slightly change their positions to give her a chance to scramble free.
But I still wake up, I still see your ghost Oh Lord, I'm still not sure, what I stand for
Morgan was strong. But Loren weighed upwards of five hundred pounds (over two hundred twenty-five kilos for those on the metric system) in his lion shift. So even with just part of his bulk resting on the Warden, from the awkward position on her back she'd find her purely physical muscles not quite up to the task of budging the Firebrand, so she wouldn't be able to wriggle out or do much more than rock him a bit.
However, even that brief physical exertion caused him to yawn. Carefully shifting himself off of her, he padded a short distance away. Settling on the ground he licked his lips. Then he began to clean off his paws, tail flicking back and forth in the air. He didn't look Morgan's way, letting her sort herself out.
Some nights, I wish that my lips could build a castle Some nights, I wish they'd just fall off
Were this an actual fight and not just a practice, when Morgan found herself unable to flip Loren off her she would have reached for the dagger in her boot and begun to carve her way out...but, well. As this was only a training exercise, she sighed and gave up, holding her hands out to show she was no longer going to fight; as it happened it appeared Loren was tired anyway.
She sat up, brushed off her clothes and hair, then turned to look at the yawning lion. "Is that all, then?" Morgan asked, slightly offended at being so easily shrugged off.
But I still wake up, I still see your ghost Oh Lord, I'm still not sure, what I stand for
